Apparently, he’d realized how he must sound, like the commitment-phobic playboy I’d once thought him to be. Instead of being bothered by him, I wanted to laugh. Was I now supposed to jump on the bandwagon and demand he marry me? Because we’d done a lot more than kiss.
“As I said, the woman is unbalanced,” he grumbled and dug into his food. “Crazier than a shiiman eating worms.”
Cadmus nodded, scooping another bowl of delicious stew.
“Not that I know what a shiiman is, but I get the gist.” I turned to Marcus. “So she’s into you. Why come after me?”
Cadmus explained, sounding like his old self, “Rumors have been flying that you and Marcus have been engaged in a secret affair for weeks. Nice work, bro.”
Marcus ignored his brother’s thumbs up.
I gave Cadmus my own hand gesture, which caused him to laugh. “It’s not funny,” I snapped, super annoyed to be the center of gossip. “This is my reputation we’re talking about. I don’t suppose you know who started the rumor?”
Cadmus shrugged.
Marcus shook his head. “Tessa, before Chase put you to work with me, I only knew you as the leggy redhead all the men fantasized about.”
I blushed. He had to be kidding.
“In fact, just yesterday I put my fist in Davis’ face for?—”
“You did what?” I stared in amazement. “What happened?”
“Let him finish about the deluded Sheila Covington,” Aerolus interrupted. “I want to know what else she said.”
“She broke down when I refused to marry her,” Marcus said with disgust.
“Marry her. That’s wacky.” I’d never heard anything so ridiculous. Or annoying. One date with Marcus and she wanted to marry him? Seriously?
Man, that bitchy woman annoyed me.
“She grew irrational when I said no and confessed her part in discrediting you. I admit I pushed her into a full confession—for which Sheila was immediately fired from Brown LTD. She saw you as competition for my affection and thought by taking you out of the picture, we’d become a couple.” Marcus grimaced. “At least we now know Sheila, not the Djinn or Sin Garu, concocted the idea to have you arrested.”
“That makes no sense.” I shook my head in disbelief.
“I agree. I can see a woman pulling that stunt with me, but Marcus?” Cadmus threw in with a chuckle.
I beaned a dinner roll at his head.
He caught it and took a bite. “Look at the package.” He pointed to himself. “It’s not her fault, now is it?”
I huffed but couldn’t help a chuckle. “I’d like to know how she planned to get rid of me. Because it would have to be more than ruining my reputation, I’d think.”
“She gave Leanne Sumpter a packet of files to put in your office,” Marcus explained. “Files that would show you had embezzled money into a personal account.”
“Leanne works in pay services.” Suddenly aware of just how close I’d been to prosecution, I felt dizzy. “She has full access to my pay records, knows my bank account number, my social, my birthday.” A nightmare of knowledge.
“And she’d already made the changes in the computer. Leanne didn’t like you either.” Marcus scowled. “If Sheila hadn’t confessed, you might now be sitting in a jail cell.”
“What did I do to Leanne? Don’t tell me. She fell for you too?” Women were buzzing like bees around Marcus, and I didn’t like it one bit.
Not when I’d finally come to the conclusion I was keeping him.
“No. Apparently, Leanne’s under the impression Jonas Chase has the hots for you. And she’s in love with him.”
“Good lord, this all sounds like something that should be on a TV drama.” I had a tough time accepting such stupidity. As I scraped the last bit of machia from my bowl, I felt lighter, as if freed from a tremendous weight.
The question of who wanted me gone from Temita had at last been answered.
