ONE
DARCY
I could hithim with my car.
Let me back up. I’m not typically into premeditated vehicular manslaughter, but when your fiancé reveals he’s the reason you didn’t get the promotion at work, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.
Rob runs at me, hands out like I’m some sort of enraged animal.
Maybe I am one.
Maybe I’ve just shed my scales of self-control and revealed the feral snake that will swallow my fiancé—well, ex-fiancé as of three minutes ago—whole. And then maybe I’ll regurgitate his bones or something. Can snakes do that, or is it just owls?
Rob stops in front of my car, flashing a nervous smile to one of the players heading to the arena for tonight’s game. He’s always kissing their asses, like if he does it just right, they’ll invite him to be on the team instead of the guy in group ticket sales. He’d hate it if they caught wind that he screwed me over. Wouldn’t it be funny if one of the pregame photographers caught me running over Rob? And during the playoffs no less.
Ugh, that would serve as evidence. That won’t do.
And anyway, he’s too close now for me to actually do any damage. I’d have to back up to get him good. I pop a piece of spearmint gum from my car’s cup holder into my mouth, grinding it in my back teeth so I don’t grit them down to dust. The flavor burst reminds me that I really shouldn’t hit this man who I thought was my future.
“Darcy, let’s talk about this.” His voice is muffled through the glass, and even more muffled still when I slam on the horn to cover his next words. Two players crossing the lot snap to look at us, and I give them a friendly wave. One of them’s the captain, Landon Mitchell. He’s been kind to me over the last few years, and he and his wife often invited us to their get-togethers. Rob resents that Landon seems to like me better than him, proven now by the menacing look Landon shoots at him. I’m comforted that even if the team’s management won’t promote me after all my achievements, at least one of the players has my back.
I should buy his jersey while I still have my team discount. Rob would hate that. He’s forever convinced that I, the girl in the marketing department, am some sort of bait for a team full of men who certainly have plenty of prospects who aren’t a committed woman in the marketing department. Who’s engaged to a guy in sales.
Was.Wasengaged. No longer. Because the man Iwasengaged toisa traitor.
Rob’s jaw tightens and his lips go into their signature “I’m so mad at you” pout. His mouth forms, “You’re being irrational,” and to show him just what irrational looks like, ever so slightly, I let my foot off the brake.
Rob’s eyes go wide as my front bumper gently sweeps him off his feet, forcing him to lay on the hood. His long fingers scrabble for purchase under my windshield wipers even though he’s in no danger of being flung to the ground.
“Are you fucking insane?” he squeals.
Landon pivots to walk our way and I really didn’t expect him to be this much of a bro for me, siding with me without even knowing the context of our fight. But I wave him off with an overzealous smile, rolling down my window and sticking my head out to address my former beloved. “Nope. Just a woman with a plan.”
Rob scurries off the hood of my car, dusting off his clothes and scowling at me. But his scowl turns more morose than angry as he examines my face. He actually looks sad enough for me to momentarily feel sorry for him. Only for a moment, though. He comes to my window and bends down. “What plan, Darcy?”
I sigh. “To get my stuff out of our apartment before you get off work.”
“Darcy, babe, take your ring back. I’m trying to help you.”
I tip my head to the side and narrow my eyes. “Did I ask for your help?”
Rob runs a hand through his dark waves and down his face, stretching the skin next to his sky blue eye. Yes, eye. The other one is green. Fucker has the nerve to have a charming aberration like heterochromia and not even be worth the last three years of my life. “You don’t even like this job.”
That’s rich. Iused tolike my job, before it became apparent that my superior either had to die or leave for me to get promoted. And here, when that spot finally opened up, Ol’ Roberto took it upon himself to control my destiny.
I glance to the cloudless sky, because why wouldn’t it be gorgeous on the day that my life falls apart? It’s May! Birds are chirping! It’s playoff hockey, baby! Everyone at work is excited because the team’s in the conference final! Time to pull out the flowy dresses and cute sandals! It’s almost a holiday weekend!
And my former fiancé thinks I’d rather turn out babies for him than advance my career—a decision he came to entirely on his own.
I suck on the roof of my mouth as I take a moment to consider his perspective, despite the obvious flaws in it. “Maybe. But I’ve been working toward managing the department since when, Rob? Do you know what this would do for my student debt?”
He lets out a long-suffering sigh and straightens, looking to the cloudless sky. “Darcy, once we’re married, I’m taking care of everything.”
I twitch, fighting the urge to claw his face or do something else that would qualify as an incarcerable offense. “What about what I want, Rob?”
I could probably spit on him and get away with it.
“Darcy, you don’t even know what’s good for you.”
