“Holly—’
“Don’t you meansnowflake?” I hiss, cutting Nick off. He at least has the decency to look guilty.
“Can we explain?” Chris hedges.
“Nope. You had your chance to come clean, you didn't. So, here we are. Now, if you three could fuck off so I can get the fuck out of here, that would be great.”
“Please, Holly, just let us explain,” Saint pleads.
I laugh and shake my head, causing all of them to tense. “Get fucked. You really think I would stand here and hear you out after the three of you used me? Get fucking real, asshole.”
“Those tapes were for us, we were never going to use them,” Nick vows.
I shake my head in annoyance. “You don’t fucking get it!” I shout, making them flinch. “Get the fuck away from me now, we’re done.” Chris drops his arm as he recoils.
“The fuck does that mean?” he snaps.
“It means I hope you like sucking your own cocks because I’m not doing it.” The elevator doors begin to close and none of them move to stop them, but just before they close I call out, “Oh, and I quit.” The second the doors close, my knees buckle and I drop to the ground gasping for air.
My chest feels like it’s cracking open. The past two days I have been able to latch onto the anger and the rush of being able to serve them the smack down in that meeting, but now that it’s all over, I have nothing left to keep me going except for the hurt and heartache.
A strangled sob escapes me as I reach the lobby. I pull myself to my feet and stumble out of the building, needing air. The moment the cool air hits me, I manage to suck in a full breath. Tears still trail down my cheeks and I start to walk. I have no idea where I’m going, all I know is I just need to get the fuck out of here and as far away from them as I can.
They’re so stupid. The fact they thought I’m angry because of the masks is what pisses me off more. After all this time, I thought they knew me better than that but I was fucking wrong.
Dear Santa, if you forgive me for fucking your lookalikes, I promise not to sin… No, that’s a lie but I promise not to sin as much!
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
SAINT
The victory of having my dad sign the papers doesn’t feel as good as I thought it would. That’s because she isn’t here to celebrate with us. I did as she said and asked him about his will. To my surprise he told me he had left everything to me and not my little brother. Chester lost the fucking plot hearing that, but upon him explaining, I got it. I built something out of nothing and became someone he could respect. I showed him I wouldn’t squander his empire, I would build on it and make it into something he would be proud of.
Our relationship will never be the same and I told him as much, money doesn’t change the past.
I told him I wouldn’t be coming home for the holidays, and the next time I would see him would be when he’s in a box, then walked out of there feeling fucking lighter but not fulfilled. I’m empty inside and Ihate it. When we arrive back at our office, a part of me is hoping that we’ll see Holly, but when we enter the office and see her desk empty my stomach sinks.
“She’s really gone,” I mutter.
Chris claps me on the shoulder. “We’ll figure it out.”
I whirl around and glare at him. “How? We fucked up by lying to her and using her, just like Chester tried to do. Look how fucking well that ended for him! We did what you said and stayed away for the week to give her space after she broke down and all it did was cost usher!” I stab a hand through my hair and tug on the strands, we had her right in our grasp and then we fucked it all up.
“How the fuck did she know?” Nick wonders aloud. I pause and mull over his words, I’m trying to think if we said anything or did she notice Chris’s tats, but that wouldn’t explain how she knew everything else.
“The drive!” Chris blurts after minutes of silence. My and Nick’s expressions mirror each other’s.
“How did she get access to our drives?” I ask. Nick darts across the room to his computer and punches in his password, then brings up the drive the three of us share and checks the recent activity in the snowflake folder.
Wednesday two-thirty-two p.m.
“Fuck,” I breathe out.
“She has our passwords. She must have needed something and then logged on and found the file,” Chris says.
I nod my agreement as Nick begins to scroll through the folder. “Stop!” I snap when I see a video in there I have never seen before. “What’s that?” I ask as I point to it. He clicks on it and pushes play. Holly’s face fills the screen and the look of betrayal in her eyes cuts me to my fucking core.
If you’re watching this, then you figured out how I know your dirty little secret.The pain that laces her words makes me feel like a piece of shit. I see the hurt in her eyes and it fucking kills me to know we are the reason for that look.I guess I don’t understand why you didn’t just tell me the truth.
