“Uh, hello? We’re in a relationship?”
I literally laugh in his face. “Uh, no, we arenot. I broke up with you, and I meant it. Why do you think I haven’t been returning your calls or texts?”
The shock on his face shouldn’t give me nearly as much satisfaction as it does. “But your mom—”
“My mom is inappropriately interfering in my life in an extremely dysfunctional way. I’ll deal with her. You and I are not an item and haven’t been for weeks. We are not ever going to be an item again. I know you have unrealistically set your aspirations on reconciling with me, but it’s not happening.”
I remember my other beef with him. “Besides, let’s talk about how you lied about the details of this deal. You didn’t include all the information about the historical buildings and the graveyard on the property. That changes everything, and you damned well know it. The graveyard, by state law, has to be protected.”
A dark glare fills his features. “Look, you’re being unreasonable.”
“Unreasonable?” A thought hits me. “No one’s ever told you no, have they?”
“Why should anyone tell me no?”
Yep. It’s all clear to me now. Not only have I not slept with him despite his attempts to talk me into it, I’m breaking up with him and not the other way around. “Look. Nothing about our relationship makes me want to take it any farther than it went, or pick up where we left off.Nothing. There’s a reason I didn’t sleep with you and it starts with the fact that I don’t trust you. I damn sure don’t trust you after I found out the trickery you attempted with this deal.”
The wide-eyed shock on his face nearly makes me laugh. “How could you say such a horrible thing about me?”
I shrug. “It’s the truth. I see how easily you lie to people, and that means you’re probably going to lie to me, if you haven’t already. I can’t be with someone like that.”
“Uh, news flash, we’reattorneys. It’s what wedo.”
“See, that’s where you’re wrong. I’ve practiced law for nearly twelve years now, and I’ve never had to lie to or for my clients.”
He primly folds his arms over his chest. “You aren’t making much sense. And if you’ve never lied for your clients, you’re not nearly as good of an attorney as you think you are.”
“I’ll put my billable hours up against yours any day of the week and twice on Sundays, pendejo.” I point. “Out of my room. Now.”
I’m enjoying the heck out of the worry creasing his exfoliated forehead and perfectly shaped eyebrows. “So what are you saying?”
I don’t want to tell him too much. I know if I do, it’ll make it over to the partners before I’m ready, and I want at least another day to get everything filed and make sure my poop’s in a group before I have to take some swings at the big guns all by my lonesome. “I’m saying that you lying to me and failing to disclose crucial details to me exposed me to potential legal jeopardy, and I’m filing a complaint with the senior partners about that when I get back to Miami.”
His gaze widens. “You can’t do that!” I know for a fact I’m not the first person to file a complaint against him, but his personal connections within the firm have protected him to date.
Had I known about the other complaints—which he confided to me when he was too drunk to remember even saying it, and which led me to finally dump him when he was sober—I never would have dated him to start with.
Not even for my mother.
I raise my voice because despite being an attorney, he hates attention being called to him when he’s being called to the carpet in public. “Leave, now. Because I’m pissed off you’ve created more work for me to salvage this deal. When I tell the partners how you’ve screwed this up—”
“Okay! Okay!” He glares at me as he takes a step back toward the door. “Dinner tonight?”
“No! Pack your stuff and get out of here.” I slam the door in his face, forcing him to take another step back or get hit by it.
“I’ll check in with you later!” he calls to me through the door.
I snap the deadbolt.
He’s going to be keeping an eye out for me to leave, I’m sure. That means I need to work fast. I go ahead and take a shower, since my stuff’s all here. Then I get packed and peek through the window. His car is sitting there. I open the door just a crack and can see his curtains are drawn.
Good.
I close my door again, make one final sweep of my room, and gather all my stuff by the door. Then I turn on the TV and set the sleep timer so it’s not blaring loudly and disturbing my neighbor on the other side.
But Freddy should be able to hear it.
I’m about to make a dash for it when I hear his door open. I’m peeking through the view finder when he walks over to my door and knocks. I step back from the door and stand by the bathroom. “Who is it?”
