So I abruptly shoved to my feet and clapped my hands together. “You get rid of the death curry and I’ll pop the pizza in the oven.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CALLAN
The almost two-week break from games in September allowed a recharge. Although we still had training, it took a bit of the pressure off. It came at a nice time, too, because the Fringe was over, schools were back in session, and the busy city, while still busy, was easier to navigate. After last Friday, when I discovered I had some kind of super tolerance to spice, Beth had been hard to pin down.
It shouldn’t bother me that she was busy all the time with work because she was on her period, which took sex off the table, anyway. We weren’t supposed to be more than two mates having sex. Right?
Therefore, when she showed up at my door the following Wednesday, I didn’t acknowledge how much I’d missed her. I kissed her like I hadn’t kissed her in years, and guided her into my bedroom. She’d been there every night since and now it was Saturday. Training had been hard-core today, but I also had a full-body massage from our PT, so I was feeling good.
Beth had ordered sushi from this place we both liked not far from our building, and we were flicking through the streaming services, looking for something to watch. The food arrived andwe were getting into a true crime documentary when Beth’s phone rang.
She frowned at the screen. “It’s Cara. I told her not to call tonight. It must be important.”
“Answer it.” I hated how overworked Beth was. It felt like she couldn’t switch off, and I knew from going through it with my career that you needed time away from the job.
Beth put her plate down on my coffee table and picked up the call. “Cara?”
Her face paled at whatever Cara said. “Oh my God. Okay, okay, I’ll have a look now.” She switched it on speaker as she swiped on her phone screen. “Prepare yourself for the comments, Beth. Right now, people are totally taking her side.”
I frowned as Beth bent her head over her phone, peering at the screen. “What’s going on?”
She didn’t answer as she read something.
“Callan, is that you?” Cara asked.
“Aye, I’m here.”
“One of our ex-clients just blasted us on social media. She has a big following, so we’re taking a bit of a hit. We dropped her because she didn’t pay her invoices for the last three months, but in her post, she’s telling a bunch of nasty lies about Beth being abusive and pushy.”
Fuck. I dumped my plate, sliding along the couch to put an arm around Beth. She was shaking. “It’s okay.”
In answer, she shoved the phone in my face. I skimmed the social media post from the author, anger boiling beneath my skin at the lies she’d told about Beth and her company.
And at the nasty comments being directed at Beth.
“We need to post a statement,” Cara announced. “Something professional but honest. I don’t want to go down the road of she-said, she-said … but I do have screenshots of her response to us dropping her, and it’s nasty … Beth?”
My head snapped toward Beth and panic lit through me as I watched her clutch her chest, struggling to suck in air.
“Eh, Cara, we’ll call you back.” I hung up, dropping the phone. “Beth?”
She shook her head frantically, eyes wide with terror.
“Beth?” I tried to reach for her, but suddenly she threw herself off my couch and stumbled as she ran for my bathroom. “Beth!”
I hurried after her and got there as she slammed the bathroom door in my face. The lock turned. My heart hammered in my chest as I knocked. “Beth. What’s happening? You’re scaring me.” I had an inkling of what might be going on, but I couldn’t be sure, and the sight of Beth struggling to breathe left me shaken. “Beth, please.”
“I’m okay,” she croaked out. “Please … leave me.”
I leaned my forehead against the door, squeezing my eyes closed. “I can’t.”
BETH
Callan’s soft plea, endearment, and the worry in his voice caused the tears to spill over as I sat on his bathroom floor, my back to the tub. The cold tiles were uncomfortable but welcome because they centered me and brought me back into the room, along with Callan’s voice.
I forced myself to go through my lists of what I could see, hear, and smell.
