She pushed the up button to call the elevator. “She’s sweet.”
“I’m not saying she’s not sweet. I don’t have anything against her personally. She’s just a little odd.”
“Okay, I’ll give you that. I think she’s been very sheltered.”
“That’s one way to put it.” They joined three other people in the elevator cab, the button for their floor already lit.
“Be nice. She seems a little down today.”
“Okay. Yes, I have noticed she’s more withdrawn today than usual. She’s perfectly polite to the patients, but that’s about all the effort she’s putting into it.”
“Do you think I should be worried? I asked her if everything was okay and she just said she had some stuff going on.”
They exited the elevator on their floor. “Everyone has off days.”
“True. I’ll give her a couple of days and see how she is then.” She glanced at her watch. “I need to hurry; my next appointment should be here soon.”
“Mine too. I’ll catch up with you again later.” Janet waved as they went their separate ways.
She dropped her bag on the bench in the mudroom and hung her keys on the hook by the door. The house was quiet. Too quiet.
Panic coursed through her and she froze. Shit. Where were Charlie and Polly? With Jase.
Relief flooded her, replacing the panic, and she smiled for the thousandth time that day. She kicked off her shoes and padded through the house to her bedroom. Changing into shorts and a t-shirt, she threw her scrubs into the laundry hamper. Going to the foyer, she hesitated briefly before unlocking the front door so Jase wouldn’t have to knock, no matter which door he came through. In the living room, she put together another kennel for the foster dog arriving later. Tuning her satellite radio to a hard rock station, she danced around her kitchen as she prepared dinner.
She called out when she heard the front door open and close. “I’m in the kitchen.”
The smile on her face died quickly when Chad came around the corner from the foyer.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Her heart began to pound as her anger spread through her. “What part ofit’s overdo you not understand?”
“Brianna, I need you to listen for a minute,” Chad started as he stood on the other side of the eat-at counter.
“Listen to what, exactly? How you didn’t mean to cheat on me? How none of the women you cheated with meant anything to you? What do you think you can say to make any of this better?” She circled her hand in the air.
“It’s not like you’ve been celibate, Brianna.” He pointed toward the front door. “You sure didn’t have any problem moving some guy in as soon as you kicked me out.”
Bree sucked in a breath, astonished at Chad’s gall. “Are you kidding me?” Her voice was low and controlled. “At least I had the decency to break things off before I found someone else. I wasn’t fucking around the whole time we were together. I wasn’t more interested in your money than you.”
“Of course you weren’t. You didn’t have to be more interested in my money because you’ve always had money.”
Blood rushed in her ears and her vision narrowed, sharpening on the threat before her. Muscle memory had her shifting her grip on the knife she held, turning it so she held it in a reverse grip, edge out. She needed to keep her anger in check.
“That’s always been the issue, hasn’t it?” she asked. “You changed when you found out I had money. Got more attentive. Started pushing things. It was what? A couple of months after that you asked me to marry you?”
“If you’d just agreed to set a date, none of this would have happened.” Chad jabbed his finger at her.
“Yes, it would have. If you think I would’ve actually married you, you’re delusional. I’d decided to break it off before I even caught you.”
“Damn it, Brianna! You ruined everything!”
“What the fuck did I ruin, exactly?”
“I owe a lot of people a lot of money. You have no idea what you’ve done,” he continued to shout.
“Not my problem. Maybe you shouldn’t have been a stupid shit and gambled all that money.”
“Fuck you, Bree.” Spittle flew from his mouth as he lost any facade of calm or cajoling.
