“I don’t care.”
“Well, I do.”
“I’m dying inside!” I sink to the floor. “I can’t be without him.”
Mia gets on her knees and wraps me in her embrace. “Losing your first love is the most painful, but trust me, it’ll get better.”
“How would you know? You’ve never been in love.”
“Devin Scott,” Mia blurts. “It’s strange saying his name out loud.”
“Who is he?”
“The only guy I ever gave my heart to. I was a nobody in high school before moving to Denver junior year and reinventing myself. The popular kids bullied me every damn day.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Shame. I killed my pathetic former self and wanted that spineless bitch to stay buried.”
“What happened?”
“Devin asked me to the fall dance, and I thought I was the luckiest girl in the world.” She snorts. “He was a senior, captain of the football team, and the worst of them all. No matter how badly he treated me, I held a torch for him like a fucking idiot.”
Mia starts crying, and it’s my turn to console her.
“After the dance, he took me to a wooded area and professed his undying love for me. I believed him.” She laughs scornfully. “That night, I lost my virginity on the cold hard ground. His friends recorded it, and by the following day, I became the local celebrity.”
“Were charges filed?”
“No. Football rules the small town where I’m from, and his father’s an important man. The incident was swept under the rug, and my parents decided to relocate for a fresh start.”
“Sorry for calling you a whore.”
“It’s already forgotten.”
“You’re an amazing friend.”
“I’ll always be here for you.”
“Thank you.”
“Let’s get off the floor and dry our faces before Patrick shows up.”
“Good idea.”
“I’ll gladly take a fork, sneak into Stone Incorporated, and stab the asshole’s other hand. Just say the word.”
“Mia…”
“Too soon?”
Pepper called and texted all weekend, but I held firm on my decision. She made me fucking weak, becoming an addiction I grew dependent on and was slowly losing my sanity to. Blind jealously almost caused me to commit a double homicide in Denver. Rage, obsession, and passion combined, creating a lethal maelstrom inside of me. We both nearly drowned because of it. At the island, the line separating Pepper and me blurred, complicating things. I knew our time together was over.
Today I got to work at the break of dawn, hoping to clear my mind of her by immersing myself in tedious tasks, but I can’t concentrate. I’ll fuck my way through countless women to expunge Pepper from my system. Soon, she’ll be a distant memory. A knock at the door interrupts my thoughts. I asked not to be disturbed. Is that too much to fucking ask for?
“Come in,” I bark, ready to tear someone a new asshole.
Peggy, my assistant, enters. She’s accustomed to my abrupt moods and doesn’t bat an eyelash at my obvious displeasure.
