He got out and kept his hand on my lower back as he walked me to the front of my building. Letting him inside would show the security features, and I wasn’t ready for that discussion, so I stopped us. “Thank you,” I said, standing on my tiptoes and using his shoulder to balance my height as I kissed him. “For the ride.”
“Any time,” he said, cupping my chin. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I nodded, blushing from head to toe at the promise in his voice, and watched him get into his car and wave before pulling off the curb. My mind barely understood the array of emotions I had within that hour, and I wanted nothing more than to take a bath and analyze it. But the second I had my fingers on the door handle, someone said my name.
That high-pitched voice.
“Oh, hello, Gilly.”
Samantha.
Chapter Fifteen
My spine turned to steel.The woman had the unique ability to show up at the worst moments, and all the leftover adrenaline from Christopher flowed through my body, making my hands shake as I spun around to face her.
She wore cutoff jeans and a skintight red tank top, but it wasn’t her outfit that worried me. It was her expression. It was pure malice.
“It’s Thursday. Back early?” I said, needing to not let her see my fear. I crossed my arms and made my face go hard, like when I had to discipline a kid even though they were cute.
“Yes. I’m sick of waiting for your bullshit month to end. I need ten thousand sooner than the end of the month.” She mirrored my stance and arched a brow. “I’m starting to think I should’ve kept in the game with your brother. Ten thousand is pocket change compared to what you two have. He showed me his bank statements, the idiot.”
My lip curled up at the mention of Fritz, and my voice came out stronger than I intended. “Stay the fuck away from him. You made your choice—you chose cash. Deal with it.”
Damnit. Her eyes lit up, and I played right into her hands.
“Okay, you’re right. I want two thousand by Monday.”
“I don’t have access. It doesn’t matter what you say or do. I literally cannot get the money until the end of the month, so threaten me all you want. I don’t have it.” I took a steady breath and stared her down. Samantha was a bully, a con woman, and an asshole, and the warning in the back of my mind blared.
I just had to tell Fritz, and then I’d be done with her, for good.
Samantha didn’t like my response. She licked her lips and grinned at me like an evil, psycho Cheshire cat and got her phone out of her pocket. She clicked her tongue a few times and held up the screen, showing me a photo.
It was me, on top of Christopher, in his car. Only you couldn’t see him at all.
“How would Mountain Elementary like to see photos of Ms. Carter being a slut in a car? You think this would change their mind about you? The rich heiress who fucks anywhere.”
“Samantha,” I warned, the white-hot fear making my thoughts blur together.
She swiped to the left, and another photo was there, me with large hands at my ass, and it was like she punched me in the gut. I looked racy as hell. Kissing Christopher had consumed me, and it was obvious I paid no attention to my surroundings.
“You can’t…why? Why take these? I already told you I’d give you what you wanted.”
“First off, I don’t believe you.” She laughed and showed me a third picture. This one was when he picked me up and moved me onto his lap. My dress came up in the move, and if this photo got out, I could lose everything. My reputation, my anonymity, my job. Samantha giggled and put the phone in her pocket again. “I already sent copies to my guy Devin, so if you’re trying to think of ways to get my phone, it won’t work. Think of the parent groups online. What would they say? How far would they go to get you fired? Would it go to the Board? Would it be public knowledge? God, it makes me giddy thinking about it.”
“I can’t…I can’t get my funds, Samantha. I swear.” My eyes watered at this point, and my misery seemed to feed into her energy. She bounced on her heels and tilted her head to the side, studying me.
“Any dumb tricks or excuses, and these go public. You hear me? The second you fucking get access, I want a check.” A crazed look crossed her face, like her eyes went unfocused, and a part of me wondered if she was on drugs.
A loud engine made me jump, and Samantha grinned at the driver before pinning me with one last stare. “Ten thousand dollars, Gilly, or your precious little life is over.”
She took about ten steps before tossing my car keys at me. I let them fall to the ground and watched with panic coursing through my body as she got into the black car with music so loud it shook the earth. Then I got my keys, went into my apartment, and cried.
The next morningwas like any other, besides the fact I had Samantha’s threats to worry about, the lie to Christopher, and the fact I paid my brother’s girlfriend to dump him. Other than that, it was a normal Friday at school where the students had a different energy about them. Fridays in the fall were so much fun—the football team played at the high school, everyone wore school colors, and weekend plans were shared between lessons.
I forced a smile through all the chatter about camping and bonfires and had two extra cups of tea to keep my pep in my step. Even Christopher’s little smile he threw my way wasn't enough to shake the storm cloud over my mind.
It was lunchtime, and while I always ate in the teacher workroom, I stayed in my class with the excuse to catch up on stuff. It wasn’t entirely unheard of—we all did it from time to time—but Christopher seemed to think it was an invitation, and he joined me a minute later.
