“What is what?”
“Come on, this interrogation.”
“I want to know what the little cocksucker did to you.”
“He didn’t—cocksucker?”She laughed.“That’s funny.I called him the same thing.”
“Quinn.”
“Max.”
If he could be snarky, so could she.He raised an eyebrow with a look that told her not to be dense.She rolled her eyes.
“He liked to say things,” she elaborated.“The type of things that made me feel guilty for thinking or saying stuff he didn’t like.For example, he never wanted me to use a blow dryer because he thought it dried out my hair too much.”
“Are you fucking kidding?”
She shook her head.“Truth.”
“He’s a moron.”
“You already said that.”
“Bears repeating.”
Quinn smiled, happily admitting to herself that she was glad Max thought Bryan was an idiotic asshole.“How long are you gonna need me tonight?”
“You sure you don’t want me to come with you?”
“Nah, I got it handled.”
“You call me if you need me.Okay?”
“Okay, dad.”
He gave her an annoying stare down his nose.“If I was your dad, I’d spank you.And ...let’s pretend I never said that.Shall we?”
She laughed.“Oh no.I will be holding that over your head for the next couple of months.If not years.”
“Brat.”
She stuck her tongue out.
****
Quinn pulled up toBryan’s apartment complex and took a deep breath to steady her nerves.She downplayed Bryan’s gaslighting, and truth be told, she was nervous about what he was going to do or say.Conflict gave her hives.Probably why she let him get away with being a jerk around her.
Knowing she couldn’t stall too long, she pulled her big girl panties up and exited her car.The apartments were older, resting on stilts with parking under the building.All the apartments were located on the second and third floor, without an elevator, so there wasn’t any concierge.Just a wall of mailboxes and stairs.
A moment later, she stood in front of his door and raised her hand to knock, only to hesitate.Bryan had always made her feel inadequate.Like she couldn’t measure up to whatever preconceived notion he expected.Never thin enough.Never funny enough.Never pretty enough.Why had she wasted so much time on a man who never respected her?
The knock on the door echoed in the empty corridor.A moment later, the door swung open and there he was, looking all smug.
“I knew you’d come groveling back,” he sneered.“Is this dick too hard to pass up?”
“Well, you got the dick part right,” she replied blandly.“I’m here for my stuff.”
“Your stuff?”He laughed an obviously fake laugh.“Hilarious.Now, get in here and fix my dinner.”
