Although…contrary to how it looked at first glance, the writer hadn’t been totally negative where Alec was concerned. She emphasized how swoony it was for the famous NHL wing to step up and help his best friend in her time of need, even if his actions were misguided.
Somehow, the article managed to present him as a white knight while making me out to be completely pathetic. A woman who couldn’t keep her boyfriend happy.
She identified me as the owner of Coco Luxe and went on to scathingly question what kind of self-respecting businesswomanwould stoop low enough to bat her eyelashes at a man and ask him to solve her problems.
She called my professional reputation into question.
It was awful.
“How did this happen?” I asked numbly.
“I’m sorry!” Coral buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking. “I didn’t realize he’d actually do it.”
Alec scowled. “Who?”
His tone made it clear that he knew exactly who was responsible for this.
“Thad.” She dropped her hands and grabbed mine, knocking the tablet onto the bed. “He told me that he overheard you guys talking at the bakery. He seemed so angry, and I don’t understand why, but honestly, I wasn’t really listening because I was just so sick of his bullshit.”
I pulled my hands away and closed my eyes. “He probably hoped that telling you what he’d overheard would make us look bad, so you’d take him back, thinking him a victim in some way. It’s twisted, but it’s the sort of logic he’d believe in.”
She snorted wetly. “Yeah, instead it only made me feel even worse. I mean, the fact that you’d feel the need to do whatever it was that you did because you were so scared about seeing us. That’s really crappy.”
“So, did he do this out of spite?” Mom asked, obviously trying her best to follow the conversation even though she’d gotten lost a few turns back.
Coral grimaced. “Maybe partly, but he lost his job too, so he probably thought he could cash in on it, since Alec is kinda famous and all.”
My mouth fell open. “He lost his job? When?”
Her forehead creased. “Maybe six weeks ago.”
Before we’d broken up. Perhaps that was why he’d seemed so unsatisfied and desperate for me to spend more time with him.Maybe, in a way, it was even why he’d cheated. It would have been a balm for his ego to be able to have two women at once.
“I don’t give a fucking shit if his whole family died,” Alec growled, stalking the length of the room. “It doesn’t give him the right to do this. Especially since he didn’t even get the facts right.”
I watched his feet as he stomped across the floor. I got the feeling that any omission from Thad had likely been out of pettiness rather than simply being wrong. If he’d overheard our conversation at the bakery then he had to have known that we’re together for real now. He left that part out when he’d spoken to the reporter because it would have made me look less pathetic.
He was aiming for maximum humiliation, and potentially threatening the reputation of the business I’d worked so hard to build—the one he’d resented for getting between us.
Oh, God, would this mean fewer customers for Coco Luxe?
Did my customers actually read this trash? And if so, how should I even start doing damage control?
I didn’t have a plan for this. I’d never thought I’d need to. I wasn’t famous. Just a woman who loved making chocolates.
“I never want to see that man again,” I said.
“You won’t,” Coral rushed to assure me. “At least, not because of me. I’ve already blocked him on everything. I hope you have too.”
“Actually, no.” My voice was small. “He never tried to contact me, so it didn’t occur to me.”
Alec cleared his throat. “Uh, about that. I might have blocked his number on your phone while you were asleep the night after the breakup. Coral’s too.”
“Oh.” And here I’d just thought he hadn’t cared enough to reach out. Honestly, I was grateful I hadn’t had to deal with that, so I supposed Alec had done me a favor. Actually, he’d done me several, and all I’d brought into his life was drama. If this coulddamage my business, I hated to think what it might mean for him. “I’m so sorry for dragging you into my mess.”
He cocked his head. “You’re not mad?”
I shrugged. I was too busy feeling defeated. I didn’t have the emotional bandwidth to be angry too.
