“Fletcher! Are you crazy?” I shouted.
Mr. Duncan approached despite the threat, and things escalated fast when Fletcher’s bodyguards appeared out of nowhere.
Scared for the old man, I screamed at him to leave and threatened Fletcher I’d call the cops. He just snorted and waved for his goons to hit Mr. Duncan.
I couldn’t let the old man get hurt because of this son of a bitch. Panic took over me, and I found myself telling a lie even I couldn’t believe. “If you don’t leave Mr. Duncan alone, my fiancé is going to kill you.”
At least, that got them to freeze and leave Mr. Duncan’s arms.
I’d watched Fletcher’s eyes turn from cold blue to hellfire red. But then he just snorted a laugh, finally letting go of my arm. “What did you just say?”
What the fuck did I just say he asked? I panicked, and for the second time in a row, panic made me do stupid shit I’d regret later. For some reason, my mind borrowed Fabio’s logic at keeping Fletcher away, made it ten times bigger and used it as defense.
I swallowed, collecting myself, willing my chest to stop heaving and my heartbeat to take it down a notch so I could put on a sliver of a poker face. “You heard me. I’m engaged now. There’s no point in this madness you’re doing or in chasing me. It won’t change a thing. I’m someone else’s now. It’s over, Fletcher.”
“You expect me to believe this shit?”
“You have no choice but to do so because it’s the truth.” I hoped to God the shaky rasp in my voice didn’t give me away. “You were right. I was coming back from a date where he popped the question at dinner. Newsflash, I said yes.”
“I drove Mrs. Brighton to the restaurant and back myself.” Mr. Duncan joined in on my lie. “Mrs. Brighton’s fiancé is a fine gentleman. He even invited me to have a drink with him after she said yes. I had to pass, of course, as I had to drive, but it was a nice gesture from a nice man—”
“Enough!” Fletcher interrupted. “Which restaurant?”
My heart did a backflip. “Pole…Paulina. It’s an Italian restaurant in—”
“I know where it is,” he gritted. “But you’re lying, Gabrielle. If you’re engaged where is your ring?”
“Uh…he… It’s not ready yet.” I wiped my sweaty forehead, not sure if there was a point. My armpits were oozing with cold sweat, and I bet people could smell me from a mile. “He said he was going to arrange for something more special when the custom-made ring was finished, but…he couldn’t wait.” I swallowed again, my eyes bulging, my body convulsing with unstable gestures. “Surprise!”
“A very pleasant surprise,” Mr. Duncan said. “I can’t tell you how happy I am for you, Mrs. Brighton. You should be, too, Mr. Fletcher. I’m sure you are since you’ve been Mr. and Mrs. Brighton’s trusted friend for years.”
Fletcher jabbed his finger in Mr. Duncan’s face. “If you want to keep your teeth, you shut the fuck up. I won’t tell you again.” He switched his menacing gaze at me. “Are you trying to convince me a piece of shit like that clown, boy toy, nobody you shamelessly shoved in our faces at the ceremony dared and took something that didn’t belong to him? Something that belonged to me?”
“I’m neither property nor have I ever belonged to you,” I snapped, my panic nonexistent all of a sudden, only rage. “And call my fiancé anything malicious again, and I swear to God, Fletcher—”
“Easy now before you pull a muscle or get hemorrhoids. A woman your age should be wary of these things.”
“You should take your own advice and take it easy, too.”
“I will. Congratulations, Gabi. I wish you all the happiness in the world.”
“Thank you so much. The feeling is mutual.”
His nostrils flared as his eyes squinted at me, a wounded wolf that had to step down from a fight he could no longer win. “As a peace offering, I’ll have a party at my place to celebrate your engagement, andeveryonewill be invited.”
Faccia. Da. Culo.
Correction, he wasn’t a wolf stepping down from a fight he could no longer win. He was a wolf about to pounce for the kill.
What the fuck had I done?
CHAPTER24
Fabio
Jared’s palms slammed the wooden surface of his desk as I entered his office first thing Monday morning. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t fire you.”
