“I admit, his game has been off since his dad died. But believe me, once he gets going, that guy is dangerous.”
“Really? I’m not sure about that. He’s not that smooth. Sometimes he can be awkward, and he’s so uptight.”
“That’s Darcy to the tee.” Noah slaps his knee and laughs. “But he can be charming when he needs to be.” I think of him at the gala, twirling me on the dance floor, hanging on my every word. He was incredibly appealing. “He dazzles women with his money and good looks, leading them on with the promise of something permanent,” says Noah. “But as soon as he sleeps with them, he ghosts them.”
“Don’t worry about me. He was such a jerk on that date. I’m totally immune to him.”
“That’s a huge relief. I’d hate to see him do that to you. He really hurt a friend of mine, a girl I worked with. And when I reported it to HR, I was fired.”
“How’s that even legal?”
“If you’re rich enough, you don’t have to worry about the law. Firing me was just another day at work for Liam. The dude gets away with so much.”
Ugh! And to think I’d been regretting calling him a jerk. Char had almost convinced me to feel guilty about my revenge revision. Will Danzie, in my book, doesn’t prey on women; he’s just an arrogant, egotistical grump who’s a pain to work with. After hearing Noah’s stories, I’m not sure my revenge revision goes far enough.
“That’s horrible.”
“It is what it is,” Noah shrugs. “You can’t trust everyone.” He gives me a winning smile. “Now tell me, how am I going to keep in touch with you after you leave? Can I get your number?”
***
My roommate is skeptical when I tellher what Noah said about Darcy, which is so like Char. Whenever I cite a statistic, she asks for my source. When I tell her about a study, she wants to know the sample size. I can’t tell you how many times Char has told me anecdotal stories don’t count as evidence.
“Sounds like sour grapes to me,” she says. “Noah probably got fired by Darcy and wants to get revenge.” We’re eating pork buns at a shop a block from our apartment.
“But Char, you know how these things are. No one believes the woman. The man always gets away with it.”
“Ahem, yes, and if a woman told you this story. I’d agree. But all you have is a vague account from a cute guy you barely know.”
“I have more than that. I have Liam’s brutish behavior at that party.”
“You have got to let that go. From what I heard, it was a pretty great date until, in a case of sexual tension gone awry, you both lost your tempers.”
“There was no sexual tension.”
“Lettie, I saw you two before you left on that date. I saw how Liam looked at you. And I saw how you looked at him.”
“You weren’t at the gala. You don’t know how insufferable he was.”
“If I’d been there. I’d have even more evidence.” I consider this for a moment. I think of dancing with Liam. She might have a point. But no, no, no, in the end, he was terrible, horrible, insufferable.
“Why are you always team Darcy?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Char asks. “I can give you at least two billion reasons.”
***
“I think I’ll be sick that weekend,”I tell Jane when she tells me about the party at Liam Darcy’s. We’ve just been seated for brunch outside Butter and Bacon. The morning sun glints off Jane’s engagement ring. Her engagement ring! I can’t wrap my mind around this new development. I knew Charlie was a smitten kitten, but I didn’t expect a proposal, not this soon.
I’ve seen less and less of Jane since my date with Liam. Whenever she wanted me to hang out with her and Charlie, I would ask: “Willhebe there?” Her answer was almost always: “Liam might join us.” And I would graciously bow out. So we’ve been doing a lot less together. And since I quit Bennet Parties, we’ve hardly seen each other. She’s been busy with Charlie, and I’ve been busy with my writing and teaching.
Just last week, I was given another curve ball. I found out that due to budget cuts, the university is not renewing my contract. So, I’ve been brushing up my CV and looking for job postings. I’ve been busy, and Jane’s engagement has taken me totally by surprise. She just told me about the engagement party in two weeks at Liam Darcy’s house.
“You can’t hide from him forever,” she chides
“That is precisely my plan. He said he never wanted to see me again. So I’m going to make sure that happens.”
“He only said that because his feelings were hurt. No one likes rejection.”
