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“We’ve got time for one more caller,” Stella says into her mic, her voice warm and inviting as she presses a button on the table in front of her and points to Izzy. Izzy nods, pasting a smile onto her face but it’s… lackluster to say the least.

“Hey, caller. What’s your name?”

“Seth.”

Izzy’s eyes brighten in an instant and her smile becomes more sincere as she peeks over at me. It’s just a split second before she turns back to Stella but it punches me in the chest. “Ooh, Stella. You know how much I love it when guys call in and do all the hard work for me.”

“I do.” Stella laughs, rolling her eyes. “What can we do for you, Seth?”

“I’m looking for some advice,” he answers, so sure of himself and I scoff at his confidence as Casey throws his head back in what I can only assume is booming laughter. Aiden shakes his head, fighting back a grin as he keeps his greedy fucking eyes on my woman. Stella leans into the mic, a scowl on her face.

“Sweetie, you know what show you called, right?”

Seth sighs. “Of course, I do.”

Izzy tosses a pen down on the table and leans back in her chair, a devilish grin on her face. “We’ll give it our best shot, Seth. What have you got for us?”

“What the hell do women want?” Seth asks, frustration bleeding through in his tone and I bite my lip to keep myself from laughing. Izzy’s eyes flash to mine, the fire I love so much shining back at me.

“Can I get a little context here, Seth?”

“Sure,” he seethes, more and more of his anger seeping through in his voice. “So, I was seeing this girl, right? We went out a few times and after the third date, when it came time to get physical, she fucking bails so again I ask, what the hell do women want?”

“Kinda sounds like you can’t close the deal,” Izzy says, rolling her eyes. “What’s your go-to move, Seth?”

“I bought dinner. What the fuck else do I need to do?” Seth shouts and I wince as Izzy’s jaw clenches. Leaning forward, a new kind of fire shines in her eyes as she narrows them and pulls the mic closer.

Oh, hell.

“Let me just get this straight… are you saying that the girl is obligated to sleep with you just because you bought her dinner?”

He scoffs. “Three fucking times! Everyone knows after the third date, a girl should put out especially if you paid for her fucking food.”

“Okay, sweetie. You seem about as sharp as a marble so let me lay this out really simply for you - buying a woman dinner does not mean she’s obligated to sleep with you. Food does not equal sex and she’s not a prostitute.”

“That’s fucking bullshit,” he hisses as something crashes in the background. Izzy arches a brow and I sit forward in my seat, a feeling of unease running through me. “I spent my hard-earned money on a woman and I expect to be reimbursed.”

“Are you fucking joking?” Stella whispers, staring at the booth with wide eyes. Aiden shakes his head and leans down to speak to Casey but we can’t hear them in the room.

“Listen here, you little fucking cretin,” Izzy spits, leaning forward in her chair and getting even closer to the mic. “I am so sick and fucking tired of pathetic little boys like you who think you’re fucking owed the world over the tiniest amount of effort. I’ll say again, buying a woman food doesn’t mean you have a right to her body. Sometimes, it takes time for little dick weeds like you to reveal their true nature which is probably why she hadn’t slept with you up until that point. Then, you took her out a third time and I’m assuming you said some bullshit like this to her and she got out of there as quick as she could. And while we’re having this nice little chat, let me just say that thank God she did because I know she doesn’t need yet another encounter with a Brock Turner wannabe. Now, kindly fuck off.”

“Oookay,” Stella says into the mic as she presses the button to mute the husk of a person that was previously Seth. Izzy falls back into her chair and pulls her mic along with her, looking spent. “That’s all we’ve got for tonight, guys. We’ll be back with you tomorrow night.”

“And remember,” Izzy says, a smile on her face but it’s clear as day that she’s raging inside. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

The red light flashes off and as soon as it does, Izzy shoves the mic away from her with a snarl of disgust. I watch her as she stands, shaking out her hands as she takes a couple of deep breaths. Her chest heaves with the effort and she starts pacing, her jaw clenching. When she passes by me on her lap of the room, I reach out and grab her hand, hooking my fingers over hers. Her eyes snap to mine.

“You okay?” I ask despite the fact that I can clearly see she’s not but it seemed like my best bet at getting her to admit why this punk is affecting her so much. As she stares down at me, I can see the struggle in her mind and I hold my breath, waiting to see if my sentence has been vacated. Finally, she nods.

“Yeah… just… Luca said almost the exact same thing to me outside of the restaurant that night…”

I nod, standing from my chair and pulling her into my body. “So, Luca is also a little fucking cretin? Are you really surprised?”

“No. I suppose not,” she answers, fighting back a smile. Even that tiny, minuscule hint of happiness from her feels like a massive victory after the last twenty-four hours and if it wouldn’t piss her the fuck off, I would fist pump.

“Anything I can do to help?”

She shakes her head. “No. I clearly handled it.”