Page 21 of Veil of Lies

I was rewarded with a genuine smile this time, which made the world feel like a brighter place.

“Nothing wrong with a bit of Shania Twain,” she smirked. Then she leaned into me with a mischievous grin. “So you got the looks but have you got the touch? Now don't get me wrong, yeah, I think you're alright. But that won't keep me warm in the middle of the night.”

“Let me guess, you’re a Shania superfan?” I laughed.

She snorted. “How did you guess?”

“Well the fact you know all the lyrics is a bit of a giveaway. I’m more into Taylor Swift.”

Stella nearly choked on her coffee. “You’re fucking with me, you’re a Swifty?” Then her eyes narrowed as she realized I was trying really hard not to laugh.

“OK, you are. Thank fuck for that. I was about to change my opinion of you.”

“Well seeing as how it’s currently rock bottom, isn’t that a good thing?” I reminded her with a grin.

“The fact you recognize Shania Twain's lyrics saved you from that ignominious fate. You also scored extra points for bringing me coffee. So all is not lost.”

“Good to know.” We smirked at each other then she seemed to remember she hated me and the shutters slammed down once again.

We sat in silence for a bit, both of us eating buttery pastries and sipping hot, bitter as fuck, coffee. Jesus the coffee in this cafeteria was shit. I had no clue how anyone stood it. We had a top-of-the-range Jura coffee machine in the apartment that made better coffee than a Starbucks barista. I kid you not. The stuff I was currently drinking might look like coffee but it sure as hell didn’t deserve the name.

“Do you run every morning?” I asked after a while. I figured it might help my cause if I knew her schedule.

“Yeah, why?” Once again, her pretty eyes narrowed in on me like she was dissecting my brain.

“Just wondered,” I replied innocently.

“You better not start stalking my ass,” she huffed.

“How do you know I’m not already stalking your ass?” I looked down at said ass and licked my lips. Yeah, it was hard to see in her current outfit, but I had enough memories stored to help me along a bit.

“Pervert.”

“Guilty as charged,” I replied, and she fought to hide her smile.

I looked up and cringed. Fuck. Cassie was heading our way and she did not look happy.

“Harley! Why are you ignoring my calls?”

“I’ve been busy?”

“Fuckboy,” coughed Stella under her breath and I scowled at her. She wasn’t helping.

Cassie frowned. “I thought you were coming over last night!” Her eyes flicked over Stella dismissively then back to me, as if she felt Stella was somehow beneath her. It annoyed the fuck out of me and I bristled with anger.

“I didn’t say that. In fact,” I continued, “I distinctly remember telling you it was a casual thing, a one-off.”

“But I thought we had a connection!” Cassie’s eyes welled up with tears and she sniffed. “I really like you, Harley, and I thought you liked me.”

Stella snorted into her coffee and tried to disguise it with a fake cough. Cassie immediately fixed her with a glare. “Not sure why you’re laughing, bitch, I certainly wouldn’t be if I was stuck with shit green hair.”

I felt Stella tense beside me and decided enough was enough. It was about time Cassie got what was coming to her. No more Mr. Nice Guy.

“I never liked you, Cassie. You were just a warm, wet cunt and I never promised you anything other than a fuck. Honestly, I’d have thought you would have gotten the message when I ignored all 500 of your calls and blocked you on social media, but apparently you are that fucking dumb.”

She crumpled before my eyes and for a split second I felt like a complete asshole, but that soon faded when I remembered how the bitch had looked at Stella. Like she was shit on her Louboutins.

“Please get the fuck away from me, Cassie. You’re ruining my buzz.”

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