Page 150 of Interference

Because I couldn’t. For the same reasons Simon couldn’t. For all the same reasons I finally had to have this damn meeting.

What a fucking mess.

I shouldered myself off the wall and shuffled down the hall. I was too hurt, angry, and humiliated to think anymore. I also couldn’t stomach seeing any of my teammates, so I gave the locker room a wide berth. Right now, I needed to go home.

And while I waited outside for my Uber, I was just grateful I wouldn’t have to ride with Simon again.

Chapter 42

Wyatt

From the moment Anthony left for practice this morning, I was on pins and needles like I was waiting for a call from my lawyer. There was so much riding on how things went with his team’s management, and so many ways it could blow up in his face.

And what happened if it did? What if his career got all fucked up because of me? I mean, technically it was because of him and Simon, but I was part of this, too. I was part of the reason he wanted to go public. So if it was a disaster, would he resent me?

Fuck, I was nervous.

There was nothing I could do but wait, though, so I tried to keep myself busy. I spent an hour in his gym. I walked Lily around the neighborhood. I put in some job applications. In fact, a bunch of new jobs had popped up since I’d looked yesterday, so I killed most of the morning and early afternoon tweaking my résumé and cover letter, filling out applications, and hoping somebody actually called me back. With any luck, some of these jobs were actually legit, and with some more luck, maybe I’d get somewhere with them.

I had just finished submitting another application when the rumble of the garage door made me jump so hard I almost sent my laptop tumbling. I quickly put the computer aside and got up. Anthony was home. Good. Now I could find out how things went.

God, I hoped they went well. I hoped he’d been wound up and scared for nothing. I hoped I’d been worried for no—

The kitchen door flew open, but the man who strode in wasn’t Anthony.

And he immediately zeroed in on me.

“You son of a bitch.” Simon stabbed a finger at me as the door banged shut behind him. “You fucked everything up.”

Before I could even defend myself, Lily positioned herself in front of me, her hackles up, and the low growl raised the hairs on my neck.

“Lily.” I reached for her collar since she didn’t have on her vest or harness. “Stand down.”

She glanced back at me, and she relaxed minutely, but she kept her attention fixed on Simon, her body still tense. Both cats, who’d been chilling on the cat tree, hopped down and hurried out of the living room.

Simon started to speak, but I put up a hand.

“You want a pissed-off and protective Doberman in your face?” I asked. “How about you calm the fuck down?”

“You calm the fuck down,” he snapped. “Get your fucking mutt under control and stop hiding behind her.”

“Lily, stand down,” I said again, and then I stood in front of her. Her leash was on the kitchen island, and I gestured at it. “Hand that to me?”

He shot me an incredulous look.

I rolled my eyes. “Just give me the damn leash.”

He seemed startled that I wasn’t being cowed by him, and he actually handed over the leash. I clipped it to Lily’s collar. Not ideal, but better than having her untethered if this yoyo decided to come at me sideways. She wasn’t aggressive, but she was protective, and I wasn’t letting him provoke her into biting him.

With Lily leashed and sitting behind me, the leash firmly in my hand, I met Simon’s gaze. “All right. You were saying?” I narrowed my eyes. “What did I fuck up?”

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, as if the brief pause to leash Lily had taken the wind out of his sails. Then he must’ve pulled it together, because his features hardened again. “You fucked up what I had with Anthony.”

I barked a laugh, patting Lily gently to keep her calm. “You did a damn good job of fucking that up yourself, my friend.”

“Bullshit,” he snapped. “We were working on things and fixing them, right up until you showed up and—”

“Were you, though?” I so wanted to step closer and challenge him, but I didn’t want to agitate Lily. “Were you really? Because that’s not what I saw.”

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