Page 274 of The Bonus

Fuck.

“You need to calm down, she was nice to the children, that’s all that matters, isn’t it?” I stammer.

“Show. Me. Your. Fucking. Phone,” he growls.

My eyes hold his.

“You didn’t call her at all, did you…?”

I swallow the lump in my throat, staying silent.

“She ambushed you.”

“Gabriel…”

“Did. You. Or. Did. You. Not. Call. Her?” he yells as he loses all control.

“No. I did not.”

His eyes flicker with fury and he storms toward the front door; I run after him. “Where are you going?”

He grabs his keys.

“I don’t want you going anywhere when you’re like this.”

He brushes past me and into the foyer, he gets into the waiting elevator.

“Gabriel…”

His eyes are murderous as the doors close in my face.

I feel like I should ring ahead and warn his mother that he’s coming…but I don’t even have her number.

Fuck…

Gabriel

I march through the underground parking lot toward my car and Mark comes running out. “What are you doing?”

“You’re fired,” I snap as I march past him.

“Grace called her,” he stammers as he follows me.

“Grace did nothing of the sort,” I fire back. “She was covering for you.”

“What?” He runs to walk beside me. “Where are you going?”

My car unlocks as I approach it.

“I’ll drive you,” Mark says. “You are not driving like this.” He steps in front of my car. “I won’t allow it.”

“Get out of my fucking way.” I push him to the side.

“I’m coming with you.”

I turn toward him like the devil himself. “I ask you one thing. One fucking thing and you can’t even do that. Keep my mother away from my family…how fucking hard can it be?” I explode.

“I went to the bathroom,” he stammers. “I was gone two minutes.”

---