Page 113 of Worth Every Game

“Friday?”

“Sure.”

Fuck. What am I doing?“I’ll call you.”

I turn to leave, when Lydia says, “Changed your mind about the waitress, then? Because last time I saw you, you were buried deep.” She laughs at her own joke, and it’s such a mocking sound that anger flares in me like a forest fire, and I have to clench my jaw to hold it back. “Yeah. It didn’t work out. We had some… issues.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. Nothing to do with all those photos that got released, I suppose?” I tilt my head to indicate that maybe that had something to do with it, but really I’m giving her an opening to expose herself. “Such a shame,” Lydia continues. “The timing was so bad, just when all her music was taking off. I saw the video of her singing with Amy Moritz at Nico’s party. That was good. Really good. Apparently, Robert Lloyd wanted to meet with her to discuss representing her.” Lydia breaks off to lick her lips. “That won’t happen now. Too much scandal. That shit will never wash.” She places her palm flat against her sternum. “Gosh, some of those photos were extraordinary. Like someone got right between her legs with a camera—”

“Cut the crap.” Rage is burning through me, and I can’t pretend any longer. I don’t know why I’m so sure that Lydia did this, planned it, fucked it all up for Elly deliberately, but I am.

“What?” Lydia asks, and her innocence strikes me as fake.

I stalk towards her, slamming my hand down on her desk. She jerks in her seat. “I know you did this. I fucking know you did it. You stole the photos from my phone, then you released them the night of Nico’s party. User5498. It’s you, isn’t it?”

A wicked smile curves Lydia’s lips. “Why on earth would you think that?”

I’m rising and sinking on the hope of getting somewhere. Of some of this shit starting to make sense, and her denial isn’t about to make me give up

“I know you took my photos.” My voice vibrates with barely restrained fury that’s turning my body into a fucking furnace. “I know you did. Seb Hawkston saw them on your phone.”

Lydia stills. “Ah.” She pauses, and I barely dare to breathe. “You were terribly stupid to leave your phone open, with those pictures on the screen. I hardly stole them. They were right there. So careless. I didn’t even have to look for them.”

“Fuck.” I drag both my hands into my hair. “Why? Why would you do that?”

“They were so pretty. A perfect body. Might even be better than mine.” She laughs, and chills spread over my skin.

I begin to pace, nervous energy beating through me like stormy waves. “This is insane. You’re fucking crazy, you know that?”

She gives me a pitying look. “Some people deserve what comes to them.”

Outrage fires through me like a missile. “Elly didn’t do anything to you,” I bite out.

“Didn’t she? You were mine, Jack. She stole you from me. We were so good together.So good.” Lydia sighs, releasing a soundlike an off key musical note. “She’s a heartless slut. Honestly, losing her now is saving you the pain that would inevitably come. You can’t trust a woman like that.”

I’m struggling to make sense of what Lydia’s saying, or how it pertains to me or the photos.Is this some perverse kind of punishment?

“She didn’t steal me. You never had me. We were never even together. You’re deluded. I love Elly. I’m in love with her. There’s no one else in the world I want to be with. Especially not you. I feel nothing for you. Worse than nothing. I will never forgive you for what you’ve done.Never.”

Lydia closes her eyes on an eyeroll, and flutters them open again. When she speaks, her voice is so calm, but the words so mad, that she seems unhinged. “Please. You don’t love her. She’s bewitched you. I’m the one who loves you. She came out of nowhere and swept you away. I couldn’t let that go unpunished, so I took your photos. Pushed them out into the world. But really, I’m blameless. She’s the one who posed for them. She’s more culpable than I am in this scenario, and if you can’t see that, perhaps you’re the one who’s deluded.”

What the fuck?“I can’t listen to this crap. What’s wrong with you? Can you hear yourself? None of this makes any sense.”

“It makes perfect sense to me.”

I’m starting to think I’m standing before someone on the verge of mental breakdown, and yet it’s eerie how sane she appears, how cool her tone is. By contrast, I’m breathing hard, pistons of rage pulsing through me. I can’t stay here. I’ll fucking kill this woman. One more word from her, and I’ll be out of control. I turn to leave.

“I guess we’re not having that dinner then?” Lydia calls.

I snap, spinning back towards her, the words exploding out my mouth. “What you’ve done is illegal. If you think I’m going to stand by and do nothing… let you sit here all fucking smug andpleased with yourself, while the woman I love has been publicly humiliated, then you really are insane.”

She gives me a coy little smile. “So… I’ll be hearing from you soon then?”

Un-fucking-believeable.It takes all my willpower not to grab her desk and turn the whole thing upside down. I pace away from her without answering, slamming the door on my way out. When I’m back on the street, I stop the recording on my phone and call Elly.

No answer.Fuck, Elly, pick up.Pick up.

I call three more times, with the same result, so I send the voice memo I’ve just recorded, and hope Elly listens to it.

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