Page 54 of Crash

Irritated by his order, I break our gaze.

“Last time I checked, I was an adult. Since I’ve broken no laws and don’t need you to act as my lawyer, I don’t have to explain shit,” I say. To make my point, I grab my phone and respond to Vivi’s latest text.

“So, you’re a smart ass now?”

“You’re my father now?” I counter.

“Deflecting. Okay, I’ll be direct. What’s going on with you and Vivienne? And don’t bother lying. It’s obvious.”

“If it’s so obvious, you tell me, Troy.” I toss my phone across my desk and cross my arms. He takes a step closer to my desk, lays both of his hands across the surface, and leans down.

My phone beeps, but before I can grab it, Troy snatches it off my desk and reads my text.

“We’ll see who the real boss is tonight,” he reads.

Irritated by the intrusion, I jump out of my chair, and in two steps, I’m snatching the phone out of his hands.

“What the fuck is your problem? I don’t go through your shit,” I say as I put the phone in my pocket.

“She works for you. She’s practically family, Luke. Out of all the women you can have, why go after Jake’s wife’s cousin?”

I walk to the door, open it, and gesture for him to get out, but instead of walking out, he closes the door and leans against it.

“This is Sandy’s cousin,” he reminds me. “Jake’s wife’s cousin, Luke.”

Having had enough of Troy, I take a step closer to him and get in his face.

“Exactly, Troy,” I say, teeth clenched. “His wife’scousin. Not Jake’s wife. Not Jake’s girlfriend. Vivienne is single and so am I. I really don’t need you in my face right now, especially since you have no room to give me advice when it comes to dating or Jake.” I regret my words the minute the color drains from his face. I get out of his face and go sit behind my desk. Stunned at my words, Troy runs a hand through his hair, but instead of leaving my office, he walks back to my desk.

“I don’t want you to have any problems with our brother. I’m looking out for you. You know how protective he is of Sandy, and by extension, anyone Sandy cares about.”

“What the hell do you think I’m going to do to Vivi? Not that I need to explain anything to you, but I like her. I’m not using her for sex if that’s what you’re thinking.”

He takes a deep breath before he speaks. “I know that, but you’ve been saying for a while now that you’re done with women. I don’t know what happened between you and Tori, but I know whatever happened fucked you up somehow and you never want to talk about it.”

“Have you always been this overbearing? I had a girlfriend, and it didn’t work out. I’m hardly the first person to ever break up with someone. That was years ago, so am I not allowed to move on to someone else? And the girl I like happens to be related to my brother’s wife. So the fuck what? Where was this concern when you were the one attracted to Jake’s girlfriend? You’re being a hypocrite.”

His head rears back as if he’s been slapped. His face whitens even more, and he starts to shake his head in disbelief as he takes an uneven step towards me. My apology is on my tongue, but he speaks first.

“Luke, I’m only trying to help.”

“But you’re not helping. I have the creator breathing down my throat all the damn time now. I don’t need you too.”

“Fine,” he says, throwing up both hands in surrender, “I came in here with good intentions.”

“I know that,” I say to him, “but your concern is not needed. At least in this situation, okay. I’m sorry for lashing out at you.”

I’m relieved when he nods. I think he’s about to leave my office, but I’m wrong. He sits on my desk, eyeing me.

“You threw a fit when she was hired here and said you hated her, now you two are in a secret relationship?”

“Jesus,” I say, running a hand through my hair. “I changed my mind about her. Is that a crime, Troy? I like her, and if I have it my way, the relationship won’t be a secret for much longer. Are you happy now?”

“Yes, I am, actually. I’ve been worried about you since you introduced me to Tori. You were in a depression when things ended with her, and I always suspected there was more to it than just a breakup.” He makes a face as he says her name, and I wonder if he even realized the change in his demeanor. It’s not often that Troy dislikes someone after meeting them for the first time.

We were thirty minutes into dinner when he excused himself to go to the men’s room, but before he got up, he kicked me under the table and signaled with his head for me to follow him.

I remember my disbelief, followed by irritation when he asked me what I was doing with someone like Tori.

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