Page 47 of Ice Cold, Red Hot
Had it been this? Had he chosen not to say anything because he knew I worked here? With him?
I realized Shepherd had been protecting me. In his own silent, slightly fucked-up way. He’d been looking out for me.
The realization hit me like a slap.
No one looked out for me, except for me. It had always been that way. And even though this situation was a completely twisted mess, the knowledge that there was someone else looking out for me gave me a little warm glow inside.
Ethan was playing us both.
I gathered my things and left the lab, my head spinning as rage began to replace the confusion and fear I’d been feeling.
He was blackmailing Shepherd. He thought I wouldn’tfind out. He thought I’d keep playing the grateful first-year grad student, willing to let him do whatever he wanted to keep the opportunity.
Fuck that.
I dropped onto a bench under the draping canopy of a magnolia tree and pulled out my laptop. I was halfway into my resignation letter when another thought hit me.
I can’t just walk away… No, I can’t let him off that easy.
I texted Daria: I think I know what to do.
CHAPTER 22
CELESTE
“What are you going to wear?” Nat sat on the edge of my bed, practically drooling over the drama that was about to unfold.
I stared into my closet. “I don’t know. What does one wear to a skeevy mixer you’re invited to by your lecherous grad advisor when your intention is to nail him to the wall?”
“Ew. No nailing.”
I giggled in my nervousness, realizing what I’d said. “Yes. Definitely no nailing.”
“Sexy but serious, I think,” she said. “Where are those jeans with the high waist, the dark ones?”
“These?” I pulled the jeans from a drawer. “Are they fancy enough for a ‘mixer’? What the hell is a mixer, anyway?”
“No idea. But if you put on this blouse,” she said, pulling a patterned blouse with flowy sleeves from my closet, “and tuck it in, I think it hits the right note.”
“Heels?”
“Boots. These.” She pulled my maroon suede ankle boots out.
“Yeah, okay.”
“Go get ‘em,” she laughed.
An hour later, I was stepping into Ethan’s apartment, willing my skin to stop crawling.
Someone I didn’t know had answered the door, introduced herself and then disappeared, so I was left to my own devices, which is what I preferred.
I spotted the long table in the corner covered with alcohol bottles and mixers. Maybe some liquid courage. I headed in that direction, avoiding eye contact and small talk. It wasn’t what I’d come for.
At the bar, I poured a shot of vodka and dumped it over ice in a glass. I dripped in a bit of tonic and then stood there, focused on drinking the whole thing before I did what I’d come here to do.
“Careful, you look like a lightweight.” Ethan’s voice purred over my shoulder, sending my adrenaline spiking.
I finished the drink, put down the glass and spun to face him. “I think I’ll be okay.”
