Page 33 of Positively Pricked
Chapter 10
I froze, even as the word echoed out between us.
Damn it.I'd been planning to start with the letter "a", and now, the whole thing was ruined, just like my catering job.
From inside the house, the dogs sounded happier than ever. Oh sure, they could afford to be happy. They didn't need jobs.
But I did.
Ignoring the yipping behind me, I ditched my list of names and went straight to the point. I glared at Zane and demanded, "How could you?"
He looked entirely unruffled, well, except for his hair, which looked annoyingly sexy in spite of its damp disarray.
He eyed me with apparent disinterest. "How could I what?"
"Oh come on. Youknowwhat." Even after a dozen phone calls to the catering company – using Charlotte's cell phone no less, since both of my phones werestillmissing – I'd learned very little about my abrupt termination.
All they'd been willing to tell me was that there'd been a serious customer-complaint. They wouldn't even say from who, but it was laughably easy to guess. After all, there'd been only one person who'd known I was about to get fired.
It was the jerk standing right here in front of me, barefoot no less. I felt my eyebrows furrow. "And where are your shoes?"
"Does it matter?"
"No."
"Then why'd you ask?"
"Oh, forget it. You can guess why I'm here." My voice rose. "I was fired today. There, are you happy?"
He studied me for a long, silent moment. Funny, he didn'tlookhappy. But then again, I'd never seen him smile. For allIknew, this was his version of jumping for joy.
But damn it, Iwantedan answer. "Well?" I crossed my arms. "Are you?"
His gaze shifted to my car, parked a few paces away in the turnaround. "No."
My arms dropped to my sides. So hewasn'thappy? Really? Could a prick like him actually feel regret? Cautiously, I said, "And why not?"
He was still looking at my car. "Because I've gotta fire the guard."
Huh?"What guard?"
"The guy at the gate."
Oh, no.He couldn’t mean the guy who'd let me into the neighborhood. I swallowed. Could he?
Zane looked back to me, and his expression darkened. "There's a gate out there for a reason."
His words felt like a slap. "Oh, yeah?" I said. "And why's that? To keep the riff-raff out? Is that what you're saying?"
Ignoring my tirade, he looked back to my car and muttered, "Shit."
I forced a bitter laugh. "Look, I'meverso sorry that my car offends you, but if you hadn't gotten me fired, I wouldn't evenbehere, and neither would my car." I glowered in his general direction. "And just so you know, it has a nice, long history of not starting, so if you're really lucky, it'll be here all week."
To my infinite frustration, he wasstilllooking at my car.The jerk.
Under his lack of attention, my rant was losing momentum fast. Lamely, I finished by mumbling, "And it would serve you right."
Finally, he returned his attention to me. "And where willyoube?"
