Page 57 of Big Balls
“You were trying to protect him,” says Sebastian softly. Then he lets out a low whistle. “You two are exactly the same amount of stupid when it comes to each other.”
I bristle at his words, even though I think he was attempting to compliment me in his own dysfunctional way.
My eyes shift back to Tate and I go right back to ignoring Sebastian, the way he’d suggested initially. Before things got weird.
Tate nods when I meet his eyes. “Here’s the thing, everybody loves the version of the story where the hometown sports hero is a tragic figure, a widower with a cute little girl. Everyone, including Ethan.”
And there goes my stomach again, flipping over at the words that are filling up my apartment. “I know that,” I say quietly, pretending like saying it didn’t cost me a few more shards of my tiny remaining heart.
“Have you ever wondered why he thinks that? Ethan Alexander thinks his only value is as a sports hero and a tragic figure, and yet I’m willing to bet you weren’t with him for either of those reasons.”
I lean back against the couch cushions. They’re lumpy and uncomfortable, but there’s literally nothing about this situation that is anything other than aggressively boundary-crossing for me.
I pin down Tate with my own hard glare. “Of course I didn’t like him for those reasons. Don’t play stupid with me.” I wave him off like a bad smell. “There is nothing worse than a grown man pretending to be stupid.”
Sebastian Davenport III positively preens at my words. “Are you sure you aren’t interested in my offer? Seriously, anything you want, it’s yours.”
I stare at him like he’s the most boring person to ever draw breath, because I don’t appreciate the way he’s acting, like I’m some sort of prize to be won at a fair.
“Positive.” I stare at the ceiling, then at the window. “Can we speed this up? I need to get back to moving in.”
Jackson shakes his head. “You don’t have to, though, if you don’t want to. Turn on your phone. You should already have three separate job offers for similar work. In New Orleans.”
I pause at his words, but then realize I ever actually turned my phone back on after getting here. I’d shut it off for the flight and then hadn’t been able to bring myself to act like everything was okay quite yet.
Because it isn’t okay. Nothing is okay about this entire stupid situation, including the part where Ethan’s dumb, rich friends show up at my place to give me a talking to about a relationship that never existed.
To prove that these guys are full of crap, I turn my phone on. A moment later, I have three voicemail notifications. I stare at the phone like it’s betrayed me, then look at Jackson.
“Did you do this?” I turn my attention to Sebastian and then Tate. “It was one of you, wasn’t it?”
Tate shakes his head. “It wasn’t one of us. Don’t play stupid with us either, Zoe.”
I lick my lips. Okay, then. We aren’t pulling any punches anymore. “What exactly do you think I should do about it?” I gesture vaguely at my phone.
Tate looks at me for a moment. “I want you to take a moment to think about what you’re doing right now. And if you can explain to me why you’re running away, then we’ll leave you alone and not bother you anymore. But if your explanation isn’t good enough for either you or me, then we’re going to figure out what is really going on and plan accordingly.”
“I haven’t even unpacked,” I whine, but also I don’t want to be having this conversation. Not one more word.
Sebastian’s voice takes up every spare bit of air I am supposed to be breathing. “And yet you’ve been here for nearly six hours. Are you going to try to tell us that it took that long to get a taxi here? Because it didn’t. Your driver dropped you off hours ago. So what exactly are you doing here?”
I shake my head, leaving my eyes closed. “I came here to get away from the messes that Ethan Alexander makes, and yet here you are.”
“Indeed. Now let’s talk about what’s next.”
19
Ethan
I forcemyself not to wriggle because I’d chosen this route for us myself. I hand selected the interviewer in front of me, Alicia Cuthbert, because she was known for being tough but fair. Also, she does a lot of public fundraising for several national autism charities.
But the lights are hot, and I’m sweating before we even begin. Katy gives me a look, and kicks my foot with her foot. “Quit squirming,” she whispers a little too loudly.
Alicia turns her attention from the production manager to us and smiles at Katy. A real, genuine smile that lets me know we’re going to be safe here. At least my daughter is.
“We might need to take a break at some point, if that’s okay with you.” I say it in my best well-behaved interview subject voice, as if I am sorry to bother the important Alicia Cuthbert with my unimportant human being needs.
Her eyes slip from Katy to me, and I see a look of understanding before she wipes it away and replaces it with a veneer of polite television personality. “Of course. If any one of us wants or needs a break, we’ll take one. This is not an endurance competition.”
