Page 45 of Bargain with the Bachelor
A crashing noise from within the house made me jump. Pulling the door open, I ran inside to find pure chaos.
Reid was on a rampage, red-faced and shouting at Hap.
“Yousaidyou were going to get a different cast! Now the network wants to keep going withusin the show? There’s no way. I’m a programmer, not a trained monkey.
“I’ll move out. I’ll quit,” Reid threatened. “I should be spending more time at myowncompany headquarters anyway. And my apartment in Providence is lookingrealattractive right about now. Did you know someone dropped a key light on my laptop this morning?”
“I told you I’d pay for it. Please. It’s just a couple more weeks till filming is done,” Hap pleaded. “We’re screwed if you leave and we have to start all over or try to edit in some other dude as a replacement. Come on, man.”
Being the peacemaker that she was and never having witnessed Reid in this state, Kristal walked right up to him, getting way too close to his impassioned hand gestures for my comfort. I followed closely behind her.
She put a hand on Reid’s arm. Without turning to see who had touched him, he jerked his arm away, knocking Kristal’s hand aside, which caused her to stagger back from the unexpected force.
Instinctively, I moved forward, my hackles rising. Reid was my friend, but he’d just crossed a line.
He spun around, spotting Kristal, and did a double take. He held his hands out to her. “Sorry.”
In my opinion, he didn’t sound sorry enough. My hands clenched into fists at my sides.
“It’s okay, Reid… just calm down,” Kristal soothed. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” he snarled.
Her tone softened even more, and she moved toward him again, reaching out to touch him like a powerless child trying to comfort an aggressive bear.
“Did you hear from Mara?”
Instead of calming him, the question had the opposite effect on Reid. Anger flashed hotly in his eyes as he stepped back from her touch.
“Of courseI didn’t hear from her. Even when I had my PR department send a press release to her TV station and a personal invitation for her to cover my company’s IPO announcement ceremony on Wall Street—which she turneddown, via email. I guess she’s too busy covering fender benders and county fairs down there in Po-dunk, Mississippi to come cover news about the fastest-growing social media network in the fuckingworld.”
The volume of his voice had grown with each successive word, and so had his passionate gesticulations.
I didn’t like Kristal standing so close—not when Reid was clearly distraught over the most recent snub from his long-lost love and behaving like a volatile powder keg. I moved to stand beside her, placing a hand lightly on her back.
She ignored me, keeping her focus on Reid. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I don’t know why she’s acting like this. It doesn’t seem like the Mara I remember from school. All I can think is she must be hurting in her own way.”
Reid’s face deepened in color, and his expression grew stormy. “I’m nothurt. I’m pissed. And you’re no better—moving in here, getting everybody worked up.”
“Hey man,” I said in a warning tone, holding up a hand in an attempt to silence him.
Kristal’s head jerked back in surprise. “What are you talking about?”
Reid went on. “Hap’s always trying to shoot aroundyourschedule. Paul’s pouting twenty-four-seven.”
He flipped a hand at me. “You’ve got this guy so twisted up he doesn’t know whether he’s coming or going. Even poor Josh has fallen under your spell. It’s what you womendo. How long are you gonna stay around messing with their heads and sponging off the Chipp charity fund anyway?”
Kristal’s gasp was loud in the sudden silence of the room. Even Hap was dumbstruck.
That’s it.
My temper flared like a wildfire finding fresh fuel. Moving between Reid and Kristal, I got in his face.
“That’senough. Look, I know the ‘press opportunity’ didn’t turn out the way you wanted. I know you’ve been unhappy these past few years, and we’ve all put up with your pissy moods and one-word answers because we’re friends and you’re a programming genius whohas beenan asset to the company. But Kristal is an invited guest. If you have a problem with that, maybe itistime you moved out.”
Kristal made a distressed noise. “No. I’ll move out. I don’t want to cause problems.”
Turning to her, I spoke calmly but firmly. “No. You’re staying—as long as you want to. This isn’t about you—it’s about Reid and his unresolved issues with another girl.”
