Page 49 of Vengeful Seduction
Many women would have snarled back, or maybe with the way I was acting would have even dumped the tray of food right onto me. Kaye didn’t do either of those things. She put the tray on the desk, even carefully shifting the piles of paper out of the way so nothing got squished by it, and then with nothing more than a scowl, she left the room.
It was like kicking a puppy and guilt gnawed at my insides in a way that was far from comfortable. My skin crawled with the disgust I felt for myself and I watched as she closed the door behind her firmly.
She didn’t slam it, though. I had given her all sorts of reasons to do it, but she didn’t.
It was just how Kaye was—far more patient than I deserved—and I was going to punish her for it. I was pretty much the Antichrist at this point and I knew it. But I wasn’t sure there was a way for me to even start to dig myself out of this pit.
“Wow,” Brent commented, sounding highly admiring. “That was cold, man. You just shut her down.”
I really, really didn’t want to be admired for being the dick I was being. I turned to my best friend and the look on his face made me a bit sick to my stomach. He really didn’t see a problem with how I had just treated my wife. If anything, it pleased him.
What did I expect, though? Brent had always been very good at getting women into bed, but he’d never been what I would call respectful of them. I’d met men, many of them, who were much more obnoxious about it, but Brent wasn’t exactly Prince Charming.
Of course, neither was I. Who was I to judge?
I forced myself not to glare at him and instead gave him a nod. This wasn’t moving fast enough for him? Well, it was time to step it up a notch or two and get this show on the road.
I was starting to feel like the sooner it was over, the better for me. And not just because of the money. I had thought it would be no big deal to be this deliberately cruel to another human being, but it was harder than I’d thought.
“What are you waiting for? Go. Comfort her,” I urged, and he grinned at me and nodded, rising to his feet.
“It’s in the bag,” he told me, and then he, too, left the room.
I tried to tell myself there was no point in following. Kaye might see me, and Brent needed his space to work his magic without me around. My presence could derail things before they even really got started.
No, it made much more sense for me to hold back and wait for a report later. So I picked up one of the papers, resolutely settled back to read it, and then promptly put it down and walked out of the room.
Good advice, I had found, was very easy to give myself. It was much harder to follow it.
I very quietly stood in the hallway outside of the room I’d taken as my office and listened. I knew the house well—it was an old one where sound echoed around pretty freely.
When I heard voices, I followed them. Kaye had retreated into the kitchen and she sat at the table with her head bowed, dark hair almost covering her face. Her eyes, usually so vibrant, were closed completely.
Brent was right there already. The guy worked fast. He slid his arm around her and then pulled her into a hug, encouraging her to rest her head against his chest.
Even as she hugged him back, I noticed she didn’t really cling to him like she would have done to me. She accepted the comfort of a friend, but she wasn’t all over him. She was completely appropriate, and I shook my head. We had our work cut out for us—more than I would have thought.
“It’s okay. He’s just a jerk. Stressed out about work,” I heard Brent saying. His hand was on the back of her head, lightly stroking her hair, and I gritted my teeth at the sight of it.
“He’s not a jerk,” Kaye defended me, which only made me feel more like the world’s biggest asshole. “He’s never talked to me like that before. There’s something going on.”
Right. We had to keep in mind that she was not only very loving and affectionate, but also very smart. If we wanted to keep the wool over her eyes, we were going to have to be a little bit more careful.
“Just work,” Brent commented.
“I wish …I wish he wouldn’t yell at me, though,” Kaye said, and she opened her eyes. To my horror, I saw the gleam of tears in them and my stomach dropped like a stone. “It hurts.”
Brent was doing all the right things, nodding sympathetically. He even, in a very smooth move, took her hand and patted it gently.
“It’s just how he is sometimes. When he’s stressed, he …well. He doesn’t take being grumpy well.” Brent smiled at her, obviously trying to coax a smile in return. Kaye didn’t oblige him, but just looked at him thoughtfully.
“I’ll just have to try harder,” Kaye murmured, and I winced. Damn it. Even with what little Brent was doing, many women would have already crawled into his lap. He was putting out all the right signals, coming off as concerned and not creepy at all.
“I love him so much,” Kaye whispered so quietly I could barely hear her. She lowered her head, and Brent was obviously trying not to roll his eyes at her admission. He’d never had much use for love.
Well, at least Brent wasn’t falling for her. That was something. On the other hand, what would it matter in the long run? Kaye was only mine for now. Once this all played out, she would be gone out of my life completely.
Brent patted her shoulder, and Kaye did turn to him for comfort. It was just the slightest inclination of her body toward him, but Brent looked up and shrugged at me, as if asking if he should proceed.
