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I can tell by Zak’s tone that his comment about being a dad was meant as an insult. And how did he even know Tyler is a dad? I’m so confused right now.
“I own a landscaping and property management business.”
Zak laughs, looking at me. “What he means to say is that he mows the lawn. He’s a lawn boy.”
This is terrible. “Zak—” I go to say, but Tyler cuts me off.
“I do mow lawns. What do you do for a living?”
Zak straightens. “I’m in sales.”
I hate it when Zak says that, as if the product he sells is too complicated for the rest of us to understand, so he doesn’t tell us what it is.
“Oh, like retail?” Tyler asks.
I give Zak astop-this-right-nowlook, buthe’s too busy laughing in his patronizing way to notice.
“No, Tyler.” His voice drops an octave or two as he gives him his pitch. “I’m the lead sales manager at Renegade Medical Supplies. I’m sure that means nothing to you, so let me just say it’s a pretty big company. I have thirty sales associates that I manage on my team alone.”
“Sounds like you do well.”
He heaves out a laugh. “I doextremelywell.”
“Actually, I'm glad I saw you,” Tyler says, looking at Zak. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you.”
“Tellme?” Zak kicks his head back in surprise.
“Yeah.”
“What?”
“You’re an idiot.”
Oh, boy.
My panic is at an all-time high.
Zak puffs his chest out. “Excuse me?”
“You’re an idiot. You had the most perfect woman right in front of you for three years, and you couldn’t even see it.”
This time I tug on Tyler’s arm, trying to get him to come with me. “Tyler, can we talk?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Zak says.
“Even now, you don’t appreciate her. She’ll be lucky if you stick around a year.”
Zak pushes Tyler's chest and gets right in his face. “I’ll be sure to remember that when I’m married to her.” Zak’s expression turns to mock pity. “Oh, didn’t you know I proposed to Meg?”
“Zak!” My voice is stern, but the two of them don’t even hear me.
The fake pity in Zak’s eyes is still there. “I feel sorry for you, Tyler. You can’t keep Meg happy, and you obviously couldn’t keep your first wife happy. I bet she couldn’t wait to leave you.”
And that's the moment Tyler punches Zak in the face, knocking him off his feet to the ground.
I freeze.
Actually, I don’t freeze. I cover my mouth with my hand. Then I freeze.
