Page 102 of The Wild Card
Thayden walks him out, and I follow a few minutes later, not wanting to make small talk on the way down, not wanting to share my thoughts about the meeting with Thayden yet, either. Molly first.
Her phone still gives me the same message, but the text I send, telling her to call me seems to go through. She doesn’t answer, and I’m almost to my car, frowning down at the phone and wondering if it would be too much to call Winnie or Lindy when someone calls my name.
“Collin!”
Liza. Her grating voice is the stuff of nightmares, and I very much wish I weren’t hearing it now. Or ever again.
When I glance up, she’s almost to me. All the happy, hopeful feelings curdle, and I wish now I’d walked out with Thayden. He’d act as a bodyguard if needed, threatening legal action wherever applicable.
But I don’t see him anywhere, and Liza reaches my car, stopping just short of touching me. She’s clearly taken time with her makeup and hair and has on a dress I haven’t seen before. It’s tight and short, meant to draw the eye. I keep mine on her face.
The only thing I feel for her is dread. And the sort of self-loathing that comes when you’re faced with a decision you yourself made in error.
“Hello, Liza.” I keep my voice cool, unaffected. The last thing I want is some kind of dramatic display in the parking lot of the gym I still own. Being neutral seems like the best defense.
“I was hoping I’d run into you,” she says. “I wanted to talk.”
“I’m meeting my family in a few minutes—I don’t have long.”
She nods and attempts a soft smile. But she’s a sharp-edged woman, so it doesn’t sit well on her face. “That’s fine. I wanted to apologize.”
She pauses, as though waiting for me to respond with gratitude. I don’t say anything. I wonder if she even realizes she didn’t actually apologize; just said that shewantedto. Doubtful.
“I deleted the videos I made,” she says, her eyes brimming with what I’m sure are crocodile tears. She probably prepared for this, wearing waterproof mascara for the occasion. “I never should have uploaded them.”
“No. You shouldn’t have.”
Her face falls, and the tiniest sliver of me feels bad. Somewhere, underneath the manipulation and the self-importance, she might possess legitimate regret like a normal human being. Probably.
“I won’t bother you again,” she says. “I just wanted you to know that I’m sorry and I’m trying to make things right.”
If she wanted to make things right, she could also offer to pay back the money she siphoned when I let her help with the bookkeeping. But I’m not about to sabotage this. If she’s really going to let all of this go, then it’s what I’ve been hoping for and will make my life much easier.
“I appreciate that,” I say carefully, not wanting to extend any words that could possibly be misinterpreted. I still don’t fully trust her. Sue me.
Her smile shifts into something more flirty. “You’re just a hard man to get over.”
“I think you’ll find that there are a lot of other men out there. Ones who will be better suited for you.”
She seems to take this as a compliment though I don’t mean it as one, and her smile widens. “I guess this is goodbye.”
Finally.
My relief dies a quick death because Liza throws herself at me, wrapping her arms around my waist as she plasters herself to me.
My hands hover over her back. The last thing I want to do is reciprocate. I also don’t want to stoke her anger with me again, so finally, I barely let them graze over her upper back, careful not to touch her skin.
When she shows no sign of letting go, I take her by the shoulders and gently extricate myself from the hug.
“I need to get going,” I say, taking a large step back, relieved when she doesn’t follow. “I wish you well.”
It’s a true statement. Or, at least, I don’t wish her ill. I also wish I never have to see her again. Especially with the sly look in her eyes now, as though she’s somehow bested me in this conversation instead of waving her twisted version of a white flag.
But I’ll take it as a win. I climb into my car, locking the doors as she walks away, checking her phone. I check mine too, the unsettled feeling from the encounter with Liza growing when I still cannot reach Molly.
CHAPTER 23
Molly
