Page 68 of Stuck-Up Big Shot
She knows who Melodie is and is aware of my crush on Miles, which I shared one drunken night early on in college, and how I ran into him the night of the fire alarm, but knows nothing of what’s been going on since.
She nods, waggling her brows suggestively. “Of course, the hottie you crushed on hard. But wasn’t he a dick to you?”
I may have also mentioned how rude he acted toward me. My goodness, how things have changed.
The thing about Christiana is that she holds back nothing when she’s excited, angry, happy, or sad. All her emotions are worn on her sleeve, so it comes as no shock to me when she lets out a shriek of delight when I tell her we’ve hooked up.
“Holy shit, girl. You hoochie mama. Why the hell didn’t you tell me this before? When did this happen? And when are you going to marry him and have his babies?”
Her voice is loud and carries through the area, so I slap my hand over her mouth and glare at her.
“Shh. Good lord, do you not have an inside voice?”
She snaps at my finger with her teeth playfully, and I pull my hand away, picking up the phone and handing it to her to read theAsk Idainquiries.
“Here, read all about it.”
She sifts through the messages, occasionally voicing commentary andooh’sandahh’s, and then slips in a few motherfucker curses in between. Finally, and with remorse written in her dark eyes, she hands it back to me as I chew on my lip, waiting for her wisdom.
We may have only been friends for a few years now, but she’s like a sister to me, and I trust her for her blatant honesty and sage advice.
“I have to agree withAsk Ida. He’s a sucker if he doesn’t feel the same way about you and a coward if he slinks off because you said those three words. That’s bullshit.”
“But—” I try to interject, hoping to shed some light on Miles’s good qualities and the potential reasons for his discomfort over this subject. Yes, I’m making excuses for him.
Her finger tick-tocks like a metronome in the air between us. “No buts. He’s the one being a douchecanoe if he’s dicking you around. Which means, sadly for you, no more dick unless the future becomes clear, and he admits his feelings.”
I choke on the cold liquid I’d just sipped, furtively looking around to find a few people grimacing in disgust at Christiana’s colorful language.
She snaps her head to the side and glares at a store employee and in a scoffing tone, asks the rhetorical question, “What? You’ve never had a guy be a dick to you?”
I return the phone to my purse, hunching my shoulders in defeat.
“I know I have to end things if he doesn’t feel the same way. But in my gut, I feel like he does have the same level of connection. It’s just tangled up in the other emotions that have a stranglehold on him since Mel’s death.”
Christiana draws me into her with an arm slung around my shoulder, side hugging me against her.
“You and I both know he’s going to have to work that out on his own. You can’t force it. He’ll either come to the conclusion that he needs help in dealing with his unresolved grief, or he’ll remain in the same pattern of loneliness that will only turn him into a bitter old man.”
I avert my eyes, staring down at the table, my lips pressed in a firm line. I know she’s right. She’s smart and understands men since she has three brothers. But it doesn’t make it any easier for me to let Miles go.
“Granted, he’ll be ahotbitter old man, but bitter nonetheless, and it won’t change things for you.”
39
Miles
The dinner meetingGraham and I had tonight with a potential client went well. Melissa Shauschenberg is the CEO of an online retail business that just went global, and she’s looking to us to help her invest and increase her profitability through some strategic investments.
The only concern I have with Melissa as a client is that she is extremely flirtatious and handsy. The minute it came up in conversation that I was single, she angled and maneuvered her body so she’d inadvertently touch me or brush up suggestively. And she kept at it the entire time.
“If you have any questions about our proposal or the investment plans we can offer your business, please call us. Graham or I would be happy to review the terms with you in more detail,” I say to her while we stand in front of Capicio’s, the small Italian restaurant on the same street as our apartment building.
Melissa crowds me as if we’re inside a packed train instead of the open sidewalk. She stands so close, in fact, that the firm curve of her breasts pushes against my arm every time she leans in to speak.
“Miles, you have no idea how much it means to me to be in such strong, capable financial hands with my investments. You and Graham seem so experienced and knowledgeable in these matters. I need men like you in my life.” She says this in a throaty, raspy voice that is overtly sexual, sending fingers of dread trailing down my spine.
“Mmm-hmm,” I absently agree, checking back over my shoulder to see what is taking Graham so fucking long to pay the bill.
