Page 322 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 5

Well at least he knew better than to deny that he was a hypocrite. “Oh yeah? Because I know that the two of you weren’t just friends.”

Tanner gasped.

“You don’t look at friends like that,” I said. “You loved Brooklyn too.” And I think that was the worst part. He’d betrayed me worse than I’d ever betrayed him. I had to get out of this apartment. I couldn’t freaking breathe. “Don’t worry about Mr. Pruitt. I’ll handle it myself.” I didn’t need to hear anything else James had to say.

“Um, good day to you,” Tanner said to James before hurrying out of the room behind me. “I guess we won’t be sharing the lobster with him after all,” he said to me. “That did not go well. Look out!”

I almost ran straight into Penny because I was trying to figure out what Tanner was yelling about.

She looked up at me. “Matt, what’s going on?”

How much of that conversation had she heard? “Ask your husband. Maybe if he’d sobered up enough in his twenties and not married that witch we wouldn’t be in this mess.” I walked past her without another word.Fuck James. Fuck everything.

Matchmaker - Chapter 22

Monday

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Tanner asked.

No, I wasn’t. But I was already knocking on Mr. Pruitt’s door. “I just need to get this over with.” My heart was still pounding in my chest. I was pissed at James. I was pissed at Mr. Pruitt. I was freaking pissed at everyone. I tried to take a deep breath.

“It’s pretty late,” Tanner said. “Doesn’t Richard usually invite you over right after dinner? Around 7 if I recall correctly from his texts? He was rather specific about it.”

“Yeah, I don’t care if I’m inconveniencing him.” Mr. Pruitt had been inconveniencing me for years. His texts had been slowly driving me insane. I could bother him for one night.

Tanner stuffed his hands in his pockets, pulled them back out, and then stuffed them in again. “You’re not at all worried that you’re about to upset a mobster?”

“I told you to wait in the car.”

“I’m not worried about my safety. I’m worried about yours. You think Richard is having you tailed. All he has to do is make the call and you’re a dead man.”

“That’s an even better reason for you to wait in the car. You don’t want to get caught up in this.”

“Do you have a freaking death wish?”

Maybe.But that didn’t mean I needed to bring anyone else down with me. “Tanner, seriously, go back to the car.”

“If I’d waited in the car when you went to see James, you two definitely would have brawled.”

“I’m not going to brawl with Mr. Pruitt.”

Tanner stared at the door. “Doesn’t mean he’s not going to brawl with you.”

“If you’re scared…”

Tanner laughed. “I’m not scared of anything.” But his eyebrows were pulled together and he was just staring straight ahead.

I knew he was lying. He wasn’t even really trying to hide it. But I didn’t get a chance to ask him about it, because the door opened.

Mr. Pruitt was standing there in a…nightgown? I wasn’t sure how else to describe it. A long men’s shirt, perhaps? He was also wearing some weird little cap that I couldn’t explain either. And for just a second, all that pent up anger I had for him evaporated. I just wanted to laugh. The man in front of me wasn’t scary. He was wearing a nightgown and cried during the Titanic. I was going to end this right here right now.

He cleared his throat. “Matthew.” His voice came out hoarse and strange despite the fact that he’d just cleared it. “What are you doing here at this hour?”

I wanted to ask him what the hell he was wearing. But that wasn’t why I was here. Making fun of him didn’t seem like thebest approach anyway. “I need you to listen to me because I’m only going to say this once. Leave me and my friends the hell alone.”

Mr. Pruitt lowered his eyebrows and glanced at Tanner. “I don’t know who this man is. And I have no idea what you’re referring to.”

Tanner offered him his hand. “I’m Tanner Rhodes. Matt’s best friend. Nice nightshirt, by the way. Very retro of you.”