Page 4 of Until You’re Breathless (Insatiable #1)
“Well, luckily, she was so fucked up that she dropped her clutch and her driver’s license fell out. I looked her up and she’s some fucking whore from a car dealership. A used car saleswoman named Rita Lindsay.”
It takes me a moment to process. I stare at a spot on my desk, shaking my head. “I’ll fucking kill him.”
“Before you do that, you better figure out what you want out of this, Bowie. Because you’ve got just as much of a stake in this company as he does.”
“Yeah, but the bastard put up the seed money for it, and you can bet your bottom dollar that he’ll lord that over me.
I knew I should have put that in the N.D.A.
, but no, all I did was give myself immunity if I ever wanted to walk.
I can leave him in a heartbeat, no questions asked, if I can prove that he cheated on me. ”
“Well, that should be easy.”
I look at her. “How?”
She reaches into her pocket and takes out her phone.
As she taps into her recorded messages, I’m mentally kissing her.
The message title is, ‘Confessions of Rita Lindsay’ and the date.
“Should I send this to you.” She asks rhetorically, as she taps her way to her text messages. “That ought to do it.”
My lips squish together like I’ve just eaten a lemon. “No wonder the asshole has been so fucking distracted lately.”
“Lately, nothing, honey. Wait until you hear this recording. She and him have been fucking around for years. And if it checks out, she’s not the only one, either.”
I have to cover my mouth as I can feel the bile coming up my throat. “God, I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Well, you better buck up, Bowie. Because this is going to call for a thick skin. There’s no crying in hardball here. You want to lose your business, this is the ticket. Why that asshole risked everything for a whore like that is beyond me.”
“It’s classic, Jinny. That’s all. Classic neanderthal men.
We’ve been together since fucking high school and this is the thanks that I get.
Fine, our sex life has been humdrum at best, and our lives are consumed by this business, but this is what we both signed up for.
If he couldn’t handle that, if he wanted out, then there are many mature ways of dealing with it.
But he chose the juvenile way. The predictable way.
I gave him the best years of my life, goddammit. ”
“I know you did, Bowie. You don’t deserve this. But you also don’t deserve to throw away what you’ve worked so hard for, and if you don’t play your cards right, you will.”
“I can be strong about this. I don’t need to cry over this shit. I can handle it. Boston and I can work together, so long as I don’t have to look at his face night and day.”
“So, you’re leaving him.” She confirms.
“Of course I’m leaving him. What the fuck.”
She lifts a hand. “I know you’re not that stupid, Bowie.
I was just doing a gut check. And you’re right.
You’re the strongest woman I know. And if you want the honest truth, you’re smarter than that asshole.
He didn’t think of the goddamn trail. If he had any brains, he would never have let that chick go on a trip unattended.
Not only is he a notorious businessman, but he’s also got a really unique name, and he’s a fool for not thinking about that. ”
“Don’t be silly, Jinny. She could have gone out to any bar in the states and done the exact same thing, you know.”
She gives me a look like she’s got all the answers. “But he approved that trip for me. If he paid any attention to detail, he should have known that we’d both be at the same damn location.”
“The only reason why he knew where you were going is because you work for him. If anybody else he knew had been there, it would have been the same thing. If he was smart about it, he would have paid her off to keep her mouth shut or threaten to sue her ass if she didn’t.”
“Hence why you’re smarter than him. And why you can outsmart him here, too.
I say you make your demands or threaten to call fucking Forbes magazine and tell them how much of a fucking whore he is.
” She rests her feet on the spare guest chair in front of her, satisfied.
“Hell, you can make any fucking demand you want to, Bowie. The ball is in your court.”
Drawing in a deep breath and letting it out, I let that sink in. “I’ll give him a chance to confess. To tell me everything.”
“You sure you can handle that?”
“Of course I can handle it.” I say without hesitation. It’s like the moment my best friend told me that Boston cheated on me, a switch turned off. “I’m no simp, Jinny.”
She pats my hand. “I know you’re not. That’s why I knew I could tell you.
Some women can’t fucking handle the truth.
If you’d built your life on your relationship with Boston, then I’d see how much more difficult this would be on you, but you built your life on your business.
That’s the difference. The only issue here is how you can keep it without losing anything because he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants. ”
“I’m not about to lose anything.” I say with conviction. “He’s not worth it. I’ll give him a chance to confess, and if he doesn’t, I’ll let him hear the recording. If he does, I’ll remind him of the N.D.A. clause and how it will affect our future business together.”
She lifts a brow. “Do you think you’re going to use this for leverage?”
“Does a bear shit in the woods?”