8. Chapter Eight
Chapter Eight
Ican spot trouble from a mile away, and Ethan Knox is the definition of it.
The moment I see him in Hailey’s face, I know it’s time for me to leave the comfort of my car.
Hailey may not be too pleased with my appearance, especially since she loves to handle her personal shit without help. But I can’t sit back in my car when chaos is about to erupt in front of me.
“If it isn’t the one and only Matthew Pierce,” The dipshit says, stepping aside from Hailey to face me instead. “You should have told me you were bringing Bill Gates with you, Hailey.”
He’s barely an inch taller than she is. Shaggy blonde hair, crooked teeth, and cigarette-tainted lips. He smells like sweat and weed, and even though he’s smirking mischievously, his pale blue eyes are as hard as stone.
I’ve never had a conversation with him before. But right now, I’m more inclined to punch the smug smile on his face away than have an actual civil conversation with him.
However, the last thing I want to do is create a scene. Leo is right inside that trailer and I don’t want him to see me nastily lose my temper in front of his father.
So, I tear my glare off Ethan and glance at Hailey instead. “You ready to go?”
Hailey squeezes her hands into fists. “Yeah.”
“Sucking a rich man’s dick won’t change what’s about to happen, Hailey,” Ethan says, faux smile slipping away. “I need you to remember that.”
“Fuck you, Ethan.” Hailey spits. “I’m not going to waste my breath on you. My only concern is Leo. I don’t care what you do with your life. Just make sure you don’t bring any of your shitty behavior to him.”
Then she turns around and heads for the car.
Ethan’s voice stops me in my tracks. “Have you fucked her yet?”
Anger boils at the pit of my stomach. My muscles stiffen, and the tendon in my neck pulls taut.
I can barely recognize the sound of my own voice from how lethal it becomes. “What did you just say to me?”
“She’s shit at sucking dick, though,” he says, gathering the guts to step closer to me. “Man to man, here’s a little tip. Choke her just right and she’ll be barking like a dog.”
The next few seconds happen very rapidly. One minute, I’m heading to my car, and the next, my fist is connecting with Ethan’s nose.
“Matthew,” Hailey exclaims as I squeeze my fist around his neck. “Jesus Christ. Leave him alone.”
Ethan’s face switches between amusement and pain as blood trails down his broken nose.
“The next time you talk about Hailey like that, you’ll get more than just a broken nose, Knox.” I seethe, shoving him to the ground. He feels like a speck of dirt on my shoe. “I promise you.”
The woman from before rushes out of the trailer and scowls when she takes in the scene in front of her.
“Get your crazy boyfriend out of here,” The woman screeches at Hailey, who’s already tugging me by my arm and dragging me towards the car.
Once we're settled in the car, she slams the door shut behind her and silently fumes in her seat.
The ride back home is silent and stiff.
She’s mad at me, raging even. And her silence makes it worse.
I’ve barely turned off the car before she gets out of the car and slams it so hard it echoes in the garage.
“Hailey,” I call, getting out after her. “Hailey, come on.”
She ignores me, hot-footing towards the elevator, and doesn’t look back once.
I jam my hand between the closing elevator doors, and her nostrils flare when I walk in.
I press the button for our floor and stand next to her. “I don’t regret hitting him if that’s what you’re thinking.”
She glances at me through the mirror, narrowing her eyes into slits. “Are you kidding me?”
“I’m not. He was being a disrespectful prick.”
“He’s not your business,” she grits. “He’s my business, Matthew. And I don’t give a damn about how disrespectful he may have been. You shouldn’t have interfered. You shouldn’t even have come down from that damn car in the first place.”
My jaw hardens. “You thought I’d sit still while he was provoking you?”
She grinds her teeth, saying nothing for the first few minutes. Once the door slides open, she storms out, leaving me behind.
I follow her and just before she angrily types in her passcode, I grab her arm and pull her towards me.
“Hailey,” I say, my voice much softer.
Her chin wobbles. “Apologize.”
“I’m not sorry for what I did,” I say truthfully. “If I had to go back in time, I’d punch him even harder.”
Hailey scoffs, shrugging out of my hold. “You have no idea of what’s going on, Matthew. You can’t just do shit because you feel like it without thinking of the repercussions.”
“I’m not scared of Ethan Knox.”
“It’s not about you,” she seethes. When she speaks again, her voice breaks. “Just… stay out of my business, okay?”
Her door clicks open before I can respond and then she walks in and slams it in my face.
***
For the next few days, Hailey gives me the silent treatment.
She barely speaks to me, even when it comes to matters related to the upcoming campaign. At first, I let her have her space but it’s beginning to piss me off now, especially since she directs her foul mood at me alone.
She’s jovial and friendly with anyone else, but with me, she’s a pillar of salt.
It’s been three days, and her top-notch ignoring game was starting to make me regret losing my temper on a piece of shit like Ethan.
But right now, I’ve had enough.
I glance at the clock on the wall, then back at the group seated around the table.
Hailey is smiling with teeth at something Matteo says to her. He’s not even a funny guy, so I’m not sure what she finds so amusing about him.
“Alright, everyone,” I begin, trying and failing to produce a smile. “I think we’ve covered all the key points for today. No sense in dragging this out longer than necessary.”
A few heads nod, exchanging glances as I continue. Hailey barely lifts a finger. It’s like I’m talking to the wind.
“Let’s wrap it up early. Take the extra time to get a head start on the tasks we discussed today.” I stand, gathering my notes. “If anything comes up, shoot me an email or swing by the office. Otherwise, we’ll touch base again at our next meeting.”
I feel a presence follow closely behind me as chairs begin to shuffle. When I look back, I see a familiar brunette smiling up at me.
“Great meeting today.” She says, falling in step with me.
I tug at my tie. “Liza, was it?”
“Yes,” she chuckles. “You remember it this time.”
I turn to look at her, but I catch a glimpse of Hailey in the hallway. She’s lingering by the door, not with Matteo, but some blond guy with a shit-eating grin on his face.
He’s taller than her and he’s staring at her like she’s a piece of meat.
I know this feeling of dread pooling in my stomach. I know what this possessive urge is. I know what it means when the rest of the world starts to blur out, leaving Hailey and the smiling blond in my vision.
It’s jealousy. Hot, pulsing jealousy.
“Are you listening to me?” Liza’s voice echoes in my ears, slowly bringing me back to the fact that I’m staring at Hailey and whoever this man is. “I asked what you’re doing for dinner. I could stop by if you need some company.”
I frown at her. She’s been trying to get into my pants all weekend. At first, I entertained it because I thought it was funny, but I’m really not in the mood for her advances.
“I have plans,” I say, a bit harsher than I intended.
Her cheeks flare. “Oh. Okay. Next time, then.”
“I’m not interested in you, Liza. You seem like a great person, but you’re not my type.”
Liza’s eyelashes flutter rapidly as she blinks. She swallows thickly and curls her fists in embarrassment.
“Thanks for letting me know, I guess.”
I nod with a tight smile, before walking past her and heading to the office.
I sit in the office and try to busy myself with work, pretending like I’m not counting seconds for Hailey to walk in.
Once it’s exactly fifteen minutes, the door finally opens and Hailey walks in. As usual, she ignores my existence, and the clicking of her heels against the tiles sounds extra loud as she makes her way to her seat.
There’s a shift in her energy that makes me glance up from my desk. There’s a bounce in her step, her smile bright and easy, as though she can’t contain the happiness bubbling inside her.
She hums a familiar tune under her breath while her polished nails tap lightly on the desk as she sorts through papers. Even though she’s packing to leave, her movements are distracted, her mind clearly elsewhere with the grin on her face.
I have so many questions, but I start with the one that has been bothering me for the past three days.
“How long are you planning to keep this up?”
Hailey doesn’t look at me. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You’ve not said more than two full sentences to me for three days.”
She sits down and pulls a compact mirror from her bag. “What about it?”
“Do you need me to remind you that we’re supposed to work on a campaign together?”
Once again, I’ve spoken to the wind. Because Hailey doesn’t respond.
She just focuses on dolling up her face in the mirror. She subtly adjusts a strand of hair that had fallen out of place before twisting a lipstick out of its case.
Though she never once looks my way, the faint perfume she’s wearing – something new and floral, different from the one that lingered in my sheets after our first night together – lingers in the air, making my stomach twist.
Finally, she checks her watch, a small, secret smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she coats her mouth with the bold red lipstick, before slipping it into her bag.
I clench my jaw as the realization slowly settles in my chest: she’s not just happy. She’s excited and it’s not because of me. No. It’s far from it.
I can’t hide the bitterness in my tone. “You’ve got a hot date or something?”
“As a matter of fact, yes I do,” she chirps. “Holden from HR wants to take me out.”
“Holden? Is that the blond twig you were flirting with earlier?”
She finally looks at me, shooting me a frown. “Are you stalking me? Should I be worried?”