Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Angie
Visiting Ralph Normandy isn’t the way I wanted to spend my afternoon, but I have a strange feeling that I’m meant to be here. That it will affect Jason.
Yeah, Ralph’s a dick. He tried to blackmail me into sleeping with him, and he went whining to HR about Jason and me. Sure, he did it anonymously, but still.
Is there anything good in him to see?
I mean, he’s going to medical school, right? He wants to be a surgeon. A healer.
That’s worthy of respect, isn’t it?
Normally the answer would be a resounding yes, but this is Ralph.
Tabitha comes with me, but Eli chooses not to. He won’t cut class for Ralph, and I can’t blame him. I have enough guilt eating at me from doing that myself.
I’ve cut two classes in two days. My first semester, I didn’t cut any classes, even when I had that terrible cold. I dosed myself up with cold meds, wore a mask, and sat in class taking copious notes on my iPad.
“Here we are,” Tabitha says when we reach Ralph’s room.
I peek inside. Ralph is lying in bed while a nurse checks his vitals.
We wait outside the room until the nurse leaves.
“Come with me,” I say.
She cocks her head. “You sure? I’m not the one he wants to see.”
“You think I care?” I scoff. “Come with me. You’re here. Surely he’ll appreciate an extra visitor.”
I can’t forget that Tabitha kind of had a crush on Ralph for a while. She may still have one…
Nah. By now surely I’ve convinced her he’s a dick with ears.
God, I have no idea what that even means. It’s something Henry used to say when we were kids.
I grab Tabitha’s hand as I walk into the room to make sure she comes along.
I walk up to Ralph’s bedside, where he’s staring at me.
“Back so soon?” he says.
I roll my eyes. “I heard you summoned me.”
“And you came just like that?” He chuckles and then winces. “Fuck. It hurts to laugh.”
“Good. There’s nothing funny about any of this from where I’m standing.”
He glances toward Tabitha. “She can go.”
I look at Tabitha. Her cheeks are turning pink.
“She stays,” I say.
“I don’t think you want her to hear what I have to say to you.”
I squeeze Tabitha’s hand. “Anything you have to say to me you can say in front of my bestie.”
Did I truly just say that? Tabitha squeezes my hand back.
“Sorry,” he says. “It’s nonnegotiable. I asked to see you.”
I laugh at that. “What makes you think you have all the power here?” I ask. “From where I’m standing, you’ve pretty much been beaten to a pulp. You probably can’t even get out of that bed. I don’t think you’re holding any cards here.”
Part of me can’t believe I’m saying these things. I’m Angie Simpson, the introvert. I was always the peacekeeper among the awesome foursome. I never started anything. Never escalated a situation, never made it worse.
But I like this new side of myself. This new side that my time with Jason has brought out.
“You’d be surprised,” Ralph says. “I still hold the winning hand here.”
What the hell is he even talking about?
“It’s okay,” Tabitha says. “I can wait outside, Angie.” She unlinks her hand from mine.
“No,” I say. “Why does he get to dictate the rules?” I turn to Ralph, glare at him. “You want to talk to me? Then talk to me. Show me your fucking cards. That royal flush you think you’re holding. Because I think you’re bluffing.”
“Really, it’s okay.” Tabitha walks swiftly out of the room.
Crap.
I can’t say I blame her. He was making her feel about as welcome as a case of herpes.
I heave out a sigh. “You got your way. What the hell do you want?”
He smirks. “I filed a police report. Your boyfriend is going to be arrested for assault and battery.”
I glare at him. “Jason didn’t do this to you.”
He lifts an eyebrow. “And you know that?”
“Yes. I’m sure of it.”
“Oh? How are you so sure?”
I cross my arms. “Because he told me he didn’t, and I believe him.”
“You have no idea what you’re dealing with,” Ralph says. “The man’s no saint.”
“That man has seen more loss in his short lifetime than anyone deserves,” I say. “And now you want to make more trouble for him. What the hell do you have to gain by any of this?”
“That’s the question, isn’t it?” he says, closing his eyes.
“Yeah,” I say. “None of it makes any freaking sense. Why do you even care? Why do you care about me?”
“You’re a Steel,” he says.
I groan at that. “So, as I suspected. You’re after my money. You want me to pay you off not to file a report against Jason.”
“Oh, no.” He grins. “I already filed the report.”
“Did you?”
He lifts three fingers. “Scout’s honor.”
I let out a scoff. “Scout’s honor? If you had any honor at all, you wouldn’t be doing any of this.”
“Yeah, I was never a Boy Scout anyway.” He drops his hand.
“Shocking,” I say, rolling my eyes.
He grins. Sort of. “But I did file a report.”
“You can also elect not to press charges,” I say.
“I could, but why would I do that?”
I grit my teeth. I’m so against paying anyone off.
It’s never the answer. My family, with its wealth of resources, has been blackmailed many times, and our one rule is never to succumb, because it’s a never-ending cycle.
Once you pay the person off, they can come at you again and again, demanding more money.
Or they’ll tell their friends that you’re easy to get money out of, and soon you’re stuck in a cash-sucking spiral.
But I know Jason didn’t do this, and I won’t see him be arrested for something—God, go on trial for something—that he didn’t do.
So for now, I’ll at least make Ralph think I’m playing along.
“How much will it take?” I ask.
“You really think this is about money?”
I raise my hands in the air. “What the hell else is it about? I don’t have anything else you want.”
“But you do.” He narrows his eyes. “Didn’t I make that clear that night when I kissed you?”
My heart drops to my stomach.
“No way. I’m not going to bed with you. Hell, you probably can’t even get it up in this condition.”
But then my gaze is drawn to the tent underneath the sheet.
Fuck…
He nods toward his erection. “Most men are ready no matter what. It’s in our physiology.”
“Or maybe it’s just a symptom of some medication they have you on.”
“You think they’re giving me Viagra for my pain?”
“Viagra’s original use was as a vasodilator,” I say. “Maybe your blood pressure’s a little high.”
“Of course my blood pressure’s high. My body is stressed right now.”
“Which means it doesn’t need the extra stress of a sexual encounter.”
He laughs again, wincing. “Damn, that hurts, but it’s worth it. You really think sex is ever a stressor for men? Hell, it’s a stress reliever.”
I shake my head. “That’s not what I mean, and you fucking know it. You’re weak. Weak, Ralph. Your body’s been through trauma. So yeah, sex will be a stress.”
He shrugs. “Your call, Simpson. Climb on and take a ride, or Dr. Lansing goes to prison. And as pretty as he is, he won’t have much fun there.” He pauses a moment. “Unless he likes you taking the back door.”