Chapter 6
Chapter Six
THEO
I storm over to my desk and throw myself down in my chair before sliding my phone out of my pocket.
Anyone know how to hide a body?
Caleb
That’s a bit dark for you, Theo. Everything okay?
James
I’ll grab the shovel
I always knew I could count on you, J *heart eye emoji*
Noah
What now? I swear there’s always some sort of drama with you guys.
James
Feeling the love, asshole
Caleb
Theo, don’t ignore me.
I’m fine, my little love boo.
Noah
Then what’s the fucking issue *eye roll emoji*
*Needy Viking removed Grumpy Asshole from the chat*
Ahhh, that’s better
Caleb
That wasn’t very nice, Theo
Yeah, well, I don’t feel like being nice today, so bite me.
My phone immediately rings in my hand, and I see my best friend’s name flash up, a picture of us from years ago as his contact photo.
“There’s my baby boy,” I coo at James, twirling around in my chair. “How’s my snookums?”
“You good, bro?” he asks, and I hear him chuckling through the phone.
“Yes, thank you very much. You love my crazy ways.”
“That I do. Wanna tell me why you need to hide a body?”
I stop spinning in my chair and groan under my breath.
I shouldn’t have said anything. Dad’s gonna be riding my ass now.
“Everything’s fine, just having a bad work day.
” I emphasize work so he won’t think I’m having a ‘bad day’ and send in the cavalry.
“Just needed a time out for a minute, and you know how much I love winding Noah up.”
“You sure everything’s okay?” James reiterates.
“Heaven help me, J,” I snap, rubbing my forehead. “Yes. I. Am. Fine.”
“Alright, alright, I’m sorry. You know I worry about you,” he replies.
I know he does. He always has, but he also knows that even if I weren’t okay, I wouldn’t say anything.
I may have James in my life, but I still don’t tell him everything.
He’s been my best friend since we were kids.
Caleb, Noah, and I had already formed our group, but then James turned up one day and never left.
Caleb’s closer to Noah, and I’m closer to James, but it's how our friendship works.
“Well, my love, you don’t need to. I’m perfectly okay.” Desperate to change the subject and feeling guilty for snapping at him, I ask, “Now, are we having lunch today? You know I need my snookums fix.”
A cough sounds behind me, and I turn in my chair to the sound. Blake stands at the door, a jealous look flittering across her features before vanishing.
Hmmm.
I lean back in my chair, vaguely listening to James while he talks. My lips quirk as Blake glares at me, a look so dark it could kill me where I sit.
“I’ll see you later, then?” James asks, interrupting me from my staring contest with Blake.
“Yes, babe. I’ll meet you tonight. I can’t wait to see you. I love you too.” I hang up, James’s sounds of protest dying as the call disconnects.
“Girlfriend?” Blake asks. She’s trying to look like it doesn’t bother her, but I can see it in the way her shoulders tense and her hands clench.
“None of your business, firefly,” I drawl, steepling my hands together and bracing my elbows on the desk. “What do you want?”
“Oh, I don’t know. To work?” she retorts, crossing her arms over her chest. It pushes her tits out further, the slight hint of cleavage poking through the top of her shirt. My dick starts to harden.
God, I’ve missed th—Nope! No, you haven’t.
“Go get me a coffee,” I say with a flick of my wrist, dismissing her.
Blake walks further into the room, pissing me off with her presence. “I’m not your PA, Theo. I’m your associate. I deserve respect.”
I bark out a laugh. “Girl, you ever heard the expression ‘respect is earned?’” I roll my eyes. “Don’t come in here demanding things you don’t have the right to.”
“I’ve worked fucking hard to get to this point, asshole, and I won’t have you ruining it because you can’t get over the past,” she snaps angrily.
I breathe deeply. This fucking woman has no idea how desperately I’ve tried to get over the past. How I want to erase every single memory of her that I have.
“Then allow me to unravel everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve. It will be my pleasure to light the match and watch it all burn to the fucking ground,” I grind out.
“Try me. See how far it gets you because I can assure you, I won’t take what you give without retaliating. I’m not someone you can walk all over.”
“Someone I can walk all over? Please,” I scoff. “I wouldn’t dirty my shoes with your skanky ass.”
“You need my help with this case.” She says it like that’ll automatically make me change my mind. It won’t ever happen.
“I don’t need your help,” I reply, looking at the paperwork on my desk.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Blake put her hands on her hips. “Tough. You’ve got it anyway,” she sasses.
Swiping a hand down my face, I lean back in my chair, tired from our little game of banter wars but still wanting to have the last laugh. “Fine. Find Daryl and get him to give you the files on Hudson Lee.”
“Okay, and where can I find Daryl?”
I give a casual, dismissive flick of my wrist. “Didn’t think I’d make it that easy for you, did you?”
“Of course not. Why would you want to help me?” she asks sarcastically, eyes rolling. She turns on her heel with a huff and walks out the door.
Theo—one. Blake—zero.
Shoving the door open to Nova’s, I glance around until my eyes fall on a familiar head. Smiling, I walk over. It’s typically me who’s early since I abhor being late to anything, so it's a nice change that I won't be sitting around waiting for James to arrive.
“Well, don’t you look as handsome as ever,” I coo, ruffling his hair.
I pull out the chair opposite and sit down, scanning the menu. Eyes bore into me, and I know I’m busted.
Sighing, I lower the menu. “Yes, darling?” I ask sarcastically.
James sits there. He says nothing and does nothing, not even a blink. I don’t know what’s worse, him not saying anything or him giving me a lecture. Neither option works well for me.
“Ugh, fine,” I huff. “Blake’s back.”
With the way I’d said it, you’d think it was the most minor inconvenience in the world. Alas, that’s not the case, and unfortunately, James knows it too.
“Excuse me?” He says it slowly, as if he heard it but wants me to repeat it.
I roll my eyes, sticking my head back in the menu to avoid eye contact. “You heard me, asswipe,” I mutter.
The menu in front of me starts to move down, and I look up into the piercing blue eyes of my best friend. “When?”
“Dunno specifics. All I know is she’s back.” I shrug. I reeeeeeally don’t want to have this conversation with him, but if I don’t say something, I’m pretty sure I’m going to explode. “She’s the new junior associate in the office. And the kicker? She’s my associate.”
“Fuck,” he murmurs.
I nod. “Mmm.”
“Are you okay?” His tone is soft, caring, and I hate every single goddamn second of it.
“I’m fine, James. Stop fucking looking at me like that. I’m not going to go and off myself if that’s what you’re worried about,” I whisper-yell. “Been there, done that, didn’t end up killing myself, did I?”
“Cut the defensive shit, Theo. You’re better than this,” James snaps.
Luckily, there aren’t too many people around to hear our marital spat. James is my best friend, the brother from another mother I wished I’d had, but sometimes he’s an overbearing cunt that gives me a migraine.
“Yeah, well. I’m doing the best I can, alright?” My hands clench around the menu, my body tensing at the conversation. “I’m working through it.”
He raises an eyebrow and leans forward, bracing his elbows on the table. “Are you? Or are you digging your head in the sand and hoping it’ll all miraculously disappear?”
“I really hate that you know me so well,” I grumble, raking a hand down my face with a sigh.
“This is what twenty years of friendship looks like, asshole. Get used to it. We’ve got at least another forty in us before we kick the bucket, so to speak.”
He’s got to be the most understanding best friend in the world to put up with my moods because I can’t control them.
I don’t know how to react or deal with them when something triggers me, and this conversation right now?
Triggering as fuck. My emotions overwhelm me at times, and I literally have no idea how to explain them.
But fuck, I appreciate his patience when I’m like this.
I laugh. “I promise I’m fine. I’m figuring it out. I’m not going stabby on anyone or myself. I’m in a better place now than I was ten years ago.” I grab my beer, sit back, and take a swig. “I’m just gonna have a bit of fun with her in the meantime.”
Insert maniacal cackle.
“When you say, ‘a bit of fun,’ what you actually mean is…?” James gestures with his hand for more information.
“I’m just gonna mess with her a bit. You know, make her life a living hell so she leaves and I never have to see her again. I mean, I never thought I’d see her after the last time, but here we are,” I grumble into my beer before I signal for the waiter, needing something a bit stronger.
“You sure that’s wise?” James asks.
I shrug. “Who knows, who cares. It makes for a more interesting experience.” I swallow down the last of my beer, glancing around for that shot I’d asked for before I add, “Plus, I get a little revenge. What could be better than that?”
“Oh, I don’t know… peace? Forgiveness?” James muses, but it only makes me laugh.
“Yeah, she ain’t getting that from me. I’m not the forgiving kind to people who fuck me over. You should know that.”
He nods. “I do know that, tips. But maybe it’s time to grow up? Forgive, forget, and move on?”
“You ever gonna stop calling me that?”
He glances at me with a raised brow. “What, and forget about the time you put pink braids in your hair because you thought it looked cool? Never.”
“I did look cool,” I complain.
“You looked ridiculous.” He smirks. “Tips has a nice ring to it though. I’ve used it for the last twenty years, I’m not stopping now.”
“I hate you.”
“No, you don’t,” he replies, adding, “So, are you going to forgive, forget, and move on?”
I’d love to say something miraculous happens and I come to terms with what he’s saying—like a light bulb goes off in my head or something—but nope, quite the opposite happens, and a totally typical me response occurs.
“Over my dead body.” I give him a wide, toothy grin. “Tell me to do something, J, and you know I’m only going to dig my heels in harder. You just signed her metaphorical death warrant.”
James rakes a hand down his face. “Jesus fucking Christ, I can’t with you.”
The waiter’s arrival stops the conversation, and I’m given a reprieve.
I’m really trying to see what he’s saying, but I don’t get it.
Absolutely everything in my life has been out of my control until I was old enough to do something about it, so falling in love with a woman who destroyed me?
Yeah, I don’t do well with being out of control, and Blake makes me spin faster than the Tasmanian fucking devil.
The waiter leaves, and I’m left waiting for the inevitable to happen—James to start his lecture up again—but I’m pleasantly surprised.
“Just go easy, okay?” he says gently, which is so unlike him. James is usually a boss level Daddy.
I smile, but it doesn’t reach my eyes. “I’m all good, J. I’m seeing Mike. I’ve done the work. I mean, it’s gonna be fucking hard trying not to kill the woman I hate, but I’ll do my best.” I wink.
His shoulders relax, and I know he’s letting it go... for now. Knowing him, it won’t be for long though. He’ll be watching me like a hawk.
Yay. Fun times.