Prologue #2
“Darling. It’s nothing personal. It’s business.”
Right. Business. Specifically, the world of cutthroat show business.
“I need to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.” If today’s conversation was any indication, tomorrow would probably be worse.
My finger ended the call just as Chad’s red sports car pulled in across the lot.
The tightness in my chest finally eased a bit—until my eyes landed on the unfamiliar blond woman getting out of his passenger seat.
Who the hell was she? I tamped down on my jealousy, however.
I’d always been the girl who was secure with the fact her boyfriend worked with some beautiful women.
Perhaps she’d been auditioning with him.
Staying from the car, I watched him flash her a smile. He looked movie-star handsome, as always, with his sandy-brown hair combed to the side, his tan skin, and perfect teeth.
His hand came to rest on the small of her back as he led her up the flight of stairs toward his second-floor apartment. Still didn’t mean anything, I reasoned. Because karma wouldn’t give me a cancer diagnosis, an asshole of a boss, and a cheating boyfriend in the same day, right?
I waited. Waited for her to come back down. Waited for him to see my message and return the call. But if I was really being honest, I delayed because if something really was going on, I preferred to catch him in the act, not on the stairs or just inside the door.
My brain finally signaled me to move. I got out of my car and walked up his stairs in an automatic state. My mind was already in a state of disbelief from my doctor’s appointment earlier and couldn’t seem to process what I already knew was true.
My hand rose to knock on his door since I didn’t have a key to his place.
But then, on a whim, I simply turned the handle to find it unlocked.
So, I walked in. My gaze fell on the two pairs of discarded shoes by the entryway, the woman’s skirt on the floor in the living room, and the men’s slacks down the hall.
My footsteps were light, not that it mattered given the noises coming from his bedroom.
I wondered why he was having sex with her when we had a healthy sex life.
Na?vely, I’d assumed people who cheated did so because they weren’t having sex with their partners.
Maybe the spark had faded. Not that I was endorsing cheating in any case, but I simply couldn’t believe this was happening when I’d believed us to be in synch.
My next question was how long he’d been cheating on me.
The bedroom door was cracked open, allowing me to see the blonde blowing my boyfriend on his bed.
It hit me, in this moment I should feel rage, betrayal, or some other extreme emotion.
Perhaps devastation? But no. Instead, I simply felt disappointed.
Disappointed I’d trusted in my first relationship, and in my moment of need he wasn’t there for me.
Nope, he was busy getting his dick sucked by someone else.
The sound of my voice clearing reached Chad before it got to the blonde. If I wasn’t numb to all emotions, I might have found it comical the way he jumped up and jerked out of her mouth with a distinct pop.
“Oh, fuck. What are you doing here?”
Really? His question was almost as ridiculous as someone asking if I was joking about having cancer. “I came to see you after my appointment.”
My eyes flicked to blondie, who was wide-eyed and looking as if she would rather be anywhere else.
Then her gaze narrowed. “Wait, you have a girlfriend?”
“Had. He’s all yours now.” I turned, no longer wishing to hang around.
“Wait, Layla, wait. Give me a minute.” He must’ve scrambled off the bed as he was now tugging on my elbow in the hall.
I yanked it away, my eyes tracking down to his now-softening erection. “No, you don’t get a minute while your dick is still wet from another woman’s mouth.”
Speak of the devil, she was out of his bedroom, picking up her clothes along the way. In the living room, she gave me a tearful look. “I’m sorry. For what it’s worth, he didn’t say he had a girlfriend.”
As easy as it would be to blame her, I didn’t. She looked barely legal and appeared sincere in her apology. “Not your fault if you didn’t know. Do you need a ride anywhere?”
She hesitated. “You sure?”
Why the hell not? There was something immensely satisfying about hijacking my boyfriend’s blow job. Yep, I was taking being cheated on like a fucking boss. “Sure. Come on. I’ll drive you home.”
Chad was incredulous, frantically trying to put on his trousers while hopping in from the hallway. “You can’t be serious. We have to talk, Layla.”
“Actually, we don’t. Our relationship is over in case you’re not keeping up with the latest situation.”
Blondie put on her shoes but evidently needed to express her dissatisfaction over the circumstance. She walked up and slapped Chad in the face. “You’re a lying, cheating asshole.”
Huh. What did it say when she seemed to be more upset over his cheating than I did? I blamed the cancer diagnosis for numbing me to his betrayal. Or perhaps it was simply my pride not allowing me to cry.
“Wait. At least tell me how your biopsy results were today. I was worried.”
A humorless laugh escaped my throat. “Oh, yeah, I could tell just how worried you were. Don’t go losing any sleep over it, Chad. It’s no longer your business.”
He managed to appear genuinely upset. Over getting caught, having his blow job interrupted, or our breakup, I couldn’t be sure, but it didn’t matter when I had bigger problems. Not to mention, I had his side piece to drop off before I could focus on any of them.
Once the two of us were in the car, she spoke. “That was the first time, in case you were wondering. I mean, maybe you weren’t. I’m sorry. I’ll shut up.”
I followed her directions to her place. Thankfully, she didn’t live far. Now with the confrontation over, and the adrenaline waning, my emotions were starting to hit me. I was starting to regret my decision to spend any time with the girl who’d been blowing my newly dubbed ex-boyfriend.
“I appreciate you telling me.” At least I would at some point. But she probably wasn’t the first girl he’d been with.
“How long were you two together?”
“A year.”
“Turn left here, then it’s the first right into the lot. I’m really sorry. We met at an audition a few weeks ago, and again today. I thought he was different.”
I finally pulled into her parking lot, stopping the car. “So did I.”
“Again, I’m sorry. And did he say biopsy? I really hope it’s okay.”
Damn, the girl would have to bring it up.
“It’s fine, but thank you for asking.”
“I’m Felicia, by the way, not that you really wanted to know that. You’re beautiful. I guess I’m stunned he would cheat on you.”
A compliment in the midst of chaos. I’d take it. I’d also take the irony of being able to say, “Bye, Felicia.”
“Bye.” She got out of my car with a wave. Her exit was just in time as my emotions started to check back in. I pulled out of the lot with silent tears running down my face.
By the time I’d driven to my place and gone inside, I was doubting all of my life choices. Clearly, I had not chosen to surround myself with the right people.
I had no one to rely on. Actually, that wasn’t true. I had my family in Washington. I swallowed hard, looked around my apartment, and started thinking about whether I wanted to stay here.
It was time to dry my eyes, make some decisions, and call my brother.