Page 69 of Passing Notes
“Go home, I’ve got this. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be right here with my fried Snickers and funnel cakes, living my best life.” She stabbed a straw into her lemonade and took a huge sip. “I’m fine now. See?”
“Are you sure?”
“Totally. Momma is here and we’ve been talking, I’m fine. But don’t go home and be alone because that’s dumb. Go see Molly at the inn or find Sadie or Willa. You’ll just wear a track in your floor pacing and ranting if you’re by yourself.”
She waved me off as a few customers approached.
“Thank you! I’m leaving.”
“Take a nap later, it’ll help! And maybe some Tums!” she hollered as I ran off.
I found Malcolm at my car waiting for me because, of course. “I assumed you’d be leaving soon,” he said. “You looked shocked when we were introduced.”
“What do you want Malcolm?” I sucked it up and gave him my best don’t-fuck-with-me smile—the one with a lot of teeth that said I’d be more than happy to show him all the moves I learned in self-defense class. Or maybe I should just break his fucking nose again and call it a day.
“It was unexpected, running into you here like this, Miss Hill. A bit out of our usual context, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, what an unpleasant surprise.”
“Of course you will not say one word.”
“One word? About . . . ?”
He ground his teeth together and looked away with a frustrated huff. “About nothing, obviously. That’s the entire point.”
“Ohhh, I get it. You mean that time when you didn’t grab me and force me into your office to grind your tiny little hard-on into my stomach while you tried to convince me that getting on my knees and blowing you was the only way I’d ever make partner? You mean all that nothing? Or are you talking about the time when I didn’t knee you in the crotch and break your nose? It’s a bit crooked now, isn’t it, you dirty little pig?”
“You know better than to mention any of that to anyone, don’t you, Miss Hill?” His smug smile infuriated me. “Isn’t that why you haven’t escalated your complaints against me? Secrets between colleagues are better off kept under wraps, don’t you think? Especially when one of the colleagues has secrets of her own.”
I was so over this guy and all his crap. “Are you attempting to threaten me with something? A little bit of friendly blackmail, perhaps? Spit it out, Malcolm. I’m not interested in playing anymore of your pathetic games. Does your daddy know what you get up to at his law firm?”
“I would never threaten you, Lavender Lane,” he sneered. “I’m an attorney, I know better than to waste my time making idle threats. I always have proof.”
I was at a loss for words, but my face must have given me away. This went beyond shocked; I was mortified, horrified, and also tempted to get into my car and run his ass over—problem solved. He couldn’t tell anyone anything if he was dead. Good lord, was I turning into my mother? Argh!
How did he know?
“To answer your unspoken question, private detectives can be expensive but quite worth it, don’t you think?”
I didn’t answer; I was still too stunned to say a word.
“I see I’ve made my point, so I’ll go. I’m leaving. I told Morgan I had a headache, but I have work to do at the office anyway. This dies here, between the two of us. Keep your mouth shut and I will too.”
He was a creep.
He was a sexual harasser.
And he would become Sasha’s stepfather if I didn’t say something. The very thought of him being anywhere near her made me sick to my stomach.
Damn him.
And damn Nick, too. At the very least, I deserved an introduction as a friend. Maybe I’d reconsider having dinner with him tonight. In this mood, it would do more harm than good to be with him.
CHAPTER 21
NICK
You’re mine. I love you, Clara. - Nick
