“Ever,” he corrected and looked around at the scattered mess on the coffee table – and froze as he spotted the item he never imagined seeing within the confines of her space. “Did you take a blank check from my apartment?”
“You said to make myself at home,” she puffed and then put ahand on her hip. “So I did. Ricky said you were taking a contract in Canada but that you had to be married for the job and well, I’m ready.”
“Why are you talking to my agent – behind my back?”
“Because he’s super-cute and takes care of you. I looked him up on one of those business-y websites and…”
Narrator: I didn’t expect red flag number four, but sometimes even I am surprised that people do not learn their lessons. Boys and girls, get the popcorn. This is going to get interesting…
Liam felt a vein throbbing in his forehead as he closed his eyes, counting backward, and felt his patience threatening to snap. Was he really so easily taken advantage of, so naïve that his own girlfriend could steal his bank account number, go behind his back, and contact his agent? Wasn’t there a name for that – larceny? Except theydepositedmoney inhisaccount. Money, he hadn’t earned. but she had spent – somehow.
And his agent?
Didn’t that break every privacy rule in his contract? What happened to confidentiality? How could two people take advantage of him like this, and he fell for it, completely blindsided and taken unawares.
Narrator: And three… two… one…
“Oh my gosh,” Liam whispered, suddenly seizing up in horror as everything collided in his mind at once. He’d been let go from his team this morning, breaking his contract for the position in Quebec. He had the movers coming, his plane ticket purchased, a new condo waiting for him to sign the lease, and he was on his way to drop off his Tahoe at the dealership, where he’d pick up the last bit of paperwork here in Houston. He was done with the area and moving to another country –today.
‘ …And you had to be married for the job.’
Nadine had said a few moments ago, but he hadn’t caught it – until now.
“I need to call Ricky,” Liam whispered and froze because he couldn’t. He couldn’t unload to his agent because the man betrayed him - but he was letting him go immediately.
“Me too,” Nadine huffed, causing Liam’s head to whip around in disbelief.
“I am calling the bank, calling the police, and calling my agent to handle all of this mess –MY WAY,”Liam snarled, shoving his finger in Nadine’s face as she backed away from him. “And then I am getting the heck outta here, taking that contractand marrying the first woman I can find that looks and act nothing like you!”
Nadine blinked at him, shocked.
“Do you hear me?WE ARE DONE!”And with that, Liam turned around and raced out of her apartment, slamming the door behind him hard enough to rattle the windows. His heart was slamming in his chest as his mind was in a flurry of everything he needed to possibly shut down or what else Nadine could have done to him.
He had a prior ex-girlfriend tell him once when she was dumping him that she was ending things because of his ‘lack of communication’ – so he had bared his soul and opened his home to Nadine because they had been a couple at the time during one of their ‘on-again’ moments.
“I’m so stupid,” he hissed angrily, getting to his car and slamming the door. “Pick up the phone! Pick up, pick up, pick up!”
And then heard Ricky’s voice.
“Liam, my maaaaan…”
“You listen to me,” Liam hissed angrily, driving his Tahoe over a curb like it was nothing and nearly hitting a fire hydrant. “I’m taking that contract in Quebec. I know you’ve been talking to Nadine behind my back – about me!” he raged, feeling tears of anger and frustration burning with a ferocity that was beginning to scare him as he now understood what ‘temporary insanity’ felt like… and dove in.
“I’m getting married,” he bit out, letting out a maniacal laugh before Ricky could say anything else. “I’m going to be in Quebec tomorrow, talking with the coach and their attorneys… and do you know what I’m going to tell them? Do you? Hmm?”
“Liam, calm down…”
“I’m gonna tell them thatI’m a free agent. I’m going to whip out my contract with you, show them how you broke confidence, explain that I want tosue youfor a breach of contract, and explain how I’mall inas their new team captain – and no one in the media will hear a peep about any of this, or I will sue you again. You hear me? You arefired– and you’re gonna rip up the contract with no repercussions against me because we are done!”
“Calm down and think about this…”
“Oh, I’m calm. I’m thecalmestcalm that has ever calmed, right now,” Liam ground out and pulled into a parking lot so he could let off some steam. “I’m completely calm, completely within my rights, and completely finished with you both. She spent some of the money, you know that? She spent money thatsheauthorized to be deposited into my checking account – and nowI’m on the hook for it. What do you think of that? Hmm?Hmm? Sounds illegal, doesn’t it? Did you have anything to do with it – and I suggest you think about your next words to me, Ricky –very, very carefully.”
“I guess you are a free agent,” his agent replied quietly.
“I guess I am,” Liam spat angrily. “I want my fees refunded within twenty-four hours because I need to get a different bank account. Twenty-four hours, Ricky, or I’m going to take you both to the cleaners. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to freeze any outgoing withdrawals on my account and catch a flight. I’ll handle my own life from here.”
“Good luck, my man. I wish things could have been different.”
