Scrunching my nose, I gave a little shrug. That was one face I surely hadn’t missed, and it irritated me to no end how perfect her hair looked. Add to that the fact that I was sure she was involved in the embezzlement as well, and I was positively boiling with rage.
I was a girl’s girl, but people with a core that rotten shouldn’t have hair this pretty. Based on her character, it should be falling out in clumps.
Ugh.
“Saw you playing footsie over there with that rookie.Adorable,” she mock-whispered and raised her eyebrows, looking faintly amused.
Cocking my head to the side, I flattened her with an unimpressed stare.
“Didn’t know your taste had … evolved. Is he even legal yet?”
I laughed, flicking my hair over my shoulder. “That’srichcoming from you.”
“Must be nice. Low effort, low standards. All he has to do is drool when you walk past and lift heavy things.”
“You’re right. I should’ve gone for another backstabbing, clout-chasing frat boy,” I said with a cold smile, and my neck began prickling as I sensed a heavy gaze on me. ”But I’m into men now.”
I was certain he had heard the tail end of my sentence. Glancing over my shoulder, I caught sight of him, leaning in the stack entrance, cool as a cucumber.
His expression was unreadable, but his eyes were on fire. Protective. Patient. He was letting me decide. He wasn’t interrupting, just …present.
“You good, Darlin’?”
“Peachy.” I turned back around to address Aria. “Should’ve known you’d crawl out the second I had someone else’s attention on me.”
“Please. The last guy willing to date you literally had to be coerced into it.”
Bingo. I knew it.
“You always did confuse jealousy with judgment. Must be exhausting.” I said coolly.
“Well, you were always a bitch. So there’s that.” She sneered.
“Careful, sweetheart. That tone’s gonna wrinkle your Botox.” Her hand shot up to her forehead, and I let out another laugh. Of coursethatwould get to her.
“Whatever.” She scoffed. “At least I wasn’t the one who got kicked out.”
“At least I’m not a fucking backstabbing, fraudulent bitch. Goodbye.” I gave her a finger wave, a sugary sweet smile on my face. With a scoff, she turned on her heel and scuttled off.
Rage was boiling inside of me, a deep-seated fury at her audacity to come at me like that.
Who the fuck did she think she was? That girl had fornicated with half the hockey team — good for her, no shame in that — but she felt it necessary to comment on my choice of partner?
She had the gall to question my morality when they were betraying, lying, and scamming on the regular at this point.
She could get all the way fucked.
I clenched my hands into fists, my nails biting into my skin, as I took deep, calming breaths. With swift, decisive movements, I pulled the book I’d come for from the shelf and turned around.
Dom was still standing in the same spot, unmoving, his face blank. For once, his smile was missing, as though he didn’t quite know what to feel. I stopped right next to his towering form.
“Come on, let’s go back.” My fingertips brushed against his forearm, and I set off. After one step, I came to a halt again and said softly, “Thank you.”
Back at the table, I sat down with a heavy sigh and stared out the window with unseeing eyes. Trying to concentrate, I opened the heavy book and flipped through the pages, but no matter how hard I stared at the words, none of them registered in my mind.
I highlighted a couple of things in my notes, but fuck if I knew what I was highlighting in a vivid shade of pink. I wastrying to contain the maelstrom of emotions swirling inside me, trying to exert control.
I was good at control.
