She shook her head as she shouldered her handbag. “I don’t want to hear it.”
She started walking out of the headquarters. He matched her quick strides. “What I did...you might have considered doing the same if you were in my place.”
She glared at him. “No, I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t have shut down a legitimate newspaper just because I could. I wouldn’t have paid two hundred thousand dollars to have sex with someone for a week. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should!”
He grabbed her arm and stopped her. “Would you rather I’d left you with Jake Whitehurst?”
“That wasn’t the point I was making.”
She yanked herself free and was out the door. Exactly where she was headed, he couldn’t tell.
“The point you’re making is that you’re a better person,” he said. “Fine. I won’t deny I’m an asshole, but all’s fair in love and war, love.”
“That is a bogus cliché to excuse men from playing less than fair.”
“Fair? You want to talk fair? How is an FPPC investigation into an innocent man fair?”
She pursed her lips. “I’m sorry that happened. I’m sorry in so many ways, there’s probably not enough ways for me to say it. So I guess we’re even now.”
They were in front of a bus stop.
“I’ll take you home,” he said.
“I don’t want you to take me home.”
She looked down the street. There was no bus in sight. Spotting a man standing next to his car, she hurried toward him. “Excuse me, sir, would you mind giving me a lift?”
Bill glanced at Ben, clearly taken by surprise. “Well, um...”
“I’ll pay you fifty bucks,” she offered.
“You don’t need a ride,” Ben intervened. “Bataar can—”
She whirled around to face him. “I don’t want a ride from you. I don’t want to be with you right now!”
“So you’re going to get a ride from a total stranger?” he demanded.
“I’ve got my cellphone, I’ll be fine,” she responded through gritted teeth. “And, frankly, I’m not your problem.”
Without waiting for Bill to respond, she opened the passenger door and hopped in. Bill looked awkwardly at Ben but fished out his keys.
Fuck! He didn’t want to let her go, but he couldn’t think of anything to say to convince her to stay. Maybe she would be better off with some time and distance to cool off. He gave Bill a nod.
Bill got in the car. “Where do you need to go, miss?”
Ben watched them drive away. He could total a car right now. Drive his fist into a streetlight. Instead, he only stood on the sidewalk as conflicting emotions raged inside him. Part of him was tormented by her anger and dismay and only wanted to make things right for her. Another part of him was incensed that she couldn’t see his side of things. Sure, saying that the shutdown of her newspaper wasn’t his problem sounded harsh, but it was the truth. And the Tribune wouldn’t have lasted long anyway.
But knowing that didn’t make him feel better.
Turning around, he walked back toward his car. Bataar, leaning against the Porsche and soaking in the warm California sun, straightened. Seeing that his boss was unhappy, Bataar didn’t say a word. It was one of the better qualities in men. A woman would pounce with questions like “What’s wrong?” and “Is everything okay?”
It was fucking obvious that things were far from okay. And he hadn’t even had the chance to ask Kimani about the football game.
Chapter Nineteen
Kimani hit the decline button on her cell when Ben’s number came up. How many times had she tried calling him? Now the shoe was on the other foot. She didn’t refuse his calls because she was into payback. She didn’t want to talk to him because she was too heartbroken. In a way, the closure of the Tribune was her fault. If she had never told Sam about that text that led to the article that led to Ben’s anger, the Tribune might still be up and running.
She looked herself over in the mirror to make sure she looked good in her slim trouser pants, blouse and blazer. A local lifestyle magazine was looking for a part-time writer, and though the job included some marketing duties and was far from ideal, Kimani wanted work. She could keep herself busy with Gordon’s campaign, but the more she worked for Gordon, the more she increased her chances of running into Ben.