“Fuck off,” he snarls, clearly not fond of that accusation. “Your behavior is embarrassing the Carrington name. What happened today was unacceptable. Everything you do reflects on me.”
“Hold on a second,” I say, obnoxiously studying his face. “Forgive me, Charles. I thought I was speaking to your douchebag son.”
His eyes harden. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what, baby? Don’t call you out on your bullshit? Don’t get under your skin? Don’t make you want me so bad that you can’t resist getting in my face every moment of every single day?”
“You’re fucking kidding yourself if you think I want you,” he spits. “Sure, you’re fucking hot and I’m down if you want to fuck, but with a girl like you, that’s all you’ll ever be. A means to an end. Just another whore begging for a little attention. That’s the way it was with Charlie, right? He fucked that tight little cunt and all but forgot you existed. He couldn’t wait to go bragging, sealing the deal so you’d never come running back for more.”
“Fuck you,” I growl, unsure why his words cut so deep. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Charlie isn’t like that.”
“Isn’t he?” Colton laughs. “You’ve known him for two fucking seconds. I’ve known him my whole life. You’re a fucking game and he played you just how he wanted.”
No. I refuse to believe it. It wasn’t like that with Charlie. I know boys. I can smell their bullshit from miles away and Charlie is a genuine guy despite his many flaws. He wouldn’t intentionally hurt a woman like that … I don’t think at least.
Shit. Maybe I have been fooled. Have I been looking at this the wrong way?
I feel like such an idiot and the fact that it’s happening right in front of Colton just seems to make it so much worse.
Seeing the realization on my face, he laughs. “That’s what I thought,” he tells me. “So maybe now you’ll listen. Stay the fuck away from my friends.”
Not willing to back down despite knowing that I’ve already lost, I narrow my eyes at him. “Have you ever stopped to notice that your friends are the ones who are always coming at me, not the other way around? Maybe they’re the ones who you should be warning to back off.”
He laughs. “If they want to come at you for an easy fuck, that’s their business, but they’re smart enough to see through trash like you. You won’t be getting a fucking dime.”
Hurt seeps through my chest. I know at the very start he’d accused me of being just like all the other girls who hang around these guys, desperate for a payday, hoping maybe they can get themselves knocked up and claim a bucket load of cash. If he thinks I’m anything like that, he’s got me all wrong.
I raise my chin, hating that he can see the hurt in my eyes. “I think it’s time for you to fuck off now.”
He tsks me. “Is that any way to speak to your new boss?” he questions, reaching out and pulling the bandana out of my hair. He pinches it between two fingers as though it is drenched in filth. “This isn’t part of your uniform, trash,” Colton says, dropping the bandana into the dirty mop water. “I expect a higher standard from my help.”
With that, he walks away, tracking dirty footprints through my freshly mopped floor, making everything inside of me ache.
Chapter 25
After finishing off a few extra jobs for Maryne, I start making my way back to the staff quarters. The start of my shift was freaking awesome. I was actually enjoying myself. It was relaxing and knowing that this was the start of the rest of my life went a long way in making me forget that Colton was my boss and I was officially the help. I’m making my own cash now and one day, I’ll have enough to get me the hell out of here and away from Colton freaking Carrington.
His words though … fuck. They tore me apart and killed my vibe in a big way. I don’t know why I allowed him to get to me like that. They were just empty words. It’s always empty words with him, but for some damn reason, his opinion matters.
I hate that. I want to be stronger than that. I’ve grown up in a town where the horrible things people say are a million times worse, yet when it comes from Colton Carrington, it cuts me down.
I guess what he said wasn’t all that horrible compared to other things he’s said and done over the past few weeks, you know, except for suggesting that Charlie played me. I don’t understand why that doesn’t sit well with me. It’s not as though I was hoping for something more with Charlie. It was just a little fun to scratch an itch, we both knew that. There’s never been anything more than innocent flirting between us, but I guess I just assumed that Charlie was a little more honest, maybe even a bit of a gentleman. I didn’t peg him as the type to screw someone over and then brag about it to the world. I thought he was classier than that.