“You can’t talk to me like that.”
“Come on. This is New York. What do you want, flowers?”
“I want you to get out and never contact me again. You’re an asshole.”
“Why are you being difficult?”
I clenched my fists at my side. “You’re treating me like shit, and I won’t have any of it.”
“Jeez, I knew you’d be high maintenance. That’s why I said no in the first place. Women like you always think they’re better than the rest just because they make good money.”
Wait a second. That was his problem? He couldn’t deal with my success, so he put me down?
“Well, then, I’m high maintenance, and you’re an asshole. Get the hell out of here.”
My face felt hot as anger coursed through me.
When he didn’t budge, I walked to the door, opening it for him.
“Out! Don’t text me again, and don’t you dare show your face at either of the stores.”
“I pity the idiot who thinks fucking you is worth putting up with all your crazy.”
He smirked right before leaving.
I wanted to call out “Fuck You” for the entire street to hear, but I didn’t need a bad rep before we opened for business. Instead, I shut the door violently before leaning against it. I was fuming, and I still had to finish unpacking. I ordered some office supplies so Skye and I could work from here. We also ordered desks from IKEA, because they had the fastest delivery times, but those hadn’t been shipped yet.
As I was taking out the supplies, I had an idea. I should put an “Opening Soon” sign in the window. That way, passersby would already know something new was coming here. The sign with Soho Lingerie was nowhere near done, but a teaser would still help. I was also going to put the link to our website, advertising that people could subscribe to our newsletter if they wanted to be notified when the store opened.
The sound of the door opening caught my attention.
If Kevin had returned...
But thankfully it was Liam. The corners of my mouth instantly lifted.
“Hello, handsome. The box wasn’t heavy, so I brought it here myself. Your carrying skills aren’t necessary anymore, but I can think of a few fun ways in which you can show me those muscled arms.”
Liam wasn’t smiling. Something was off.
“I saw a guy leaving the store.”
My good m
ood plummeted. “Yeah...”
“Who was it? Kinda looked like that taco guy.”
“It was him. Kevin.”
Liam put his hands in his pockets, cocking his head to one side. Was he avoiding looking at me?
“Do you see him often?”
“Actually, no.” I was in no mood to talk about Kevin.
“I don’t want you to see him anymore.”
I bristled. “What?”