The Daddy Box Set

“You know, I need to go. I, uh, I have to finish washing the dishes,” I stammered. “I’ll talk to you later.

“Tessa, wait—”

I hung up. My eyes were burning, and I felt betrayed from every direction. My world had been turned upside down and inside out, and he was given the day off? I was sure it would be a paid day off, too. How backasswards was that? I lose everything, and he loses a day of teaching. A half day at that! So much for equality and all that other women’s lib crap.

It was bullshit and incited my anger even more. I needed to plot my revenge or at least my way back in. I had to graduate. I can’t imagine the past four years going up in flames over a few rounds of sex. I was filled with anger to the point I couldn’t sit still. I turned on the speaker, pulled up my angry playlist, and cranked it as high as it would go. I grabbed the cleaning supplies, dropped to my knees, and scrubbed the kitchen floor with a small brush.

By the time I was finished, I felt a little more relaxed but still pissed as hell. The old tile floor had never looked better. I could eat off of it—or? Despite everything, I was still thinking of where to have sex with Ian next. We’d always been at his house. Now that I wasn’t a student, we could fuck anywhere and everywhere.

Wow. Where did that come from?

He obviously had me under a spell. That was the only explanation.

The scrubbing had been cathartic, but now I needed to put away the rubber gloves and figure out my next move. I yanked open the freezer and nearly jumped for joy when I found a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Rocky Road. Apparently, there was a God, and he had abandoned me, but at least the ice cream fairy hadn’t let me down.

Maria was calling my phone. I didn’t want to answer. I was feeling humiliated. She obviously knew by now what had happened.

“Hello,” I finally picked up the phone.

“Oh. My. God. You have got to be shitting me!” she yelled. “Why didn’t you call me?”

I blinked back tears. Hearing her confirm what my brain had been trying to push away and deny made it all too real.

“Sorry,” I mumbled around a mouthful of ice cream.

“Bullshit. Are you home?”

“Yes.”

“Have you talked to Ian?” she asked.

“Kind of,” I said, trying to fight down the anger that was bubbling to the surface.

“Did he get fired? Jake said he didn’t, but that doesn’t make sense. Are you sure you’re actually expelled?”

Since I hadn’t told her I was, I knew the information had come from Ian to Jake. Everyone was going to know.

“No, he didn’t get fired. He was told to take the day off,” I said, sarcasm dripping from every word.

I heard a small scream followed by a string of curse words that would have made a trucker blush.

“We are going to scheme and plot and come up with a way to make that bitch pay,” she said in a menacing voice.

I had to laugh. “This isn’t Gossip Girl, and we don’t know the first thing about scheming. I do want to make her cry a little though. When will you be home?”

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes—with more ice cream,” she said, knowing me well.

“What am I going to do?” I sobbed.

“We’ll figure something out, hon. Remember, I’m dating a badass lawyer who just happens to have a vested interest in all of this. Relax, finish that pint, and I’ll bring more, plus some alcohol,” she said in a gentle, mothering voice.

She hung up, and all I could think about was my mom. She would be so disappointed. This

would crush her. I was her last hope for graduating from college and really doing something with my life. She had worked so hard all those years, only to lose Talia too soon and to have me fail just before the finish line.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Ian