Nemesis(43)

“To stay,” he says, stretching his neck from side to side. “I’m good at what I do.”

“Not just a pretty face, huh?”

“You’re the pretty one in this relationship.” He smiles widely, showing off his dimple. “No, ‘pretty’ is too casual a word. Beautiful, stunning, amazing, phenomenal.” He pauses, trying to think of another term. “The sexiest woman I’ve laid eyes on.”

I roll my eyes at him, but inside my heart does a little flip. “Laying it on a little thick today, aren’t you, Cohen?”

“Just speaking the truth.”

“I want to kiss you so badly right now,” I say, staring at his full lips.

“Which is exactly why I’m going to get some work done,” he says, walking away. I track his movements, like a lion hunting its prey, until he’s out of sight, disappearing into his office.

Maybe Jason is right, not that I’ll ever admit that out loud.

I get back to work, forcing myself to concentrate. If I want to keep this job, I need to prove that I’m capable of a high standard of work, even with that sexy man being so close by. I’ve done it up until now, so I don’t know why today is such a struggle.

Must concentrate.

I can do this.

I push Cohen out of my head and focus on the task at hand.

*****

We make it a month with no incidents at work, so I assume my job is safe. Jason and the other lawyers treat me the same, and everything goes back to normal, just like Sadie said it would. I, for one, am grateful. I don’t want to have to find another job, and I get to spend more time with Cohen this way. I also truly enjoy the job, and don’t want to move.

I hate change.

Cohen heads to the gym after work, while I go straight home. When I see a car parked out the front of my house—Dan’s car, to be exact—I go on alert. What the f*ck is he even doing here? I told him I’d call the cops if he came around me again, yet here he is. Fuming, I get out of my car, storm inside, then come to a standstill as I see him sitting on my couch. He’s not alone. Sadie, who must’ve let him in, is sitting there looking like she’d rather be anywhere else, and there’s also another woman with him. She has short dark hair, brown eyes and a wide mouth. Beautiful, but not classically so.

“What are you doing here, Dan?” I ask, looking to Sadie, who shrugs.

“I didn’t know what to do,” she says to me, sounding apologetic. “He wouldn’t leave, just kept knocking, and I felt sorry for him.”

“And who is this?” I ask to the woman, who is keeping silent.

“I just wanted to talk to you,” Dan says, acting like I’m being the unreasonable one. “We never got to sit down and have a proper conversation, Jacinta. And this is Bianca.”

I do a double take. “As in Cohen’s ex-girlfriend?”

What the actual f*ck is she doing here?

I look to Dan. What’s this game he’s playing? “What do you want? And why is she here?”

“I want you to listen to her so she can tell you what Cohen is really like. I thought I could just let you go, but I can’t have it on my conscience that you’re with that man.”

“As opposed to being with you?” I ask, eyes going wide as a saucer. I turn to Sadie, who’s cringing. “The f*ck?”

“I didn’t know this was Cohen’s ex-girlfriend. She’s pregnant, I couldn’t let her just stand out there all day.”

“You’re going to get us killed one day,” I tell her in exasperation. Then I look to Dan and purse my lips. “Or kidnapped or something.”

“This is who Cohen chose as my replacement?” Bianca says, smirking. “Downgrade much?”

My head snaps to her. The bitch needs to go back to being silent. I look down at her stomach. The retort of ‘Oh, so you kept that one’ is on my lips, but I can’t say it. I’m not an ugly person, and I’m not going to let her turn me into one.

“Why are you even here?” I ask her. “Why don’t you both just leave?”

I pull out my phone and send Cohen a quick text. He needs to be here. I can handle Dan, will probably just call the cops, but I don’t know why she is here.

“Cohen upgraded, actually,” Sadie tells Bianca, giving her a once-over and a look that simply says ‘You ain’t shit.’

I love my best friend.

“Sit down, please,” Dan says to me, and I comply, just so I can get him to leave sooner.

“You have three minutes.”

“Cohen isn’t going to be a long-term thing. I am. Why don’t you give me another chance? I won’t f*ck up again, I promise. Bianca here will tell you all about him. He’s not the man for you, Jacinta. You deserve better.”

I think Dan needs a shrink. “I see.”

He looks relieved, like he actually thinks his words have an impact on me.

“So, you found his ex and brought her here hoping she could persuade me to leave Cohen and be with you instead?”

“I just came because I wanted to see who my replacement was,” Bianca adds, pissing me off further.

She’s pregnant, you can’t hit her.

Plus, I have more class than that. Speaking of being pregnant, I wonder who the father is.