Park Avenue Player(51)

“Okay, thanks.”

“Was I not supposed to say anything?” Hailey asked.

“No, it’s fine, honey. You didn’t do anything wrong. But your uncle is going to be a little late tonight. So why don’t you go downstairs to Kelsie’s apartment and see if she wants to go to dinner with us soon. We’ll go to the hibachi place without your uncle.”

“But what about your date?”

I smiled. “Benito and I can meet later or another night.”

While Hailey went down to her friend’s apartment, I decided to do a little investigating. Hollis never answered his own phone, so I called the office, knowing I’d reach his assistant, Laurel.

“Hi, Laurel. It’s Elodie. Would you be able to give me the phone number for Hailey’s pediatrician, please? I want to set up her school physical appointment.”

“Sure, Elodie. No problem. Hang on a second.” I heard the keys on her keyboard clack a few times and then she returned. “It’s 212-555-0055.”

“Great thanks.”

“Did you want to talk to Hollis, too?”

“No, it’s fine. He’s probably in a meeting or something.”

“No, actually his afternoon meeting ended early. He should be able to make it home at a normal time for a change.”

“Oh wow. That’s great,” I lied through my clenched teeth. “But I don’t need to speak to him. Thanks for the information. Have a great weekend.”

“You, too.”

I swiped my phone off and sat in the living room, stewing. He’d been an asshole to me all week, but this crossed a line. I was furious, but also salivating at the thought of ripping him a new one when he got home later.

Shit was about to get real between us.

***

It worked out perfectly.

When Hailey and I walked Kelsie back to her apartment after dinner, Kelsie asked if Hailey could sleep over. Normally, I’d check with Hollis for something like that, but not tonight. If Hailey was at a friend’s, he’d expect me to go home, of course, and I had no damn intention of doing that. Not until he and I had a little conversation.

The door handle jingled at about nine forty-five, and my blood started to pump with fury. Over the last few hours, I’d calmed down, but the anxiousness came barreling back with a vengeance. I stood in the living room and waited.

Hollis walked in, saw me, and quickly diverted his gaze. The bastard couldn’t even look me in the eyes. “Sorry I’m so late.”

I waited until he walked into the kitchen to put his wallet and keys in the bowl on the counter, like he always did. Then I followed.

He glanced over at me, and his eyes quickly read my face. “Is everything okay?”

“No.”

For a second, he seemed genuinely concerned. “Where’s Hailey?”

I took a step toward him. “She’s fine. Downstairs with Kelsie. Her mother said she could sleep over.”

His brows furrowed. “Okay. So what’s the problem?”

I took two steps more toward him. “You.”

“Me? What the hell did I do? I just walked in.”

I closed the distance between us and jabbed my finger into his chest with each word. “You. Didn’t. Have. A. God. Damn. Meeting.”

There was always the possibility that he could’ve had a dinner meeting his assistant didn’t know about. But any small doubt I had about the game he was playing flew out the window when I saw the guilt written all over his face.

He looked away. “What are you talking about?”

I pushed up on my tippy toes and looked into his eyes. “You knew I had a date tonight. There was no meeting. You just wanted to ruin my night like I ruined yours.”

He tugged at his tie and walked around me, striding toward his bedroom.

I followed in hot pursuit. He wasn’t getting off that damn easy. “How old are you? I ruined your date unintentionally because I forgot my phone. And you go and do this on purpose?”

“Go home, Elodie.”

His attitude made me even more irate. He wasn’t even going to apologize. Did he think I would turn around and walk out the door, feeling like our score was settled now? Not a fucking chance.

Hollis walked to his dresser, pulled the tie from around his neck, and started to unbutton the cuff of his shirt.

“I’m not going anywhere! You owe me a damn apology.”

He struggled to undo his cuff, and after ten seconds of trying to open the button, he yanked, and the cufflink went flying across the room. He stared down at his wrist for a minute, and I watched as his chest heaved up and down. When he finally looked at me, there was so much anger in his eyes.

“What would you like me to apologize for, Elodie?”

“For ruining my date!”

His jaw flexed, and he took a step toward me. I backed up. My heart raced out of control.

“An apology would mean I’m sorry it happened. And I’m not. Not in the fucking least.”

My eyes widened. “You are such an asshole.”

He kept walking toward me, and I kept taking steps back. “What does that say about you? You must like assholes, Elodie.”

“Screw you. I don’t like you at all!”

“No?” His voice turned eerily calm. “So you don’t like me, but yet you want to fuck me.”