Dare Me Not | 18+ ✔

33. I'm in Deep Sh*t (Xander)

Parker is pissed. Since I started working with her in early summer, I've got to watch her facial transformation when she was getting angry, and it's what I'm witnessing now. The skin around her nose turns crimson, her lips form a thin line, her eyes become darker, and her nostrils flare.

"How can you be so dense?" She groans as she looks up at the ceiling, her fingers curling into a fist. "Why do you keep spending money on those dudes when they clearly don't give a shit about you? And this is just another level of stupidity!"

She stands and paces back and forth across the meeting room, her phone glued to her ear. I shouldn't be here because the talk sounds private, but I stay rooted in my spot and eye her moving about the room. Her petite body is rigid, and her tight skirt wrapping around her pretty legs makes her look like an angry mannequin on the display window of a fashion boutique.

"What now?" she barks. "Are you going to go after that prick and sue his ass?′ She puts one hand on her waist. "Why not? So you're going to let him take everything without a fight?" She pauses. "I don't know. Find a lawyer or whatever. Make him pay every penny back." Another pause. "What?" She lets out a sigh. "Fine. Let me know which flight."

She switches off her phone screen, but her eyes stare blankly at it. Her mind must be miles away right now.

"Are you okay?" I ask, careful not to startle her.

"Yeah. No. I don't know."

"I know it's not my business, but if you want to talk about it, you know...I'm all ears."

She snorts. "What to talk about? It's just the same old problem, and my mom never learns. She's been dedicating her life to so-called love and got screwed over and over. Can't she see that love doesn't work for everyone? It doesn't work for us."

"Well, I honestly think love is for everyone."

"Nope." She strides to her desk and picks up her files. "Because letting someone in just to let them control our life is a no-no."

"That's not how a relationship works."

"It's how a relationship works for her," she snaps, her eyes shooting a dagger, "because she doesn't know shit about how to stand up for herself. Men can easily ruin her. Look at what my dad did to her."

I sigh and prop myself from the wall. "Well, Tim is..." I pause and rub my jaws, trying to find a proper word for what I want to say. "Your father is not representing the men in general. He's different."

With the files in her hands, she walks toward me. "And so are the rest of the men my mom has dated. She keeps attracting assholes, and this has to stop. I hope this one gives her a very good lesson."

"I hope so, too." I nod and slip my hands into my pockets. "I hope Anna can get out of this one and get her money back."

"We'll see about that. I'm going to hear the full story when I pick her up tomorrow. She'd better show up, or I will be fucking done with her."

"Let me know if there is anything I can do to help."

She forces a smile, but it looks more like a flinch. "Thanks, Xander. I'm going home now."

"Hey, Parker," I call her when she opens the door. "I mean it. Hit me up if you need help."

"Alright."

***

My eyes are on the road, but my mind is still stuck in the meeting room. I know Parker is always cynical about love, but seeing how hard her expression was when she talked about it gave me a twist in the guts. I'm not sure why it even bothers me. It's not like I want to prove her wrong. I couldn't even if I wanted to.