Gypsy

Chapter 33

·Adam·

The bell chimes over the door and I look up to see Zara step inside. She takes in the scene before her, and I watch as her face noticeably pales.

"Sorry," she mumbles before she turns and flies back out the door. I am powerless to stop her.

"Zara! Wait!" She doesn't wait, of course, and that makes my blood burn even hotter. This is the last straw.

After weeks of not hearing from Kylie, it had surprised me when she'd just strolled right in here, as if she was actually wanted and belonged. But she's the last person I'd ever want to darken my doorstep again, here or anywhere else.

I want to push her away but I know how that might look on the video. And so I let her keep her hands where they are. But though I don't dare touch her, I raise my voice just enough for the sound system to pick it up clearly.

"I asked you to please take your hands off me. I don't want you to touch me. It makes me very uncomfortable."

I can't think about Zara right now. I need this video of Kylie harassing me yet again. While the cameras outside don't record sound, the ones inside my office spaces do. She won't be able to turn this evidence against me. I will remain calm this time. I won't shout at her, I won't make a move that might be taken as an advance that could lead to violence. I will stand right where I am and wait for her to keep showing her ass.

I might not have had proof to back my claims that what had happened last time was HER fault, but by God, I'll have it this time.

"Who was that, Adam?" she asks, her tone a soft purr that makes me cringe.

"No one that concerns you."

"Oh, my. Adam, was that your girlfriend?"

My eyes flit to hers as she leans away, and the dark amusement I see in them causes the muscles in my jaw to tighten. I feel my fingers wanting to curl into tight fists, but I will them not to. That might be taken as aggression, and I won't give that impression again.

"She was, wasn't she?" Kylie persists in her questioning. "I had no idea our breakup would lead you to the slums, Adam. She looked homeless. Couldn't handle the hard stuff, so you're choosing something ... easy?"

She leans her head closer to me and I lean mine away. If she was a guy, she'd be picking up her teeth right now. But she's not, much to my misfortune. No one should ever look down on Zara, least of all my ex-wife.

"Why are you doing this?" I ask, focusing on keeping my voice level.

"Because you have something I want."

I laugh harshly and shake my head. I take a step back but she follows me.

"I don't know what that could possibly be. You made it pretty clear you didn't want me or anything I had to offer you. You got everything that was rightfully yours in court. Now I'm asking you, in the friendliest way I know how, to please stop harassing me and let me live my life. I'm over you."

The heat that flashes in her eyes at my final words, "I'm over you", is almost worth all this shit. She has a temper that makes mine pale in comparison. I just need to find another button to push.

"I've found someone new, Kylie. I've moved on with my life; you should do the same. Maybe someday you'll find the right person, like I have, and maybe that will make you happy. You should go. There's nothing left for you here."

"Look here, you worthless bastárd," she seethes. "Half this business is mine, and I'll have what I came here for or so help me God--"

"It's not yours, not legally or in any other way. You can't have it. You need to take your gold-digging ass off my property."