Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 102361 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102361 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Barry looks our way and scowls. “What the fuck do you want?”
“I just need to ask some questions.” I slap the folder on the counter, and Barry opens it, scans the top page, and then his face goes red.
“That little bitch.”
“Uh-oh,” Beck breathes behind me.
“What did you just call her?”
“Listen, I don’t know what she told you—”
“She didn’t have to tell me anything. I found her stranded at the side of the road this afternoon after she left here with a car that should have been fixed. Instead, that engine looks like you’ve done nothing but make sure she’ll be back in here so you can suck more money out of her.”
“So what?”
“Fucking hell,” Bridger scoffs. “You’re a stupid piece of shit. You know that, right?”
“If she doesn’t like how I do business, she doesn’t have to come to me. Maybe she just likes me. She flirts with me constantly.”
And that’s all it takes to have my fist connecting with his face and dropping him to the floor.
“I’ll have you charged with assault,” he yells out at me, but I shake my head.
“No, you won’t. Because I’m quite sure that Juliet isn’t the only customer you’ve fucked over. I’d bet the IRS would love a phone call. I bet the Better Business Bureau would enjoy a conversation. Maybe I’ll call Alex at the newspaper. I can ruin your business, you piece of shit.”
“No one would believe you.”
That makes Beckett laugh, and Beck rarely laughs.
“Are you that clueless?” Beck asks him. “Everyone would believe us. You have the shittiest reputation in the area. People won’t even work for you.”
“So if you don’t want to lose what little business you have left, you’ll refund all of her money.”
His face goes white.
“I can’t do that.”
“I don’t give a flying fuck what you can do. You’re going to refund every cent to her. I added it up. Looks like that’s six thousand, four hundred dollars and twenty-three cents. All of it goes back to her today.”
“Or what?”
“Or I’ll burn this whole place to the motherfucking ground.” I push my nose in his face. I’m taller by three inches and outweigh him by fifty pounds of muscle. “Fuck around and find out, you piece of shit.”
He doesn’t reply.
“And if you try to retaliate, you’ll lose everything. You could have just been a decent human being and fixed her car. You could have even upcharged her by fifty bucks here or there. But thousands, Barry? Jesus, you’re an idiot.”
“Fuck you.”
“Not my type.” I shrug, and we head to the door. “Every penny refunded to her card today. I mean it.”
We leave the building, get in Beck’s truck, and he pulls away.
“Do you think he’ll do it?” Bridger asks.
“Yeah, he’ll do it. He knows I’ll ruin him if he doesn’t.”
Chapter Seven
JULIET
Sixteen emails.
Sixteen.
I stare at my laptop, the sip of strawberry lemonade I just had still sitting in my mouth because I hadn’t even swallowed yet when I opened the emails, and now I’m just sitting here, frozen, staring in disbelief.
Because that bitch has sent me sixteen emails in the past two days.
The audacity.
Finally, I swallow my drink.
At least she’s not texting or calling me, but still. That’s a whole lot of emails in two freaking days. And every single one gets more aggressive. When I open the last one, all I can do is laugh. Because she’s lost her mind if she thinks she can talk to me like that and still get her way.
WHY WON’T YOU ANSWER ME? I need the fucking money, you stupid whore. Just send me the five grand! He would want me to have it! He gave me anything I wanted, and now you’re holding out on me, you selfish, jealous bitch! He never loved you. You were a joke to him. Give me what you owe me!
Without responding, I shut the computer and sigh into my glass of lemonade. I fucking hate her. I wish with all my might that delegating money to her wasn’t my responsibility.
Why did you do that to me, Justin? After everything else, you had to add in the fact that I have to pay your mistress until the end of time?
Asshole.
I move to my small dresser and pull out some clothes for today. I don’t have much that isn’t dirty since I haven’t been able to go to the laundromat. I also have towels, aprons, and other linens from downstairs that I need to wash. I've heard that there’s a laundry service run by a really nice woman named Abbi Wild. I wonder if I could hire her until my car is fixed?
In fact, I pick up the phone and call her. She owns a cleaning service in addition to the laundry services for businesses, and I’ll happily carve out the funds to pay her to help me.