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Let the Games Begin
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Asking for a Friend Blowing Him Off
LAYTONBrice Peterson’s jaw hardened and his shoulders tensed. Nothing in his fancy office with his multi-million dollar view over lower Manhattan could save him from his past. I was here to make sure he knew that.In his tailored three piece suit with his blond hair slicked back, he looked every inch the high priced lawyer he had become after our paths diverged after high school. Plenty of jokes about how lawyers were scummy people in one way or another crept into my mind.The difference was that Brice really was a scummy person, as I’d found out less than twenty-four hours ago. His name wasn’t one I ever expected to hear again, much less in the context of him having fathered a little girl I had grown fond of, with a woman I was falling for.“What did you say?” Anger and suspicion flashed in his green eyes, but he smoothed it away so fast I would have missed it if I hadn’t been waiting for it.Looking right into his eyes, I repeated, “I wanted to talk to you about Marissa Hughes.”Ma
Asking for a Friend Blood Bath
LAYTONI totally stood her up. Stood Annie up. There was no doubt in my mind there would be hell to pay for that. Before I went home, I was going to have to come up with a solid plan and a fucking good apology.The hotel the receptionist told me about was a plain looking brick building with a faded red awning over the entrance and an actual red carpet outside. A doorman with a black hat on stood outside, opening the door with a sweep of his arm, a smile and a gruff, “Welcome to the Ideal, sir.”As I walked into the lobby, I didn’t know if the place was—as the name suggested—ideal. But it was very nice. It was an old world charm kind of hotel, complete with golden curtain rails and a sweeping staircase covered by a plush emerald carpet.There were modern elements incorporated as well. I knew without having to ask that the nightly price tag was going to be steep. Such a place in this part of town was sure to cost a pretty penny. But I didn’t mind. I just wanted to get to my room so I co
Asking for a Friend Sleeping on the Couch
MARISSAAnnie’s bed was empty when I woke up on Monday morning. It was still made and her clothes from the day before were lying in a pile on her bed where she always put them after getting in her pajamas and before taking it to the hamper when she went to bed.My heart sputtered to a stop before picking up again and kicking into overdrive. Panicked, I raced through the house calling her name. “Annie? Baby? Where are you?”I reached the living room and saw a pile of blankets on the couch with a small shape stirring beneath them. Relief flooded me from my fingers to my toes. Annie sat up, rubbing her eyes. “Mommy? Were you calling me?”“What are you doing on the couch, honey? You nearly gave me a heart attack.” I went to sit next to her, pulling her into my arms until my racing heart quietened down.“I came to sleep on the couch in case Layton came by late.” Late? Try thirty-six hours late. My blood simmered at the same time that my heart broke over the dashed hope in Annie’s blue eyes
Asking for a Friend Resignation
MARISSADenise let out a low, sad sigh. The corners of her full mouth turned down. “I know what you went through, hon. And I’m not trying to make excuses on Layton’s behalf, what he did was wrong. But Marissa, he’s not your ex. He might have a perfectly valid reason for not showing up.”“Aside from bleeding out somewhere in a gutter, there is no reason why he couldn’t just have sent me one damn text to tell me he wasn’t going to make it. He didn’t even need to give me a reason, he could’ve just given me heads up so I could have prepared Annie. If he’d done that, I would’ve waited to hear why he didn’t show. If we’re not worth one text, he’s not worth our time.”She placed her elbows on the table and crossed her arms, her head slightly tilted. “You’ve been hurt before, babe. Trust me, I get it. But I think maybe just this once, you should consider letting your guard down. Just hear him out before you make a decision.”This time, I was the one who wanted to object, but she gave me a loo
Asking for a Friend The Jerk
LAYTONMy day out with Brice in the big city was about to kick off any minute, and I, for one, couldn’t wait anymore. I spent the rest of the day yesterday and all morning today alternating between working, seething and wondering how he turned into someone who abandoned his own child.The Brice I knew was self-centered, sure. But abandoning your child? That was next level shit.He arrived right on time at eight on the dot. Dressed more casually today in slacks and a cashmere hoodie covered with a thick coat, he looked more like the guy I knew than the high powered attorney I saw yesterday, I reminded myself that his clothes were just window dressing.Even if he vaguely resembled someone I once called a friend, he wasn’t that guy. Not even close. He grinned when I opened the door, brushing his hair out of his eyes. “You ready for an awesome day?”“Let’s go.” I didn’t mind playing his game for as long as it took to get him to talk about Marissa. I knew what I signed up for yesterday, bu
Asking for a Friend A Promise
LAYTON“Drop me?” His eyes widened, even as he shook his head from side to side. “They won’t drop me. I’ve always done great work for them. They love me.”Yeah, I was sure they did. But disagreements happened. It happened that sometimes your ‘great work’ still wasn’t good enough. I wasn’t here to give him career advice, though.I shrugged and changed the subject instead. “How are your folks?”“I don’t know,” he said lightly. “It’s not like I have time to catch up with them all the time.”Boy, he really was a douche. “You haven’t managed to carve out time to speak to them in so long you don’t even know how they are?”“You know how it goes,” he shot me a ‘you understand’ smirk. “Life gets busy. You lose touch with people. But hey, I heard about your dad passing away. I’m sorry.”“Thanks.”Brice’s gaze shifted from mine to out the window behind me. “He came to look for me once, you know.”“He did?” Yet another nugget of information that would have been handy to have known. My dad really
Asking for a Friend Cause a Scene
MARISSAAt the end of day two at the office with no sign of Layton, I was starting to wonder if he’d taken a permanent leave of absence simply for the purpose of avoiding me. There were many things I could say about him, but I never thought he was a coward. Well, not seriously. I was starting to wonder, though.I had no idea how much money he inherited from his dad or how much of his own he had, but it stood to reason that he had more than enough to never have to work again. It was within the realm of possibility that he caught a first class flight to a tropical island and was sipping cocktails on the beach with a busty local on each arm, laughing about the naive woman he’d left behind.Okay, so maybe the last bit was a little too much. He wouldn’t be laughing about me. He probably never even thought about me. Especially if he really did have scantily clad island girls on his arms.Just the thought of his touching someone else made my heart sink and ache, but I pushed it away. Whateve
Asking for a Friend Protecting Her
MARISSAPressing my lips together, I dropped my chin to my chest and took a deep breath. “Well, actually. Um, about that.”“You’ve spoken to him?” Lines formed on her forehead as her eyes shot wide open. “Why didn’t you tell me?”Shifting on my feet, I kicked out my heels and stared deeply into my wineglass. “I didn’t speak to him, exactly. I just heard what he had to say.”Denise buried her head in her hands, groaning. “Uh-oh, that’s a ’guilty Marissa’ face if I ever saw one. What did you do?”“I didn’t do—” seeing the way she was reacting, I knew she already knew I’d done something. Might as well tell her. “I listened to a message he left for me.”“Oh,” she visibly relaxed, lifting her head and taking her glass back into her hand. “That’s not bad. Why did you look so guilty for listening to one of your own messages?”“It wasn’t actually mine, well it really was, but—it was on the machine in his office,” I admitted, taking a big gulp of wine. It was crisp and cold, exactly what I nee
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