“Maybe not, Avery! Nevertheless, your attention certainly wasn’t undivided, no matter how much crap you bought for me to try to convince yourself otherwise. So yeah, I had a chance to make up for what you weren’t giving, and I took it. And I don’t feel bad.”
I shook my head. “So instead of talking to me about this shit, you decided to cheat? Were you sleeping with us at the same time?”
“We always use protection, so why does it matter?” she shrugged. “Besides, it’s not like you would have told the truth anyway. That night at the garage, when Nick walked in on us? I overheard you two talking, but there were little parts I missed. Still, I heard enough to know it wasn’t ‘just business stuff’, which is what you said. You were talking about another woman, and I knew something was off, but I thought it was insecurity. Even Tori reminded me I shouldn’t let my old st—” She stopped, narrowing her eyes and tilting her head to the side as if she’d realized something. “Tori. That’s who you were talking about. Tori. The way you reacted when she sent us those flowers, how uncomfortable those meetings after our dates were, how completely confused you seemed when she introduced us… the awkward little scene I walked in on, with you hugging her at your sister’s house… you’re in love with her aren’t you?”
I scoffed. “Maya, that’s ridiculous.”
“Uh-uh,” she laughed. “You look like a deer caught in headlights, I’m spot on. What the hell is wrong with you? Both of you? Hiring someone you’re in love with as your matchmaker?”
“When I hired her, I wasn’t—”
“Awww,” Maya said, interrupting with a sneer on her face. “You fell in love with the pretty matchmaker in the process? That is the silliest, corniest, romance novel bullshit I’ve ever heard. I cannot believe you and that girl wasted my damned time! Get your ass out of my restaurant, okay?”
“Maya…”
“Bye Avery.”
I raised my hand to my forehead, rubbing my temple with my thumb. Why was I fighting this? This was exactly what I wanted, and there wasn’t anything more to say. I turned to head out of the door, and as I was turning the corner Maya called out to me.
“Avery!”
“Yeah?” I stopped, and turned to see what she wanted.
She put her hand on her hip as she pressed her lips together, struggling with what she wanted to say. “If you’re going to try to pursue Tori… good luck to you. And that’s not some passive-aggressive thing. I mean that.”
“Uh.. Thanks.” I gave her a little nod, then turned.
“And…” she said, causing me to stop in my tracks again. “Tell that bitch I want my money back.”
— & —
“Alright man, you gonna tell me what’s going on with you, or what?” Brandon leaned back in his bar chair, eyeing me across the table as he took a swig from his scotch. We shared similar tastes, in sports, food, liquor, and women, and he and I had become friends after he and his company worked as consultants on several smaller acquisition deals for Ignition. Naturally, when it was time to do the big deal, I called him. We’d been at the bar for hours, relaxing — or attempting to— after settling the last negotiations of our deal. This was something we always did, usually with Nick in tow.
I shook my head, finishing off my drink. “No idea what you’re talking about, man.”
“Yeah right. Ace, come on, man. You haven’t cracked a single joke all night. Something’s eating you up.”
After staring into my empty glass for a second, I blurted out a response. “My girlfriend dumped my ass.”
Brandon’s eyes widened, amazed. “Damn, Ace. You got dumped?”
“I think we had a pretty mutual dislike for each other at that point, but yeah, she dumped my ass,” I admitted, with a chuckle. “Completely flipped the script on me. I was supposed to be mad at her, and I ended up cursed out.”
“Sorry to hear that, man.”