“Paige, you are a sweet, honest person and a great friend. You’ll be okay,” Lorelei reassures me.
My chest starts to ache as I feel her turn the knife a little deeper into my heart with her words. I thought that by walking away from Matt I would be able to forget about him and his problems. Instead, they followed me home. Even the guilt I feel at Lorelei’s words isn’t enough to make me change my mind about what I’m going to do.
As soon as I kissed him, I knew I would help him. I’m sure if I explain to Kennedy that there isn’t a case here with Matt being a cheater, we could close it and open up a new one for him so there isn’t a conflict of interest. But I know Kennedy won’t believe me. She thinks I’m a softie, and she’ll just assume I’m taking Matt’s side because he’s hot, especially since I convinced her she should trust Griffin because that man is sex on a stick. It doesn’t matter if I was right; I need to be smart about this.
I need to have solid proof that Melanie is the cheater before I bring Kennedy in.
CHAPTER 5
Paige, please. You’re being unreasonable.”
I grit my teeth and try my hardest not to throw the phone against the wall as I sit at my desk and listen to Andy beg. I knew I shouldn’t have answered the phone this morning.
“I’m being unreasonable? Are you kidding me with this right now? I’m not giving you any money, Andy. If memory serves me correct, you already have plenty of my money. That’s why we’re divorced,” I remind myself.
Like clockwork, every week for the past month, Andy has called asking for money. He’s either extremely desperate, or has the biggest set of balls known to man. And since I was married to him for five years, I know for a fact the latter isn’t true.
“I’m not asking for a lot. Just a little bit to tide me over until my bonus from work comes in. I swear I’ll pay you back,” he pleads.
“Right, like you paid me back the six hundred grand you stole? I don’t think so.”
“We were husband and wife. It’s not stealing. Everything is fifty-fifty when you’re married,” he reminds me.
“Wow, my math must be really rusty, because you didn’t take fifty percent, YOU TOOK IT ALL!”
I’m shouting now. I really hate him for making me lose my temper.
“I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t important. I owe someone money and this person is going to kill me if I don’t pay off my debt,” Andy explains.
“Yes, I know. You owe me money and I am definitely planning on all the fun ways I’m going to kill you if you don’t stop calling me and asking me for money.”
Andy sighs on the other end, and I glance down at the notepad in front of me and realize I’ve written his name and made so many Xs through it that I’ve ripped the page to shreds.
“Paige, this is serious. I’m in a lot of trouble here. It’s only twenty grand.”
Wow, only twenty grand. Sure, no big deal. Let me just bend over and pull it right out of my ass.
“Andy, even if I did have the money, do you really think I’d give it to you? I’m not modeling anymore. I don’t have that kind of cash,” I remind him.
“I talked to your agent this morning. She said she’s been trying to get hold of you about a spread for InStyle. That will pay a hundred grand, easy.”
The pencil in my hand snaps in half as my anger reaches an all-time high.
“You are such a piece of scum, do you know that? I cannot believe you called Penny. Go to hell, Andy. And stop calling me.”
I slam the phone down just as Lorelei walks into the office. She stops in her tracks when she witnesses me lift the receiver and smack it back down over and over until I’m satisfied that the call has ended.
“Let me guess—Andy?”
She walks over to her desk and sets her briefcase on top. I get up from my chair and go over to her as she takes a seat.
“I really don’t understand why I married him. Guys like him should be required to wear a sign that says ‘I will suck the life out of you,’” I complain.
“How much does he want this time?” Lorelei asks as she pulls a few files out of her briefcase and I perch my hip on the corner of her desk.
“Oh, only twenty thousand dollars. No big deal.”
Lorelei laughs and shakes her head. “If he calls again, pass it over to me. I’ll use a bunch of big, legal words on him and scare him straight.”
I laugh with her and hear the bell ring above the front door, signaling a customer. Craning my head to look over my shoulder, the laughter dies and I let out a gasp. Without even thinking, I dive under Lorelei’s desk.
“What the hell are you—”
I smack her leg to make her shut up as she stares under her desk at me with a confused expression on her face.
“Excuse me, I’d like to talk to someone about hiring a private investigator.”
I watch from under the desk as Lorelei’s head whips up, and I wince as her eyes widen in shock.
“You’re Matt Russo,” Lorelei whispers.
I smack her leg again and this time, she retaliates by kicking me in the shin. I smack my hand over my mouth to keep the yelp of pain from escaping.