I raised a shoulder, my temper shredded. “With men like you around? Fine by me. I operate a no-pricks policy anyway.”
Turning on my heel, and dripping from where the ice had splashed me, I stalked away.
Genie stormed after me and called my name, but I didn’t stop.
“Check Jessie gets home safely,” was all I managed. But I couldn’t apologise.
Because I wasn’t wrong.
No amount of money was worth letting a man like that abuse a woman. Not on my watch.
Pausing only long enough to grab my bag, I fled the mansion, ignoring an expensive-looking car that cruised to a halt, its tall passenger climbing out.
His quietfuckalerted me to something I’d forgotten.
Oh hell. I was all but naked, the clothes I’d arrived in still folded in my bag. Snatching out my dress, I shoved it over my head and covered my nudity. At least I didn’t give the whole street an eyeful.
Enough damage had been done tonight already.
Chapter 2
Bonnie
The early morning bus trundled through Deadwater’s city centre, heavy traffic slowing our progress. After last night’s disaster of a gig, the cold light of day had given me an unhappy realisation.
Pissing off a man like Douglas Tucker had bigger ramifications than I’d considered.
In bed, unable to sleep, I’d searched on his name to remind myself just what a mistake I’d made. He sat on a panel for investors and small businesses in Deadwater. Not only that, he headed it up. A gatekeeper to investments for people like me. He’d been exactly the sort of person who could’ve helped my business, and I’d blown it.
No.He had.
My breath of disappointment disturbed a lock of brunette hair that had fallen in my eyes.
Why did men have to be like that?
I’d wallowed for an hour then pulled up my big-girl underwear. Literally. The sexiest pair I’d created, matched with a tight pencil skirt and a shocking-pink blouse with a plunging neckline. All the lingerie I’d created was hot as hell, designed to be comfortable yet make its wearer feel sexy whether she was going to the office or a club. My samples had come out perfect, but without backers, it would take years for me to earn enough money to launch a lingerie collection. I needed a different approach.
Hence the trip I was taking to the biggest and most exclusive department store for miles around. I’d been there on scouting missions multiple times but never to make a proposal. My heart thumped at the thought.
The bus stopped at traffic lights, and my phone vibrated with an incoming call. I checked the screen then popped in an earbud, answering Jessie. Her sister undoubtedly wasn’t talking to me. Genie’s door had been resolutely closed this morning. But I’d needed to know the youngster was okay so had dropped her a line while waiting for the bus.
Jessie babbled her thanks, her words fast. “You did that for me, didn’t you? After what that awful man said, I thought I was going to vomit. But my feet were glued to the ground. I don’t know what would’ve been worse, hearing him proposition me or throwing up on myself.”
My shoulders sagged. “He was a pig. Rich men always are. I only wanted you to get away.”
She sighed. “I cried in my car then drove home. I don’t know why I signed up for it. I’m not like my sister.”
The bus started moving again, and I watched the world go by, first-shift commuters with bleary eyes heading to coffee shops and offices. “That isn’t a bad thing.”
“Isn’t it? Genie’s making bank off her no-fear attitude. I wish I was braver like her. Last week, I overheard her telling a friendabout this underground game, run by the gang that owns that Divide club by the river. It’s meant to be an extreme dating experience where every couple stays together at the end, like, a hundred percent of the time. I want a boyfriend so badly so I listened in.”
My heart panged unexpectedly. It had been three, no, four years since I was last in a relationship. Even that one had been short-lived. My boyfriend hadn’t liked my temper. Whenever I spoke up against some injustice I saw, or called someone out, he’d wince and tell me to pipe down. He’d said my personality was too much.
It had been an easy decision to tell him that if he wanted less, go ahead and find it.
I didn’t miss him, but I missed sex. Casual hookups weren’t my style, and a rechargeable rubber boyfriend only scratched the itch. It never fully satisfied.
Curiosity got the better of me. “What else did Genie say about this dating experience?”