I could swear I see Ryan’s jaw drop, but Charles scoffs. “Whatever gets me the money, sweetheart. I was just here in a meeting to see if Anastasios would counter. Seems like they might.”

Oh, gag me. I have to force myself not to physically lose my breakfast at his demeaning nickname. “Fine.” I shrug. “I’ll bite. If you got the money, why’d you put it on social media?” I saw that caption. Only someone who can’t string a sentence together with his two remaining brain cells would have written that garbage.

“Ahh.” And that insufferable smile is back. “That one was extra because you left me high and dry at that restaurant. For your editor boyfriend, no less. God, I hope you both are in such deep shit for that.”

“Oh, please.” I laugh at his audacity. “You were sucking face with some young thing when I came back. Maybe if you had given a shit about anything I had to say, I would have stuck around until a polite time to leave.”

“Nah, Scarlett.” He makes an expression that tells me he thinks he’s won. “Leaving is kind of your thing.”

A knife. That’s what his comment feels like. Ryan would mock the cliché, but there’s no other way to describe it. It fucking hurt. Because he’s right.

And yet, I can’t let him have the last word. I lick my lips and narrow my eyes at him. “You know what, Charles? You’re right—that is my thing. And you’re lucky it is. You’re the kind of trash that takes itself out, so I am going to leave now so I can stand by and watch it happen.”

With that, I turn on my heel and walk right out the door and to my car, pulling out of the parking lot and putting as much distance between myself and Charles and Anastasios Press as I can.

Chapter 33

Ryan

“Don’t follow her,” Trina says as soon as Scarlett is out the door of the conference room. “She said she needed space.” Everyone filed out quickly after the meeting was over, so Trina, Casey, and I are the only ones here.

“I can help her,” I say. I feel like I’ve been saying that a lot lately, and I wish people could just see that I’m good for her. We make a good team.

“She doesn’t need help. She needs space,” Trina reiterates. “And besides, you have to transfer all the files to Casey so he can finish this job as fast as he can. You’re done with it, Ryan. I should have insisted on it from the start.” The last part she says mostly to herself, but it still stings.

Casey claps a hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, man. I had my reservations, but I was rooting for you. This book…Scarlett…I wanted it to work out.”