Especially with Sid moving away. That thought brought another wave of tears. Yes, she was utterly alone now. A woman like her needed more than one cat. And the two cats were a comfort, especially right now. Both of them had curled up beside her on the couch, and their contented purrs were the only thing keeping her from flying apart into a million shattered pieces.
The last thing she expected in that moment was for Matt to come knocking at her door. It was barely 10:30 a.m. She’d expected him to remain at the office, hanging out with Arwen. She’d expected him to stay late at work, the way he almost always did.
But instead he was pounding on her door, banging away at her resolve. Dammit.
“Courtney. I know you’re in there. Answer the damn door.”
“Go away,” she finally shouted.
“What the hell is up with you? Why’d you put my stuff in the hallway?” The angry edge in Matt’s voice annoyed the crap out of her. Where did he get off being angry anyway? He wasn’t the aggrieved party.
Aramis, or was it Porthos—sometimes it was hard to tell these cats apart—looked up at her with a pair of green eyes. Somehow the cat seemed to be judging her. It had to be Porthos. He probably wanted to go home.
She scattered the cats as she got off the couch. She yanked the door open. “I’m not giving Porthos back. You don’t deserve him.”
He stood there with the patented Lyndon frown riding his forehead and his dark eyes sparking with a fury of his own. “What the hell is wrong with you? Leslie is all upset. She’s starting to think maybe she and Sid are rushing things. How could you be so cruel?”
“What? I told Sid I was happy for him.”
“Then why did you run away in tears? Honestly, Sid would have come himself, but I told him I’d haul you back down there. Come on. This is a day for—”
“Shut up. Don’t. Just don’t.”
“Don’t what? And what’s with my stuff in the hallway?”
“You have no clue, do you? You think you’ve completely fooled me.”
“Fooled you. About what?”
“You and Arwen. It all makes perfect sense. You with the late nights, and her wanting someone who could romance her. I should have seen it. I’m such an idiot.”
He stood there blinking at her, surprise all over his handsome face, as if it had never occurred to him that she’d figure it out. What was it about Hook-up Artists anyway? Every damn one of them was so sure of himself.
“I can’t believe this,” he said.
“What about it can’t you believe?”
“Everything.” He huffed out a breath and leaned into the doorframe. “You know, Courtney, you have a serious trust problem. And even though I understand the reasons for it, I’m not sure I can live with it. I sure as hell don’t want to be constantly judged and found wanting. That’s bullshit, you know?” His voice had gone low and hard, the anger red-hot.
“Really? You’re going to go all Man Baby on me and accuse me of being the problem?”
“Yeah, I am.” A muscle pulsed in his jaw as he pushed away from the doorframe. He took one backward step. “You should go back and tell Sid and Leslie that they have your blessing.” He turned and gathered his stuff. But before he slipped his key into his front door, he turned and looked over his shoulder. “I want Ghul back.”
“Ghul? He’s not yours.”
“You took Dr. Doom that day you left in the wee hours of the morning. You can keep him. But I want Ghul back.”
“In your dreams.” She slammed the door in his face.
Chapter Seventeen
Matt dropped his stuff on the floor inside the door and headed back to the office, head down, teeth clenched, and with a strange hollow place in his chest. The morning’s happiness had evaporated.
How dare she? After the things he’d done, the things he’d said, the way he’d acted. Didn’t she understand? How could Courtney possibly think that he’d hook up with Arwen?
Sure, he had become pretty good at picking up women and showing them a good time. But he wasn’t a jerk. He’d never been a jerk. He didn’t cheat on the woman of the moment, even if the relationship was understood to be strictly physical and strictly short-term.
He did not mess around with the women he worked with.
And he would never mess around with the best friend of the woman he was sleeping with.
He was truly insulted by her accusations. Insulted and saddened. How could he possibly continue a relationship with a woman who was that insecure? He’d always be looking behind his back. He’d always be trying to prove himself.
And wasn’t he tired of doing that? All the time?
He bypassed the protest, which seemed to have gained momentum in the last hour, and returned to his windowless office, where he threw himself into his chair and sank his head in his hands.
Damn. He probably should have defended himself. But what was the use? It totally destroyed him to think that Courtney believed he was capable of that kind of behavior. Maybe he should ask Arwen to set her straight. It seemed like the logical course, but that would require him to tell Arwen how much he truly cared about Courtney. And there was still that small matter of trust.
He was sinking into despair when his desk phone rang. It was Marie Coleman, Dad’s assistant, with the summons Matt had been expecting all day.
Well, bring it on. After the fight with Courtney, he didn’t care what Dad had to say. He stalked through the hallways of LL&K, a tight knot of hostility twisting his chest.
Dad’s office was larger than David’s, with an even better view of the protesters marching in front of city
