“Another thing you need to do is clear up the misunderstanding about you and Edgar’s granddaughter.”
Misunderstanding, my ass. I knew exactly where that bull was stemming from.
“Something like that could complicate things.” She had no idea.
Chapter Fifteen
Chloe
“Can you clean up room three?” Holly moved past me and didn’t even offer me a glance when she barked orders.
“Excuse me?”
It was then she paused in her march and looked back over her shoulder. Her nose wrinkled, her brows creased, and her lips pressed in a tight line. “I said room three needs to be cleaned up.”
Part of me thought that just doing it would make things easy, keep the peace, so to speak, but an even bigger part loved the fact that this was not my job but in fact hers. “Then I guess you should probably get working on it.”
It was my turn to smirk.
“Who do you think you are?” Holly was taller than me, a little fuller, and as she got closer, I did feel a little inferior, but I stood tall and didn’t crack. “You always were a spoiled bitch. Got what she wanted when she wanted it.” I flinched when she called me a bitch a little too loud. I was fearful that my coworkers might hear us. I’d never really liked conflict; it made me nervous. “This sweet little innocent girl that everyone always catered to, it makes me sick. You have everyone fooled, but I know you’re nothing more than a selfish brat who isn’t happy with having everything already. You had to go after the one guy that I’ve always had a thing for.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t act like you don’t know how I feel about Landon. Hell, everyone knows.”
“First of all, I didn’t go after him.” I felt my pulse quicken. No way was I going to allow her to make me out to be some home-wrecker of a nonexistent relationship between her and Landon. “Second, the two of you dated once, and that was it.”
“Is that what he told you?” She let out a condescending laugh. Stepping in a little closer, she leaned in, or more like over me. “There was a whole lot more than just a date between him and me, more like some heated nights and a lot of promises.” I felt my stomach sour. “You need to back off.”
The way she narrowed her eyes at me inflicted an anger within me. “No, you need to—”
“Ladies?” The sound of Dr. Reynolds’ voice echoed down the hallway. “Is there a problem I need to know about?”
I’d been working here since I graduated college, and though it may be taxing at times, I enjoyed my work. I hated the idea of that peace being disrupted by this horrible, dramatic woman.
“Nothing, Doctor.” I bit the inside of my cheek to remind myself that this was neither the time nor the place to convince him she was psychotic. “We were just having a conversation about a patient, but everything is good.”
It was so far from good it might as well have been an alternate universe. The audacity of this bitch, it made me want to rip her eyes out.
“Okay then.” I didn’t miss the hesitation in his voice. The man was not stupid, but he gave us a little nod and turned around to walk in the opposite direction.
I let out a slow, calming breath and again started to walk away myself.
“This conversation is not over.” I could hear her feet shuffling behind me. Once I reached the break room, I gathered my purse from my locked compartment and my car keys. Pausing at the refrigerator, I retrieved my small lunch container, and when I turned around, I found her blocking the exit. I narrowed my eyes, she did the same, and then I thought to myself what in the hell was I doing? Fighting at work with a woman I already despised over a man I have gone on a couple friendly excursions with.
“I’m not dating Landon.” I felt defeat rush through me when I saw her shoulders lift and her brow arch. “I don’t like you, there’s absolutely no reason for me to pretend that I do, but I’m not the kind of girl to steal a man from anyone else.”
“So you’ll back off.” It was not a question but more of a statement. Her telling me I would and accepting that she had won.
I used this as the opportunity to move past her.
“Chloe?”
Once in the clear, I squared off and decided that feeling like I’d just lost a battle didn’t sit well with me. I may not like confrontation, but this bitch really got under my skin. “The thing is I said that I would never steal a man from another, but the truth is Landon isn’t yours. Somehow in your delusional mind, you’ve created this little dream life with him, and until he tells me that he wants that life with you, or anyone else for that matter, the man is fair game.”
It felt good to bring back a look of panic to her face.
Ignoring her need to carry this out any further, I pushed through the back door and out into the Georgia heat. The parking lot almost glowed from the casting of the sun as it began to set. I could no longer see my car where it was parked in the back corner of the lot as it was now dwarfed by a much larger one. A familiar one, yet very unexpected.
“Figured since you showed up at my work site, I would pay you back and show up at yours.” Looking to my left, I saw Landon leaning against the railing just beside
