Then we sit. The table already has drinks and chips and salsa. Bless my friends. I dig in and drink half of my drink before even taking a breath while my friends watch me as if I’m going to break in half any moment. Who knows, maybe I will.
“What about the ring?” Fi asks.
“Oh, that was great. I wish you were there. I threw it right at his head. Hit him too.”
“Oof,” Angie says. “I did mention that was worth like, six-figures, though, right?”
I narrow my eyes at her. “Did I mention I got him right in the head?”
“You did, yes,” Fi says. Her expression falls. “And he let you walk away, just like that?”
“Just like that,” I confirm. “Said I got what I wanted.” I fight back tears.
“No way,” Angie says. “I was sure he was falling for you. I just can’t believe it. What the hell happened?”
“It was all part of his plan,” I say, finishing my drink and desperately looking around for a waiter. Oddly enough, I didn’t see anybody I recognized. Huh, I thought Abigail was working tonight. “It was never real. And you were right, I couldn’t help it. I fell for him. And to him it was just a business transaction.”
Fi takes the hint and stands up, instantly getting attention. She orders the shots and then sits back down. “I don’t know what to say, Kaylee. I’m sorry.”
“Me too,” I answer so fast it takes me a moment to realize that it’s true. Despite my best efforts to hate him, I know I’m going to miss him. And I’m deeply disappointed it ended this way.
That’s stupid, though. How could I be crazy enough to get attached to a Covington I only met a few days ago and who I entered into a bullshit financial verbal contract with?
I eat more chips and salsa and wait for the drinks.
“So, did he win the corporate whatever that he was fighting for?” Angie asks. She looks like she’s trying to make sense of it all.
Good luck with that, sister. “Yup, got his way. Kept his stupid company. Only because I helped him, though. Or he probably would have lost it. And it doesn’t really matter, he loses either way.” I smile a small, sad smile.
“What do you mean he loses either way?” Fi asks. “He already won, right?”
“He hates his job. Told me so. I told him he should quit that stupid thing. I mean, he has more money than he knows what to do with. His passion is some European soccer league. Or football, as he calls it. That’s the ironic thing,” I say shaking my head as the drinks arrive.
“He would have been happier in the long run by losing, in this case. But hey, not my circus, not my monkeys. Not anymore.”
We all drink. It’s a lot to process. This weekend feels like it’s taken years off of my life. “Hey, at least the paparazzi finally left. Looks like things are finally getting back to normal around here. Or at least post-Covington normal.”
Fi looks at me. “Just another ex. But hey, how many of us can say we dated a billionaire, even briefly?”
“Fake dated a billionaire,” I correct. “But it’s a fair point. Only one thing could make me feel better about all of this.”
“What’s that?” Fi asks.
“The money,” I answer.
“Oh no, not this again. Not after the day you’ve had,” Fi says.
I open the banking app on my phone.
Angie takes one look at my face and then puts her drink down on the table. “Oh shit, Fi, she’s going to do it.”
My finger hovers over the button. I suck in a few quick breaths. My friends are against it, that much is clear. And they’re right, too.
This isn’t about how smart or stupid it is to give back the money. It’s about me being able to feel good about living my life.
Angie and Fi lean closer, all of us staring at my phone app. They look like they’re holding their breath.
“Don’t do it,” Fi whispers.
I press the button.
Angie and Fi groan. I breathe a sigh of relief. What it feels like to me is freedom. Then I remember Chase’s annoying words this morning. “Oh yeah,” I say, “I forgot to mention that this morning he called me a charity case. You believe that?”
Both of their eyes get wide.
Angie shakes her head. “Oh yeah, girl, you totally did the right thing just now. I just wish he hadn’t gotten his way in all of this. You got stuck with all the annoyances and got fired, and he got everything he wanted. It doesn’t seem right.”
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chase
Liam, Ashley, and I eventually get bored and drunk throwing down drinks at the resort bar, so we go back up to my suite.
Ashley says she’ll catch up with us because she wants to grab some things from her room.
Liam and I throw ourselves heavily on the couch. The windows facing the beach are closed, so I open them all back up. I need the breeze.
I turn to Liam. “You’ve been married three times. And divorced three times. Is it always this hard?”
Liam exhales. “If you’re looking for advice, I’m not going to be able to help.”
I glare to him, wondering why he’s being an asshole. I expect to see a smirk or at least sarcasm on his face, but it’s not there. All of a sudden, he looks sadder than I am. “What the hell?” I ask him. “What do you mean you can’t help me; you’ve been through this three times.”
“No, I haven’t,” he says. “I haven’t been through what you’re going through. I never had a girl look at me the way Kaylee looked at you last night. And I’ve never seen the devastated look you’re wearing now in the mirror. Like I said, when my relationships were over,
