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“I know, chick.” Her words dripped with sympathy as if she could reach right through the phone and hug me tight. That really would have broken me.
“I just… I do this and I get the security I need about my mother and then everything else will just… be.”
“Are you sure you need to do this alone? I’m worried about you.”
“I’ll be okay.” With each step, the tears lessened. “I have a doctor’s appointment right after because the stress is making me so ill. With any luck, he’ll give me something that knocks me right out, and we’ll be good.”
“A few Xanax, maybe. Well, I’ll come collect you from the doctor’s after and I’m not taking no for an answer.” Her light chuckle lacked humor, unable to hide the concern in her tone. “I love you, chick. Please be careful.”
“I will be.”
The cafe Eli chose to meet was sickeningly quaint. The scent of coffee and sugar made my stomach roll, and nausea climbed up the back of my throat the moment I stepped inside. I had to swallow continuously to keep the bile at bay, although it rose like a surging surf when my eyes landed on Eli.
He sat at a table in the middle, angled to the side with one leg crossed over the other. He had a small cup in his hand, and when our gazes locked, he took a very slow sip of its contents.
The cup lowered and a disgustingly pleasant smile spread across his thin lips.
“Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” he said smoothly. His eyes darted all over my face. “Bout of hay fever, hmm?”
After all that crying, I didn’t even want to think about what my face looked like, so I ignored the comment and slid into the wooden chair opposite him. Perching on the edge, I clutched my bag to my abdomen.
“Are we doing this or what?”
“Straight to business.” Eli set his cup down. “No small talk? I thought it might be nice for us to get to know each other.”
“I know more than I ever cared to about you.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.” My words were tight, spat past bitten lips in order to keep my nausea firmly down in my gut. “You use people. You trick them and manipulate them into corners where they feel forced into making a decision. But really, there’s only ever one choice to make.”
“And what’s that?” Eli purred, slowly stroking the outside of his cup as he regarded me.
“There’s only the choice that you want. Nothing more.” My voice rose enough that a few people at neighboring tables looked up but Eli was completely unphased.
“Don’t act all high and mighty with me, Callie. You have a choice here, and you’re making it. So own it. No one is forcing your hand.”
“Bullshit,” I spat. “Having my mother slip back into ill health isn’t a choice, it’s a?—”
“But it is,” Eli cut in sharply. “Maybe you should have been more on top of your bills or flirted with your boss for a pay rise. There’s an infinite list of things you could have done to prevent this situation but you didn’t.”
My frustration rose and heat prickled up my spine as he spoke. How could he sit there and talk like he hadn’t orchestrated every little thing?
“You’re a snake,” I hissed.
“And yet, out of all the men in your life, I’m the only one who has tried to help you and your mother. How about that?”
Frustration gave way to anger and my pounding heart became a blur of sensation in my chest. If I sat here any longer, I was going to end up in handcuffs for a very poor attempt at murder.
“Whatever. I didn’t come here to chat.”
“What if I did?” Eli’s eyes narrowed. “If I have all the power like you claim, I could keep you here all afternoon. All night. Oh, the fun we could have when the sun sets.”
He could. We both knew it. My thoughts tumbled over one another, seeking a way to still get what I wanted while leaving here as quickly as possible.
“Lucky for you, perhaps, I do have a pending engagement.” Eli leaned forward, resting on his elbow on the table as he picked up his cup once more. “So, do you have it?”
I did. I downloaded the files I’d stolen onto a pen drive, and it was the singular item that weighed down my handbag like a rock.
