Page 85 of Pity Present
“Because he lied to me, Ellen.”
Tipping her head from side to side, she decides, “I can see how it might look that way, but he was really just working undercover.”
“I told him I would never date a liar, Ellen. And I can’t believe you would want me to after what Kyle did to me.”
“Kyle cheated on you,” she says like I don’t already know this.
“Kyleliedto me,” I insist. “He told me that he loved me and that he couldn’t wait to have a future with me, and all the while he was seeing Amelia.”
Blake interjects, “I never wanted to lie to you. In fact, I was going to tell you the truth but then my boss said she wanted me to write about a personal experience I was having …”
I don’t let him finish his sentence. “You asked me out to be fodder for a story?”
“No, no, no,” he says quickly. “I liked you before she asked me to do that.”
“Did you ask me out before she told you to write about a personal experience?” A slow head shake this time. “So, you’ve agreed to write about us? When did you plan to get around to telling me that?”
He shamefacedly answers, “As soon as I turned in the article. But there’s more to it than that, Molly.”
“I don’t care, Blake.” I stand up so quickly I don’t realize I’m clutching the tablecloth.
When I lift my fist in rage, I pull the entire thing upward and upset several full glasses of water and wine spills everywhere. I’m unbothered by the mess. I just continue my rant. “If I forgave you, I would essentially be telling you it’s okay to lie to me. And it is NOT.”
The whole ballroom is now staring at us, including Kyle, who somehow feels the need to join in the fray. He strides across the room and stands right in front of me. “I know I made a mistake, Molly. And I know I told you I wasn’t ready to date again. But Iamready! And you’re the woman for me!”
I cannot believe this is happening right now. The man I was so excited about is nothing but a lowdown sorry excuse for a human. And to make matters worse, my cheating pig of an ex is trying to win me back.
“Go straight to hell, Kyle,” I tell him as I gesture wildly with the clutched tablecloth.
“But I thought we were friends now.” He sounds horribly confused as he adds, “I thought you’d forgiven me.”
“I don’t forgive you, Kyle. You and Blake are two sorry peas in a pod, and I don’t care what happens to either of you!” Then with all the dignity I can muster—which honestly isn’t much considering I’m covered in red wine and have just made the biggestscene of my life—my support tablecloth and I stride out of the ballroom with my head held high.
As soon as I reach the door, I realize I have something else to say. As luck would have it, all eyes are still on me. Spinning around to face the room, I announce, “It takes real courage to do what you’re all doing. It takes faith in love to put yourselves out there like this. I have a lot of admiration for all of you, and if you don’t want to be made a laughingstock, I think you should stay as far away from Blake Walsh as you can!”
A roar of cheers fills the airs, which further ignites my sense of injustice. I point at Kyle and add, “Kyle Rogers cheated on me after dating me for an entire year. If you have the sense that God gave a slug, you’ll stay away from him, too!”
And with that, I storm out of the ballroom. My whole body is shaking so badly, I’m not sure how I don’t fall right over the tablecloth. But for the first time since arriving in Wisconsin, I don’t even stumble. I just glide.
I don’t get far before Trina catches me. “Molly.” She sounds so concerned that I almost burst into tears. “Are you okay?”
“Not even a little bit,” I tell her. “In fact, I know you hired me for two weeks, but I can’t stay here for another minute if Blake is going to be here.”
I expect her to tell me that she’s kicking his sorry butt out of her event, but instead, she reaches for my checked hero cape and replies, “I totally understand. I don’t see why you can’t finish your proposal from home.”
“You’re letting him stay?” I bluster.
“I don’t care that he’s a reporter. After all, any press is good press. This is a great way to bring attention to what I’m doing here.”
“You should be livid! He lied to you, too.”
“Molly,” again with the concerned and caring tone, “I knew from the start there was something off about Blake.”
“How?”
“I don’t know,” she says, “I guess because he was working theroom like he was hosting a party. He talked to everyone, not just the women.”
“And you’re not mad? How can you not be mad?”
