Page 105 of The Bad Husband

“Are you out of your mind?” she says quietly after a pause. “You did mess with her.”

“No, I did not.”

“That wasn’t our understanding, Damon.”

She’s a master at setting me up, but I won’t bite.

“We have a business agreement in place, Henrietta. We’re not supposed to be talking about your suspicions. You act like a jealous wife picking up on the only other woman in the house.”

She tilts back a little and feigns surprise.

“You’re all protective of her.”

She’s obviously trying to stir me up and get me to admit I slept with Lila.

I stare at her without a muscle moving on my face.

“We’re wasting our time talking about stuff that doesn’t concern us. I told you from the beginning what we are and what we’re not. I don’t need your chiding, warnings, traps, or nagging. Are we talking about the money that you owe me? Or are we trapped in the past?”

She shakes her head, slides her hand over mine, and smiles, knowing full well how much her attitude irritates me.

“Damon?”

I pull my hand away and flick my finger up in warning.

“You need to stay away from this.”

“You need to stop wanting to get her money through me.”

“Stop saying that, for fuck’s sake. You don’t care about this woman. You could never stand her. Why are you suddenly so concerned with her money and what it might happen to her?”

She leans forward, a grim expression on her face.

“Let me spell it out for you. I don’t care about what I owe you. Even what I’ve done to you is debatable. You’ve done worse to other people.”

“I never stole from other people.”

“I said worse.” She glares at me, her lips trembling with fury. “You won’t get all my ex-husband’s money. I had to sleep with him and pretend that I liked him. If there’s anyone entitled to his money, it would be me. Not even Lila Skye. Who’s Lila Skye, anyway? She did nothing for that money. Not even her father did much for it. He inherited a lot of it and got lucky with his business. His daughter is a spoiled brat who thinks we should all link hands, dance around a tree, and then wait for the money to fall from said tree. What has she done since she came here? She got a job at the donut shop? Oh, okay. That can teach her a life lesson or two.” She rolls her eyes in disgust. “She hung out with her friends? Sure. That’ll teach her about money.”

“She’s a college student. That’s what people like her do during the summer break.”

“Exactly. And you’re a grown-ass man playing with her and her father’s money.”

“You just said that neither of them deserves that money, so which one is it? You make no sense, woman.”

I push out of my seat and finish my drink.

“I think you forgot who you are,” I say, setting my empty glass down. “So let me remind you. You owe me that money. I agreed to pay you only half of what you owe me, but the deal no longer stands. So make sure you come up with the entire amount. And in the meantime, stop weaving stupid stories.”

With that, I move away from her, having only one goal in mind.

18

DAMON

I take the stairs up, and then, instead of entering my bedroom, taking off my clothes, showering, and catching up on my sleep, or picking up my suit jacket, sliding it on, and spending the rest of the night at the club, I go straight to Lila’s room.

She must have waited by the door, with an ear pressed on it.