Page 50 of Chasing the Other Woman

He stands too fast, then winces, hand going to his ribs. His mouth is swollen. One cheek is already yellowing around the edge of the bruise I gave him.

"I'm not here to fight," he says.

"Good to hear it, because I'm not really in the mood to finish kicking your ass."

My voice sounds flat enough that his eyes drop.

"I know I'm probably fired," he says. "After today."

I say nothing because, yeah, he's right.

He rubs both hands over his face. They shake when they fall back to his sides. "I came here because there's something you need to know."

Every tired part of me goes still.

Tony looks toward the parking lot like he expects someone to step out from behind a truck. "I need to come clean."

I wait.

"Luci came to me before this all really started," he says. "She knew I liked her. I thought..." He laughs once, bitter and small. "I thought there was something there."

My stomach goes cold.

"She said she wanted a bigger place on the team. Said Sam still took up too much space, even stuck back at command. Said if people saw me around Sam more, if things looked a little... blurry, it might help."

The motel light hums above us.

"What things?" I ask.

Tony's throat works. "Texts. Comments. Coffee. Standing too close when you were around. Little stuff. Innocent enough that Sam wouldn't think anything of it, but enough for you to notice."

Acid burns in my belly despite not remembering when I last ate.

"Luci said you were already pulling Sam back from the field," Tony continues. "She said all we had to do was make the rest easier. Make her seem distracted. Make Luci seem indispensable. We picked clips for social posts. Captions. Moments where you and Luci looked close. Moments where I was near Sam. It was all supposed to push the same story from both sides."

I take one step toward him.

Tony flinches.

I stop.

"Why are you telling me this now?"

His jaw tightens. "Because when you hit me today, I thought she'd care."

There's something ugly in his voice. But despite the ugliness, whatever it is, it's not aimed at me.

"I was bleeding on that bar's floor," he says. "Luci barely looked at me. She went straight to you. Touching your face. Asking if you were okay. Like I wasn't even there."

I remember Luci's hands coming up. I remember catching her wrists and pushing them away.

Tony looks at the ground. "That's when I got it. It was never about getting ahead. Not really. It was you. She wanted you."

The night air feels thicker than it did ten minutes ago.

"You should also know because I know you thought it at times," he continues. "Nothing ever happened with Sam and me. Hell, she never even flirted with me. She was always nice. You know that she is. If I'd been a homeless man on the street, she would have treated me with respect. But honestly, most of the time, she barely even registered my presence. She was just…Sam."

Just Sam.