Page 56 of Chasing the Other Woman

“You got him when he had nothing,” she says, voice rising. “Before the money, before the sponsors, before everyone knew his name. You got it all because you got there first. That's all. And, unfortunately, it's inconvenient because you got his name, too."

Some parts of the nightmare are true. Like the woman who's ten years younger than me standing before me and telling me the only reason I have the thing she doesn't is because I got there first.

Still, it doesn't make sense.

“What did you think?” I ask quietly. “That if you pushed hard enough, he’d erase me?”

“He already had,” she snaps.

The front door opens.

Cold air moves through the bar.

I know before I look.

Brooks stands just inside, mud on his boots and bruising along his jaw. His gaze moves from Luci to me, then back again.

Luci sees him and changes faces so fast it would be impressive if it weren’t disgusting.

"What's going on here?" he asks, his eyes darting from me to Luci. And still, his gaze keeps coming back to me.

"Luci was just telling me that the only reason she's not taking my place in every way that's meaningful is because I got there first."

"That's not what I said," she says, but her voice is small. Suddenly, everything is becoming clearer. She's been pushing me, trying to get me to make this easier on her. Because if I just completely severed the ties, it would all be hers.

At least in her mind.

"According to her, the only thing keeping the two of you out of each other's beds is the fact that I'm still hanging around. After all, again, allegedly, you've told her that your marriage is over, so I'm the only one keeping the two of you apart."

"Brooks, I⁠—"

He steps forward. “Nothing romantic has ever happened between us. Nothing physical has ever happened between us. I never told you my marriage was over. I never promised you a future. I never wanted one with you.”

Luci’s face drains.

The words should make me feel triumphant. They don’t. They make my hands shake.

Because while they're nice now, I needed them earlier.

In the clinic. In the truck yard. In my kitchen. In every moment I stood there bleeding quietly while he said nothing.

“You relied on me,” Luci says, voice cracking. “You trusted me. You chose me for the field.”

“I trusted you as a member of my team,” Brooks says. “That was my mistake.”

Her eyes dart, fast and frightened. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know enough.”

Something passes over her face.

If I didn't know better, I would think it was fear.

“You've talked to Tony,” she spits, and then stops as if she can shove the words back into her mouth.

My whole body goes cold.

Tony.