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“We’re done. There’s nothing more to discuss.”
“I have pictures!” she crows, switching topics so fast, I almost don’t keep up with her. She digs around in her purse and pulls out some pics of Daphne and I kissing that night on the curb next to the limo. Apparently we had two people watching us that night—Carla and Heather.
“You shouldn’t be dating her, Dominic. That's a very bad thing to do. She’s your daughter!”
“She’s my ex-stepdaughter. My ex-wife approves. I really don’t see how this has anything to do with you. I’ve got work to do, Heather. You need to go home and sleep.” And stop drinking, I think to myself. The smell of alcohol on her breath is so strong, it’s almost hard to breathe.
“You’re going to be sorry!” she yells as I open up my office door and propel her through it, past my gaping secretary, and out into the bright sunshine outside. “I’ll make you pay!”
“First, go to sleep. The world will look better when you wake up. And Heather? If you come back here again, I’ll call the police.” I close the door on her tirade and with a sigh, head back to my office.
Mental note to self: Buy my secretary some flowers. She deserves them after having to witness that today.
51
Daphne
With a happy but tired grin, I walk out of the Equinox gym. I love a good workout. It’s such a good feeling—makes me feel like I can take on the world. I pull out my phone, slinging my gym bag over my shoulder, as I start down the sidewalk. I should find an Uber so I can get home and—
“Hi, Daphne,” a woman says, showing up right next to my elbow.
“Whoa!” I yelp, jerking back in surprise. This is New York City, there are people everywhere. I’m not surprised by having a person right next to me. I am surprised by them knowing my name.
“I know who you are,” the woman says. “I used to date Dominic Masters. I know that you’re dating him right now. Want to see my pictures?” She digs into her purse and pulls out some pics of Dominic and I kissing, leaning up against the limo that night that he surprised me outside of my apartment. “He’s your stepdad, you know.”
“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” I say drily, shoving the pictures back at her. “Thanks for the newsflash, but if you don’t mind, I’m going to go home.” I start walking faster, hoping to lose the woman. I have my Nikes on; I can take off at a run if I need to. She’s got heels on; she’d probably have a hard time keeping up.
“But do your coworkers know? Does your boss know? I think the employees of the New York Presbyterian Hospital would be intrigued to find out that their rising star is breaking incest laws!” Now she’s shouting, and my steps are going faster because she’s creeping me the fuck out. How dare she threaten my career!
I unlock my phone in my hands, trying to find the Uber app through my panic. I can’t actually call the police; the woman hasn’t done anything but show me some pictures. But I can get the hell out of dodge.
“Listen, I’m just warning you because someone might tell them. You don’t want to throw your career away over him, I promise. I’m Heather; did he tell you that we used to date?”
Ohhhhh…this is the infamous Heather. Ms. Clingy, Ms. Gin-Tossing-In-The-Middle-of-a–Bar Heather. I look her up and down quickly, and mentally shrug. She seems hot enough, if she wasn’t also a little on the nuts side.
“Daphne, you have to listen to me,” she says pleadingly, putting her hand on my arm. We slow to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk, humanity flowing around us. We both ignore the world and just focus on each other. “Do you know what he’s promised me? Did he tell you how he broke my heart? He says that I knew from the get-go that we were just going to be fuck buddies, but I didn’t. That’s something that he conveniently came up with later. In the beginning, I was the love of his life. He’s never been around someone as amazing as me. I completed him. Does any of that sound familiar?”
Oh my God, it does. I nod jerkily, hating her for saying those words, but also knowing I needed to hear them. If what she is saying is true…
All of those things were things he’s said to me. What if he’s just stringing me along, like he apparently did to Heather?
“Then, after all I’ve done for him, he’s suddenly too good for me. Daphne, you have to be careful. He’ll get bored with you and he’ll dump you like yesterday’s trash. Then what happens when you don’t have a career anymore because you’ve screwed yourself over?”
I feel a flush of panic wash over me. I’ve worked really hard to get as far as I have at the hospital. As a woman, I have to work harder and longer than the men to get ahead. I have student loan bills to pay off, dammit! I can’t ruin it all for a guy who's willing to say anything to get into my pants.
And really, what do I know about him? Yeah, he was married to my mom for a while, but then they got divorced. He hasn’t had a steady relationship since then. Doesn’t that say something about him?
“Here’s my card with my number. Text me your number,” Heather says as she hands me her business card. “We can talk more later. I have to get going.”
I numbly send it to her, and then watch as she turns and heads back down the street, fading into the crush of the clogged New York streets.
What have I gotten myself into?
52
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Dominic
