by the way, badass. That would be nerve wracking for anybody. But if you get back on that dance floor, in front of the mirrors, and work out those feelings, you’ll be better for it. You’ll get used to accepting your body again. It’ll take time, Adele, like everything does.”
It made sense, more than I wanted it to. So, for the rest of the haircut, we were silent while I considered it with a heavy conscious. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but welcoming.
Eventually, she started humming like she was enjoying herself and I figured it had something to do with her victory considering I didn’t argue.
After she told me to look in the mirror when she was finished, I touched the ends of my new short cut and smiled at my reflection. It lasted longer than normal. When I came back out and saw her sweeping the floor despite her protests before, I smiled wider because…
We were becoming friends.
So, I said, “The people who don’t completely dislike me call me Della.”
She paused, looked up at me, and tried hiding a smile. “Okay.” Another pause. “People don’t really call me anything other than Tiffany, Tiff, or bitch. Typically, the latter.”
I snorted. “Tiff it is.”
A last-minute decision had me snapping a selfie to show off my new look and sending it to Theo with no caption. I didn’t need one.
My phone pinged.
Theo: Like I always say. Beautiful.
Chapter Twelve
Theo
If I had longer hair, I’d have pulled it out by now. It was better than putting my fist in The Dick’s face like I wanted to as soon as he showed up uninvited right before lunchtime. I was already on edge since I left Della’s apartment yesterday morning and knew that the note I’d left wasn’t good enough after what we’d done. She deserved more than one text after she sent me that picture—a call. A visit. I’d planned on surprising her tonight for dinner.
My mind wrapped around the feeling of her squeezing me, leaving me permanently hard all fucking day. It didn’t put me in a good mood since I’d taken a cold shower while planning how to approach us now. We couldn’t go back, I didn’t want to, but that didn’t mean moving forward would be easy. Dealing with an asshole like Pratt certainly didn’t put my thoughts at ease because his eyes told me they knew. I wasn’t sure how, but he did.
“You’re not even listening, are you?” He wiped his mouth with a napkin before sitting back in the chair across from me. The restaurant he chose was busy and public, probably for his benefit since I was red-faced as soon as he stepped foot into my office and told me we needed to talk. Yet, we did a whole lot of bullshitting over the forty-five minutes I was stuck here with other rich pricks and businessmen. Half of them were probably making deals that went beyond the scope of their experience based on the beady fuckers at the tables closest to us.
“When you have something valuable to say, I’ll listen.” My voice was emotionless, something that clearly pissed him off. It was obvious he lived for people’s reactions when he wasted their time with his bullshit. I bet it worked most of the time.
His scowl made me grin. “Let’s get down to business then. Samantha.”
I blinked. “Your daughter? What the fuck does she have to do with anything?”
His arms rested on the edge of the table, his head cocking to examine me with a glint in his eyes that I refused to react to. “I happen to know she’s been hanging out with Adele Saint James, Katrina Murphy, and Gina Vandyke.”
One of my brows arched, but silence remained between us because I wasn’t going to offer him anything until he got to the point.
“I’m sure you’re not surprised that they enjoy treating themselves to the Murphy and Vandyke stash.” Anybody who was involved with their social circle knew that he was talking about drugs and fake money, but I didn’t like his tone or what he was implying between the lines.
My eyes narrowed. Attention drawn, I leaned toward him with new anger boiling over inside me. “What are you getting at, Pratt?”
“What do you think, Theo?” His lips twitched at the corners—amusement obvious over my distaste for his accusation.
“Adele doesn’t do that shit. Just because you let your daughter ruin her fucking life because you don’t give a fuck about your family doesn’t mean she’s anything like that.”