The First Taste (Slip of the Tongue #2) - Jessica Hawkins Page 0,122

were fired?” I ask. I’m not surprised he lost his job—he’s probably done enough shady shit to land him behind bars—but so few people see through him. He either charms them into turning a blind eye, or they do it on their own.

“Head of the company tried to move me off my biggest client’s account. I asked how he felt about me going to the press to expose him for insider trading.” Reggie’s breath smells of liquor, his words verging on slurred. “The fucking idiot fired me instead. He’ll pay Monday morning. I have dirt on everyone, Amelia.” He winks at me. “You know I do.”

Reggie was always liberal with his secrets when it came to me. He didn’t have many friends growing up, and his dad belittled him constantly. I was the confidante he’d never had. Drugs, bribery, “borrowing” client funds—Reggie’s colleagues are guilty of it all, and so is Reggie. I never wanted to know the details, and I don’t now.

“I thought you quit drinking,” I say, changing the subject.

“I did, but slipping up once in a while isn’t so bad, is it?” He mock-gasps as he goes for the Glenlivet. “Well, I guess for some people, it’s grounds to end a marriage.”

I snatch the bottle and hold it to my chest. “This isn’t for you.”

He sets his jaw but squats to search the liquor cabinet. “Who’s it for?”

My heart sinks. I pick up my phone from the kitchen counter to check it for the hundredth time tonight. This whisky’s for someone who isn’t coming. It’s for no one. Suddenly, I feel exposed in my thigh-grazing robe and nightie. I can’t risk sending Reggie the wrong signal. “I’ll be right back,” I say, turning for my bedroom.

He grabs my ankle. “Don’t go.”

I fumble to keep the bottle in my hands and drop my cell instead. “Reggie, let go of me. I just need to change.”

“I’ve seen you in less. What’s the big deal?” He sticks out his bottom lip but tightens his grip. “I’m not in the mood to fight, babe. Please, don’t make me angry.”

Even though Reggie has terrorized me in the past, he and I had a few good years before that. My natural instinct is not to fear him, but now I wonder if I should. “Okay,” I say to appease him. “I’ll stay.”

He lets go and picks my phone up before rummaging through the cupboard. He chooses a bottle of his old favorite, Maker’s Mark. It’s been in there since before he left. “By the way. If you’re waiting for your new boyfriend,” he says, “don’t bother. He isn’t coming.”

I put the Glenlivet back on the counter, sliding it into the corner farthest from his reach. I don’t want to talk about Andrew. “Give me back the phone.”

“I paid him a visit,” he says, sticking my cell in his pocket.

Blood drains from my face. No. Reggie can be ruthless. And, as I saw at the flea market, Andrew can be confrontational when pushed. He puts his hands on Reggie just for the way he spoke to me. How would he have reacted having Reggie in his territory? “You didn’t,” I say, hoping this is another one of his lies.

He screws the top off the bourbon and picks up one of the glasses I’d gotten out for Andrew. “I went by the garage to offer him ten grand to stay away from you. That’s how much I love you, Amelia. Ten grand.”

My stomach knots. I don’t even have to ask if Andrew took it. It’s the thought of Reggie going to his workplace, to where Bell might’ve been, that has me seething. “How dare you,” I say.

Reggie looks surprised. “Me? He took the money! The schmuck didn’t even realize I would’ve paid double.”

“You have no right to interfere in my life. No right.”

“I did it out of love.” He sighs. “Did you hear what I said? He took the money. You should be thanking me.”

I don’t believe Reggie for a second—I don’t. But the fact that Andrew didn’t show tonight tugs at my conscience. He made it clear I’d hurt him enough for him to walk away. I don’t know if I could fault him for taking Reggie’s money when we were over anyway.

I shake my head, disappointed I’d even consider the possibility. “Give me back my phone, and get out,” I say. “Take the bourbon with you. I haven’t been able to stomach it in a long time. Hell, take the Glenlivet if you