The Man I Thought I Trusted - E. L. Todd Page 0,19
applied to men.
“I know you said you weren’t hungry, but I got some extra spring rolls if you change your mind.” She stepped back and shook the bag, the plastic film making a shimmering sound.
It was hard not to smile. “Thanks for thinking of me.”
She carried the bag to the dining table behind the TV and ripped it open. “I’m sorry, but I’m starving.” She went to the kitchen and grabbed a fork and then took a seat so she could eat her chow mein and sweet-and-sour chicken.
I grabbed my glass of scotch and took the seat beside her. I watched her devour her food, quickly shoveling it into her mouth like she hadn’t eaten in days. “How was your day?”
It took a long time for her to give a response because there was always food in her mouth. “I’ve been doing a lot of surveillance today. Basically, stalking my prey.”
“Who’s the prey?”
“Pharmaceutical company that I can’t name. I have information that they’re purposely changing the concentrations of their drugs to make people sick. I’ve got to figure out what I’m going to threaten them with.” She stabbed her fork into the food again and took a few more bites.
Her profession would always be difficult for me, knowing she was rattling cages and pissing off people she should avoid. It would always make me worry about her. There were times when I wanted to ask her to step aside for me, but I knew it would just make me lose her. If I wanted to keep her, I’d have to accept this part of her life. “And you’ve narrowed down your targets?”
“Yep.” She dipped her spring roll into her dipping sauce and took a bite, the crunch audible. “How was your day?”
I shrugged. “Not my best day…”
“What happened?” She stopped eating like it was a limited-time buffet and gave me more of her attention, her eyes showing her sincere interest.
I shook my head. “Doesn’t matter. Just wasn’t good.” I didn’t want to spend time talking about my ex-wife, not when I was with the woman I should’ve been with in the first place. I used to believe everything happened for a reason, but now, I wasn’t sure. What could possibly be the reason for me to marry someone who just used me? To make me so paranoid that I created a fake life to lie to Carson? It seemed like a lot of work.
“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. But I’m always happy to listen…if you change your mind.”
That gave me a change of heart. If I wanted her to be open with me, I had to reciprocate. It wasn’t that I felt uneasy sharing my life with her; I just didn’t want to dampen what we had by talking about a woman who already took up enough of my time. “I had a meeting today at work, and she was there. She always brings her lawyer to these things, and her only interest is determining what her paycheck is for the quarter. She doesn’t even have the class not to make it obvious. She questions my business decisions whenever it decreases her revenue, and I actually have to justify what I’m doing…to her.”
Carson was silent as she continued to look at me, clearly searching for something comforting to say. She obviously didn’t find anything because her only response was silence.
I looked out the window in front of us, seeing the city lights become brighter as the night intensified.
Her hand went to mine on the table, and her small fingers caressed my skin. “I’m sorry. I can’t even imagine…”
“Yeah. Fucking sucks.”
“But you don’t have to see her a lot, right?”
I shook my head. “Thankfully.”
She turned in her seat altogether, her knees hitting my chair. Her fingers remained in mine, her gentle pulse vibrating against my hand. “There’s really nothing you can do?”
“Besides murder? No.”
“I could beat her ass for you…if you want.”
That immediately made me smile, not because I would actually ask her to do it, but I could clearly picture that scenario. Rose would step out of the building, and Carson would beat her ass right on the sidewalk. “No, it’s okay.”
“Offer is always on the table.”
“No doubt.” I turned my gaze away from the window and looked at her face, her glowing eyes. “I don’t want to talk about her anymore. I’d rather spend all my time thinking about you.”