Maybe he’d let his anger get the better of him and he’d gone overboard, but only to ensure they kept quiet about some of the things he’d done because they’d gotten out of line.
All of them knew he had something on them. Still, they came forward. Bitches.
Maybe he’d post some of his home videos for all their friends, neighbors, and families to see. A couple of them had new boyfriends. He bet they had no idea how freaky a couple of those women could be.
Women loved to be wild—so long as they didn’t get caught.
A couple of drinks, a few suggestions to see what they liked, what they fantasized about, and with a little coaxing, they forgot their inhibitions and performed for him.
He’d been close with Liz. She hid her passionate side. He wanted to bring that out—just like he did with those other women. With Aubrey.
They all loved it in the moment. Then they got all shy and reserved, but all they really wanted was for him to bring out that wild side again.
All he wanted was a woman who belonged to him. Someone who understood him and wanted to explore and share that kind of limitless passion. Someone who didn’t want the outside world intruding on their relationship and the way they wanted to do things.
Women pretended to hesitate because of his appetites and tendencies—Kelly being one of them—but they wanted a take-charge man. They couldn’t complain when they got exactly what they wanted.
Damn those women. They should have kept their fucking mouths shut.
Now probably wasn’t the best time to think about his revenge, but it was coming. They knew it. They’d been warned.
At least Kelly was smart enough to heed that warning.
“So I don’t even get to defend myself? I’m just fired and that’s it.” He fisted his hands under the table, trying to contain the rage roiling inside him.
Dustin held his hands out over the printed emails. “They used your words against you. I don’t see how you can defend this.” Dustin shook his head. “You can’t.” He slid an envelope across the table. “Your final paycheck. Your assistant cleaned out your office. You can pick up the box and I’ll show you out.”
Clint wanted to deck the guy. How dare they do this to him in such a public way! The entire office staff relegated to their cubicles behind him could see everything happening inside the conference room. He felt their eyes on him. Their collective judgment settled like a heavy blanket over him as Dustin walked him to his office where Kelly, head downcast, handed him the box filled with the few personal items he kept in the office.
She glanced at the women in the office three doors down from his. “All of them?” she whispered. Hurt filled Kelly’s eyes.
He gave Kelly a hard glare that warned she better remain loyal and keep her damn mouth shut.
Fuming, he held it together as Dustin walked him past the closed-door office with the glass windows and the women sitting like hens, thinking they were safe from the wolf lurking outside. They weren’t.
He walked out of there with his head high, a sly smile, and retribution on his mind.
Those women thought they got the best of him. Well, they’d see.
So would Liz.
Because of her, all this happened.
Aubrey.
The cops coming to his house.
The reporter.
The exes getting back at him.
Losing his job.
Fuck.
Someone had to pay for ruining his life.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Liz woke up draped over Tate’s chest. The steady beat of his heart thumped against her ear. His big hands lay warm on her back. The second she tried to move, he hugged her closer and grumbled in his sleep. His fingers brushed up her bare skin and tangled in her hair. Satisfied she was staying put, he settled back into sleep.
She smiled and snuggled into him, content and happy until disturbing thoughts intruded, keeping her from falling back to sleep.
It sucked. She had everything she ever wanted, but this thing with Clint had cast a dark cloud over everything in her life. The article about him would come out today. She’d be tied to him in the story the whole town would probably be talking about for days, if not weeks, to come. She hoped something came of Detective Valdez’s investigation into Aubrey’s death, but it appeared Clint would get away with that even if he got fired for harassing the women at work.
Those poor women. They endured daily trauma having to see him, knowing