Like a Boss - Annabelle Costa Page 0,46

hot girlfriend, so nobody thinks I’m a big loser. And she gets to use my bank account. Win-win—those were her exact words. I felt like an idiot. A whole year I dated her…”

Suddenly his reluctance to do anything beyond going down on me makes total sense. His last girlfriend refused to have sex with him—didn’t even want to kiss him. That’s one of those things that’s got to stay with you. That bitch.

If I were Rebecca and I had done what she did to Luke, I would have wanted to stay far away from him. But apparently she and I think very differently because about two minutes later, I’m face to face with Luke’s ex-girlfriend.

Rebecca is exactly the type of girl Luke used to date in college, meaning she looks like a model. Several orders of magnitude better-looking than me at my best. I can’t help but notice she’s got a huge rock on the ring finger of her left hand. And she’s accompanied by a man who’s probably twenty years older than her and not particularly attractive, especially compared with Luke. I guess she found another guy to not have sex with.

“Luke,” Rebecca coos. “It’s so good to see you again!”

Luke lifts his eyes only briefly to look up at her. “Hello, Rebecca.”

“I’d like you to meet my fiancé, Richard,” Rebecca says, gesturing at the thin, gray-haired man next to her.

“Luke Thayer,” Richard says, holding out his hand for Luke to shake. “I’ve heard the legends, of course. But it’s great to finally meet you in person.”

Luke shakes Richard’s hand and seems moderately embarrassed by his inability to solidly grip the other man’s hand. Richard too seems surprised by the limpness of the handshake. “Nice to meet you,” Luke says quietly.

Rebecca regards me with a critical eye. She’s trying to sum me up, figure out my type. “And who’s this?”

“This is Ellie.” Luke possessively throws his arm around my shoulder. “She’s… we’re together.”

My heart swells at the pride in his voice.

“Oh,” Rebecca says. Then she adds in a patronizing voice, “That’s wonderful, Luke. Good for you.”

By the time Rebecca sashays away to her own table, Luke seems completely beaten down. He doesn’t say much for most of the music set, mostly just stares down at his drink. I feel awful for him. Getting shot down by a woman like Rebecca seems like a permanently damaging experience.

After the singer finishes up, I head off to the restroom, although Luke is so preoccupied he barely seems to notice. When I get out of the stall, I see none other than the infamous Rebecca touching up her make-up. I immediately feel uncomfortable and smile at her politely, hoping our interaction will be left at that.

Unfortunately not.

“Ellie, right?” Rebecca says. “So you’re dating Luke, huh?”

“Uh-huh,” I say, not sure which question I’m supposed to answer, but the answer to both is yes.

“You have a stronger stomach than I do,” Rebecca says.

“Excuse me?”

She shrugs. “I mean, when it comes to money and power, Luke is entirely ideal. I mean, the guy is loaded. But in the looks department… well, you know...” She laughs. “I guess you want it more than I do.”

I’m shocked that she’s saying this to me. At first, I’m at a loss for words, but then I manage, “I’m not dating Luke for his money.”

Rebecca laughs harder. “Oh, come on. It’s okay. I certainly can’t throw stones. Richard is loaded too.”

I stick out my chin. “Luke is a wonderful guy and I think he’s really sexy.”

“A wonderful guy? Sexy?” Rebecca stares at me, looking very confused. “Is he paying you to be here with him?”

“No!” I’m not a violent person, but I want to punch Rebecca in the face. “Look, as hard as this may be for you to believe, I really like Luke. He’s smart and handsome and… and fantastic in bed! And if you didn’t realize that, then you’re a shallow bitch.”

Rebecca is still staring at me as I stride out of the bathroom.

I rush back to our table, where Luke is sipping on his beer. I approach him breathlessly. “We should go. Now.”

“Why?”

“Because I just told off your ex-girlfriend in the bathroom,” I say.

For the first time since Rebecca arrived, Luke smiles. “Okay,” he says.

_____

Back at Luke’s house, he immediately grabs me. He pulls me onto his lap and he can’t stop kissing me and touching me. “Let me go down on you,” he says.

“No,” I say. “Let’s have sex.”

Luke’s shoulders sag. “Look, Ellie, I know you’re being