When I open it, I see a Liza Minnelli statue and an Elvis painting hanging on the wall, along with a grand piano and other musical equipment scattered throughout the empty room.
The door closes with a quiet click behind me.
“So, is this where you break up with me?” Conner’s voice is low. There’s an underlying sadness laced with sarcasm that nearly breaks me.
“I’m sorry, Conner. I never meant—”
“It’s Levi, isn’t it.” It isn’t a question.
Swallowing thickly, I give him a single nod.
“Tell me, was it all a ruse?”
The question makes me pause, positive I’d heard him wrong.
“Was what a ruse?” I ask softly in an attempt to placate him. Tucking his hands into the front pockets of his slacks, his attention is glued to his recently shined shoes.
After a beat of silence, he presses, “Were you always with him? Was the agreement fake from the beginning? Just to get me to back out of the final position?” He tugs at the tie around his neck as though it’s strangling him. Laughing darkly, he mumbles, “Of course it was. I don’t know why I’m even bothering to ask.”
Stepping closer, I whisper, “What are you talking about, Conner?”
“Levi told me he’d set us up if I pulled my resume for the job. That was the deal. I just didn’t know it was going to be wasted on a taken woman.”
My heart is pounding in my chest as I try to register his words. “I’m sorry…what did Levi do?”
“You didn’t know?” Conner scoffs, his sadness being replaced with overwhelming sarcasm. “That’s even worse.”
“Conner, tell me.”
With a shake of his head, he releases a dry laugh like the situation is comical when all I want to do is curl into a ball.
“I told him I had a thing for you. And instead of telling me you were already taken, he used my attraction to get what he wanted. You can’t honestly tell me you weren’t in on it. Why would you say yes to a date with me when you were already dating Levi?”
“Levi and I weren’t dating.”
“Bullshit,” he spits. “Why else would you end up with him? Especially when he used you to get a job?”
My head is spinning. “What do you mean, he used me?”
“I just told you, Charlie.” He sighs as though he’s talking to a toddler. “He practically pimped you out to get ahead at Montague Enterprises. I can’t believe I fell for it.”
Stomach rolling, my mind tries to catch up. “H-he pimped me out?” I choke out.
“Yeah. And then reeled you in when he got what he wanted after I butchered my project in front of the head of the company. On purpose. For you.”
“What?” I shake my head, trying to make sense of the mess I had no idea I was part of. “Conner, why would you do that?”
“It doesn’t matter, does it? All that matters is Levi didn’t hold up his end of the deal. And he didn’t even have the decency to fill you in on it in the first place. Look, if you want to wind up with Levi, go for it. But you should know that he doesn’t care about you. All he cares about is winning. And it looks like he’s going to walk away the victor on both counts.”
A numbness spreads from my chest and out to my limbs. It mutes the feel of Conner’s grasp on my forearm, giving it a final squeeze before he quietly says, “Goodbye, Charlie. If you change your mind and decide you want a decent guy, let me know.”
Seconds later, I hear the same soft click of the door. Still, I flinch before collapsing onto the floor, pulling my knees into my chest, and wiping a stray tear that threatens to fall from my eyes.
I refuse to waste a single drop on an asshole like Levi McCoy.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Charlie