However, Ryder would. Not once in the past month has he made a move on me, looked at me in a suggestive way, or spoken his usual smack. If anything, he’s been a total douche, ignoring my presence every time we’ve been around each other. Still, I thought I’d seen struggle in his eyes, felt it when we got too close. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
This must be his twisted way at getting back at me.
Hailey continues her mental fuck as she leans across the table, her tone dropping to a whisper. “So what was it like? Was there tons of blood everywhere? What was running through your mind when they closed their eyes for eternity? I’m thinking about doing a case study on sick psychos and their grieving little spawn. I figured you and your father would fit the bill perfectly.”
I swallow the hot bile bubbling in my throat, my body rattling uncontrollably with each breath I attempt to take. The ghosts from that evil day trample through my skull, but before I can react, I feel a soft hand on my shoulder.
“Leave her alone, you freak!” Madeline bellows, her brown eyes as wide as Hailey’s.
“How dare you talk to me like that!” Hailey jumps to her feet, her pissed-off lips curled over her fangs. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”
Frozen, I watch Madeline take a ground-eating step toward Hailey, their noses nearly smashed together. “I’m the bitch who’s about to beat you into the next millennium if you don’t get the fuck out of here right now.”
“I’m telling your boss!” Hailey spews in true kindergartener fashion. She shoves Gucci’s newest bag onto her arm and turns, running smack into the man I’m sure is about to fire Madeline. “Just the person I was looking for. Your employee’s threatening me!”
“And you’re harassing a patron of mine.” Though the steel set of his shoulders says he wants to take a good crack at her, Mr. Boss Man’s expression is eerily calm. “If you don’t remove yourself from my establishment within thirty seconds, I’ll be on the phone with the cops.”
Not only does Hailey’s mouth drop open, but so does mine.
“Excuse me?” Hailey’s eyes look like hula hoops.
“Do you need a hearing aid?” Boss Man crosses his arms, a cunning smile resting on his lips. “I thought I made myself pretty clear. Get out or go to jail. In my opinion, it’s not at all a hard decision.”
Hailey casts me one last glare, lets out a huff, and pivots, her body trembling as she pushes through the crowd.
“I apologize about that,” Mr. Boss Man says, extending his hand after the nutter exits the building.
I take it, completely confused. I thought for sure Madeline would be first in line at the unemployment office tomorrow morning.
“Once the rush let up, Madeline explained you’ve been having problems with that girl,” he adds.
“I have. Thanks for getting rid of it—I mean, her.” I give him a weak smile, my nerves starting to come down. “I appreciate it.”
“Not a problem.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Madeline says, pulling out a chair across from me before readjusting her ponytail.
“Dad?” I’m more confused than I was before.
“Yup,” Dad answers with a proud smile, smoothing a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. “She’s been calling me that for the last twenty-one years.”
Madeline grins. “I’m gonna take a quick fifteen, okay?”
He lays a quick kiss on the crown of Madeline’s head. “Take thirty. Maggie just clocked in, and I overscheduled Tim this morning.” He swings his attention back to me. “Nice meeting you, Amber.”
“You too.” As he walks away, I wonder if I’d have any kind of relationship with my parents if they were still alive. “I’m lost. I thought you and Lee are from California.”
“We are,” she says with a nod.
“But your parents moved here and own a Starbucks?” I crack a smile. “Was your mom that afraid of you leaving the nest?”
Madeline shakes her head and laughs. “No. My parents are divorced. My mother’s still back in Borrego Springs, and my father’s here in Davidsonville with his new wife. When Lee and I came to visit last summer, we decided to give the East Coast a try and settled on Hadley.”
“I see,” I draw out. “But why aren’t you living with him instead? Davidsonville’s pretty close, and room and board isn’t cheap.”
A wicked smile lights her face. “Daddy-o owns five of these here Starbucks, so he’s got a little cash to burn on the full college experience I so desperately requested. You know: drinking, partying, and tons of sex with Lee without having to answer to Pops.”
“Makes sense.” I grin, wondering why I didn’t catch that to begin with. “Your dad seems pretty cool.”
“He is,” Madeline says warily. “Caught you off guard with that. I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?”
She shrugs, her eyes conveying what she doesn’t want to say.
You poor, poor thing . . .
I sigh and take a sip of my Frappuccino, wishing I wasn’t a big fat magnet for remorse. “Thanks for what you did. You pretty much saved me from a felony record.”
“Don’t mention it.” She blows out a breath, unties her apron, and tosses it onto the table, disgust marring her features. “I’ve never liked that bitch. But since Lee lives with Ryder, and Ryder used to mess around with the skank, I had to deal with her. I’m happy that’s no more.”