After talking to Carrie and taking a hot shower, I felt better. As much as I sometimes complained about her, my mother and I didn't have a bad relationship, but we also didn't have the sort of close mother-daughter bond that allowed us to talk easily about personal things, especially now. Even though I'd only known Carrie for less than a week, I felt much more comfortable talking to her than I would have to my mother. I supposed her having shared about her own sexual preferences made it easier to talk to her about what happened with Dax. That and the fact that she didn't act like I'd done something wrong helped me come to terms with the whole thing.

By the time Carrie left to meet Gavin at the club, I was already moving on to the things that really mattered, the things that I should have been focusing on instead of Dax. I needed to decide whether or not I wanted to buy a new car, and what to do with the old one if I did. I also had to decide if I wanted to find a place of my own before I found a job or after. While I still hoped that I'd get a call tomorrow saying that I was wanted for a callback, I knew I couldn't count on it. The odds were better than if I were trying to get on Broadway, but they were still low.

I knew that, technically, I had enough money to live comfortably without needing to work, even if I continued to pay for my mother to live her life in Washington. I was sure most people in my situation would be happy pursuing their dreams without having to worry about making money, and I didn't necessarily think there was anything wrong with that, but it wasn't what I wanted. I wanted to use as little of my inheritance as possible so that it would be there if I ever really needed it. Like if or when I had a family.

Not that I was thinking about having a family anytime soon. I clearly needed to work on my taste in men quite a bit more before I even considered anything serious. I could only imagine what would've happened if I'd been careless when I slept with Dax. The last thing I wanted was to have a baby with an asshole like that. I planned on being much smarter when it came to sexual partners in the future. No way would I make the same mistake twice.

In fact, I decided, I’d swear off men completely until I had a solid plan and was at least a few weeks into it. I didn't need distractions. With that in mind, I pulled out my favorite notepad and got to work. A bit of spontaneity wasn't bad, but if I was going to succeed, I couldn't just wait for things to fall in my lap.

I was so engrossed in what I was doing that the buzzer rang twice before I realized that the doorman was trying to get my attention. I walked over to the speaker, pulling my robe more tightly around me.

“This is Bryne,” I announced.

“Miss Dawkins, there's a young man down here who says that he needs to speak with you.”

My stomach flipped. I only knew of one young man who might want to talk to me, but I wasn't sure I wanted to talk with him. I knew I should though, if for no other reason than to not be the petty person that a refusal would paint me to be.

“It's okay. Send him up.”

I considered running to my room and throwing on some clothes, then decided against it. I wasn't sitting around eating ice cream and weeping. I was having a night in while planning for my future, and there was no dress code for that. I wasn't going to let Dax dictate my appearance.

I stayed near the door and refused the urge to try to do something more with my hair than the braid it was currently in. When he knocked, I took a slow breath, counted to ten, and then opened the door.

The expression on Dax's face told me that he wasn't here to apologize. A part of me wanted to take a step backward, but I gripped the doorframe and held my ground.

“It's bad enough you had to be a clingy little bitch but getting me fired is going too far.”

I blinked, unsure of which part of his accusation I wanted to address first. “What are you talking about?”

His eyes were dark, but not the way they had been the night we slept together. No, this was pure fury glaring down at me. “Don't play dumb. I might not have gone to some rich boarding school like you did, but I'm not stupid.”

I straightened and folded my arms, biting back the smart replies I wanted to give. I'd let him say whatever he wanted and then tell him how far off-base he was. If he wanted to make a scene, it would be his reputation that got trashed, not mine.

“I told you I wasn't looking for a relationship. Then, when I don't call you after I go back to your hotel like you begged me to, you come to my work and get all upset when I don't kiss your ass. That's bad enough.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him that he was full of himself, but I didn't.

“Then you had to go crying to your uncle and get me fired.”

Gavin fired him? I hadn't told Gavin anything about what happened between Dax and me. “I didn't–”

“You're a real bitch, you know that?” Dax cut me off. “I'm not like you. I work my ass off at two jobs so I can take care of my mom. Gavin and Carrie helped me with her, but now that you had to open your big mouth and lie about me, all that's changed.”

My self-control reached its limit. “Shut. The fuck. Up.”

Surprise flashed across his face, then disappeared. He opened his mouth, but I wasn't interested in listening anymore.

“You had your turn. It's mine now.” I glared up at him. “First of all, I didn't come to the shop to try to get you in bed again or because I wanted to be your girlfriend, you’re dead wrong about that. Since I was new here, I thought I'd take a chance that you were actually a decent guy I could be friends with. I never would've had sex with you if I'd known you were a lecherous asshole.”

He stared at me, those eyes blazing into mine before falling to my lips. He shook his head, as if trying to clear it, and ran a hand through his hair before scrubbing both hands over his face. “Whatever the reason, it still doesn't give you the right to get your uncle to fire me.”

I held up my hand. “I'm not done.” I poked him in the chest, and his hand shot up, capturing my fingers in his grasp. “You don't know me or much of anything about me, so let me make this perfectly clear. I didn't tell my uncle anything. He knows we slept together because I had your wallet, but that was just him figuring it out. I didn't tell him I went to talk to you, or that you were an utter bastard. I don't know why he fired you, and I really don't care. If you want to know so badly, grow a pair and talk to Gavin yourself.”

I tried to yank my hand away, but his vice like grip only tightened. His face twisted with an emotion that resembled pain, but was gone so quickly I could have imagined it.

He finally let go of my hand and I slammed the door shut.

“Bryne!”

“Go away, Dax!” I shouted through the door. “Don't make me call security!”

When I didn't hear anything else, I walked over to the couch, my legs feeling like lead. I sat down and put my head in my hands. If Dax had come in to apologize for his behavior, explaining it as him being an ass because of his friends, I might've forgiven him, maybe even still wanted to be friends with him. If he'd told me before about working two jobs so he could take care of his mother, I would've been impressed.

None of that matter now though. He'd shown himself for who he truly was. A temperamental child who cared only about what people could do for him. It was funny how people usually thought of spoiled brats as coming from rich, indulgent families, and I'd known enough of those to know there was a grain of truth in that stereotype. The thing most people didn't know or didn't want to admit was that it was less about money and more about entitlement. Clearly, the chip on Dax's shoulder told him that the world owed him something, and he didn't like it when things didn't go his way.

Fuck him.

I'd had enough. If I thought I'd waver on my no men resolution, Dax had reinforced just how important that was. From here on out, I would focus on work and the new members of my family. I'd chalk Dax up as a mistake to learn from, and move on.