Christy
I was furious. Absolutely and completely fueled by a rage that I had never really experienced before. It wasn’t even just the fact that I had been robbed. It was the fact that I’d been robbed by someone like Rossi—a slimy liar and all-around sleaze that I’d had to put up with for years. I’d thought he was harmless, too. I’d even told all the girls that whenever they mentioned to me their concerns about him.
Jasmine had asked me about him once. “Christy, is it just me, or is Rossi a little creepy? Should I be staying away from him?”
I’d laughed her off at the time. “Rossi’s fine. He hits on all the girls, but he never does anything about it. Avoid him because he’s a pain in the ass, but not for anything else. Trust me.” Little did I know that the ‘pain in the ass’ would turn into my biggest nightmare.
If it weren’t for what King had said last night, then I might’ve already gone storming off to find Rossi and demanded the dirty thief give me back my money. As it was, the more responsible side of me was keeping the impulsive, angrier side of me at bay, though I wasn’t sure how long it would last.
King was right when he said that I didn’t have proof—even I could admit that. That didn’t mean that I didn’t know it was him. It had to be. He had motive, opportunity, and whatever the hell else detectives used when identifying a suspect.
Rossi had been a thorn in my side ever since I started working at Diamond Castle, and now that I was finally trying to leave, he’d gotten infinitely worse. It was like a lifetime’s worth of bad luck had escalated to this point, and here I was, unluckier than I’d ever been.
I pulled into the parking lot at work and shut off the engine, rage throbbing in my veins as I tried and failed to calm myself down.
Deep breaths, Christy. Don’t be an idiot.
My pep talk did nothing to compose myself, and I was unable to get my anger under control. It had happened to me once before, when I’d had my entire life planned out ahead of me and, in an instant, it had gone down the drain. Instead of seeing a future full of what I had dreamed, all I saw was the loss of everything that I’d worked so hard for.
Sure, I could get the money again. But that would mean years of either working under Rossi, or finding another job that took me away from my passion. It was a lose-lose situation for me. The only thing I could hope for now was the off chance that Rossi would give me back my money, but I would bet my life that that smarmy dirt bag wouldn’t even dream of doing something like that.
“Dammit,” I muttered under my breath. I knew I was about to do something incredibly stupid, but I was too far gone to care. There were times when you had to sit back and watch as your life crumbled before you, but this wasn’t one of those times.
Storming into the club, I didn’t spare anyone a second glance and marched straight into Rossi’s office, slamming the door shut behind me.
Rossi didn’t even flinch at the sound of the door, but just looked up serenely and raised an eyebrow.
“Yes?” he said cockily. Just the sound of his voice was enough to push the anger in me to higher levels. I could’ve done as King said and been calmer and smarter about it, but faced with the devil himself, I knew there wasn’t a chance I’d be up for that. I guess I would never be the bigger person, but there was a chance I’d be the richer one.
“Did you do it?” I bit out. There was no use being sly or artful now. Partly because I was terrible at it and partly because my rage was occupying too much of my mind.
“I don’t know what you mean,” he said. “Is everything okay?” His faux sincerity was rubbing me the wrong way and entirely not amusing when I was so mad.
“Don’t play dumb. I know you know what I’m talking about. I just need it back, okay? Then there’ll be no harm done, and we can move on.”
I wasn’t sure if he realized it, but Rossi was treading dangerous ground and whatever he said next would be the determining factor in whether or not I reached my breaking point.
“Christy, are you feeling okay? You're not really making any sense. If you want the day off-”
“I know you stole my money, you smug bastard!”
“I’d watch what I was saying, Christy. You know I like you, but if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were accusing me of something. You wouldn’t be doing that, now would you?”
I could see exactly what Rossi was doing, but I wouldn’t back down. I’d already tipped past the point of no return, and I wasn’t about to stop now.
“I am accusing you! You stole my deposit, Rossi. You’re a dirty thief, and I want my money back!”
“Now, hold on. That’s no way to speak to your boss.”
“I don’t care who the fuck you are.” I strode forward quickly and placed my palms on the edge of his desk, leaning forward so my face was close to his. “Give me back my fucking money.”
“Christy, I must say that this is completely unacceptable behavior. If you don’t apologize right now, then I’ll be forced to take drastic measures.”
There was no way he was serious. Jarren Rossi was the kind of man that bluffed his way through life, and there wasn’t a chance in hell that I would back down now.
“Apologize? Fuck you. Do your worst, you pig.”
“All right. You’ve forced my hand.”
Rossi got up from his chair and walked to the door, opening it wide and yelling, “King!”
Perfect. He wouldn’t know what hit him. King and I would team up, and Rossi would be begging for my forgiveness in no time. I almost laughed at the arrogant look on his face. Little did he know that he’d be overpowered in mere minutes.
King arrived a moment later, stalking in silently and frowning at the scene before him. When his eyes reached me, I could almost see him suppressing an eye roll. He’d warned me that I had no proof and shouldn’t confront Rossi, but now that King was at my back, it didn’t matter. We could handle Rossi together, I could get my money back, and Rossi would be out of the way for good.
“Yes, boss?” King said.
I scoffed at his tone. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think King was nothing more than a loyal puppet. I would so be teasing him about that later.
“King, please escort Miss Christy out of the building. Make sure she gets in her car and leaves.”
Laughter was bubbling up in my throat. I wondered what King would do. Send a firm punch to Rossi’s face, or just flat out refuse and make a fool of him. The door was left open, and though I could hear no sounds of any of the staff, I knew they were all paying close attention.
“Yes, sir.”
Wait, what?
I gasped when King enclosed his hand around my upper arm and dragged me to the door.
“What are you doing?” Was he really removing me from the building? What on earth was he thinking? Rossi was about to get away with a crime, and King was doing nothing to stop him. In fact, he wasn’t even looking at me.
“King, stop.”
He kept pulling me towards the exit, and I was both too shocked and too weak to pull out of his grip. Once we were out of the building, his hand loosened slightly, and I jerked out of his hold.
“What are you playing at?” I demanded angrily.
“I’m sorry, but I had to do it,” he said unemotionally.
“Are you serious? We can’t let him get away with stealing my money. Come with me, and we can figure something out and get back at him. You can’t just listen to him and force me out of here.”
“Look, Christy. You won’t understand this, but I have unfinished business here. I can’t come with you. Now, get in your car and go home. Please don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
“Harder than it has to be?” I repeated in disbelief. “How could you say that?”
King didn’t reply, but walked to my car and opened the door, holding it out for me to climb in.
“You know what, King? Fuck you.”
I climbed into my car and slammed the door shut, speeding out of the lot without a glance backwards. In my eyes, King had betrayed me, right when I needed him. But this wasn’t the end. No way. I’d get back at Rossi, if it was the last thing I did.