“Yeah.” She chews her toasted sandwich as she watches him. “He worked at the Gazette with me.”
My attention goes back to watching him. “You know, I think he’s up to something.”
“Wouldn’t surprise me.” She wipes her mouth with her napkin.
“Why do you say that?” I ask.
“He was fired from the Gazette.”
“What for?” Aaron frowns.
“I don’t know for certain, but the word on the street was that he was involved in a phone-tap scandal.”
“What?”
“Apparently.” She rolls her eyes. “And this is complete speculation, but he was caught tapping one of his coworkers’ phones and stealing her leads.”
My eyes widen. “Really? Who?”
“A girl named Keeley May.”
“Oh yes, the redhead,” remarks Aaron. “She’s fucking hot.”
Molly’s and my eyes go to him. “Since when do you think girls are hot?” Molly asks.
“I’m gay, not blind. I can appreciate a fine female form,” he huffs.
We both roll our eyes.
“Why do you think he’s up to something?” Molly asks.
God, can I tell them? No . . . I have to run it past Tristan first. I can’t break their trust in me. “I told him one of my stories the other day, and I saw that he submitted it as his own,” I lie.
Molly narrows her eyes. “Fucking snake.”
“I have no proof, of course,” I add. “I was just wondering about his character, that’s all.”
“From what I know of him,” she says dryly, “I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him.”
“Like Paul,” Aaron sneers.
“Oh God, what happened now?” I ask.
“Nothing.” He sighs. “He’s just an asshole, that’s all.”
Molly rolls her eyes in disgust. “You know what, Aaron, stop playing the fucking victim here. You know he’s sleeping around, and you’re still sleeping with him. It’s one thing to be deceived, but to willingly go back for more when you know exactly what is going on is just plain pathetic.”
He rolls his eyes. “You don’t have to be such a bitch about it.”
“Yeah, I do. You’re acting like a damsel in distress. You don’t have kids with him. You don’t have a mortgage. You don’t work with him. The break would be easy. Tell him to fuck off and move on,” she scoffs. “Breakups are hard. Staying with an asshole is harder.”
“Speaking of moving on—Jameson asked me to move in with him,” I say to change the subject.
Aaron snorts his drink, and it goes up his nose. “What the hell?”
“Apparently.” I shrug.
Aaron frowns. “What’s with the turnabout?”
“He went and saw Claudia, his ex, while he was in London.”
“Did he fuck her?” Aaron asks as he chews his straw.
“No, Aaron, fucking other people isn’t normal behavior,” Molly snaps. “Get that through your thick head. Your view on reality is seriously distorted.”
“Fuck, you’re a real bitch today, you know that?” Aaron snaps.
“Well, that communal dick of your boyfriend’s is pissing me off,” she scoffs.
Aaron and I roll our eyes. Molly is especially testy today.
“He said that he and Claudia had planned on getting back together, but he told her he wanted a future with me. He ended it.”
“Holy shit,” Aaron whispers.
“He told me he loves me.”
“What the fuck?” Molly cries. “Are you serious?”
“But . . .” I shrug.
“But what?” Aaron whispers. “There should be no buts anywhere in this story.”
“It’s all so fast. What’s the rush, you know?” I shrug. “I’m scared he’s just stressed.”
They both continue to listen.
“He told me that he’s had feelings since we first met, and it’s been coming for a long time.”
“That could be true.” Molly frowns.
“It could be.” I sip my coffee. “It could also be in his takeover strategy.”
“What takeover strategy?” Molly frowns.
“Jameson Miles gets what he wants,” I reply. “If he’s decided he wants me—”
“Which he has,” Aaron interrupts.
“He will make it happen. I don’t know.” I shrug. “It just all seems too good to be true, and the whole Claudia situation has freaked me out a little. Can I really believe that Claudia and he will just break off all communication now?”