All the Way Read Free Page B

driver wouldn’t have thought twice about running her down and leaving her carcass in the street. God, she loved the ruthlessness of the city. And how sick did that make her? The conversation she’d been desperate to forget hovered on the edges of her sanity.
    “The deal is quite simple. Asshole wants to explain why he left.”
    Andy snickered. They paid the attendant, hopped in the car, and cut into a throng of traffic. Her friend didn’t speak for a while, as they eased one inch per minute, until his curiosity finally won. “What do you want?”
    She shrugged. “I want him to leave me alone. I want to forget I ever fell in love with him and was stupid enough to think he loved me. He completely humiliated me. I opened up to him, let myself be vulnerable, and he left. Now I want to get on with my safe, orderly life.”
    “So, what are you afraid of? You’re in control now. Maybe it’s time you proved that to yourself.” He grinned. “Maybe it’s time you taught Asshole a lesson.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Why do women let men walk all over them? Look, he acted like a jerk and now he thinks he can corner you in the hallway and go back to the way things were. Think like a man. Hit him where he hurts the most.”
    Miranda winced. “Doesn’t sound very charitable. Aren’t I supposed to be the better person?”
    “Didn’t you ever hear of eye for an eye?”
    “What am I supposed to do, get a couple of hoods to do a number on him?”
    “Actually, I know this guy from the Mafia who—”
    “Andy!”
    “Kidding, just kidding. You’ll think of something. Picture thousands of women across the globe, waiting for you to bring justice to their gender.”
    “Do you eavesdrop on Elaine’s conversations to come up with this stuff?”
    “I watched Oprah once. But now that she’s retired, I’m into Dr. Phil. My therapist approves.”
    She adjusted the heat of the vents and fought a shiver. “This whole conversation is ridiculous. I’ll never see him again. He may want me back, but I’ve moved on.”
    “Why don’t you sound convinced?”
    She looked out the window and tried to hold back the memories. “You don’t know how the relationship was. He had this sort of spell over me.”
    “Like a weird sexual power?”
    Miranda smothered a laugh. “Close. He’d just scored a partnership in MacKenzie & Associates Advertising, where he was used to getting what he wanted. And he wanted it all. Travel, power, money.” She shook her head in disgust. “But I saw something else in his eyes.”
    “Uh-oh. Let me guess. A gleam of vulnerability. A bit of loneliness. All the things that trip up a woman.”
    “Yep.” She nibbled on her bottom lip. “Of course, he told me the rules up front. He didn’t want any heavy commitments, and I accepted the terms. Until I fell in love with him.”
    “I assume he didn’t suffer from the same emotions?”
    The car pulled up to her apartment complex. “Guess not. After my big confession, he left. I never saw him again.”
    “Until tonight.” Andy cursed and gripped the steering wheel. “He was probably running scared. We tend to flee when things get too heavy. God knows Elaine freaked me out when I realized she was the one, and it took a long time for me to finally realize it, too. Think about what I said. A little revenge may teach him a lesson. Not to mention how good it would feel.”
    “Good night, Andy. Thanks for going to the opera with me. You can drop Stephen off at my house Saturday night.”
    A flicker of guilt crossed his face. “I didn’t really mean we had to trade services, Miranda. You don’t have to babysit if you don’t want.”
    “A deal’s a deal. You go to the opera with me, and I babysit. Besides, I love Stephen.”
    “Oh, you like horns on a kid, huh?”
    She grinned and got out of the car. “Like father like son.”
    “Ouch. Get some sleep.”
    She shut the door and shivered in the damp air. With a quick wave to the security guard, she