The Ex Project by Nia Arthurs

Chapter Thirty-Three

She spritzedperfume on both wrists and then waved them around her earlobe, letting the fragrance waft down her throat because Duane had a habit of nuzzling her there.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Thick eyelashes. Sparkly eyeshadow. Maroon-colored gloss.

Perfection.

Her eyes caught on the reflection of the bed. She could still feel Duane’s fingers slipping into hers. His breath heavy on her face, her stomach, her thighs. His body pushing her into the mattress.

She’d spent plenty of time trying to force her brain to recall the one-night stand they never had. But nothing, nothing she had fantasized about matched reality.

Duane was mind-blowing.

Commanding.

And oh, so torturous.

She’d crawled, begged, and turned in and out of her own skin, falling apart inside his expert hands and coming back together only to fall apart again.

His kisses had taken her to heaven and back and she could not wait to get him alone again.

Humming a song under her breath, Yolanda fixed her earrings and touched the sparkling diamonds. They were the perfect accessories for her daring red dress.

Perhaps it was a touch overdone for a casual dinner, but she would always jump on the chance to dress up. The way Duane’s eyes sparkled whenever he saw her—as if she was the most glorious being he’d ever seen—was an added bonus.

Her phone rang as she padded to her walk-in closet, looking for the perfect shoes. “Carl,” she said into the phone, pawing at her Vera Wangs. “Good news?”

“Mr. Marden signed the papers earlier today and his lawyer just had them filed. It’s official. Azueta cannot touch him even if he were stupid enough to try again.”

“Thank you.”

“You went easy on him.”

“Azueta?”

“I could have done more harm.”

She plucked her shoes off the shelf. “Azueta is not important enough to be a weight on my conscience.”

“I am here so you do not have to worry about such things.”

“Things like morality? Carl, it’s a new day. Having money does not allow anyone to be the judge, jury and executioner.”

He harrumphed.

“My grandparents might have solved things with violence, but that’s not what we’re trying to do here. Besides, I got what I wanted.”

“And so did Mr. Marden.”

“Yes.” She was glad Carl couldn’t see the love-sick grin on her face. “Duane was… pleased.” His excitement was conveyed to her in all kinds of filthy ways. “And so was I.”

“I see.” Carl’s voice sounded stuffy and yet, she felt as if he had gotten wind of her thoughts. “I hope you were justly rewarded.”

She fanned her face because the heat in the closet was unbearable. “Is that all, Carl?”

“Yes. Unless you need further assistance with Mr. Marden’s career?”

“Are you being sarcastic?”

“I am sincere. A union will join his life to yours.”

“Marriage? You’re there already?”

“Were you thinking of having another relationship where a man impregnates you without giving you his last name, ma’am?”

She scowled into the mirror. “You’ve gotten snarkier with age, Carl.”

“Me?”

She laughed.

“Mr. Marden does not understand the kind of family he is marrying into. Not everyone who approaches him will have his—or your—best interest at heart. If you’d like me to handle it, I will do so.”

“I only call you for emergencies. That won’t change no matter the circumstances of my relationship with Duane.”

There was a knock at the door.

Stunned, Yolanda rose from her chair and headed downstairs. Had her mother dropped in for a surprise visit? Or perhaps one of her girls? But that couldn’t be right. Cole and West were flying in today. Latoya and Giselle had been ecstatic. Yolanda couldn’t imagine either of them leaving their boyfriends for a minute.

Carl’s voice squawked through the phone. “Your hesitance to use my services brings me unending misery.”

“I’m leading by example. I don’t want Tay-Tay to grow up thinking he should have a handler cleaning up every mistake he makes. Failure makes us stronger. He needs to learn that there’s no shame in stumbling. It’s how we get back up that matters.”

Carl made another grumpy sound, indicating that he was not impressed.

She chuckled. “I need to go. I have a guest.”

“Very well.” His voice was quiet. “I wish you every happiness, Yolanda.”

“Thank you, Carl.” She hung up and opened the door. “Duane.” Her eyes widened when she saw him breathing hard. He wore a long-sleeved football jersey, matching pants and cleats.

The cleats were the biggest indication that something was wrong. Since she’d known him, Duane did not wear his football sneakers off the field, choosing to change into regular shoes instead.

“Is something wrong?” She glanced past him to the car he’d parked on her driveway. The door was still open as if he’d been so occupied with seeing her he hadn’t bothered to close it.

“Is Tay-Tay here?”

Her heart dropped to her toes. “No. Is something wrong? Is he missing?”

“I only wanted to check.”

“Oh.” Her pulse returned to normal.

“I need to speak to you in private.”

On any other day, those words falling from Duane Marden’s delectable mouth would have had her pushing her drawers down and asking where he wanted to do this. But his eyes were shining with frustration, not lust. And his hands were fisted at his sides instead of reaching for her.

“Speak to me about what?”

“Yolanda…” He pushed out her name, ducked his head and ran a hand through his hair.

She could feel the tension in her own body rising, despite having no idea what was going on.

“I have one question and I need you to answer me honestly.”

She swallowed hard and nodded.

“The reason you didn’t want to come over last night, was it because you had a date with Devon?”

The world tilted to the side. Everything flashed red. She opened her mouth, choked out an unintelligible word and then snapped her mouth shut. Duane remained at her door, staring intently at her.

Stepping back, she gestured to the living room to buy some time. “Come in.”

Duane’s jaw tightened. For a second, she thought he would remain outside, but he took wooden steps into her living room.

“Duane, I…” Anger at Devon welled within her. Her ex just had to take one more parting shot, didn’t he? Why did he have to tell Duane about the date? “It didn’t mean anything.”

Staring at her with eyes that were quickly growing cold, he whispered, “How can you say that to me?”

She licked her lips, fighting the regret that exploded when she saw the hurt passing over his face. “It’s not what you think. I only went out with him so he could stop bothering me about rekindling our relationship.”

“What kind of BS is that, Yolanda? You went on a romantic date with your ex and didn’t bother to tell me?”

“Duane—”

“I trusted you. And I thought you trusted me.”

“I do.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me what was going on?”

“I…” She had no excuses.

Silence fell.

His voice was hard when he broke the quiet. “Why did you ask me to fake a relationship? Was it for him?”

A punch to the gut wouldn’t have stunned her as much. “Is that what he told you?”

“I’m asking you, Yolanda.”

She sucked in big gulps of air.

The walls were closing in on her and her head pounded.

“Did you date me to get Devon back?” His words were cold. So cold. Had she made this warm, beautiful man turn to ice?

Panic built in Yolanda’s chest. A desperation she’d never known clawed at her throat and made her eyes sting with tears. “All I wanted was for him to be a better father to Tay-Tay.”

His face shattered. “So you used me. All along, this was about you and Devon.”

“No. Yes. Not like that.” She licked her lips desperately. “I tried to get him more involved, but nothing I did was working. I was at the end of my rope.”

“And you thought I was the perfect trap to lure him back to you.”

“It wasn’t for us to start a relationship, Duane.”

“Then why did you go on a date with him?”

“It didn’t mean anything,” she cried.

“I don’t believe you.”

Her heart sank.

“You might have thought that this… project was just about getting Devon involved with Tay-tay…”

“No.” She choked.

“… Maybe that’s what you wanted to believe so you didn’t have to face your real feelings. Maybe you’re not really over him.”

“I am.”

Duane turned his head to the side. “Did Azueta really lift the ban on his own?”

She pinned her lips together.

“I thought it was too convenient,” he said quietly. “But I didn’t let myself believe you’d interfered. I wanted to believe you wouldn’t go against what I asked you. But now…” He paused and turned to her. “What did you do?”

She couldn’t lie to him. “I paid off Azueta to get the violation lifted.”

His silver eyes widened, a swirling tempest. “Why?”

She went still.

“Why did you do that, Yolanda?” His voice crackled with frustration.

Her mouth still wouldn’t open.

“I was handling it,” Duane said, his jaw tightening. “I told you that I had it under control. Why didn’t you trust me when I said that?”

“You would never have gotten through on your own,” she snapped.

His eyes widened and his nostrils flared. “I asked you not to treat me like your ex, but you really don’t believe I’m any different, do you?” His shoulders slumped and it seemed like all the fight left his body in a gust of wind. “I don’t think you know what you want, Yolanda.”

You! I want you.

But she didn’t say that.

Yolanda felt a numbness come over her. He would leave. He was here to break up with her. Why should she look pathetic? Why should she cower and beg?

She’d lied to him.

Now he would walk away.

A part of her was almost relieved. Duane had always seemed a little too good to be true. Being with him was like holding her breath and waiting for the fairytale to be over.

Now that it was falling apart before her eyes, it hurt like hell. But the pain was familiar. She was used to being abandoned. She was used to people walking away because she was too much. Or too little. Or not enough.

A rich heiress who could never be loved.

A fitting punishment.

Beyond her money and her status, what else did she have?

Placing a mask of frosty indifference on her face, she raised her chin. “If you want to take a break, that’s fine with me.”

The way he flinched made her shrivel inside. Had he not been about to say that? Had he not been queuing up to break up with her?

The expression of anguish lifted and his lips tightened. “Fine.” He took a step back. “Tell Tay-Tay I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to make it tonight.”

Her body lurched forward, pulling her after him as he turned and strode to his car. When Duane’s vehicle disappeared, Yolanda stumbled back. The tears she’d managed to restrain during their fight spilled down her cheeks and plopped to the floor.

Before she could sob like a baby, Devon honked his horn outside.

Tay-Tay was back.

She quickly dotted her cheeks and tried to salvage the makeup that was running down her face.

Tay-Tay’s excited footsteps dashed into the living room. “Mom, is coach here yet? I want tacos!”

“No, he’s not here.” She forced a smile and turned to her son. “I’m sorry, honey. Coach can’t make it tonight.”

Tay-Tay stopped in his tracks. His smile dropped and a familiar expression of disappointment crossed his face.

She tried to keep her tone upbeat. “But you and I can have tacos and watch movies.”

“No thanks.” Tay-Tay hung his head. “I don’t want tacos anymore.”

“Tay-Tay.”

Her son plodded past her and headed up the stairs, wearing the rejection on his boyish face. At that moment, Yolanda couldn’t stop the tears.

She ran into the bathroom and grabbed a towel to muffle her sobs, letting her heart break softly so her son wouldn’t hear.