Page 58 of Checkmate
“But you think it will get better?”
“I know it will get better. It already is because I have you and your warmth.” She reached for his hand, curling her fingers around his.
“We’re partners in crime, you and I. Two broken souls coming together to help each other heal.”
“By fucking over those who wronged us.”
“Exactly,” Erica said, grinning at him. He tightened his grip on her hand.
“Erica, I—”
“Marcus, why the fuck do you never answer your phone? My card got rejected right in the middle of fucking Harrods and you never—”
Sophie burst through the door, the key still in her hand, brandishing it in Marcus’ direction, as though she imagined ramming it in various places.
It was only as she looked up and saw them, still hand in hand, that she shut up.
“Sophie,” Erica said, a smirk spreading across her lips. Oh, this timing could not have been better. “Nice to see you. Shopping went well then, yeah?”
Alex cheating on her and causing so much misery was almost worth it, just to see the stupid look on Sophie’s face.
Almost.
But Erica wasn’t above poking the bear. Not when the bear was a conniving bitch who deserved everything coming for her.
Chapter 15
Sophie
There was nothing more mortifying than being in the middle of a store and hearing those dreaded words.
“I’m sorry, Miss. Your card has been declined.”
Shame crept up Sophie’s neck, her face flaming with embarrassment. “Impossible,” she said with a nervous laugh. “Run it through again please.”
She just had to walk into Harrod’s of all places. A declined card was embarrassing in any store. But Harrod’s?
She could already hear the whispers behind her as women dressed in designer clothes covered their wicked words with perfectly manicured fingers.
“Miss? I’m sorry, it’s declined again.”
Sophie forced herself not to look behind her at the eyes burning into her back. She racked her brain for a solution, knowing there wasn’t one.
How had she maxed Marcus’ card already?
“Miss? Do you have an alternative method of payment?”
No.
“I… Yes. One moment.”
Sophie reached for her purse, silently trying to talk herself out of using the emergency card. In the back of her mind, a long number kept repeating over and over like a mantra.
It was a number she had become familiar with and one that was about to get bigger with this purchase.
“Here you go,” Sophie said, handing over her card with a stilted smile.
A bigger bill was preferable to gossiping socialites. She could always make more money, but a reputation was harder to fix.
