Page 13 of Dissolving Prejudice

He probably thought I was teasing him, only I truly believed they’d break up at some point. Guess the joke was on me, considering how my fiancé wanted nothing to do with me now. My stomach flopped like I’d just been kicked, and I quickly straightened in my chair. Fiancé, huh? I’m so pathetic. I’d asked Shay-Lee to marry me on a whim some warm summer night nearly five years ago. We were a pair of stupid kids, and yet I had held on to that promise we made under the moonlight ever since. But I guess being faithful after leaving like an asshole meant nothing.

Just before I was about to be drawn into self-pity again, the door to Soren’s room opened, and out walked Shay-Lee. I immediately jumped to my feet while Andrei stayed seated. Not that I cared. In a matter of seconds, my world zeroed down to one person, and that person was still intent on ignoring me. I called his name, but instead of looking our way, Shay-Lee closed the door behind him and began walking toward the elevators.

Never being one not to grab what he wanted, I followed him.

“Shay-Lee,” I said as he continued to walk, not even slowing down.

Fuck.

Still not spitting a word my way, he stopped in front of the elevators and pushed the call button. While waiting, he pulled out his phone from his bag and began scrolling through it as if I wasn’t standing right beside him.

“For God’s sake, at least look at me,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm despite the storm raging inside of me at being in his proximity. He smelled different than I remembered, not as sweet. Almost like a foreign scent had taken over him.

“I know you’re angry, but I’ll explain everything.”

His lips quirked up into a smile. Only it wasn’t sweet or kind but vengeful and cold. “You think I’m angry?” he sneered, eyes still glued to his phone screen.

Surprised he answered me, I swallowed hard. “Then what are you—”

“I simply don’t give a shit.”

The elevator arrived, and he slipped his phone back into his tote bag before stepping in. I stayed outside and watched him put on his sunglasses. He looked so out of reach that, for a moment, I wondered if I’d ever held him in my arms in the first place.

The elevator doors were about to close when I stopped them with my hand and took half a step to keep them open.

“Just… let me explain.”

Pursing his lips, he lifted his chin. “Nah, I don’t have time to waste on you.”

Time.

That damn word came back to bite me in the ass.

I gave up four years of my life, thinking it would do us good, but the only thing it did was pull us apart.

Tamping down my damaged pride, I stepped back and watched Shay-Lee’s numb expression until the elevator’s doors slowly closed, and once again, he was out of my sight.

Diesel

“You got someplace to be?” Dion asked, his voice teasing.

Closing my phone, I placed it down on the table, right next to my untouched glass of scotch, and looked at him.

“Why’d you ask?” I hissed, eyes narrowed.

“It’s the third time you’ve checked your phone since we sat down.” He took a sip from his drink. “Just wondering if you have a better place to be. A date, maybe?” He smirked.

Fucker.

“Maybe I just don’t want to look at your ugly face,” I said, sinking back into the leather couch I was sitting on. While I did, in fact, hate seeing Dion’s face, I also had someplace else to be right now.

“Ugly? I’m beautiful.” He grinned. “Anyway, let’s make this meeting short, shall we?” Putting his drink aside, he snapped his fingers together. A moment later, Gale, who was also present in the room, handed Dion some folder. Flipping through it, Dion stopped on a page before handing it to me. Quickly checking it out, I saw lots of numbers. Not just numbers—dates. Dates for future drug shipments.

“We have a mole,” Dion said while I still looked at the info. “A dirty little mole who sells our information to our rivals.”

There were many smaller organizations in the region that constantly, yet unsuccessfully, tried to bring Dion’s dynasty down.

“Anyway, we handled this small leak of information and canceled those shipments, but I can’t schedule new ones as long as that little mole is still running around free. And that’s costing me money.” He then took a cigarette from the bowl on the table and put it between his lips. Tilting his head aside, Gale came from behind him and lit it for him. Dion took a long drag before exhaling out the smoke. “I also suspect this mole was the one to give away my location the day of my attempted assassination,” he said as the smoke of his cigarette reached my nostrils.