Chapter 136
Adam stepped out with a blinding headache pounding behind his eyes and a sour mood clinging to him like a second skin. He paused at the doorway, blinking against the light, just as Melanie emerged from her room across the hall.
He opened his mouth, about to mumble a half-hearted “Good morning,” but stopped short when she glanced in his direction—only to make a face like she’d just spotted a lizard clinging to the wall. Without a word, she turned and walked off, her steps brisk and dismissive.
He frowned, the greeting dying on his tongue. What was that about? He was the one nursing a hangover, not her so why was she glaring at him?
With a shrug of his shoulders, he trailed after her into the kitchen, each step heavy because his body hadn’t fully signed up for the day yet. His only goal was to grab some hangover medicine from the cabinet and maybe find a glass of water that didn’t judge him before going back and falling onto his bed..
But as soon as he entered, Melanie shot him that same look again—eyebrows raised, lips curled ever so slightly like she’d smelled something unpleasant.
He froze halfway to the counter, hand in mid-air. “Seriously?” he asked, blinking at her. “What’s with the attitude? Are your panties in a bunch or something?”
Melanie snorted, not even bothering to look away from the mug where she was aggressively mixing sugar in her coffee. She shot him a look and then asked flatly,” What attitude?”
He stared at her, his headache already pulsing in time with his irritation. “That one. The one where you look at me like I’m a roach that just crawled out of the sink.”
She turned off the tap with a sharp twist and finally looked at him, face blank but eyes sparking. “If the roach fits…”
He blinked again. “Okay, wow. Just… may I ask what the hell I am being cursed at for?”
She rolled her eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn’t fall out of her head. Taking another long sip of her coffee, she finally muttered, “Maybe you should think about what you’ve done.”
He blinked again, slower this time. “I’m sorry, what?”
She set the mug down with a sharp clink and crossed her arms, and glared at him like she was about two seconds away from launching the mug at his head. “You figure it out.”
Adam stood there, staring at her, mind trudging through the thick fog of his hangover. He rubbed his temples, trying to recall something—anything—that might have offended her. It was like flipping through a book with the pages stuck together. Then something clicked.
His eyes snapped open and he stared at her, “Wait. Is this because I kissed you?”
He took a slow step toward her, then another, until he was close enough to lower his voice and then in the same tone that he liked to tease her wish, said slowly, “Melon, I like kissing you. You like kissing me. So why the stink eye this morning?”
She harrumphed, and was about to pick her coffee cup again when Adam reached for it faster and took a sip, which made her even more furious and she bit out, “You should be grateful you’re only getting a stink eye right now.”
He stared at her, confused—until it hit him like a brick to the skull.
Oh. Hell.
The unwelcome memory from the night before returned and he winced flinching at the realisation. Right. Saira. Her perfume had clung to him because he’d let her hug him and Melanie had noticed. She hadn’t pushed him away because of the kiss—she’d done it because he’d come to her smelling like someone else. And drunk…
Cursing in his head, he opened his mouth to explain that nothing had happened but before he could get a word out, Melanie’s phone rang loudly.
At the same time, the faint hum of chatter reached them from outside. Then came a louder sound—several voices, footsteps, maybe even a car door slamming. Adam glanced toward the window, brows furrowing and moved to get his phone out of the pocket to check the surveillance cameras.
His eyes widened as soon as the image came to life and he cursed.
He squinted. There were at least six of them, maybe more. Some had clipboards. One had a camera. Another was wearing an unfortunately familiar logo on their shirt—one that screamed tabloid.
His stomach dropped. “What the…”
Meanwhile, Melanie had pressed the phone to her ear. “Laela?”
“Where the hell are you?” Laela’s voice crackled through the speaker frantically, “Are you okay? I swear, I had no idea that Adam would also turn out to be such a jerk! Oh God, I will sue—”
“What?” Melanie frowned as she walked away from the kitchen and asked, “Laela, breathe. I’m fine. What are you even—” But before she could ask, her best friend seemed to have guessed that she had no idea about the matter and immediately ordered,” Oh my God! You haven’t even checked the social media, have you? Take a look and see the mess there is! And once you have seen it, let me know what you need me to do! I have thugs and everything ready!”
Melanie ended the call with a quick, “I’ll call you back,” and immediately opened her phone’s browser. Her thumb hovered over the trending tab on her social feed—and then froze as the hashtags slapped her across the face.
Adam Collins Mystery Woman Corporate Casanova Kiss Caught On Camera Ex Files Unfold
Her mouth parted slightly as she scrolled through post after post. One of the first images to load was a dim, grainy shot taken inside a wine cellar where Adam’s image was clear but the woman’s was not. But of course she knew who that was.
The second was also a familiar place… The ABC enterprises conference room and same two people, this time hugging each other. And the last one was an old picture of a couple, maybe from the high school…
She looked up then and met Adam’s eyes…
Search the ALLMACWARE.com website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.