Chapter 673

Chapter 673:
In truth, Rutherford lived on the opposite end of the city.
Dropping Stella off would mean a long trip and a late return.
But he simply shrugged. “It’s no trouble. I don’t mind being a little late.”
William’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t say anything right away.
Rutherford gently tried to guide Stella away, but William stepped forward and grabbed her other arm.
“I said I’ll take her,” he insisted.
Rutherford’s eyes turned cold. “William, have you forgotten she came here as my date tonight?”
That hit William straight in the gut. He shot him a glare and asked, “So what, you two are a thing now?”
Rutherford pressed his lips into a tight line. Part of him wanted to say yes. But it wasn’t his place to define whatever was going on between them without Stella’s say.
William wasn’t letting up. “If she’s not your girlfriend, then what gives you the right to act like this?”
The tension between the two of them was almost suffocating. They stood facing each other like neither wanted to be the first to blink.
Just then, a cool gust of wind swept by, and it helped Stella shake off some of the fog in her head.
Rutherford quickly turned back to her and said, “Ms. Gilbert, I promised I’d get you home safely. Let me do that.”
But William jumped in right after, saying, “We live across the hall. It just makes more sense for me to take her.”
Their voices swirled around her like noise she couldn’t quite tune out.
Blinking a few times to clear her thoughts, Stella looked at the two of them holding onto her like she was a prize. Suddenly, she yanked her arms free. “I can go home by myself, thanks.”
At first, she’d thought they were having a serious disagreement.
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But now she realized they were just arguing about who’d take her home. It was ridiculous. She wasn’t a child. She wasn’t their responsibility. And she definitely didn’t need two grown men arguing like teenagers over a ride. “You’ve both been drinking. Neither of you should be driving,” she pointed out. “If someone’s calling a cab anyway, then I can take one myself. No need for this.”
Without waiting for a response, she walked straight to the curb, waved down a taxi, and got in without hesitation.
The moment she shut the door, she locked it and told the driver, “Let’s go.”
The taxi sped off, leaving William and Rutherford coughing in a cloud of exhaust.
Neither of them had gotten in.
Rutherford turned to William, still catching his breath. “What’s your deal, man? You into Stella too?”
William’s lips pressed into a thin line. “What, I’m not allowed to like her?”
Rutherford blinked, clearly not expecting him to just admit it like that. “But I asked you about her before,” Rutherford said slowly. “You told me you two were just coworkers.”
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