Fangs, Fate & Other Bad Decisions novel Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Mid–turn, I call out, “Oh, Griffin,” and he immediately brings his attention back to us.

“Thank you for this,” I say with a friendly smile.

An adorable blush rises

es in his cheeks, and a shy smile graces his lips before he answers, “It was my pleasure, miss.”

He does that head bow thing again, this time in my direction, before heading to the van again.

The fact that Thane still has not spoken up hardens my resolve, and I call out again, “Griffin.”

He’s almost halfway down my pathway when he swivels around again and says, “Yes, miss?”

Turning towards Thane, my irritation is evident when I say, “Would it kill you to use basic human manners and say Thank you‘ to him?”

“I pay him. That’s thanks enough,” he says matter–of–factly. This motherfucker!

1 plant my hands on my hips, square my shoulders, look him dead in the eye, and say, “Thank this young man for his trouble or you can walk your sorry ass out my door back to whichever hole you crawled from

Thane glares at me, and 1 return it with one of my own. This is a hill I’m willing to die on because manners or human decency is non–negotiable in my book.

Griffin splutters, apprehension apparent in his tone, “Miss, that’s not necessary. He is probably scared he will lose his job because of me, but I’ll never let that happen. If Thane wants to lash out, he can do it at me. Not this innocent man who was trying to follow orders.

Still holding eye contact with Thane, I lift my hand closest to Griffin and stick my pointer finger into the air, simultaneously asking him to wait and not say another word.

Cocking one of my eyebrows at Thane, I wait. What he doesn’t know is that I can stand here all day. Stubbornness is woven into my DNA.

I see when he’s gearing up to submit, and I’m very tempted to start smiling, but I’ll hold it in until Griffin has left.

“…” he pauses, clenches his jaw, and then looks away for a second before bringing his attention back to me and Griffin. “Never mind.”

If he’s going to be difficult about being kind, at least in my presence, I will make this as hard as possible on him.

“Oh my god, are you trying to say thank you to Griffin? Is that what’s happening right now? Are you physically struggling to show gratitude?” The sarcasm in my tone is not lost on him as I see his jaw tick in annoyance.

His glare intensifies threefold, and his hands go to his hips. “I don’t struggle with anything.”

“Except this. It’s okay, take your time. Do you need flashcards? A support group?” By the time I’m done, he’s red in the face at my blatant insolence. And I think if he turned that particular look on anyone else, especially Griffin here, they would be shitting themselves for the next five days straight

“I hate you,” he spits at me, before giving Griffin his full attention. Irritated at being made to heel! “Thank you,” before spinning around and disappearing into the house.

The shit eating grin on my face is instant as I watch him stomp inside, mumbling under his breath something about “infuriating women‘. When 1 turn back to Griffin, he’s rooted to the spot with a jaw that looks like it might unhinge itself any moment, eyes locked onto the spot where Thane disappeared from view

Giving his head a slight shake, he looks at me and, with reverence in his tone, says, “I’ve worked for Mr. Draeven for five years, and he’s never once said thank you to me or anyone at the company. How did you get him to do that?”

Shrugging at him, I answer, “Not sure, but I don’t let anyone walk over other people when I’m around. Least of all a rich, rude dude like him. Thanks again, and have a good day.”

Chapter 13

With a small smile, he nods and then walks toward the van.

Closing the front door behind me, I casually walk through the living room and into the kitchen, without a care.

His energy is palpable as he paces the space between my fridge and kitchen island, still mumbling to himself. Deciding to ignore him for now and let him stew in the frustration of his own making, I start peeking into all the grocery bags scattered around my kitchen counters.

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