Next One Is a Babe

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Ian pulled over the luggage that Cindy had parked by the door with a strong yank and tossed it into the living room. He then stepped forward, and with his hands gripping her shoulders tightly, he lifted her up. “You’re going to see Gary, aren’t you?”

Cindy was in pain from Ian’s grip. So, her tone was less than polite. “Are you nuts? Why do you care whether I’m about to look for him or not? Let me go.”

Not only did Ian maintain his grip on her, but he ended up tightening his grip and digging into her shoulders. “How long have you two known each other again? For you two to be this close?”

Cindy couldn’t exactly keep her temper down as she raised her hands to beat at Ian’s arms. “You better release me. Who cares how long I’ve known him and how my relationship with him is? It has nothing to do with you. We don’t have to wait until tomorrow for my employment arrangement to end; we can just end it right here, right now. You think I’m not frustrated living under the same roof as you? I wasn’t just frustrated living with you; I even got myself into so much trouble because of you. I had my name plastered online, and I had people gossip about me. I was going sick from all the gossiping. This is a perfect chance for me. Once I leave you, I can regain some peace.”

Cindy ended up spewing her thoughts out. With everything running through her mind, she couldn’t quite keep her mouth in check. After a quick sneer, she continued, “At first, I hadn’t thought of doing anything with Gary, but you just reminded me today that Gary is rich. And since I’m such a sucker for money, he’s the perfect choice for me. Besides, he doesn’t seem to be dating anyone now. Say, doesn’t that mean I have a chance, then?”

Ian pressed his lips together as he glared at Cindy.

Neither of them were good at arguments. They were both usually even-tempered, but neither of them would take a step back during such a crucial moment.

Cindy’s eyes were wide and round as she glared at Ian, looking as though she would stand her ground against him until the very end.

Ian’s expression wasn’t any nicer than hers. He had foregone the gentleness that he usually had to don an expression of seething irritation.

Cindy kept smacking at Ian’s arms. “Release me. I’m leaving now. We will not cross each other’s paths again in the future.”

Ian eyed Cindy as she was for a long while. And all of a sudden, he pushed her over to the door by her shoulders and pressed her against it. His hands flew away from her shoulders, and he quickly reached over to grip her by the jaw instead. “Repeat what you just said.”

Cindy was currently seething as well, so she wasn’t afraid of Ian’s warning at all. Her words came out a little garbled from his grip on her jaw. “So what if I repeat what I said? You think I’m afraid of you?”

This was the first time Cindy had been so stubborn. She didn’t know why herself either; she just felt this sudden surge of fury. Ever since she was a child, she had never butted heads with anyone. Who would have thought that her first fight would be with Ian?

Ian nodded. Suddenly, his lips curved up into a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Does Gary know that we aren’t actually dating?” he asked.