More to You ✔

Chapter 10 - Impromptu intervention (Tom)

"I missed partying with you at the beach. Just come for one drink, it'll be fun." Becca grinned at Maria invitingly, which made the Filipina relax.

She met Tom's gaze with those sweet brown eyes. "Did you invite Prae?"

The Thai woman worked diligently at her tidy desk while her foreign coworkers had checked out. Perhaps Becca would forget her silly plan to question Maria if a more sensible person was around to witness her pettiness. "No, but we should," he said.

"I'll go ask her." Maria took off, smart enough to sense a trap and concoct an escape. It gave him hope she'd fend off Mitch's advances.

The man stood to glower over Becca like a cheesy, made-for-TV movie villain. "Hate me all you want, but leave her out of this."

Becca grinned and batted her eyelashes. "Have I struck a nerve, Foster?"

"She's not a pawn in whatever you are planning. She's a person, and she's been through enough."

Tom held in his scoff. Since when had that narcissist started caring about other people?

Becca laughed dryly and steeped closer to Mitch like he was a magnet. "Don't act like a hero. I know how you treat women or did you forget what you did to me because we're so meaningless to you after the chase? Sunshine asked me to look out for her, and I'll be damned I'm if letting you sink your claws into her after what a dick you were to me."

Mitch's gaze flickered to Maria, his frown softening a touch before he looked at Becca. "We agreed from the start what our arrangement was and wasn't. You're the one who expected differently. Don't blame me for that."

What a jerk! He couldn't expect women would agree to his selfish term. If that was how he played his games, Maria would be safe. She wasn't that kind of girl.

Becca's nostrils flared. "Arrangement? Didn't those months mean anything?"

"They were fun, but that's all they were to me."

"You're a worthless pig." She stormed off, runners pounding on the floor as she left.

Tom shook his head. Why couldn't women see through Mitch's nonsense the second they spoke to him?

Mitch snorted and leaned against his desk. "I thought you'd be above using another person's pain to get a girl."

"This wasn't my idea."

He picked up a toy basketball, which was fitting given the man's emotional maturity. "Didn't stop you from using it to your advantage."

Tom narrowed his eyes. "You're the last person who should lecture me about morals."

Maria approached and clicked her tongue. "I can't leave you two alone for thirty seconds without a fight breaking out."

Mitch grinned and shamelessly checked her out. "Can you blame us?"

Tom was ready to throttle the jerk for both making her uncomfortable and lumping Tom into his sleazy behaviour. As she shook her head, a touch of red-tinted her cheeks. Tom dug his nails into his leg. Why couldn't she see this man was an animal?

"What did Prae say?" he asked.

Maria glanced at Prae's desk. "She might come. I'll keep twisting her arm."

The weight on his chest lightened. "So you're coming too?"

"My cooking channel sponsors said to keep my content alive, so I hope you like appetizers with your drinks."

"Can I help?" Tom asked.

She nodded and grinned in a way that made his heart soar. "You can if you know where to buy plain tortilla chips."