Page 24 of Starving for Her

We both laugh and I give her a smile as she hands me my bag. I make my way out and I’m on the way to my car when I see a woman heading toward me. She has her eyes on me, her hair pulled back and a butterfly tattoo on her arm. I don’t know who she is, but I frankly don’t want to know, and try to swing wide around her, but she just matches my movement and blocks my path.

“Hi,” she says simply, almost like she’s expecting something.

“Can I help you?” I ask. Behind her, I see the pink Mercedes parked by the other entrance to the parking lot. She was following me.

“You’re James’ new girl?” she says. It’s barely a question; she already knows somehow, which is terrifying in itself.

“How do you—?”

“I think we should talk.”

Putting two and two together, I realize this must be Becky, James’ ex-wife. He’s warned me about her plenty of times, but I never actually thought I’d run into her. I’ve heard the stories about how crazy she is, but looking at her now…I guess I expected someone who looked much more like a mess than her.

She’s put together well, has her hair and make-up done, is wearing a nice floral print shirt and a pair of denim shorts with slip-ons, and doesn’t have crazy in her eyes. I’m confused. If it wasn’t for the fact that she followed me here, I would think she looked like a nice girl. But despite all that, I have a terrible feeling in my stomach telling me that if I talk to this girl, no good will come of it.

“I’m sorry, but I’m in a rush,” I tell her. She lets me brush past her, but just as I reach my car and set my bag down on the roof, she calls out.

“I just thought you should know that James and I are still fucking. Oh, and I’m the mother of his son.”