Free Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie Page A

sense, and you think that won't hurt?"
    "It wasn't your fault," Tim said, taking a step forward.
    "I know it wasn't my fault. "
    "It wasn't because you weren't attractive or young or understanding," Tim went on. "I didn't care about that."
    "I'm going to kill you," Nell said.
    "If I'd said, 'There's another woman,' you'd have thought it was because you weren't good enough."
    "No, I wouldn't have," Nell said. "I'd have thought you were an unimaginative son of a bitch having a midlife crisis."
    "But it wasn't about you," Tim said earnestly. "I just fell in love. It had nothing to do with you."
    "So it's all about you," Nell said. "I'm just an innocent bystander."
    "Yes!" Tim said, relieved that she understood. "It would have done you no good to know about Whitney, it would only have caused you pain. I did it for you."
    "Were you always this much of a weasel?" Nell said. "Because I honest to God can't remember."
    "Nell, I know it's a shock, but really, everything's fine. You're doing great, Jase is doing great, I'm happy." He spread his arms to show forgiveness, the last Icicle in one hand. "'Course, I'm going to have to replace a lot of Icicles here."
    Nell locked her eyes on the last Icicle and went after it, ignoring the crunch of the glass under her feet. "Give me that."
    Tim shoved the Icicle at Peggy who was still standing frozen by the door. "Quick!" he said. "She's lost her mind. Go lock that up."
    Peggy took the last Icicle and looked at Nell, caught, and Nell stopped, equally caught, this time by reality. She looked around the office and felt like hell, not because she'd destroyed it, but because destroying it hadn't helped. All she'd done was lower herself to his level. Now Peggy thought they were both scum.
    Tim nodded, stem and in control, the Face of Reason in a mint-green shirt and coordinated tie. "I'm so disappointed in you, Nell. And I know Peggy must be, too."
    "Not really," Peggy said and handed the last Icicle to Nell. "I quit."
    She left as Tim said, "Peggy!"
    "You are such a loser," Nell said, holding the last Icicle. "And I will never have to save you again." With one final swing, straight from the shoulder, she smashed the last Icicle-flinching as a piece of it flew up and caught her on the cheek-and with it the last of her life with Tim.
    "You never saved me," Tim said, any pretense of friendship gone. "I was the brains in the business. You were just the secretary."
    "You can keep telling yourself that," Nell said, "but it's not going to help."
    He stood behind the mutilated desk and looked at her as if he hated her, and she said, "Good. Now you know how I feel."
    Then she walked out of her old office and her old life, completely at a loss about what to do next.
    Nell tried to stay angry on her way to the McKennas, absentmindedly wiping blood from the cut on her cheek, but it didn't work. Back in the office, she sat behind her desk and felt the ice creep into her veins. She wasn't allowed to fix this place, wasn't allowed to get the money back from Lynnie, wasn't even allowed to go rescue that poor dog in New Albany. Every time she tried to get up to speed, some man slowed her down. She tried to be angry about that, but mostly she just felt tired. And she'd lost Peggy's job for her, too. She called the office and got Peggy as she was leaving.
    "I'm so sorry," Nell told her. "Don't quit because of me."
    "I'm not," Peggy said. "I don't want to work here anymore. Ever since Whitney took over your job, she's driving me crazy. She doesn't know what she's doing because she's just starting, and she makes mistakes and then gets mad at me if I fix them without checking with her, and then she gets even madder if I don't fix them. I can't win.".
    "I know how that feels," Nell said. "Are you going to be okay?"
    "I'm going to be fine," Peggy said. "Tim's going to have problems, though."
    "Good," Nell said, but when she'd hung up, she slumped in her chair again. She tried to concentrate on her work, but when Gabe came