Free Sweet Revenge by Cate Masters Page B

visibility job as a local news anchor, supposedly on track to go national. Repeated searches uncovered no dirt about the move, though at first he wondered whether she’d really left her news job at all, had gone undercover to expose him in some way. He’d quickly rejected the notion; his business practices were above the normal standards.
    And financially, his risk had paid off. Her classes sold out in advance, and the students raved about her.
    Guess it shouldn’t surprise him. She excelled at convincing others of her pure heart and good nature; yeah, till she turned on them. He’d experienced it firsthand. Long ago, but that had been the catalyst that inspired him to change. Not something he could easily forget.
    Sweat matted his hair, made his shirt cling to him. He stripped and walked outside to the pool. As he sliced through the water, the sensation of it gliding along his skin brought her to mind again.
    Seeing her every day, working for him, brought all the pain back as if it had happened yesterday. The past three months had been pure torture. He’d told himself to stay away from the yoga studio, treat her like any other employee. Tried to. But good God, when she moved like that....
    It all went to hell the instant she looked at him. She might as well plunge a knife into his heart; it would probably hurt less. One glance, and in a snap she reduced him to an undesirable, overweight teenager with a ridiculous crush on the popular girl. The Golden Girl who pretended to like him, laughed at his little jokes, and waited for the worst possible time to crush him—in front of all her snotty friends.
    Tonight, he’d finally put an end to years of misery. He’d be the one to ruin her.
    After all this time, revenge would be sweet.
     
    ***
     
    Zoe checked the time on her cell for the thousandth time. 7:12 p.m., which meant her 1Night Stand date was twelve minutes late. Caught in traffic? Changed his mind? Maybe he saw you through the window and ran away .
    The thought prompted her to glance outside. A sleek black sports car sat in the parking lot, lights out but a figure visible behind the wheel. Could it be him? Why not come inside? Meet her, and judge for himself?
    Too many people had strong opinions about her, none of them good. Arguing she’d abandoned her old life did little to convince them, so she just lived each day the best she could. The difficult part of moving on was accepting she had to let go of useless arguments.
    You should have known better than to sink what little finances you have left into a one-night stand . Not a great investment, her ex would have said. But then, her ex hadn’t turned out to be one either. And someday, people who handed over their account numbers for him to play with their money would learn the same.
    Not the time to think about him. Focus on the positive.
    In case this night held no moonlight and roses, she gulped her wine. Glancing in her compact mirror, she smoothed her long brown hair. Fastened with a clip, it fell in a sleek ponytail to one side. Simple as her little black dress. Minimal makeup, too.
    Zoe, remade into a plainer version. Most people knew the old Zoe, the reporter who cared only about bringing viewers the latest story and looking fantastic while doing it. And most people assumed she couldn’t possibly have changed.
    Another check of the time showed 7:16. He’s not coming . Maybe Madame Eve would set up another date with someone more reliable. Had she forgotten to include that little personality trait on her wish list?
    She scanned the room for the server to request the check and beat it out of there. A striking man caught her eye.
    Oh my God. It’s Ty Hardin . Standing near the hostess podium, dazzling the poor girl with his movie-star smile.
    The hostess gestured in Zoe’s general direction and led him toward her.
    She snapped her spine straight. All inkling of getting the check vanished. So did everything else except the vision of him striding easily,