Free Saint's Sacrament - Sins of the Father by Tiana Laveen Page A

me along.  You didn’t take the relationship seriously, not even when it was over. I had the decency to call and tell you I was seeing someone else. And as I said before, I didn’t even owe you that much, quite frankly, Sinclair.”
    “...And that you were marrying a man you’d just met. You left that part out. I had to hear it on television. That stung, Xenia.” He patted his chest over a heart she knew wasn’t actually beating for her. “And you’ve got it all wrong, baby...” He dragged out the word, ‘baby’, dyed it with hints of faux melancholy to make it more vibrant to the ear. The drama turned up to a volume that insulted her intelligence and hurt her delicate hearing. Xenia scratched her cheek and turned away, wishing she had a genie and could wish this motherfucker right out of her face. Better yet, out of her life once and for all.
    “Now, we can put the past behind us, baby and—”
    “I’m not your baby so stop saying it. That’s like the third or fourth time. What are you? Like a skipping record? Don’t call me that again.”
    Sinclair paused. He seemed to study her, then continued as if he hadn’t heard a damn thing she’d said.
    “As I was saying, we can put it behind us . Just because I’m your new boss doesn’t mean we can’t also be friends. We can.” He traced her chin with his index finger and flicked his tongue, laughing. Xenia snatched his finger and twisted it around, squeezed it with all of her might. Anger drove her and she put more pressure, as if she were smashing a bloated water bug. She ignored his hollers of pain as the skin twisted and rolled over the bone in unnatural ways.
    “Ahhhh! Shit, goddamn it!” He jerked his hand away, stumbling back as he broke free and tossed her a death glare. “What the hell is wrong with you?!”
    “Don’t you ever touch me again, Sinclair, do you hear me?!” She pointed in his face, taking two steps closer to him. “Don’t you ever put your damned hands on me again.” She pushed him, forcing him farther back so she could retreat. As she turned to walk away, she heard his quick footsteps behind her. Xenia gritted her teeth as she caught the attention they’d attracted.
    “Everything okay?” a deep voice called out, one of the cameramen.
    “Yes.” Sinclair threw on his award-winning deceitful smile, waved, and turned back to Xenia.
    “Actually, sir, I was asking the lady.”
    Sinclair rolled his eyes when Xenia shot him a look of satisfaction.
    “Yes .” she smirked as she stared at Sinclair and placed her hand on her hip. “Everything is just peachy.”
    “Listen to me, Ms. Donnellson, you —” Sinclair began.
    “Aknaten.”
    “Mrs. Aknaten , I don’t want anything from you but a good working relationship. I thought we were both adults here, and could talk about the past—put it behind us. You must have a guilty conscience for acting out, becoming aggressive. This isn’t the Xenia I knew...”
    “The Xenia you knew is dead. Leave her there.” She looked at him coldly , showing her desire to land a hard smack across his smug face.  “You know what?” She crossed her arms. “My husband encouraged me to take this job. Now, I will have to go home and tell him ‘oh, by the way, the new producer is my ex, goodnight.’ That isn’t going to fly! I know my husband very well, Mr. Grayson, and he wouldn’t like this, especially the shit you just pulled.”
    “I didn’t pull anything . I tried to have a conversation with you, and you blew up!”
    “ I know you did this shit on purpose, Sinclair. I can’t prove it, but I know you...”
    “ And since you brought your spouse up, am I supposed to have respect for the man that stole my girlfriend from me? The husband that seems to chase controversy and causes mayhem wherever he steps foot?” Sinclair smirked and ran a hand over his shoulder, dusting himself off as if he were fine china. “He is a loose canyon, Xenia. I can’t even believe you are with someone