Chapter 3

THREE

MAEVE

“I’m out. It’s all up to you now, Maeve.” Otto dropped his wrinkled hands from his racing wheel into his lap and furrowed his bushy gray brows. “These booger guzzlers cheated.”

There was no better way to spend my shift at the arcade than playing games with three of my favorite people.

Bruce and Riley cheered over the flaming wreckage that was Otto’s digital corpse. The ten-year-old best friends looked nothing alike, but the ferocity in their expressions was exactly the same.

“That’s called skill, old man,” Bruce snapped back. The glasses he’d kept perched in his messy blond curls dropped down onto his nose. “No cheat codes required.”

Riley snorted and flipped her long red hair over her shoulder. The light flashed against her silver Hello Kitty earrings.

Otto’s front right tire wobbled as it rolled across the stadium into my path.

“No worries. I’ll avenge you,” I said. With a quick whip of my steering wheel, I fishtailed my own four-wheeled avatar in the perfect arc around the debris.

Hushed whispers passed between the kids from their stations at the next Gnarled Auto machine down. Strategizing was smart. They were learning, rather than charging in guns blazing like they usually did.

They likely assumed knocking Otto out meant they actually had a shot at winning this time. They did not.

I’d never be the kind of woman who knew anything about flowers, or cooking, or fashion. I was the kind of woman who could, and most definitely would, crush any foe who stood against her in the virtual world.

That went double when it came to Gnarled Auto.

“Now!” Bruce slammed his foot to the gas.

Both enemy cars shot out from between buildings to flank me. Engines roared. Bullets rained.

Otto clutched his hands together in his lap, hissed, and leaned forward.

Wait for it.

I kept my heading while strafing to dodge their fire.

Just a little longer.

“It’s going to work this time,” Riley said. “We’ve so got her.”

I increased the pressure on the gas, pushing all three of us to go faster as we zoomed toward the edge of the map.

“Stay focused,” Bruce said.

My seat shook—a collision.

Riley cackled and leaned her whole body in her seat as she steered her virtual car against the side of mine.

“Don’t get—” Bruce started.

Riley swerved out, then back in toward my front passenger side wheel.

She was getting ballsy and overconfident.

It was time.

I slammed on the brakes.

Both enemy vehicles flew ahead of me. Riley’s car jerked hard to where I’d been pinned between them.

And slammed directly into Bruce.

“—cocky!” Bruce finished his sentence as the pair spun out before crashing into the line of buildings that acted as the map’s barrier.

Their cars crumpled, smoked, and sputtered.

“Watch your mouth young man,” Otto said with a smile.

“That’s not a bad word.” Bruce waved his arm at Riley. “We have to move quick or?—”

I pulled the trigger.

Rockets howled across the screen, hit both targets, and exploded upon impact.

Game over.

“Or that will happen.” Bruce dropped his head into his palms.

“We’ll get you one of these days,” Riley said with a grin. “I almost had you.”

“No you didn’t.” Bruce’s voice deflated along with his body. “We never had a chance.”

Riley beamed at me, waiting for me to weigh in—her eyes hopeful globes of anticipation, her grin a little awkward with two of her teeth missing.

“That was your best run yet,” I said.

“Your car’s hardly scratched.” Bruce shook his head, flopping his mop of greasy curls over his glasses. “You owned us so hard it’s almost easy to forget you’re as old as my mom sometimes.”

“I am not,” I said.

He laughed.

Twenty-nine was technically old enough for a lot of things, pretty much anything but snagging an AARP card. Even for that, I’d seen a video explaining it was a new moneysaving trend that helped young people actually purchase houses. I was skeptical.

And yes, I was technically old enough to parent a ten-year-old kid, even if that felt impossible.

Twenty-nine was also too old for some of the best things, like staying relevant in esports. I’d done pretty well for myself by making it to twenty-six, which was pretty much geriatric for pro gaming, before being forced into retirement.

Riley grinned wider, still waiting for her verbal pat on the back.

“Stick with the team work. Keep practicing,” I said. “You almost had me.”

“I told you.” Riley slammed her shoulder into Bruce’s arm.

Bruce rubbed the spot. “Ow.”

Riley laughed. She pulled her phone from her pocket and twisted her lips as she checked the message on his screen. “My mom’s here.”

Both kids gathered their backpacks, and waved as they left.

“They’re good kids,” I told Otto.

He nodded, but there was something sullen in his expression.

I poked him in the shoulder. “You’re not really mad that they beat you, right?”

“We have to hack-proof the machines. Make sure they can’t cheat their way into beating me next time, too.”

He was such a stubborn old man, and I loved him for it, the same way Riley and Bruce did. I’d been exactly like them when I was their age, coming in here and hanging out with Otto after school. He was a little grayer than he was back then, and a bit thinner, but otherwise the same. He even wore the same plaid shirts and khaki pants.

“Uh-huh, they used their sci-fi future brain chips to hack the system.” I shot him a look that I hoped showed him exactly how ridiculous he was being.

“I don’t know how that outer space stuff works.” He shrugged, but he didn’t smile.

He had the same concern wrinkles he’d sported on and off over the past few weeks. Something else was bothering him.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

Otto was as difficult to crack open as a can of beans with a hammer. I had a feeling once I finally managed it, the result would be just as messy.

“Actually, I’m getting a migraine,” he said. “I’m going to sit in the dark for a bit.”

“I hope you feel better soon.”

He nodded his thanks and headed into the back.

Whatever was going on with him, it wasn’t good. I hoped I could be here for him if he needed the support.

The arcade door opened.

I scanned the spot on the floor where the kids had stashed their belongings, in case Bruce had forgotten his water bottle again.

But the water bottle wasn’t there.

And it wasn’t Bruce who walked in.

It was a tall man with the confidence of a celestial body and just as much gravitational pull. Getting sucked into his orbit meant being folded in half infinite times until all that was left was a sad little cube with the vague memory of what it was like to be human.

That was the Bradford effect.

I hadn’t seen him since the wedding. I’d ignored his calls. I’d ignored pretty much everyone’s calls. I’d broken free of my crushed cube form. The last thing I wanted to do was think about Bradford or the wedding or anything at all related to any of what happened.

“Maeve, it’s good to see you, sweetheart.” Bradford delivered the line like he’d lathered himself in butter first—sickeningly smooth.

That butteriness matched the silky sheen of his brown hair and his unnaturally smooth and visually poreless skin.

My brain short circuited.

My eye twitched.

It was not good to see him.

If the world were just, he would look like he’d spent a week trapped in a dumpster. Sadly, that was not the case.

The wide smile on his face made it seem like everything was fine, like he’d never skipped being my date to my step-brother’s wedding, only to show up to the event with another woman on his arm.

I’d been doing so well compartmentalizing and keeping my emotions in check. If I didn’t see him, he didn’t exist, and he couldn’t hurt me.

And now he was here.

At my work.

Existing.

Confronted with his presence, I could no longer ignore the questions that swirled in the back of my mind. When he told me he couldn’t come to my step-brother’s wedding, was he planning to show up at the event anyway? Was manipulation the end goal? If so, what did he expect to gain?

“I’m not interested in your excuses,” I said, as much for my own sake as for his.

In a few short strides, he crossed to the counter I hid behind. “You’re going to do me a favor.”

So he wasn’t even going to try to offer me some ridiculous and sub-par explanation for his behavior. Not that I would have believed him anyway. “No, I’m not going to do anything for you. Instead, you’re going to leave. I don’t ever want to see you again.”

“Of course you do. And, lucky lady, you’re seeing me right now.” His smile turned megawatt.

It was his billboard smile, the one his daddy had paid for—both the veneers and the billboard. It was the smile he used to seal any deal, and to trick his unsuspecting victims into believing he was trustworthy.

I knew better. I’d known for longer than I cared to admit.

I couldn’t say why I’d put up with him for so long, other than the fact that at some point he’d become a fixture in my life. He’d been a fixture whose flaws I’d learned to overlook because it was easier that way, like my chipped living room lamp.

I glared at him, because even though I should be telling him he was the scum of the earth, glaring was all I could manage. My knees felt weak. My heart pounded in my chest. I hated Bradford for what he’d done, and I hated him for showing his face here now.

“You need to come by the house now.”

“I’m working.”

He waved a dismissive hand. “After your little shift then. You need to fix the TV. It’s misbehaving again.”

“No.”

He leaned in like he meant to kiss me.

I recoiled.

He blinked, surprised. Then patted me on my head like I was a dog. “See you then.”

With that he left.

A moment later, Otto’s voice carried out from the back room. “He’s gaslighting you.”

“I know.” I hadn’t shared with Otto what Bradford had done this time, but the list of his past transgressions was extensive.

“Don’t listen to him,” Otto said.

“I won’t.”

“And whatever you do, don’t let him trap you in his lair.”

I snorted. “Funny.”

I wouldn’t go to Bradford’s house. I wouldn’t do what he wanted me to do ever again.

I’d been so strong not lingering on the hurt I felt all week. The only people I’d talked to about it at all were Viv and Cara. I hadn’t even looked on my step-brother’s socials to figure out who the bridesmaid— Bradford’s date —was.

Now, I felt sweaty and gross and itchy all over. I wanted to scrub my scalp where he’d touched me. I wanted to burn my clothes for being in the same room with him. My strength seeped down my rubbery legs, through my awesome sneakers, and into the floor.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I was scrolling SocialFace.

It wasn’t hard to find her .

Tatianna.

I clicked to her page, and that’s where my dark mood turned black.

Her page was full of pictures of her with her boyfriend, Bradford Armstrong, going back months.

Unable to help myself, I kept scrolling.

There Bradford was the day my mom had that medical scare that turned out to be an allergic reaction and he was too busy to go to the hospital with me.

And there he was again with Tatianna on my birthday, when an “emergency work meeting” meant he couldn’t take me out to dinner.

They’d been together over a year.

He hadn’t accompanied her to the wedding to manipulate me. He hadn’t put together that my family would be there, because he never listened. He hadn’t thought of me at all. He’d been supporting her, his other girlfriend.

My phone slipped from my palm and crashed to the floor.

My hands were shaking. My whole body was shaking.

A ding drew my attention to my newly cracked phone screen—a text from Viv.

Viv - Don’t forget we’re meeting at Eterni-Tea tonight!

I’d already planned to go to Viv’s spite gathering to support her. Now I’d go seeking revenge for myself, too.

Stepping into Eterni-Tea was like being transported into the cafe version of a rainbow cloud land. It was twelve-year-old me’s dream bedroom, although it lacked the arcade machines, and came with too many tables and caffeinated drinks.

I grabbed a cup of cocoa at the register and headed to the only occupied table in the back. Viv’s puffy coat rested over the back of her chair, leaving the landscape of her bright yellow, reindeer print sweater unobstructed.

Viv greeted me with an ecstatic grin. Then she noticed my expression, and her smile fell. “You talked to Bradford.”

I nodded.

“We’re going to get you a good plan for crushing him. That’s what tonight’s all about.”

Cautious optimism filled my belly, or maybe that was just the cocoa. Either way, at the very least, I wanted to hear about Viv’s ideas for crushing her foe Cooper.

And then, the weirdest thing happened—a man walked in and came toward us.

Okay, so that in and of itself wasn’t weird, as this was meant to be a gathering. What was weird, was that I recognized him.

He was the hot stranger from the photo booth at Amir’s wedding.

His kind eyes didn’t look even a little too close together, and his jaw didn’t look overly square like I’d originally thought. It was still a strong jaw to be sure, but without all the shadows, I couldn’t find a single fault in his appearance.

In this light, his short hair looked more ashy blond than light brown, too. While standing up, he seemed even larger than he had before, in a muscly super hero way, which was fitting because he’d been my hero that night.

Seeing him now, while I was no longer under immediate duress—kinda awesome.

“That’s Elliot,” Viv said. “Hot, right?”

I didn’t even manage to make a noise of confirmation. Instead I made a small squeak, like a freaking mouse.

His name was Elliot.

He was wearing a suit, with his tie loose, just like he’d worn at the wedding. I’d assumed he only dressed like that because of the formal occasion. If he wore them all the time because he was actually a rich jerk like Bradford….

Viv gave me a strange look as Elliot grabbed his drink and came to join us.

“Hey,” he said, with a smile just for me. “I know you. Misery Olympics gold medalist, right?”

Again, when I opened my mouth, no words came out.

“That’s weird,” Viv said.

“Elliot was the” —don’t say Hot Stranger—“person who made a diversion for me at Amir’s wedding.”

Viv glanced from Elliot to me and back. “Ohh.”

There was a lot that could be read from that ohh. I hoped Elliot picked up on none of it.

“Yep, he played ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ and drew my mom away so I could make my escape.”

“Glad to be of service. You appear unscathed.” Elliot sat down right beside me. “So I take it the escape was a success.”

“Complete and utter victory.” I nodded.

Viv again looked back and forth between us. She took a loud sip from her straw.

Another two people came in. I recognized Ruby from the building, but I didn’t recognize the woman with her.

Elliot bumped my shoulder with his.

My muscles clammed up and the air in my lungs turned to lead. It was ridiculous to have such a strong reaction. Why was I so nervous?

“Nice shoes,” Elliot said.

I looked down, having absolutely no idea what was on my feet. Ah, right. “Burberry Bubbles. They’re made of EVA. It’s like soft rubber.”

“So they’re like fancy Croc tennis shoes,” Elliot said.

“Kind of.”

“Are they comfortable? I love my Crocs.”

“Yes.”

He offered a nod of approval.

I shouldn’t have cared, but again, I did. My shoes were the one piece of my appearance I really took pride in. I loved the slightly out of the ordinary pairs that had limited runs and made my feet happy.

Bradford had always criticized me for it. He thought the only shoes women should collect were Louis Vuittons.

The other two women joined us at the round table.

Viv stood and clapped. “Season’s Beatings to all. May our enemies have the holidays they deserve, with vengeful help from us naughty little elves.”

Season’s Beatings? Ha. That was so Viv.

She went through the proper introductions. The woman I hadn’t met before was Ruby’s friend Aurora.

I tried to pay attention to everything they said, but it was hard when I could feel the heat of Elliot’s arm on mine. I mean, there was only like an inch or twelve between us.

“We all live in the same building,” Viv said.

I certainly caught that. “We do?”

I hazarded a glance at Elliot to see if he’d known. His eyes were wide with surprise, and they were a dark shade of green. I hadn’t noticed that before.

“I haven’t seen you around. Did you recently move in?” Elliot asked.

I shook my head.

I didn’t make a point to hang out with people in the building the way Viv did. I generally avoided most people under most circumstances. That was probably why we hadn’t crossed paths before.

The conversation moved on to the topic we’d all come to discuss—revenge.

I shared a quick line about my beef and listened to the others.

Elliot said, “I need to stop the bane of my existence from destroying my business.”

Bane of my existence —that was the same phrase he’d used to describe the person he was hiding from at the wedding.

“Tell everyone about him,” Viv said.

“He’s been systematically ruining everything I do, sabotaging the deals I work to set up through shady means,” Elliot said. “Armstrong?—”

That name.

“Wait.” I put my hand up. “You don’t mean Bradford Armstrong, do you?”

Elliot turned in his seat, pressing his knee to mine. “Yes. I do. You know him?”

I couldn’t believe this. “I dated him for five years. He’s the guy I was hiding from at the wedding. You were hiding from Bradford, too?”

He nodded.

Hot Stranger, who’d saved me in my hour of need, just happened to live in my building, know my friend Viv, and be at her Holiday Revenge Club meeting tonight with me hating the same person I hated.

I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect ally if I tried.

“I want to ruin him,” I said.

“Want to do it together?” Elliot asked.

“Yes!” Viv said.

“Did you know about the connection before?” I asked Viv.

“No,” she said. “But this is awesome.”

The enemy of my enemy was my new revenge partner. Viv was right, this was awesome.

I listened as the conversation turned, and I offered ideas to everyone else’s plots. I was most surprised to hear about Ruby’s workplace rivalry at the radio station. I was most concerned for Viv’s elaborate plan that would take her out into the middle of nowhere in the middle of winter. And I was most excited about working with Elliot.

Taking cues from some of the others, I said, “Since Bradford’s so good at ruining lives, our revenge is going to require something big.”

“Imagine how good it will feel to see him cry,” Elliot said.

I’d never heard anything more exciting in my life. “We need a multipronged approach for maximum meltdown potential.”

“Little annoyances like Aurora’s going to do,” Elliot said.

“Personal life destruction,” I said.

“Professional devastation,” Elliot said.

It would be glorious.

Ruby suggested confronting Bradford’s new girlfriend. She and Aurora debated whether or not Tatianna had known about me, and if she hadn’t before, what she deserved to know now.

Elliot didn’t seem to have anything to say about that. I was on the fence, too. Honestly, I was unsure about a lot of the ideas that had been tossed around throughout the meeting, including points on attacking Bradford’s vanity. We ended up working out more malice than actionable detail.

When the meeting was over, Ruby and Aurora left with smiles on their faces and sweet dreams of revenge dancing in their heads. Viv, Elliot, and I lingered.

After another few minutes, Viv put on her puffy coat, which had the words Tinsel and Treachery embroidered on the back. Classic.

If she was leaving…that meant Elliot and I would be alone. Together.

“There’ll be no reception where I’m going.” Viv rubbed her hands together, pleased with her questionable plan.

“Consider confronting your enemy somewhere more public. Ambushing him in the middle of nowhere is not safe,” I said.

“Can’t. Won’t. Cooper isn’t dangerous. I’ll be fine.” She elbowed Elliot. “Don’t let Maeve’s stubbornness scare you off. And she loves inappropriate humor.”

I shook my head. “What?”

“Like memes of the queen naked and riding a unicorn?” Elliot asked.

Queen of what? There were probably other questions that I should ask first.

“Yes, send her that,” Viv said.

“Or don’t,” I said.

Viv flashed a wide smile at the two of us. It was the same smile she used while watching the mating scenes of nature documentaries. I knew exactly what that look meant, but there was no way it was going to happen. I wasn’t interested in romance. I especially wasn’t interested in dating another rich real estate investor.