“Don’t attack my roommate and she was there because I needed help.” If looks could kill, Susan would be bleeding all over the floor. Erica added, “She had a panic attack.”

“She went to Jake’s party. She ditched you.”

No.

I was becoming aware of the looks coming my way. This was going to get twisted, but I was reeling. Kian had actually requested Erica. But what did that mean? I had talked to him. He said he didn’t know her.

“When?” My voice stood out from the others.

They were hot and angry but not me. I was strangely…calm.

“I did the math. The time frame from when you disappeared from the interview and showed up at Jake’s wasn’t even an hour overlap. You were dressed like that at the hotel, so I’m assuming you went straight to Jake’s.” Susan sneered, raking me up and down.

“No, no.” I needed to deal with that, too, but I couldn’t focus. I had to know. “When did they request Erica to be on the story?”

Say within the last week. Please say within the last week.

Susan snorted, rolling her eyes. “Who cares? She was requested. Yes.” She sent that last word to my roommate. “You were. I never promised you’d be on camera. You were assigned to ask him background questions, and you did.”

“From behind the camera,” Erica argued.

Susan pretended a yawn and shrugged. “My promise was fulfilled. I never said you’d be on camera. You just assumed.”

“And you didn’t correct me.”

“I didn’t have to. No one thought you’d be on camera. Why would you have been? I mean, look at you.”

I tensed. The argument was getting dirty. I felt the insult coming for Erica. Everyone did, too. They all seemed to freeze as Susan gestured up and down Erica’s form.

“You have to look good on camera. The camera has to love you. I’m not saying this to be mean, but the camera doesn’t love you.”

“Hey.” Jake stepped forward, frowning. “That was uncalled for, Susan.” He looked at Tara. “You’re going to let her outright insult someone? I didn’t think you were like that.”

Tara lifted a dainty shoulder before folding her arms over her chest. “Like you said, we’re not together. I don’t owe you anything, and I really don’t owe your new girlfriend’s roommate anything either.”

Girlfriend? We’re accountability partners.

Erica seemed paralyzed. She couldn’t look away from Susan, who was still glaring down at her. I waited, expecting some cutting remark from my roommate, but it didn’t come. I moved closer to peer at her. She was fighting back tears. A wave of fury rolled through me, and I lifted my head, ready to blast into Susan. Fuck whatever else was going on. She couldn’t talk to someone like that.

Wanker took off his glasses, drawing everyone’s attention. He was the tallest, and he straightened to his fullest height of six-three. He cleared his throat as he put his glasses back on and slid them up to the top of his nose with his middle finger. He held it there before extending his middle finger toward Susan.

“This,” he said, moving it closer to her face, “is how I feel about you right now.”

Her mouth opened. No sound came out. She closed it back up, blinking a few times.

A small grin grew on Erica’s face.

I grinned, too.

Wanker added, still holding that middle finger to her face, “You can have a work disagreement. That is fine, but you hit below the belt with your last insult. And, my dear,” He took his glasses off again and looked her up and down before putting them back on, “don’t fool yourself. You might look pleasant on camera, but you’re not in the same league as others here.”

Erica nudged me with her elbow. “He means you and Tara.”

I didn’t care who he meant.

“Looks don’t matter,” I said to Susan, “Maybe you’ll go to the top, but you’ll do it by being a horrible, ruthless person. Erica’s a better person than you any day of the week.”

“Don’t insult my friend.” Tara sidled up to Susan’s side.

“She shouldn’t have insulted mine,” I sent back.

“Hey, uh…whoa.” Jake moved between us again. His arms lifted like he was going to break up a fight.

Erica rolled her eyes and knocked down one of his arms. “Chill, lover boy. They’re not going to come to blows. We’re not that low.”

Jake met my gaze. We were both remembering another time when I launched myself at an old lady.

I cleared my throat. “I think we should all go our separate ways—”

Erica interrupted, “Is he still here?”

I went still again. Erica wasn’t talking about Jake or Wanker.

Susan shook her head. “He left through the back.”

“Oh.” Erica glanced down to the floor.

“Well.” Susan seared all of us one last time with her gaze. “I think this is a good time for us to go our respective ways. You’re right. Insults are below us, all of us. Erica, we can discuss your complaint further at work tomorrow afternoon. We’re all celebrating tonight, and we all have reason to. Your name will still be attached to the story, even though you weren’t on camera.”

Erica’s throat was moving up and down, and she bit down on her lip. She was holding a comment back. Susan waited, but Erica kept it in, and then they moved past us, one by one. As Tara passed Jake, she looked right at him, but he turned away. He didn’t meet her eyes. She switched her gaze to mine next, and I felt a warning passing from her to me. I didn’t know what kind of warning it was, and I didn’t care. I didn’t owe Tara anything.