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She knocked on Tanners door, hard enough that she probably rattled a few things off the wall. “Knock knock, Briggs,” she purred, opening the door without an invitation.
“For an FBI agent your home security system lacks a certain finesse…and by that I mean it doesn’t exist.”
“Lacey,” Briggs’ eyes raked over her. She could tell from his appearance that he had been drinking last night.
“Briggs.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to talk about last night,” Lacey replied boldly. She knew this broke every unwritten rule of their arrangement but she needed this confrontation to feel better.
“Last night?”
“Oh don’t play dumb. You moaned Veronica’s name when we were making out.”
Drunkenly Tanner grinned as if he was almost proud of himself. “We did a little more than make out, don’t you think?”
Lacey slapped him—hard. It felt good to release some of that anger. “So not the point here. Veronica is your ex.”
“So?”
She rolled her eyes. “So?” She echoed, his drunken state only further aggravating her. “So, you shouldn’t be thinking about her when you’re with me.”
“You sound jealous, Lace.”
“I’m not jealous of daddies little princess,” Lacey snarled. “And I told you never to call me ‘Lace’ especially not now.”
“I told you not to call Ronnie that.”
She snorted. “You’re divorced with papers to prove it. You can’t control what I say about her.”
His gaze narrowed at her—partially because the light she let into the room was hurting his eyes and partially because he didn’t appreciate her reminder.
“Angry, Briggs? Welcome to my world.”
“Why does my relationship with Veronica make you so upset? You’re seeming a little possessive right now…”
“What relationship? She blocked you after the billions of pitiful voicemails you sent her.”
Tanner flinched at that comment. Lacey smirked.
“Okay, maybe I’m still in love with Ronnie. It’s not like we’re dating.”
Lacey rolled her eyes for the millionth time, inviting herself into Tanners home. As she walked past him she purposely bumped into his shoulder hard enough to make him stumble backwards. “No, we’re not dating…thank god, but I’d rather you didn’t just close your eyes and imagine I’m that spoiled brat.”
“I told you not to speak about her like that,” Tanner lunged at her in a fit of drunken rage. Lacey dodged him with startling grace.
“Really embracing your father right there, aren’t you, Briggs?”
Lacey knew Tanner and more than that she knew how to hurt him. Tanner began to regret getting drunk in front of her and telling her things. “What do you want, Lacey?”
“I want you to stop using me as a replacement for Veronica. I’m not a slut for your fantasies.”
“Okay?”
Lacey huffed with annoyance and continued. “I also want an apology and I want a break from all this.”
Tanner stared at her blankly. She snapped in his face to recapture his attention.
“Can you please keep your voice down?”
“Sure,” Lacey grinned cruelly. “As long as you do what I asked.”
“Fine,” Tanner groaned. “I’m sorry for moaning Veronica’s name during sex.”
“Mhm.” She nodded constantly. “Continue.”
“I won’t use you as my replacement for Ronnie but I have some terms of my own.”
“Oh, do you now?”
He nodded. “If I can’t talk about Ronnie, neither can you.”
Hearing him use that damn nickname when referring to his ex made Lacey’s blood boil but she conceded to his terms. She really hated Tanner sometimes.
“Fine,” she grinned. “Now, if you’re quite finished moping about your ex, we have work to do. Go get changed. I have to pick up my Starbucks.”
With that, Lacey waltzed out the door and slammed it behind her rougher than she had originally.
When she arrived at Starbucks her phone buzzed in her pocket. She lifted it up and examined the glowing screen. Tanner.
“You were pretty hot back there. Meet up at my place tonight?”
She rolled her eyes. Lacey had promised herself after their previous night that she would end things with Tanner. Clearly their hookups weren’t working very well either of them but she couldn’t help it. Tanner let her do whatever she wanted to him and when things were going well they were both able to distract themselves from their issues.
“Fine,” she texted back curtly before adding another message. “If you mention Veronica again I’ll make sure it hurts.”
“Got it.”
Lacey smirked and grabbed her drink as the barista called out “Order for Lacey.” Somehow this whole situation had gone in Lacey’s favor for once. Veronica had no idea what she was missing out of and that thrilled her to an inexplicable extent.