Rain soaked through my suit before the iron gates finished closing behind us. The ballroom was still lit beyond the drive, but I had no car and no invitation back inside. Mia stood beside me, screaming.
"This is all your fault!" she wailed, her mascara running in black rivers down her cheeks. "You humiliated me! You owe me!"
"Owe you?" I turned on her. "You're a parasite, Mia. A cheap, greedy parasite."
"I gave up other opportunities for you!" she screamed. "I deserve a severance package! A big one! Or I swear, I will tell every reporter in this city what an incompetent fraud you really are!"
"Go ahead," I spat. "There's nothing left to ruin."
I walked away, my shoes filling with water as I crossed the drive. She was still shouting threats and demands for a severance package when I re
