Confronted (Beauty And The Billionaire Geek Book 1) by E.E. Griffin Read Free Book Online

we locked ourselves in the bedroom. August was nearly in tears as I shoved Stacy down on her bed to keep her from yelling at me.
    “I’m so sorry, guys. I didn’t know this would happen. Chris has been gone since I moved in last year. He was in Alaska on a fishing boat or something. Now all a sudden he’s back and Max is acting like a prick. I’ve never seen him like this.” She paced the room as she spoke excitedly under her breath.
    I slid back onto my bed with a humph, crossing my arms and examining the two young women in front of me. My gaze went from August to Stacy and back again. They both looked beside themselves. I had to admit, I was pretty over it. I narrowed my eyes at August.
    “How do Max and Chris even know each other? They seem like complete opposites.”
    “I don’t know,” she said, sitting next to Stacy. “It’s like they have some weird bro blood pact or something. I know you guys put a lot of money into getting up here, and I feel totally terrible leaving you in this situation. But shit, NYU film school! I didn’t think they’d take me in a million years, especially this late in the summer. It’s like a miracle. My parents are already sending me money and my new housing is already arranged. The good news is you can have my room.”
    “That’s something,” I said too sarcastically. August looked wounded. I shrugged and picked at the fraying stitching on my ancient patchwork quilt.
    Stacy burst into her overly positive animated jabbering. She told August how totally happy we were for her and how great everything would turn out for everyone. Sometimes her can-do attitude was annoying. She listened to too many Tony Robbins tapes.
    I sat on my bed watching them jump up and down with glee. I was happy for August. Who wouldn’t be? But we’d left home and wound up in a shit storm.
     
    The week before school started, I came home from job-hunting to find Chris sitting in the living room with a bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand, beer cans strewn across the coffee table and the television blaring a fishing show.
    Dusk had settled outside, but I could sense no one else was home. My heart trembled like a wounded animal as I closed the door. I tried not to look into his bloodshot eyes.
    “Hey, Zoe. Why are you such a stuck up bitch? I’m a good guy. I just want to hang out with you.”
    “I know you are a good guy, Chris,” I lied, trying to keep my cool. “I’m just super busy, trying to pay rent and everything.” I made my voice sound peppy and positive like Stacy’s. A nervous laugh escaped my mouth unwittingly. I walked toward the stairs, not looking at him.
    “I’m talking to you,” he yelled, jumping from the couch. He grabbed my arm. I pulled away instinctively and ran up the stairs. He stumbled on the lowest step, giving me time to make it to my room and lock myself inside.
    The knob rattled violently then he bashed the door. I slid the window open, thinking I might have to escape. Silence. I clutched my cell phone wondering if I should call the police. What would I say? That he’d grabbed my arm and chased me upstairs. He hadn’t hit me or injured me in any way. If the police came, it would probably just make it worse.
    I left the window open, curled on my bed, waiting for Stacy to come home.
    The next morning, I got a call back from the sandwich shop a few blocks from the house. I’d start at fifteen hours a week, which pretty much sucked ass. I’d worked forty in California with minimum wage and tips. It had been a good solid job. At least the sandwich shop wasn’t disgusting like most fast food places. With only a couple hundred dollars left in the bank, I’d take what I could get.
    I started the next day. My coworkers and boss were decent –– a relief from the vibe in my house. I got trained in everything in about an hour, and I spent the rest of the day making sandwiches for college students and soccer moms.
    A long wall of floor to ceiling windows looked out onto