Best Man For The Job (The Men of Fear Incorporated Book 1) by Melinda Valentine Page B

doorframe, his arms crossed in front of him. He was so damn striking that it was harder than she would have thought to pay attention to the conversation she was having. Watching him was too distracting. Mentally, she took a deep breath, fortifying her resolve to not even think about falling for a man like him. It would only lead to heartache and she’d had enough of that in her life. Her gaze fixed on anything other than the handsome man in the room with her. See, look how interesting the stove was.
    “Where were you?”
    “I was home, honey. My phone died so I had it charging. I’ll be more careful in the future.”
    “Your phone was dead all night?”
    Sloane could feel the pinpricks of tears forming in her eyes. Even though she had no real way of knowing for sure, deep down she knew Brody was lying. She risked a glance up at Max. The anger coming off of him was almost visible. Could he hear Brody on the other end of the line? She must look like a damn fool. Everyone at the station knew about Brody’s indiscretions. They were the perfect alibi for him. All except Foster. He was like Big Brother, always watching out for her, even when she didn’t want him to.
    “Of course not, but I went to sleep while it was still charging. I’m sorry, honey. Do you want me to come get you? I can drop you at your apartment before I go to the station.”
    “No, I’ll be fine.”
    “With Max?”
    Brody’s loving boyfriend façade started to slip. There was an underlying hostility in his voice, and it grew stronger with each word he spoke. It almost sounded like jealousy, which was ridiculous—he had never been the jealous type in the past. Then again, she had never given him a reason to be.
    “Are you fucking him, Sloane?”
    “No. My God, how can you even think that? I’m not like you, Brody. I don’t fuck everything with a dick just because I can.”
    “Most men would get frostbite after one night with you. You’re lucky I stick around like I do.”
    Sloane gasped, covering her mouth with her free hand, the other squeezing the phone like a lifeline. She was temporarily unable to process the meaning behind his words. She couldn’t believe he’d just said that. The tears she fought so hard to hold back came streaming down her cheeks with a vengeance.
    Max pushed away from the wall and stalked toward her. She held up a hand in a stop motion. No way could she let him interfere—she had to get used to doing things on her own again. She had to be the one to do this. She had to break this cycle, but Brody kept right on talking.
    “I looked at you and thought I’d won the lotto. I was wrong. How can a woman as hot as you be so fucking dead inside?”
    Every word was like a knife through her heart. She cared about him… no . Maybe what she really cared about now was the person he had been, but he hadn’t been that Brody in some time. The sex wasn’t great now like it had been in the past. That was before Brody thought their sex life should resemble a BDSM porn flick. Not that she thought there was anything wrong with them, but that life just wasn’t for her. She’d thought that as long as there was open communication, two people in love could work that out.
    She wasn’t really in love with him yet, but there had been potential. If he only could’ve kept his dick in his pants.
    But no more. Now, she was through bending over backwards to try to please him.
    “You’re right. I’m sorry. I tried. I really did try to be what you wanted, but obviously I failed. This isn’t working.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “This, us. It’s over. I can’t do it anymore.”
    Sloane hung up the phone before Brody could say anything else. Her face was damp with spilled tears. She couldn’t stand the idea of Max witnessing another meltdown, so she pushed past him. She didn’t stop moving until she was curled up on the bed again.
    She did it. She’d ended things with Brody. How could she have been so stupid? For almost a