“Heather,” I began, meeting her provocative gaze. “This is the first time we’ve met. I’m not sure what I did to offend you, but today’s supposed to be a gathering of friends. I didn’t come here to argue.” My voice was steady, though the anger simmered beneath it. “But you’ve crossed the line with your rumors. It’s too much.”
I glanced around the room. “I’ve known the manager for a while—we’re just friends. How could you twist that into something so vile?”
Several friends quickly jumped in, trying to ease the tension. “Come on, don’t take it personally. Heather’s just like this. Don’t treat her like a woman—she’s Jeremy’s good friend and says whatever’s on her mind.”
“Heather, cut it out and apologize,” one of them urged. “You’re going too far.”
But Heather wasn’t interested in backing down. She slammed her drink onto the table, her eyes cold.
“I’m a straightforward person, and I can’t stand people who pretend to be innocent,” she sneered. “So let me spell it out for you. You’re just a call girl who tricked Jeremy into cleaning up your act. But you can’t stay out of trouble, can you? You’re still out there cheating—playing around with his boss at the company. Don’t think I don’t know!”