"Aiden, what happened?" I said, trying to get his attention back to me. "What did Mr. Mahoney want at the office?"

"As if you don't know!" he bellowed. "Stop pretending, Blair. You were the only one that knew!"

"I didn't tell anyone anything,” I said, seething at his mistrust.

"We need to have a serious talk,” he said. "I'm coming over."

"Well, please do!" I said, my voice raising in volume with each word.

He mumbled something before he hung up.

Oh no you don't, I said.

Whatever he had in mind to tell me would pale in comparison to what I wanted to say to him. After the length of our friendship and the course of our new romance, he had already lost faith in me this soon in. If that was the merit of his trust for me than our problems were bigger than I had originally thought.

My mind had gone red with the anger that bubbled up inside me in the few minutes it took him to get to my apartment. I opened the door without a word, when I heard him tap at the door. I stalked back to the middle of the living room and turned to him.

"Is this about the medication?" I said, trying to control my voice and keep myself from shouting in his face.

"What else would it be about?" he spat the words at me, crossing his arms.

"Why do you think that I told anyone?" I said.

"Didn't you?" he said, raising his eyebrows.

"No, no matter what."

"Is that so?" he said with a laugh. "You know what, Blair. I want to tell you something and I want you to listen closely because this may come as a surprise to you. I don't believe you!"

"Aiden, I..."

"No," he said cutting me off. "I don't believe you, because they do know about it somehow. Funny how that is. Isn't it?"

I stood helpless and silent watching him pace and rant.

"Let's look at the evidence, shall we?" he said, tenting his fingertips beneath his chin. "You have said repeatedly that your priority is to the case, to the job. You have made it clear that you will do whatever it takes to win the full time position with the firm. Isn't that true, Blair?"

"Aiden, let me..."

"Whatever it takes!!" His face had gone pink and I saw from across the room the vein in his forehead, pulsing each time he spoke. He continued, "I knew I should have watched out for you. I underestimated you. I thought I was bad, but this... wow. I mean. Bravo."

He clapped his hands together in a parody of applause in my direction.

"What are you talking about, Aiden?" I said.

I was beginning to grow weary of this tirade, but he had said something that had sparked my curiosity and concern.

"You’re not the only one playing at this game, Blair,” he said. "I knew the moment I laid eyes on you that first day, exactly what I needed to do to win this job from you."

"Oh really," I said with a tired tone. "And what's that?"

"As soon as I recognized you, I knew I couldn't win this job from you on pure merit and performance. I knew I needed to throw you a curve ball."

"Go on," I said as my stomach began to turn.

"You see, Blair. You’re smarter than me. You’re a harder worker than I am. I needed to find a way to distract you if I was to win the full time position." He curled his lips up on a sinister snarl as he spoke.

I was beginning to feel sick.

I couldn’t believe this was happening.

"All this," he whispered in a voice as if revealing the killer at the end of a mystery play. "Has been part of the game."

I sank down on the couch feeling as if the room were spinning around me. "What are you saying?" I asked.

"You know what I'm saying,” he said. "Everything I have been doing from day one has been part of the plan. Catching up, going out with you, that first kiss. Sleeping with you. All of it. And the best part is, it's worked! The partners have noticed the way you seem a bit distracted at work. With your brilliant mind you didn't even see the one thing right in front of you standing in your way. I played you, Blair, and now you have gotten me back. You just evened the playing field without even realizing you were at a disadvantage."

He laughed in a humorless way as the blood drained from my face.

At first I didn’t know what to say.

The man who stood before me seemed to me like a stranger, only bearing a resemblance to the man that I had begun to fall for.

"I don't believe you..." I stammered, unsure how to reply.

"It doesn't matter if you believe me,” he said in an arrogant tone. "What's done is done."

"How could you do this to me?" I said in a slow and even tone. "I didn't say anything to anyone about your medication. But I owe a debt to whoever did, because now I know just who I’m dealing with. I want you to get out of my house. Outside of the case don't expect anything from me again, ever! I never want to speak to you again!"

"Gladly," he said. "I can only ask the same of you. I'll see you in court tomorrow."

"Get out of my house,” I said.

He sneered another laugh, and headed towards the door.

I decided that he wasn’t moving fast enough and I stood crossing the room and opening the door for him.

If I could have shot fire out of my eyes he would have been fully ablaze.

"Until tomorrow,” he said with a crooked smile.

I had tried to hold it in, but something about that last little comment pushed me over the edge.

"Get out!" I screamed, picking up one of the candles from the coffee table and hurling it at his head. "Get out and never come back! You piece of shit! Get out!"

He dodged and the candle hit the back wall with a thud, leaving a small imprint against the plaster. The moment he crossed over the threshold, I slammed the door as hard as I could behind him. As soon as he was out of sight, my knees gave way and I crumbled to the floor, my back against the door.

The truth of his words sunk in.

Of course it was all a game, it made so much sense now.

I thought about how persistent he had been from the beginning. It made sense that he had played me just like he had all those other girls back in high school, using his charisma and charm to manipulate the situation. He wanted this job, and he had used me to get the upper hand.

Of course he had.

Most likely he had developed the plan before he even knew it was me. He knew he would have a female partner. They had probably told him just as much as they had told me. When it turned out to be me, he just used our past as his way in. It didn’t hurt his plan that I had grown up a little bit. He never would have made a move for the skinny bespectacled girl, but the way I looked now played right into his plan.

EVERYTHING PLAYED RIGHT INTO HIS PLAN.

I felt dirty all over at the thought that I had let him touch me so intimately. I wanted to throw up, but instead I remained curled in a fetal position with my back against the door, crying into my arms. I had never been so hysterical, and didn’t recall a time when I hurt so much just form someone's words.

I didn’t know what to do.

There was no one I could call, and even if I did the intensity of my tears prevented me from being able to speak. Humiliation, shame, disgust all washed over me, part of the wordless rage that coursed through my body. I didn’t know what time Kelsey would return, nor did I care. I stayed there in the entry way of our apartment, crying while the evening light crept across the floor marking the setting sun. Finally, I calmed myself enough to make my way back to the couch. I found my cell phone on the table and called Kelsey. It went to voicemail.