Read Online Broken Truth by Beth Ashworth - Free Book Online Page B

friends.
    “Damn, girl!” Lucy complimented, trying to copy her move. “That shit was hot!”
    “Too hot,” Callum grumbled from behind as he snaked a protective arm around her stomach and nuzzled the side of her neck.
    Charlie sniffed in disgust at the strong smell of whiskey on his breath and tried to pull out of his grasp. Clearly pissed at her less than keen response, Callum held her tighter against him.
    “Every male within a one metre radius of you currently has a hard-on the size of my fucking building after you shook your arse in this little black dress.” He growled harshly into her ear as his other hand tried to pull down the hem of her dress in an attempt at covering her legs.
    “You’re drunk!” Charlie snapped as she squirmed against his hold. She pushed back forcefully into his chest, making him release her with a winded grunt. Placing her hands on her hips, she looked at him furiously. “You’ve had way too much to drink. I thought you knew your limits better than this,” she spat.
    “And what about you, Princess?” Callum shot back, watching Charlie wobble precariously in her shoes. “You can’t even stand still without wobbling all over the place. I watched you knocking back shot after shot earlier on, so I figured I’d get in the mood as well.  I bought the lads and me a couple of whiskeys and we had a laugh. I look out onto the dance floor and see my girlfriend and her friends dancing like a group of hookers in a sea of men. Of course I’m naturally going to want to protect what’s mine.”
    Charlie recoiled at Callum’s final words.
    Mine.
    This pissed her off – immensely. Considering the source of her earlier anger had initiated from his lack of consideration for her feelings, for him to now say that he was protecting his property, infuriated her.
    Turning towards her best friends, she saw the nervous looks on both of their faces. Even with the copious amounts of alcohol coursing through their systems they could tell when something was amiss.
    “Go on,” Amelia waved. “But call us if you need anything .”
    Giving them both a quick hug, she turned towards Callum and pointed towards the exit. They needed to talk, but not in the middle of a public bar. She needed to get home while the confidence of the alcohol was still with her. It was about time she let Callum know exactly how she was feeling.
     

Eight
     
    “Not having a good day then?” Amelia asked picking up her cup of coffee from the table.
    “I’m having the day from hell,” she sighed.
    When Charlie had called Amelia earlier this morning during a meltdown, she immediately asked to meet her for lunch so that she could get her away from the boutique.  
    So far Charlie’s Monday had been traumatic to say the least. Xavier had called in sick to work after supposedly suffering from a sickness bug. She knew this was all lies though as one quick look at his Facebook profile had told her that he was a lying shit and more than likely suffering from a hangover after spending last night crawling around Canal Street in Manchester’s infamous gay village.
    Now instead of hearing his witty banter this morning to cheer her up after the train wreck of a weekend she had endured, she was now tasked with attending to her own clients as well as somehow squeezing in all of his appointments.
    Her boss, Imogen, had been less than sympathetic with the situation. Regardless of how impossibly busy Charlie already was, her boss would not let them reschedule appointments, claiming it was unprofessional and too short notice to do so.
    Picking up her toasted sandwich, Charlie took a bite and sighed blissfully. In her opinion, the little coffee shop around the corner from work served the best sandwiches in the world. If she wasn’t so conscious of her waistline she would eat the calorie laden carbs all day.
     “I had a really shitty weekend,” Charlie said, wiping some crumbs from her lip.
    Amelia took a sip of her coffee. “Come on,