Parker closed her eyes and stepped farther away from him. The force of his anger was radiating off him in waves. She wanted to just leave, but the weight of his gaze held her in place. She hated to even ask the next question since it just implicated her further, but she just couldn't stop herself. Something in his demeanor forced Parker on. "Were you even going to tell her?"
"That's none of your goddamn business!" he snapped back slamming his hand down on his desk in anger. He couldn't believe she had even asked that. Of all the things to bring up! She knew it was going to hurt him and she knew it made him look even worse than he had looked before if that was even possible. Parker knew him too well, and right now he was hating that fact.
Lexi had been watching their exchange intently for the past couple minutes. Up until that moment, she hadn't really seen an opportunity to interrupt the conversation even though it directly related to her, and it was her argument to begin with. Parker's arrival had completely thrown her off base and she was still attempting to get her bearings about how to proceed. On one hand, it was ideal because Parker could confirm or deny the stories that Ramsey was sure to throw her way especially with the pregnancy discrepancy. She was still up in the air with who to believe about that one. One the other hand, Parker made things complicated. She was the reason Lexi was here at all. She was the reason her and Ramsey were having this conversation. She was the reason that her relationship was on thin ice. Lexi hated her for that even if she had needed to know the truth about the situation. She knew the whole phrase about don't shoot the messenger, but she really didn't want to follow it in that moment.
It didn't help that it seemed Ramsey and Parker spoke their own language. They were arguing with each other and yelling at each other, but somehow Lexi felt as if she had missed half of what had been said. She realized that more was being said in their sidelong looks and body language than anything they were actually saying to each other. She just wished that she understood their language. They had known each other and been together in a relationship for so long that they never lost the bond that so many couples developed. Lexi knew that she could talk to Jack without saying anything, but what Parker and Ramsey had was completely different…it was on a whole different level. She didn't particularly like it either.
Hearing Ramsey announce that it was none of her business whether or not she was going to tell Lexi set her off though. She couldn't just stand by and let him ignore her presence any longer. "Well it's my business," Lexi cut in, "and I think I have a right to know if you were ever going to tell me."
Ramsey stared down at his palm which was now flat against his desk and sighed. He hated having this conversation. He hated that Parker and Lexi were in the same vicinity. He hated that his past had caught up with him when it was the last thing that he wanted to drag Lexi into. He just wanted her to understand that she was it for him. "This doesn't have anything to do with our relationship," he told her brusquely grinding his teeth at the thought.
Lexi openly scoffed at him. How could he be so naïve to think that his past didn't affect his future? Lexi had realized long ago how big of a part your past played in your present. That would be like saying that her relationship with Jack had nothing to do with who she was today. It would be a total 100% lie. Jack had so much to do with who she was. He had changed her forever…for better or for worse. She liked to think he had done both, but sometimes she wondered.
In either case, Parker had done a number on him. Sure their relationship had been a far cry from what she had had with Jack, but if anything it had more effect because they had been together for real for so long. Not to mention their terrible practically catastrophic ending had only jaded him. He didn't trust people. He didn't let people in. He hadn't had a decent relationship before Lexi since he and Parker had broken up. The very idea that the situation didn't have anything to do with him and how he was acting now was absolutely ludicrous.
"Really?" Lexi asked nearly laughing out loud at him. "You lying to me has nothing to do with our relationship?"
Ramsey leaned against the desk heavily. He couldn't believe she was taking his statement that way. "No, Lexi that's not what I meant. I meant that Parker has no place in our relationship," he quickly amended.
"The fact that you have to clarify that is truly telling," she murmured turning away from Parker and Ramsey. She began walking the length of Ramsey's desk back and forth seething with anger. She didn't know what his current relationship was with Parker. She wanted to hope for the best, but really her past had always proven otherwise. And how could she trust him anyway? He had lied about their relationship once. They might both be hiding the state of their current relationship. She wasn't here all that often because of school so he could have been with her at that time. He could be hiding so much more from her without her knowledge.
"Look," Parker began clearly still undecided on her place in this conversation, "I really don't have a place in your relationship." Lexi looked up at Parker as she spoke. She hadn't forgotten that she was there, but she hadn't exactly expected Parker to address her. Not that her statement made any difference to Lexi. She was starting to doubt her trust of Parker even if Brandon had more or less confirmed her story.
"Yet you weaseled yourself in," Ramsey growled keeping Parker from saying anything further. He was thankful that Parker had the sense to agree with him, but it didn't excuse her insertion into his relationship. They had too much history for her to interfere the way she had. He still couldn't believe it himself.
Parker's head snapped so fast in Ramsey's direction that she got a crick in her neck that she knew would be sore the next day. She honestly could not believe he had just said that. She had done what she thought was right. She might have acted impulsively, but her head had been in the right place about the situation.
The last thing she wanted was for another woman to fall for Ramsey's age old tricks and get burned. She knew they were both in over their heads and that the secrets were never going to come out. If she had known what level he was capable of hurting her, she would have wanted to know from the beginning. Then he has the audacity to claim she was weaseling her way into his relationship. She couldn't stand it!
"It's not exactly my fault that I have to be around you all the time," Parker spat out without a second thought. Her venom carried years of pain and heartache over the man in front of her, and she hadn't even thought before spitting out the first thing that she thought.
Ramsey leveled his gaze on her. His green eyes could have burned a hole through her. His jaw was taut and usually full lips were pulled tight into a straight line. Tiny wrinkles across his forehead and around his eyes showed the true fierceness of his anger. Parker swallowed hard as she met that gaze. She knew what that look meant. She had fucked up. Parker darted her eyes to Lexi and back hoping that she hadn't noticed. Parker wasn't that lucky.
Lexi stopped her pacing and turned back to Parker at the end of that last statement. Where had that come from? What the fuck was she talking about? Since when did they have to be around each other all the time? This was news to her. This was news that she had never wanted to hear. She had just been doubting their relationship, and here they were confirming that they actually still had some semblance of a relationship. She didn't know the extent of it, but clearly by Parker's last comment it was existed in some fashion. This was more than Lexi had been told about it though which didn't bode well for Ramsey.