Stay away from max

Emma cleared her throat and tried not to sound like an idiot. She answered the call and almost yanked the phone away when ear-splitting laughter blasted through the speaker. She put the call on loud and waited until the caller had finished laughing into her own pleasure. “So, hello,” Emma said, forcing calm into her voice. She did not take insults lightly, and Alicia’s voice made something sour rise in her. Olivia could be rude, yes, but Alicia was worse. Olivia’s rudeness had an edge; Alicia’s had cruelty and repetition. Olivia could be silent and lethal. Alicia never shut up. She was like a fly that refused to die no matter how many times you hit it. Alicia had lost to Olivia before and still would not stop. She hated with persistence and displayed it like a trophy. That kind of public nastiness made it easy for people to look innocent on the surface while doing darker things behind closed doors. If anyone wanted Olivia dead, pretending only to dislike her made perfect cover. Emma fe