Twisted Hate: An Enemies with Benefits Romance

What type of LLC was created—member-managed or manager-managed?
Explain.
Is the LLC bound under the tire contract? Explain.
And so on and so forth.
I finished literally a minute before time was up. I submitted the test
electronically and exited the testing site, waiting for a rush of relief or
excitement. After so many years of school and months of studying, I was half
finished with the exam that would determine the future of my career.
But the rush never came.
I just felt…empty. 
“I think I did okay,” a woman near me said into her phone. I recognized
her as another attorney hopeful from the testing site. She laughed at whatever
the person on the other end said. “Stop…yes, of course. Dinner tonight. I love
you.”
A lump of emotion clogged my throat.
In an alternate universe, I would be on the phone with Josh, making plans
to celebrate. Something low key, since tomorrow was still a test day, but
knowing him, he’d turn it into a whole production. 
Dinner at my favorite restaurant, an at-home massage, sex to help me
“relieve stress”...
“You’ll use any excuse for sex, won’t you?” I teased. I took off my jacket
and tossed it on the couch right before Josh grabbed my waist and spun me
around.
“Who says I need an excuse?” His cheek dimpled. “You want to fuck me
all the time, Red. Admit it. But, since you mention it…” My breath hitched as
he slid a palm up my thigh. “Completing half the bar exam is a big deal. It
deserves to be celebrated.”
“Does it?” I tried to maintain a poker face, but it was difficult when his
thumb was rubbing circles over my skin like that.
Heat burned low in my belly.
“Mmmhmm.” Josh’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “You know what they
say. All test and no reward makes Jules a very dull girl.”

---

“Literally no one says that.”
“I do, and I’m one of only two people who matter.” He brushed his lips
over mine. “Now, about your reward…”
The ding of the elevator shattered the fantasy into a million jagged pieces.
I wasn’t in Josh’s living room after a romantic night out; I was in the cold
hallway of a nondescript building downtown, my stomach cramping and my
chest tight as I lost him.
Again.
Some stupid, naive part of me hoped Josh would magically show up and
surprise me like we were starring in a cheesy rom com, but of course, he
didn’t.
My breaths picked up speed. The chill of the air conditioning burrowed
into my bones, and the echo of footsteps against the marble floors took on a
menacing note.
I need to get out of here.
Unfortunately, the open elevator was going up, not down, and the other
elevator seemed to be stuck on the sixth floor.
Instead of waiting, I pushed open the door to the stairwell. I was only on
the third floor, so it was an easy enough walk down to the lobby.
It seems only fitting for us to end things with a goodbye fuck.
I’ll miss that tight pussy of yours, though. No one takes my cock better
than you do. It’s your best quality.
Fresh hurt sliced through me at the memory of his parting shot. Josh
always knew which buttons to push, good or bad.
But still, I missed him so much it hurt to breathe.
Come here, baby. 
You’re supposed to be in New Zealand.
I’d rather be here.
I hadn’t seen him since our breakup. He hadn’t swung by the clinic, and
he’d ignored all my calls and texts. But if—
“I need the painting back, Jules.”
My head jerked up just in time to catch a glimpse of blue eyes and light
brown hair before Max pinned me to the wall.
I let out a small cry when my head banged against the concrete. My
vision blurred at the impact, but I could still make out the harsh lines of
Max’s expression.
“I don’t have it,” I gasped. “I threw it away.”

---

I didn’t want him going after Josh. Christian had promised to keep an eye
on Josh in case Max’s “friends” tried to steal the painting again, but it wasn’t
a sustainable solution.
I hadn’t wanted to throw it away without returning it to Josh first. He
deserved to know. But I told him the danger when I explained the situation
the other night, and I hoped he was smart enough to get rid of the art before
Max’s friends showed up at his doorstep.
“Don’t lie, Jules. I always know when you’re lying.” Whiskey coated
Max’s breath. There was no trace of the clean-cut, gentlemanly mask he liked
to wear. Wild panic ran through his bloodshot eyes, and his lip was curled
into an ugly sneer. A thin sheen of sweat coated his face and glistened
beneath the stairwell’s fluorescent lights.
He was near feral. Unhinged.
My heart jackhammered in my chest, and a thick, pungent taste filled my
mouth.
It was the taste of fear.
“They’re going to kill me if I don’t find it.” A bead of sweat dripped
down his forehead. “I need the painting back. You’re going to help me.”
“I told you, I threw it away.” My heart raced so fast I might pass out.
I could hear people’s footsteps outside the door—so close, yet so far
away.