Page 158 of Mr. Wicked

“No. I can’t comprehend a goddamn thing aside from how mad I am right now.” I tried to breathe but couldn’t. “She should have told me before she signed the contract. End of story.”

“True,” Holden countered. “But if she had feelings for you then, and I suspect she did, then she knew she would immediately ruin anything that was going to happen the moment she said something to you.”

My head dropped, staring at the floor.

Why is this so fucking hard?

“This is bullshit,” I grumbled. “Complete, utter bullshit.”

Silence ticked between us until Holden broke it. “Our favorite side of him is back.”

“I can see that,” Easton replied.

“Stop fucking talking about me like I’m not in the room!”

“Grayson ...” Easton’s voice was calm, but it had an edge to it. “I need you to listen to me. I need you to step back for a second and look at the whole picture.” He let those words simmer between us. “Jovana had a motive to write that article. She was pissed—at the way you treated her, at the entire situation, and then at the Celebrity Alert that showed you on a yacht with six other women. Picture her face when that alert came across her phone. When she saw the photos of you. When she heard the speech you gave to bachelorhood.” He paused again. “Now picture how she felt about all of it.”

I frowned at my best friends. “You two are unbelievable.”

“Can you fathom how that could wreck her?” Easton pushed. “Flip it around, pretend you were the one who had feelings for her. She told you she wanted nothing to do with you. She all but tossed you out of her condo. You don’t see her again—and then, boom, she’s on vacation with six dudes. Are you going to tell me that wouldn’t sting?”

I continued to glare at them.

Without saying a word.

Easton grabbed a beer from the fridge, and on his way back to the couch, he said, “So, she wrote an article when she was in a vulnerable place. Hooked was already affected by the Celebrity Alert. Did the article hurt us more, yes. But there were other articles, Grayson. Jovana’s wasn’t the only one.” He twisted off the cap and took his first drink. “We had Google Alerts set up and they were coming in by the dozen every hour, every day. Journalists thrive off negativity, and when they can throw their opinions into the mix, it only benefits their readership.” He glanced at Holden, who was nodding. “Jovana wrote some strong words that were aimed at you and our company, pointing out that you represent the marriage arm and it’s clear from the photos it’s not something you believe in, so why would our customers want to believe in it. As much as I hate to say this, she’s right. You didn’t believe in it. What she said in that article wasn’t a lie.”

“And for all the bad that came from that article and all the others that were published,” Holden said, “so much good has happened because of them too.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I groaned.

“Business is stronger than ever.” Holden held out his hand and started counting on his fingers. “We’ve recouped our losses and increased revenue by twenty-eight percent in the marriage arm. And then there’s the two of you.”

“The two of who?” I roared.

“You and Jovana.” Holden smiled. “You said it yourself today that you love her.”

“Loved,” I clarified, shocked that I’d even said the word out loud.

“Oh, come on, man.” Easton sighed. “You didn’t fall out of love with her because she didn’t tell you the truth about one minor detail. That woman doesn’t have a malicious bone in her body. She’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. I’m sure she assumed no one was even going to read the article. She was angry, bitter, and she used her words to fight back. And because you were in the news and the topic was hot, the story took off and went viral.”

“Don’t let this ruin the best thing that’s ever happened to you,” Holden said softly.

His statement hit me.

And I tried to fill my lungs.

I tried to calm the hell down.

I tried to sip the vodka that was still in my hand, but even the look of it made my stomachache worse. I set it down and said, “I’m blown away. By all of this.”

“You went into this thinking that there are sides,” Easton said. “That’s how your brain works. You against the world. Always. But that isn’t the case.” He placed his beer on the coffee table. “This isn’t us against you or you against her. When you’re in a relationship, it doesn’t work that way. You communicate the problem. You work through it. You move on. Now”—he cut me off as I was about to butt in—“I get that she didn’t do that, but we’ve made it very clear why she didn’t.”

I wrung my hands together. “And that makes it okay?”

Holden nodded toward me. “You’ve been anti-everything since the moment she met you. She didn’t give up, though, did she? She showed you who she was, what she wanted, what the two of you could have together.”

“It goes deeper than that and we all know it.” Easton’s gaze softened as he looked at me. “She’s not your mother, Grayson. You treated Jovana like shit, and she didn’t walk, even though she could have at any point.”

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