Page 99 of Playing My Rivals

She shakes her head. “You don’t know my parents.”

“You’re right. Maybe someday I’ll get the chance to meet them.”

Our gazes connect. Fire flicks in her eyes the second she goes from Dorothy, my ex-girlfriend who I’m trying to win back, to Dorothy, the raging woman with a dangerous temper.

“What the hell, Hunter? Don’t even start with that because you can’t ignore what you did. Especially when you’re sitting in this office. There’s something noticeably missing. Why?”

“Jonah and I noticed you missed a couple more deadlines. You’re distracted, so we made a change.”

I need her to think it was a united decision. She practically worships Jonah and his leadership.

She raises her brows and crosses her arms over her chest. “So you didn’t do this on your own?”

“No. As I said, it was a united decision.” I clear my throat, nearly choking on my lies.

“Then why did Jonah say something about you deciding with your dick?”

“He thought my main reason for moving Jamison was to make room for you and me to spend more time alone. He’s still suspicious of my attraction to you, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t support the change.”

“Fuck, Hunter.” She eyes me up and down like I told him about us. “I hope you squash that idea out of his head as soon as we’re done here.”

“I’ll take care of it, but Jamison needed to be moved downstairs so you could focus on all your responsibilities, not just the ones regarding the app. You can’t make any more mistakes.”

I feel like an ass lying to her, but Jamison needs to be distanced from her. She’s a kind woman, and he is obviously taking advantage of that.

“So this change was about that? Nothing more?” She tilts her head and studies me.

I nod. “It was strictly business. We’re trying to set you up for success. We made a poor decision putting you two together, but it’s nothing that can’t be smoothed over.”

Her expression turns wary and apologetic. “I’m sorry about the deadlines. I’ll work overtime. You guys can count on me from here on out. I’ll figure out how to deal with… I’ll just do better.”

“Beauty, don’t be upset.” I might have acted out because I hated them alone in here, but I hate seeing her this worried even more.

“Hunter, I’m failing at everything.” Her arms fall to the side.

“Like?”

“Like work, you, my life. I’m half of what I know I can be.” She pushes off her chair and stalks to the window.

I follow, needing to relieve her discomfort. “No. You’re everything. Never let me hear you say that again.”

“I’m not. I can do better than this.” She hugs herself. “Maybe sending Jami downstairs was a good idea.”

Fucking Jami.

I hate hearing her use his childhood nickname.

I reel in my hostility. “It is. You’ll see. Don’t focus on it any longer. To get back on track, you’ve got to be on top of what’s needed of you now.”

She faces me with regret hanging in her eyes. “I know. You’re right. I’ve made a mess of everything, which has me all over the place. I should’ve told you that Jamison and I knew each other, but?—”

“Shh. You came forward and explained it to me. I’m over it now. You’ll be proud of me knowing I didn’t tell Jonah, so your secret is safe. I'll handle it if it ever comes up. Stop worrying about it.”

“Thank you. I don’t deserve your kindness.”

I run my thumb over her cheekbone. My heart compresses seeing her like this.

“Despite everything, you’re still the only one who could ever have me at go. To say you don’t deserve my kindness is so off base. You don’t even know how much more you deserve.” I move her luscious waves of auburn hair away from her face.

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