Page 97 of Playing My Rivals

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“I know you won’t believe this, but I didn’t tell Hunter about us because I want to tell him in person. He’s not going to take it well. I don’t want to give him time to plan something before we get back.” I step away from the door.

Jamison studies me. His brows draw in. “Why tell him now? You know I would never betray you by telling him, so what’s the point?”

“You don’t get it. I was always planning on telling him. He asked before I could do it the way I wanted. I had no choice but to lie to him. Otherwise, I’d lose all control over the situation.”

“You were going to tell him?” Jami runs a suspicious eye over me. “Why?”

I take a deep breath and prepare to tell him what I planned on saying. I lay it out in all sincerity.

“Because after last night, I won’t be able to hide it from him. He’ll see it in my eyes. He knows how I look when I feel the way I do.”

“And what way is that?”

I suck in a breath and pray he receives this as well as I hope. “I love you, Jami. You might not be able to see it, but Hunter will.”

Jami’s chest deflates, and his shoulders relax. He steps toward me. “You love me?”

“Yes, I love you.”

“Jesus, Dori. You could’ve told me that last night. Hell, you could’ve told me in the car on the way back.” Unshackled by my truth, he comes to me. “If you’re going to tell Hunter, where does that leave us?”

CHAPTER 23

HUNTER

Anxiety zips through my chest as soon as I step into our building. This is the first time I’ll see Dorothy after doing what I did. She’s going to be livid.

“Good morning, Hailey.”

“Good morning, Hunter. Jonah’s waiting for you in your office. Your coffee is on your desk.” She’s unusually happy today, so I force a smile as I pass by.

Jonah waiting for me isn’t a good sign. He’s going to have a thousand questions, and I’m not ready to deal with any of those right now.

I take a deep, grounding breath and enter my office. “Jonah. What can I do for you this morning?”

He stands with one arm across his waist while holding the other at his elbow. It’s steepled, and he’s rubbing his chin.

He’s trying to figure me out. “You know why I’m here, so explain.”

“Jonah, I have a million things on my mind. Come out and tell me what you want me to explain.” I set up my desk and sit.

He moves to the front of my workspace. “What’s with the changes you made? And don’t give me some bullshit excuse. You’ve been secretive and working behind the scenes for the last three weeks. It’s time you catch me up on everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything.”

My little brother has grown a pair.

“Dorothy needs to focus more. She’s missed three deadlines. We have another launch coming up, so she needs to figure out her priorities. The changes I made are in her best interest.”

“How is moving Jamison’s office downstairs in her best interest? They need to be in sync. That means daily, side-by-side communication.

“Your changes are anything but in her best interest. And on that note, I’m an equal partner. Doing this without discussing it with me really has my blood boiling.” Jonah glowers down at me.

“We did discuss it. Although it was brief.”

He releases an exasperated huff of air. “When we talked about it last week, we agreed to give it some time. She’s been gone for a week dealing with her brother. In case you don’t have a sympathetic bone in that body of yours, it’s a big deal. He almost died. Cut her some slack on the missed deadlines.”

“We can’t afford missed deadlines. Jamison is a distraction.”

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