Page 78 of Bona Fide

You warned yourself to stay away from him and you still did it anyway.

A choked exhale leaves my lips as I think about Marty coming home to nothing. How Mama’s bills aren’t fully paid off, and if clients keep canceling their events, I won’t be able to have a steady income for my family to fall back on.

“Reagan,” Wade chants. “Are you there?”

“Yeah.” It’s a whisper. A crack in my rock-solid demeanor because the more I think about all of this, the further I start to hate myself.

I knew better than to get involved with another politician. I did this already with Grant, knew the aftermath of what this world could do to you if your name was dragged through the mud.

Thankfully, Grant and I decided to part peacefully when I left him, but Demi just pledged a full war on me.

“I’m going to fix this,” he tells me again, softer this time. “I need to see you.”

“You can’t.” I rub at one of my temples. “You have to keep your persona intact and clean. You need to fire me.”

“I’m not going to fire you.”

“You need to, Wade, please. You can’t have someone like me—”

“Someone like you,” he roars louder. “And what kind of fucking person would that be, Reagan? Someone who makes me—”

“Where are you?”

“Wha—I’m in the stairwell of my office.”

“I need you to go somewhere where you can’t be eavesdropped on.”

“I fucking dare someone to eavesdrop on me right now,” he challenges.

I sigh. “Please just do it.” He releases a growl on his side of the phone, and then I hear the echo of footsteps against the cement encasing of the staircase.

A shove of a heavy door sounds afterward, alluding that he’s out and making his way somewhere else.

“Go up to your office,” I tell him.

“I’m not about to get fucking hounded by Em and stared at by my fucking staff right now, Reagan. I’m going to the security office.”

“Okay.” Another minute and I hear him holler at someone to get out then a door slams.

“Better?” he leers. “I don’t think these walls are soundproof.”

“Then I’ll just yell at you a million times to keep it the hell down.”

He exhales. “Reagan…” A suppressed silence follows afterward, and I know he’s sorry. I’m sure he feels worthless and defenseless, but he’s not entirely to blame. And it’s time that I reap the consequences.

I just didn’t think it’d include allegations of fucking three men.

“We’re going to need to cool it for a while,” I state, breaking through the dead air. “No more event planning and—”

“No,” he fumes. “I’m not going to let you weather this storm by yourself. And I’ll be more than fucking damned if I don’t get on my knees and beg you for forgiveness because I’m the reason—”

“Keep your voice down,” I scold. “This isn’t—”

“It’smy fault. I shouldn’t kept my eyes on you because she’s a goddamn—”

“You have to let me go,” I assert, the words barely making themselves audible.

“What?” My mouth opens but nothing leaves. I’m barely holding the hell on right now, trying to keep myself steady and collected, but in the long run, this isn’t going to end well for me.

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