Page 55 of Quarantined with the Billionaire

“What aren’t you telling me, Bailey?”

I drew in a deep breath. “As bad as my past has been, I think his has been so much worse.”

“Why do you say that?”

“He basically told me that everything I know about him is a lie. I might think I want him, but I really don’t.”

“Did he say that?”

“In so many words, yeah. So I told him that I do know him—I could feel who he was deep down. And then he compared himself to a rotten apple, ruining an entire bag. He said he’d ruin me the same way.”

“Jesus, girl. I hope you told him to ruin you!”

“I couldn’t get through to him—and I promise saying something like that wouldn’t have worked. And today he’s acting like nothing happened.”

“What a bastard. So what are you gonna do?”

A tear dropped from my eye, so I worked hard to steady my voice. “I don’t know. Today, he made it a thousand times harder to just leave.”

“Why? How?”

“Tod’s super sick. The way mom described it, I’m pretty sure he has COVID.”

“Oh, shit. I’m sorry, Bailey.”

“I begged her to take him to the hospital and she said no, because they don’t have insurance. Maddox overheard me talking to her on the phone and said he’d pay whatever expenses they had—to just get him to the hospital and get him taken care of.”

“What? Please tell me you let him do it. Please tell me you weren’t too proud.”

“Of course not. If it were me, at this point? I’d tell him to kiss my ass. But for mom?”

“You’d do anything.”

“Yeah.” After all, I’d been with her through thick and thin. Why would I stop now?

* * *

My butt was planted firmly in an overstuffed chair in the sitting room, across from Maddox in the loveseat. I suspected he’d chosen this room for our chat because I had warm feelings about the space.

I tried to suppress the pout on my face but figured he’d be able to sense it anyway.

Why had I been so stupid, allowed myself to be so vulnerable with this man? I couldn’t rehide myself or take back what I’d already told him.

Taking in a deep breath, I reminded myself I didn’t have to talk now. This was his gig, not mine.

“Look, Bailey, I shouldn’t have allowed last night to happen. Not only was it unprofessional, but it was completely out of line.”

“The kiss or what happened later?” Because, after all, I’d instigated where we’d gone afterward.

“All of it. I’m not who you think I am, Bailey. I’m…not a good man.”

“A bad man doesn’t offer to pay for someone else’s hospital expenses. Someone he never met.”

“A bad man finds ways to do penance throughout life.”

“Stop it, Maddox. You’re not a bad man.”

“Those were your words. I told you I’m not a good man.”

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