Page 257 of Savage Bosses

I had him—for sure. My comment would have only made sense to a Martini. One, Jaime and Les were the couple from the novel Debacle, which was about a drunken wedding in Las Vegas. The hero had a spunky six-year-old sister, much like Brookelynn. Love Con was in Vegas—that could have been just been bad luck, but then he mentioned marriage. His statement was too perfect to be a simple coincidence.

I was such a fool. “How long were you going to keep lying to me?”

Ryu stiffened. “Jaelle—“

Were we doing that now?

“Judy-Lynn,” I corrected him.

He fell silent.

I eased out of his embrace. Proximity and hesitation tempted me to swing at him. “How? Long?”

“Until I was sure you wouldn't lose it.” He ran his hands through his silky dark hair as he paced. “What else could I do since you blocked me?”

“Talk to me. I was right there.”

He remained silent.

Yeah, no.

My heart ached while my body thrummed with untapped energy. I needed something destructive to do. My only options were to ride my frustrations away or hit the punching bag in my gym.

In or out?

“I need to process, and you need to leave.” I opened the door.

“Okay.”

Halfway out of the house, he kissed me. It was like nectar from the gods. The heat and emotion he put into it—enough to quell the numbness in my heart. But I couldn't let him lie to me. How did I not know this wasn't some sick and twisted game? Who else knew?

I had to pull back.

I had to think.

I ended the kiss. “Go.”

CHAPTER 18

Ryu

I

glanced at the clock on my laptop. Five thirty-five. I still had twenty-five minutes until Operation “Forgive Me" began as a part of the Monday meeting. Friday's setback could've been worse. I imagined a meltdown that was tantamount to the apocalypse and not the tame disappointment July-Lynn gave, which I attributed to the cooling-off period the kids gave me.

That was then. She had the entire weekend to work on her anger. There was no telling if she were calm or if she would murder me on sight. She wouldn't take my calls or answer my texts. After my tenth voice message, I realized the stakes were higher than anticipated. I didn't chase after a womanafterI had her.

Seduction was one thing, but we were past that. The fact that I could not focus on anything beyond trying to get back in her good graces let me know that I loved her. It wasn't supposed to go that far. Judy-Lynn pushed her way into my heart.

And I had a plan to get her back. Unfortunately for me, it involved a bit of groveling. I spent the entire weekend playing the conversation in my head. In reviewing the nightmare conversation, the action that screwed me over was when she asked me how long I would lie to her.

If I had come clean then, it would have thrown her off and given me a chance to explain. She would have still been mad, but I could have convinced her to discuss it over dinner and then spent the weekend showing her how well we worked.

I'd start with a peace offering: the Asranian series we bonded over in a themed basket, and a special showing ofBasis of Comparison. Our dance at Martinicon was from the movie. The snacks were our favorites that we ate each day. I wanted every item to remind her of me.

I checked the time—five forty.

What if she canceled our meeting?

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