Page 64 of Unbossly Manners

Jackson continued to type, avoiding eye contact, like he was worried he’d see the judgment in my eyes. There was plenty of it in my head, but I was trying to keep it off my face.

“But isn’t she in India with Devan for the next month?”

Jackson sat back and put his phone on the coffee table. His demeanor had shifted. His expression was unfazed, but his shoulders had reached up to his ears, tense.

“She has a responsibility to the organization and can’t leave yet.”

I shut my eyes, trying to get a grip on what he was saying.

“But she’s not with Devan anymore?”

His lips thinned out. “We’re figuring it out.”

“So are you back together?”

“We’re working on it.” He smiled. It was tight and unsure. “I’m sorry if that’s upsetting.”

I bristled. “I’m not upset. I’m confused. She’s the one who shoved us together in our little sexual arrangement. Now she’s moving back in with you?”

“Yes. Maybe.”

My palms were sweaty and I wiped them on the sofa cushions. “Was I a pawn in a game you two were playing?”

Jackson’s eyebrows shot up. “No.”

“Yes. Yes.” I nodded, thinking back to everything.

Jackson sat beside me and I shot up, putting several feet between us.

“Let me map this out for you,” I said. “Kat suggested our triste, then fled to another country with another man, only to immediately realize she wanted you back. Is that about right?”

Jackson shook his head like he was trying to get a grip on the situation.

“We didn’t mean to hurt you,” he said.

We?

I threw my hands up. “I’m not hurt. I’m pissed. You used me.”

He put his hand on my arm and I flinched as if I’d been burned.

“I’m sorry,” Jackson said.

My nostrils flared, and my mind scrambled to figure out how to get out of this gracefully. I took a long deep breath and said as calmly as I could manage.

“We don’t owe each other anything, Jackson. We both got what we wanted out of the agreement, right? I would never have said yes to dating Derrick. You helped instill that confidence in me. And you wanted all that pain that Kat put you through over the past year to be forgotten and to move on. And you’re doing that. You’re moving on.”

I smiled grimly, and his face dropped, absorbing the irony in my last sentence.

“I…” But he had no words to defend himself.

I didn’t want to hurt him. I wanted to make him feel as foolish as I did.

twenty-five

“You look beautiful.” Derrick kissed my cheek and I smiled, warming to the affection.

It was a new day. A new guy.

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