Page 74 of The Probability of Us

I nod and take her hand to help me up. “How’d you know?” I whisper.

“You have always protected us from him.” She squeezes my hand, and my lips start to quiver. “So, we’ve always made it a point to look out for you too, especially when he wanders in here.”

I close my eyes and nod, a few more silent, grateful tears slip out. “Thank you.”

“No,” she says, and I open my eyes again. Tears fall from her eyes. “Thankyou.”

We both look over as more people show up at the door, but it’s just Mac with a security guard in tow. I just watch as Peter instructs him to detain Jason and remove him from the premises.

“Your personal items will be boxed up and shipped to you,” Peter says. “You will not set foot in this building again or I will have you arrested for trespassing.”

Jason’s mouth looks like it’s moving but I don’t hear anything he says as he’s led out of the room and down the hall. I just shake my head in disbelief.

He’s gone. For good.

I meet Peter’s eyes, and he says softly, “Can we chat for a minute? If you’re not comfortable being alone in here we can go somewhere else, or have someone sit in with us.”

“In here is fine,” I say. But then my eyes stray back to the wall I’d just been pinned against, and I shudder. “Could we keep the door open though?”

His smile is kind, understanding and he nods. “Of course.”

Victoria squeezes my hand one last time before leaving and walks off with Mac. I gesture for Peter to take a seat, but as I take a step to head back behind my desk, I see him. Just out of my original sightline, Warren stands glaring at the door they took Jason out of. His fists shake at his sides and his body is rigid with anger. His eyes are trying to scorch Jason alive.

He’s so mad he doesn’t even notice me standing here. I glance back at Peter who stopped to look at what caught my attention too. I bite my lip, considering, but when Warren takes a step towards the exit door I don’t care if it gives us away.

“Warren,” I say, harshly, as a command to stop.

His head whips over to me and he freezes mid-step. I shake my head, my eyes pleading for him to not go after Jason and do something that will gethimin trouble. His breathing deepens and his head looks between me and the door, considering.

“Please,” I add, quieter and some of the tension leaves his body as he looks at me. His eyes look me over, trying to make sure I’m okay. It looks physically painful for him not to come over and make sure I’m not hurt.

I gesture with my head for him to go back to the conference rooms. Trying to convey with my eyes that I’ll come find him as soon as I can. He lets out a deep breath, runs his hand through his hair, then turns around. I let out a sigh of relief.

When I turn around, Peter is watching with raised eyebrows. My cheeks flush and I turn my back to him to head to my seat.

But before I can sit down, he says, “I have never seen Warren get that mad over anything before—hell, I’ve barely seen him get mad at all.” I close my eyes while he still can’t see me. I guess that did give us away after all. “He really loves you.”

My entire body goes cold. Slowly, I turn to face Peter and only find a smile on his face.This wasn’t a surprise to him.I cock my head and my face twists. “You knew?”

His eyes soften. “If it wasn’t obvious enough from how you two act around each other, Mac overheard a particularly interesting conversation at the hotel bar last week.”

I drop into my chair, my body sagging, remembering what conversation that was and my face burning red that she heard that all. It wasn’t our best moment.

“And . . .” Peter continues, and I look up as my stomach drops.Oh, god.What else could they have seen? All of the careless decisions we made this past week come flooding back. “Warren came to talk to me this morning.”

I look down as a small smile forms on my lips.That damn idiot.

“What did he tell you exactly?” I ask, still looking at my lap.

“That you’re considering turning down the job offer because of what happened at Triniti.”

He pauses and I look up slowly.

“Listen,” he adds, “I don’t need to know the details of your personal life, that’s between you and whoever you choose to share it with. And if you don’t want to take the job because you don’t want to move, or you’re simply not interested, that’s fine. That’s your decision to make.”

“But . . .” he continues as I’m just about to respond. “If you’re not going to take the job because you’re with Warren, and you’re worried about how that will play out in the work environment, that’s between you and me.”

My eyes narrow in confusion. Is that not my personal life?

---