Page 104 of The CEO I Hate

I turned to stare at him, eyes wide, my jaw dropping. “You can’t be serious. After the way she just?—”

“Look, man,” Jake said, wheeling over. His face was blank, calm; his voice controlled. Far more controlled than I felt. “I appreciate you looking out for me, but this is a conversation Gabrielle and I need to have. Why don’t you head out and I’ll call you later?”

I wanted to say no. I wanted to demand thatsheleave. Jake needed to be protected from her because she was the one who’d hurt him so badly. But did I have any right to say that considering what I’d done to Mia? Probably not. Still…Jake was finally pulling his life back together, and Gabrielle had the power to upend all his progress.

I didn’t like this.

I didn’t like that Gabrielle had turned up, expecting Jake to be here, waiting for her.

And I hated that Jakewas. He didn’t need to be toyed with again. But the look in his eyes showed a quiet kind of acceptance I didn’t know how to parse. The vulnerability made me hesitate, made my grip loosen on the doorknob. “You’re serious?”

“I am.”

Reluctantly, I nodded, even as a knot tightened in my gut. “Fine then. Call me later,” I said, eyeing Gabrielle suspiciously as I let myself out.

Ash padded to the door behind me but didn’t follow. I turned back, expecting him to fall in step like always, but he didn’t. He just sat there, watching me leave. I opened my mouth to call him, then closed it again. “Guess you’ve made your choice,” I murmured, voice too low for anyone else to hear. Ash didn’t move.

And this time, I left alone.

It was the next morning when Jake finally called me. I was on a private jet leaving Van Nuys Airport, headed to San Francisco to have lunch and catch up with my mother.

“Well?” I asked, pausing my email mid-sentence and reclining back into the leather seat. “What shitty excuse did she have?”

“No excuse,” Jake said. “Just an honest apology and an explanation of how she’s been feeling for these past few months. You know, with everything going on, I just never bothered to ask her. I justassumed.”

Frustration surged through me. Why the hell did it sound like Jake was about to take responsibility for the fact Gabrielle had dumpedhim?

“This wasn’t your fault,” I said, wanting more than anything to be the support he needed. “You weren’t the one to call it quits.”

Jake sighed. “Maybe not, but I also didn’t leave her with much of an option.”

“Don’t do that,” I said. “Don’t take the blame.”

“There were two people in our relationship, and we both made mistakes,” he said. “Blaming everything on Gabrielle wouldn’t be fair. We both know I was in a bad place, and whenever she tried to pull me out of it, I ended up dragging her down with me instead.”

I hesitated, not sure what to say. Even I had to admit there was truth to that. Jakehadbeen going through a rough patch. But that’s when he’d needed her most and she’d bailed. “What does this mean?” I asked. “Are you getting back together?”

“I’m not sure,” Jake admitted. “But it means a lot that she was willing to show up and put herself out there. I’m open to giving it a try. I think we can do better this time.” A pause. Then, “Ash helped.”

I blinked. “Ash?”

“Yeah. I don’t know, man. He was just there. Every time I felt like falling apart, he’d shove his head under my hand like, ‘Not today, buddy.’ Made it harder to spiral, I guess.”

I stared out the jet window, heart tight.

“He’s been good company,” Jake added.

I nodded slowly, still staring out the window. I got it. Somehow, Ash made things easier. Lighter. But that didn’t mean everything else would be. After all, why was Jake setting himself up for pain that way? Wouldn’t it just end in the same disaster, but with Jake’s heart even more battered?

“You’re finally getting back on your feet,” I said, my tone pleading as I tried to get him to see sense. “Without the relationship there to distract you, you’ve been making serious strides. Working toward your fire inspector license and doing all your PT. If you opt to give the relationship another shot and she”—uses your heart as a chew toy again—“lets you down another time, it could really set you back.”

“You’re right,” Jake said. “But even if it’s a lot, I think Gabrielle’s worth that.”

“Or you’re just inviting in problems that might end up distracting you from more important things.”

“What could possibly be more important than loving someone and having them love me back?” Jake pointed out.

I didn’t have an answer to that.

---