Page 91 of The CEO I Hate

“And then?” I said through gritted teeth. This was a story as old as time. Shitty Hollywood men doing shitty things.

She pulled her arms tighter against herself. “The deal fell through. Obviously. And I was devastated. I went back to Damien, hoping he would offer some sort of advice. I was just desperate to understand where I’d gone wrong or what I could do better next time. And that’s when I overheard him on the phone. He was talking to the producer who’d withdrawn the offer from me, thanking him for temporarily putting a kibosh on the deal.”

“Mia,” I started to say, but she plowed on.

“I stood there, listening to that asshole as he outlined his plan to console me over the lost contract, after which he’d step in to help me resuscitate the offer so he could be my hero. He laughed with his producer buddy over how he was sure I’d thank him with sex. Hell, I’d probably thank them both by sleeping with them, because that’s apparently what’s expected of women around here,” she said, spitting the words bitterly.

Disgust coiled inside me. I couldn’t believe I’d let that man within ten feet of her.

“What happened after that?” I asked.

“Not much, thankfully. I was already done with his class by then, and I made sure I didn’t take anything else with him for the next year and a half until I graduated. I made it a mission to never have anything to do with Damien again. And it was working,” she glanced at me finally, “until he showed up in the writers’ room.”

“You should have told me about your history the moment he turned up.”

She shook her head again, eyebrows drawn together. “I can’t believe that’s still all you have to say to me.”

“What do you want me to say? This entire experience could have been avoided if you’d been honest with me.”

She laughed, the sound coated with disbelief. “How about just starting with, ‘Gee, Mia. That really sucks. Sometimes men are shit.’ Or, I don’t know, how about a hug? But you know what, that’s obviously too much to expect from you.”

A knife had slipped between my ribs at her words. “I don’t get why you’re pissed atme. I fired that bastard on the spot.”

“Yeah, you fired him as soon as you noticed something was going on. But it’s been going on for weeks now, and you couldn’t be bothered to pay attention. For all these years you’ve known me, you never had any interest in figuring out what was going on with me aside from making fun of my relationships with Jake.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is. And now, even as your girlfriend, nothing’s changed. You don’t know how I feel half the time because you’re too busy running around after everyone else. And today, when youdidfinally pay attention, you dragged me in here so you could yell at me about it. So why the hell would I open up and share things with you when I’m just going to feel like shit about it in the end?”

“I’m not trying to make you feel like?—”

“But youdo. You make me feel like I’m an obstacle. Like your life was fine until I complicated it. And today, when I needed comfort, you dragged me in here like I was just another business problem, and interrogated me.”

“I’m your boyfriend, Mia. Jesus. I was worried about you.”

“Are you?” she snapped. “Because it doesn’t feel like you’re my boyfriend lately. When you hide me from your best friend, when you tell me we have to keep it quiet at work. When you make me feel like a dirty secret—or worse, aproblemyou have to fix.”

“What the hell are you saying?” My chest was a war drum, beating too fast. “Do you want to end this?”

“What if I did?” she asked, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

There was a beat. One goddamn second where I could’ve stopped, could’ve grabbed her hand and told her not to go, could’ve been the man she wanted, the one she believed in.

But I wasn’t that man.

Not today.

“Then there’s the fucking door.”

I didn’t shout. I just pointed.

Mia blinked at me like she was waiting for a punchline. Like I was about to laugh and pull her into a kiss. But I didn’t.

Her entire body snapped into action.

She stalked past me, threw the door open with a thud, and left.

31

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