Page 92 of The CEO I Hate

MIA

Iwalked through the door of my apartment—well, more like kicked it open—dragging my exhausted ass through it. After that disastrous conversation with Liam where we’d apparently broken up, I’d somehow managed to stick it out for two more hours in the writers’ room with Lyle so we could finish getting the episode written.

I honestly think I’d been in shock, still too angry and confused to process the fact Liam had let me walk out that door. But from the moment I’d gotten to my car, it was all I could do to keep from crying the entire drive home.

Now though…I froze, the weight of tears behind my eyes, as a panicked shiver ran through me. Why were the lights on? Who the hell was in the apartment?

Sophie was supposed to be at work. I’d texted her before I left the studio to tell her what happened. She said she’d take the night off and come home to support me through my many ice cream binges, but I’d told her not to bother. So who the fuck was this?

Shuffle.Thump.

A cupboard door. Oh my God, someone was in the kitchen!

Schlurp.

Oh my God, they were in the fridge! Stealing our food! Food was expensive, dammit!

What was I supposed to do here? Emotionally, I was fried. All I wanted was to dive into bed. I didn’t want to have to beat up a burglar. That thought alone made me want to cry.

I fished my phone out of my pocket, trying to decide between fleeing back into the hall or dialing 9-1-1 first, but then a familiar creak caught my attention, and a wheel poked around the kitchen doorway. It was followed by the rest of Jake’s wheelchair.

“God, Jake!” I cried. “What the hell are you doing in here? You scared the crap out of me!”

He had a plate on his lap with a sad-looking sandwich. He took a bite. “Sorry,” he muttered. “There’s no sandwich meat at my place. We cleared it out before we left.”

“I thought you were a burglar!”

“Making a sandwich?”

“I didn’t know that’s what you were doing!” I huffed. Now that the panicked adrenaline rush was fading, the frustration and sadness and exhaustion returned. I just wanted to be alone. I pinched the bridge of my nose, sucking in a settling breath. “What are you even doing home already?”

He’d only left for his cruise two days ago. How had he gotten back? What was going on? I’d never been so confused.

“Yeah, the cruise was a disaster,” Jake said, rolling past me to the living room.

I really,reallywasn’t in the mood for company. “Jake?—”

“Gabrielle and I had a huge, blow-out fight,” he said, taking another bite of his sandwich. He set the plate down on the coffee table, then dragged himself out of his chair onto the couch, using his upper-body strength to get himself positioned. “It was so bad we chose to get off at one of the ports and fly back rather than sticking it out for two more days.”

I clasped my hands together, willing myself to hold onto my emotions when it was so very tempting to just break down and cry. For me. For Jake. For Gabrielle. For the whole rotten mess this day had turned into.

“Where is Gabrielle now?” I asked.

Jake gestured with his head. “In the apartment, getting her things. Figured I’d hang out here for a while so I wouldn’t get in the way.”

Oh, Jake. This was it for him too, huh? “I’m sorry it all went south.”

He shrugged. “It had been coming for a while. The cruise just made everything clear. And there’s nowhere to escape when you’re on a boat. Even a big boat.”

So Liam’s plan to fix everything had backfired? I snorted. Of-fucking-course it had. I drew closer and looked at Jake—reallylooked at him. Honestly, even in the dim living room light, he looked awful.

Pale, tired, unshaven.

He’d probably been in transit for hours, stuck in airports and on planes that couldn’t have been easy to navigate with his chair. He was likely as exhausted as I was. Worse than that, his monotone answers told me he’d given up. That look of defeat as he stared down at his sandwich made something inside me snap, and Icouldn’t hold back anymore. I burst into tears so uncontrollable I was nearly choking on them.

“Mia?” Jake said, alarmed. He shifted like he meant to jump off the couch before remembering he couldn’t.

I covered my face with my hands, shaking my head. I couldn’t tell him what happened with Liam. Not while he was facing the end of his own relationship.

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