Page 125 of Playing the Game
That went about as well as I thought it would.
I better warn Dori.
Me: I didn’t tell you before you left, but the call I had to return was to Aiden. I wasn’t being deceptive. You needed to see Melanie off. I knew you’d stay with me, waiting to see how our call went. I’ll tell you more when you return. Just don’t answer your phone until you speak to me. I expect he’ll call you soon.
“Fuck me. How can I make this up to her?” My gaze roams the room.
I don’t know what I’m looking for, but I’ve got to come up with something to help her when she returns.
She’s going to need a lot more than support. She needs to see she can lean on me and we can make it through this together.
Aiden will go hard on her. I know it, but I pray he doesn’t make her doubt us. Nothing has ever come easy with her, but she doesn’t deserve the hell Aiden’s going to unleash.
I have to show her I can be a source of strength and prove to her I won’t leave her to stand up to Aiden all on her own. We can be a united front and fight him together.
What if he has more power over her than I think he does?
Will she walk away from us?
This sucks. I’m afraid this situation might wreck her. If Aiden can’t forgive us and she loses him, it could prove disastrous for us. Dori usually caves to his demands. She could with this situation too.
If that happens, there’s no hope for a future with Dori. There’s no way around it. Either she stands up to Aiden, or I lose her. I guess I’ll find out when she gets home.
I rest against the back of my office chair and stare at Mateo through the computer screen. “What’s the latest date you can give me?”
“I wanted you here this coming week. If this is going to get done within the time frame I want, I can’t have you there much longer.” He taps his pen on his desk. “Two weeks tops.”
“I’ll make it work. I just need to find a doctor to take over my care, get movers, and I’ll be on my way.” My stomach hardens.
The timing of this move couldn’t be worse.
He tilts his head. “Is your girlfriend coming with you?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“You don’t sound convinced.”
I ignore the anxious bubbles in my chest. “We haven’t talked specifics, but we’re committed to each other. We’ll make it work.”
“Miami is far from where you two live. Are you sure she’s up for a move like this?”
“She says she is.”
“I guess time will tell.”
“She’ll be there. You can count on it.”
He leans toward the screen. “Rumor has it she was with Hunter before you.”
I huff out a laugh. “And who told you that?”
“Jonah.”
I nod and smirk. “Well, he would know.”
“So it’s true?”
“It is.”
