Page 84 of Thiago
“You do know me.”
“No, I do not. You are a stranger to me, someone who hid a major decision, allowing me to believe we had something special. Something real.”
India gulped back the pain. How had the conversation become so twisted? She hadn’t expected their talk to be easy, but this—this was devastatingly difficult and not going the way she had hoped at all.
“I don’t want to leave. I would prefer to stay in Atlanta and continue working for Santana International.”
“So then why did you send a recruitment firm your CV? Your response does not make sense,mi amor. Clearly, you were ready to leave the company—leave me behind.”
“Did someone at Spencer Boyden leak my job search to you? Because that would be extremely unethical.”
“Answer the question.”
India wanted to scream and pound his chest. “You don’t understand,” she said, shaking her head.
“Oh, I understand very well.” Cold fury glittered in his dark eyes. “You didn’t tell me about your lupus until you had no choice. You didn’t tell me Simon was still contacting you until I forced the issue. I suppose I should question if you truly ended your relationship with him at all. And now this, a new job, a new city. Secrets, secrets, and more fucking secrets. Why should I trust anything you say?”
His words stung. “You’re being unfair.”
He laughed derisively. “I am being honest. Something you know nothing about.”
The fingers of both her hands bunched into fists. “Do you want to know why I sent my resume to a headhunter? Because you threatened to fire me if I didn’t stop seeing Simon. What did you expect me to do? I needed a backup plan in case you followed through on your threat.”
His expression froze, muscles tightening until his face looked like it had been carved from granite. “You thought I was going to fire you?”
“You said you would.”
“And because I said?—”
“Yes!” India snapped.
“Is that what you think of me? That I am a blackhearted monster?” Thiago asked.
“I only know what I see.”
His jaw hardened, his spine going ramrod straight.
The silence between them stretched to an uncomfortable length, vibrating with all the words they had said and those they hadn’t.
“Are you taking the job?” he asked quietly, tension woven through every syllable.
“I don’t know. I?—”
“Are you taking the job or not?” he demanded.
“Yes! I’m going to take it!” India snapped. She hadn’t meant to give that answer, but he’d forced her hand. “It’s a good opportunity for me, with a pay increase and the possibility of a promotion in a few years. You’re smart and ambitious. Tell me I wouldn’t be a fool to pass on it.”
“Good for you.” He spoke slowly, dragging each word like an anchor across stone.
Her heart shattered into tiny pieces. “I’ll give my official notice on Monday.” She kept her voice cool and crisp to hide the emotions threatening to overtake her. She needed to hold it together and not embarrass herself in front of him.
“Don’t bother,” Thiago said, his voice colder than ice. “Your position is terminated effective immediately.”
Her breath caught. Staring at him, she searched for a flicker of softness or regret. Anything to indicate he was the man she had fallen head over heels in love with. But there was nothing. Only his impenetrable mask of icy control.
“Thiago—”
He brushed past her without another word, his dismissal like shards of glass piercing her skin. She hurt everywhere.
