Page 87 of Seductive Scoundrel

“So the moral of the story is good things can come from a lie?” I ask.

“I’m just saying life isn’t always so simple. And sometimes you have to look at the intention behind the action when you’re casting judgment.”

“I appreciate what you’re trying to do here,” I say, taking a moment to examine an intricate carving of an owl.

This is a cool place that I never would have checked out otherwise. It’s exactly what I needed to calm my racing mind. But I don’t need Dex to become my therapist.

“She’s devastated,” Dex tells me and I wince. I don’t want to think of Mia in pain, and the words in her text message replay over and over in my mind.

She loves me. Or so she says. I wonder if she even knows the truth anymore.

“She’s a liar. It’s becoming a real pattern, and not just a one-off.”

“It became a web. She didn’t want to lose you.”

“Then she should have talked to me.”

“I agree,” Dex says. “But coming from the other side, that’s not always easy. It doesn’t always feel possible. It was eating me up inside that the woman I wanted only wanted me if I was someone else. And I couldn’t figure out how to tell her without losing her, so I held on as long as I could. Selfish? Maybe. Or maybe it was self-preservation because I couldn’t live without Bianca. I’m confident Mia feels the same way about you.”

I let out a long breath. “Go home to your wife. You don’t need to be wasting your time with me.”

“It’s not being wasted. I care about you. It’s beyond the deal at this point, which Jane tells me is close to going through. We should have everything locked and loaded in no time.”

I nod. “Good news. I’m going to the gym.”

“It’s midnight.”

“I’m aware. But I need to punch shit.”

I should hate Mia at this point. I don’t – not even close – but Ishould. My brain keeps whirling and trying to excuse everything she did. The identity lie was bad enough, but I can mostly understand why she did it.

I guess pretending to have a dog isn’t as bad as whittling.

What I can’t understand is why she would be willing to jeopardize a deal she knows how hard I’ve been working on and how bad I want.

She should have immediately told me that she was auditing Dex’s company. She’s smart enough to know that’s a conflict of interest no matter what her boss said. All Jane told me was that she had a resource assigned to both companies, and I didn’t think to ask who Dex got, figuring it didn’t matter.

I’ll never make that mistake again.

It’s not like I would have broken up with Mia over something she had no control over. We would have figured it out, and if she lost her job over asking for a transfer, it’s not like I’m hurting for money to support her.

None of it makes any fucking sense. Was she banking on the truth never coming out? In my experience, it always does, and it’s better to hear it directly from the source.

I relay my line of thinking to Dex, and he shakes his head. “You’re being logical, and her decisions came from a place of emotion. She was scared to do anything that might end your relationship. Maybe the question you need to ask yourself is why.”

“Why what?”

Based on the look on his face, I won’t like where this conversation is headed.

“Why was she afraid to tell you?”

“Point. And I will think about it, but I’ve never done anything to make her believe I’m unreasonable. Well, not where she’s concerned anyway.” We’ve completed our loop, and we’re back at the front doors. “Thanks for everything. I appreciate you taking the time.”

“There’s one more thing.”

“Listen, you’re not going to convince me to be with Mia, so you need to get home to that wife of yours and –”

“Mia’s in trouble.”

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