Page 48 of Deal with Mr. Cruel

“What?” He shrugged.

“Why are you being so… so…” She felt exasperated.

“Sowhat?”he asked innocently.

“So nice? Why are you acting like you’reactuallymy husband?”

“Well, we have to be convincing…”

“We aren’t in front of anyone now. And that kiss in front of Wendy? She didn’t even know about us.”

Jonas stayed silent as he looked at his hands. She wanted him to admit that he was struggling with the same feelings as she was. She wanted him to tell her that he wanted her. For real. She waited for a moment for him to look at her. To say something. But he just stood there.

Mae grabbed her glass of wine, causing it to slosh onto the counter. She didn’t care. She walked swiftly to her bathroom and shut the door behind her, locking it. She couldn’t be around Jonas right now. She was too angry, and the last time she was angry she ended up falling asleep on his chest.

Taking a deep breath, Mae set her wine glass on the counter and looked at herself in the mirror. She shook her head at herself. How could she have been so stupid? This whole arrangement had been a bad idea from the start, but she did it for Nico. Who wasn’t even speaking to her. A small part of her wondered if she had agreed for other reasons.

She pushed herself from the counter and drew a hot bath, pouring a generous amount of bubble bath in. Once the bubbles were almost overflowing, she turned the water off and undressed. As the hot water washed over her, she leaned her head back and looked up at the ceiling. She would hide out here all night if it meant she wouldn’t have any more encounters with Jonas.

Chapter 18

Jonas

Jonas rolled over in bed and hit his alarm clock. Then he rolled back over onto his stomach and groaned into the pillow. He hadn’t slept well. He had tossed and turned most of the night, thinking about the festival, which was tomorrow, and thinking about Mae, who had managed to avoid him all last night. Not an easy feat when you lived together.

She hadn’t even come out of her room for dinner. Jonas had ordered sushi for takeout and had eaten by himself. When he had knocked on her bedroom door to offer dinner, she had said she wasn’t hungry. This was unusual for Mae who loved food, which was what he loved about her. She had an appetite. He did hear her rummaging around in the kitchen around midnight. Clearly, her hunger strike had run out.

He rolled out of bed and headed to the bathroom to take a cold shower. He hoped it would wake him up. It was a big day full of final details. He had pawned that party planner Victoria off onto Wendy, so he wouldn’t have to deal with her. Mae was supposed to be his assistant for the day, but after last night, he wasn’t confident in their teamwork.

After his shower, which was more uncomfortable than waking, he headed to the kitchen to make a big carafe of coffee. He was surprised to see Mae already in the kitchen making breakfast. She was not an early riser. She stood with her back to him, cooking eggs on the stovetop in one of Jonas’s team sweatshirts. He leaned against the wall and admired her.

“My sweatshirt looks good on you,” he said.

Mae whirled around and looked at him, nearly dropping the salt and pepper.

“You scared me,” she said with an annoyed look on her face. “And what do you meanyoursweatshirt? This is mine.” She looked down at the red fleece and pulled at it.

“There’s a hole in the back from when it snagged on a post at one of the games.”

Mae looked over her shoulder and saw the hole he was talking about, which gave a glimpse of her lace panties. She gasped and covered her behind immediately. Jonas let out a laugh.

“No wonder it felt big. I have the same one.” She blushed. “I’ll give it back.”

“Hand it over.” Jonas held out his hand.

“Oh, shut up.” She held back a smile.

She continued cooking the eggs at an awkward angle, with her back to the counter. Jonas shook his head and made his way to the coffeemaker. He worked the settings for two large cups of coffee and the smell of French roast filled the kitchen. He sat at the kitchen counter and scrolled through the news on his phone. Mae pushed a plate of eggs and bacon in front of him.

“Thank you. This looks great,” said Jonas gratefully.

She nodded and scooted to the other side of the kitchen to eat in silence. Clearly, she still didn’t want to be near him. Jonas didn’t want to press her on it because they had a long day ahead of working together. There was no need to rock the boat. They could talk about whatever was going on with her another time. Jonas finished his breakfast and placed his plate in the dishwasher, leaving Mae in the kitchen alone. He could have sworn he heard her let out a sigh of relief as he walked away.

After Jonas shaved and dressed for work, he found the house empty. His red sweatshirt lay on the arm of the couch. Mae’s purse was gone from the entryway table. She must have left early for work. Again, another sign that something was up with her. While she was never late for work, she wasn’t exactly eager to get there, either. Jonas huffed. What was up with her? He was trying not to let it nag at him. She couldn’t honestly avoid him all day. They had work to do.

When he arrived in his office, he noticed Wendy was away from her desk.She must be with Victoria,he thought. He began going through his emails and making phone calls. His fingers thumped on his desk while he sat, wondering where Mae was. He’d been at the office for two hours already. They had an afternoon meeting to plan. Maybe she had forgotten that she was his assistant for the remainder of the week. He began writing his ideas on post-its and sticking them up and down his desk.

“There has to be a better method for that.” Mae leaned against the doorframe, eyeing the colored paper.

---