Page 162 of The Playboy

What?

I didn’t understand.

Why was he speaking to me this way?

Acting so professional?

Introducing himself when he was my boyfriend and I clearly knew who he was.

And then, suddenly, out of nowhere, the pieces began to fit together in my head.

Why he’d been so quiet while we were getting ready in the bathroom when I knew he was a morning person and usually full of chatter.

Why he’d kissed me and held me before I left his house, like he didn’t want to let me go.

Why he hadn’t discussed with me who my manager was.

Why HR had told me my meeting would take place in office number four, the same number that was outside Macon’s door.

Oh my God.

“I’m the director of business development and project management,” he continued, “and the leader of the all-new Six Sigma Team.”

This was business Macon.

The man I had kissed this morning was the other side of him.

He wanted me to keep the two separate.

“And you are?” he asked.

I shifted my weight, taking in his face, his stature, his presence, and how it filled the entire room. “Someone who’s extremely angry right now.”

He nodded. “I deserve that.”

“That’s all you’re going to say?” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I think you’re forgetting the part where you admit that you’re a fucking liar. That what you did to me is so messed up on every single level.” I glared at him. “Was it even hard for you to keep this from me? Or am I the only one who struggled with my lies while you just carried on, all easy-breezy?”

He ran his hand over the top of his hair. “Don’t think I’ve had an easy time with this because I haven’t. It weighed on me every goddamn day.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

He exhaled slowly, as though whatever he was about to say was going to eat him alive. “What I did was wrong—there’s no question about that. But I knew you wouldn’t take the job if I told you the truth. That’s why I did it, and that’s why we’re in this situation.”

The anger was throbbing inside my chest. “I don’t care what you thought you knew, it wasn’t right. None of this is right.” My voice was rising, and I didn’t attempt to stop it. “You were upset that I’d confided in Jo, but what about all the people who knew you were going to be my manager? Jo? Cooper? Brady? Walter? HR? The entire company? How do you think that makes me feel? That I was left in the dark, just like you had been about my job. And now, I walk in here on what’s supposed to be one of the biggest days of my life, and it’s you who greets me. The man I love, the man who was so willing to lie to me, and the man who’s also a giant hypocrite.” My jaw clenched. “You had some nerve to come down on me when you were doing the same thing. How dare you!”

“I fucked up.”

I huffed out a breath. “You more than fucked up.”

“Brooklyn, I need you to hear me out.” He glanced toward the ground, appearing to gather his thoughts, and when he raised his head, he continued, “Spade Hotels needs you. I need you. And even though you don’t need this job, I know how great you would be and the kind of experience you would gain from it. I didn’t want to get in the way of that. I wanted you to have everything you’d ever dreamed of, and if that meant getting the wrath from you and sacrificing the truth, then it was worth it.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, like he was trying to stop himself from touching me.

“I could have handed this position to one of my brothers or a high-level manager. I even tried to. I reached out to Walter right after I found out the truth about your job and told him I couldn’t do it. And you know what he told me?”

I rolled my eyes. “I can’t wait to hear.”

He shook his head at my sarcasm. “He told me there was no better person to guide you because I eat, sleep, and breathe this company. Did I want Cooper or Brady to be spending all that one-on-one time with you when it could be me? Fuck no. Spade Hotels is part of my soul. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do, and I want nothing more than to share that love with you and for you to love it as much as I do.” He pulled his hand out and wiped it over his beard.

“Macon …”

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