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“Melanie, you know what’s at stake.”
“I do. And I’m sorry. I really do think you deserve the company, Jenson, and I think you’ll be good to everyone there. But I can’t be a part of this anymore. Some things…some things matter more in life than winning. And you used to understand that once.”
Before I second-guess my decision or Jenson recuperates enough to speak, I pull back and tap the button to end the call. Toss the phone back onto the duvet, where it will hopefully be lost forever.
Then I lie back and wonder how the hell I got here. Madly in love with a man and yet…utterly alone.
Chapter24
Jenson
I’ve become the one thing I’ve always despised.
A boss that everyone is terrified of.
As I tear through the halls at Dupont Analytics, employees retreat or break eye contact immediately. They slink into offices, congregate together with their backs to me, hold their breath until I pass.
I know what they’re all thinking.
She abandoned him. Can’t blame her.
Dodged a bullet.
He’ll probably die right here in his office, alone.
I let out a low growl, flexing my hands as I turn the corner, my destination in sight.
Giselle sits at her desk with her ankles crossed, long hair flowing down her back and brown eyes on the computer screen. Once, when I first got the promotion to CEO, I fleetingly thought about dating her. She’s gorgeous. And accomplished. The kind of woman any man would be proud to have as a partner.
But she’s not Mel.
Anger flares through my body at the thought, and I revel in it. It’s been keeping me alive these last few days. With no word from Melanie, waiting for the questions to come, adrenaline has been coursing through my veins on a loop.
This is the end for me.
Zach will get the company, and I’ll be gone within the first three months. Roy will either discover the truth—that we lied—or he’ll think I’m such an asshole that no woman wants me. That I lost the only one who mattered.
Closing the door behind me, I set my eyes on gorgeous Giselle. She looks up in surprise at the sound.
“Have you had any communication from Melanie Atkinson?”
The question comes out measured. As if I’m asking after any other employee with Dupont. Not my fiancé.
Giselle’s eyes narrow.
“Excuse me?”
“Has she reached out to you at all? Provided an update as to why she didn’t show up to work Monday?”
Giselle scoffs. She turns her chair in my direction. Normally, an HR representative is professional to a fault. She’d offer me a seat.
But not today.
Her glare sears my skin and I almost flinch, a sliver of guilt working its way into my heart.
“This department doesn’t exist to notify you why your fiancé may be mad at you, Jenson, or unavailable.”
My mouth drops open in defense, but no words come out.
