Chapter Thirteen Jordan
Chapter Thirteen
Jordan
There wasn’t a single part of me that wanted to answer my goddamn phone when it began to vibrate on the counter.
All these morning calls from Gavin were wearing me fucking thin.
But it was my brother, and unless I was in the middle of fucking—which, unfortunately, I wasn’t—I’d sworn to always pick up.
I connected the call and brought the cell to my ear. “If you’re going to ask me to come into the office right now, the answer is no, and there’s zero negotiation on that.”
“I’m calling to tell you the Clover deal is done. I’m looking at the official purchase agreement. The money has been moved out of escrow and into their account. We’re officially the owners. Congratulations, brother. We now own every professional sports team in Boston.”
My head tilted back, my mouth opening to moan, “Fuck yes!”
“We need to celebrate.”
“Hell yeah, we do.”
“I’m assuming you’re off to go see your girl?” he asked.
I chuckled. “Yes.”
“Listen, I know I’ll see you in the office in a little bit, but if I forget to tell you, do us both a favor and have the talk with her tonight.”
I slapped my hand on the counter. “Fuck off, Gavin.”
He laughed. “Have a good run, asshole.”
I hung up and left the phone in the kitchen and took the elevator to the bottom floor, stretching my arms over my head as I walked outside.
Only half a mile until she was mine.
I couldn’t fucking wait, especially after our text conversation last night. But in making that demand, I knew that meant I’d have to change my ways. That I was suddenly the type of man who would be in a relationship. That I’d be dating.
That I’d be doing everything I’d been against my whole life.
Was I ready for that?
As Maya came into view, facing me at the end of the block with her arms crossed over her chest—her tight, petite, perfect body on display—the answer to that became so clear.
And there was no question in my mind.
That woman had some kind of hold over me. She had me constantly desperate for more. She had me thinking about her nonstop.
And she had me wanting things I only wanted with her.
I slowed my run to a jog, panting, “Good morning, baby—”
She held up her hand as I approached. “Stay right there.”
An odd demand from someone who normally wanted me as close as possible and stopped breathing the second I touched her. “What?”
“We need to talk.”
I went to reach for her, and she took a step back, a move that threw me. “What’s going on, Maya?”
A scowl crossed her face and stayed. Her mouth was stiff, her eyes squinting as though she was really taking me in. “Why did you lie to me?”
I didn’t like her accusation. Her tone. And I certainly didn’t like the way she was looking at me.
“Lie to you about what?”
“For starters, who you are . . . Jordan Worthington.”
My heart was suddenly pounding, and it wasn’t from the run.
Fuck me.
“I—”
“You’re not only one of the heirs to the Worthington empire, but you’re a retired NHL player with a net worth of over a billion dollars.
But you said none of that during any of the times we spent together.
You danced around questions and told me your job was boring.
‘A corporate position’ is the title you gave me. How about—”
“It is a corporate position. That isn’t a lie.” I shoved my hands into my pockets.
The most sinister laugh came out of her, a sound I’d never heard from her before.
“‘Corporate,’ my ass. You’re an executive to a company that owns almost every sports team in Boston, and according to this morning’s news, you just bought the Clovers—for billions.
You spent years and years in the NHL. You made it seem like you work in an office and push papers and played a lot of hockey.
The reality of those statements is far larger than you ever made them seem. ”
There was a way to fix this. There were words I could say that would make the truth sting a little less.
“I’m sorry.”
“Ha!” Her eyes widened. “That’s all you’re going to say for yourself? That you’re sorry?”
“I wanted to tell you.”
“And?” Her arms dropped to her sides. “Why didn’t you?”
“Because of the comments you made about rich people.”
She let out a long, loud breath. “So you thought hiding it from me would make it better? That, what, you’d suddenly lose your billions and come down to my level and things would work out between us?
That somehow, someway, I wouldn’t find out the truth?
Guess what, your little dream bubble got popped last night when I watched you walk across the ice and hand out one-point-five million dollars.
” She paused. “Yes, that’s right. The Bears game was my girls’ night out, Jordan. And . . . I saw you.”
Jesus fucking Christ.
This was a mess.
What could I say to make this better? How could I prove to her that my wealth and past had nothing to do with us, that they didn’t need to affect us? That what we had was real—more real than anything I’d ever had?
“I like you, Maya. Those are the heaviest words I’ve ever said to a woman, because I’ve never liked a woman this way or this deeply before.
And the more we hung out, the harder it was to tell you.
” I pulled my hands from my pockets and clenched my fingers.
“I was afraid once you learned the truth, it would wreck us.”
“It would.” Her eyes closed and her chest deflated. “And it did.”
“No!”
Her eyes opened.
“You can’t be serious—”
“Let me ask you this,” she said, cutting me off. “Does your apartment really have roaches, or were you afraid for me to come over and see the kind of place you live in?”
I filled my lungs, holding in the air, waiting several seconds before I replied. “It doesn’t have roaches.”
Her head dropped. “You’re unbelievable.”
“Maya—”
“And you’re a liar.”
“I’m not.”
“And you lied about everything.”
“Maybe about the roaches, but I didn’t lie about anything else.” I stepped forward again and extended my hand, and she moved back several feet so that my fingers weren’t anywhere near her. “I just didn’t tell you. That’s not technically a lie.”
“You know what else you did?” Her voice had softened, and the emotion was beginning to come through.
“You put me in a position to fall for you. And I was falling. Hard. But who you really are and who you portrayed yourself to be are two very different things. I could have gotten over you being wealthy. But I can’t be with someone who lies to me.
That’s something I can’t get past. If who you are is an issue or not, that no longer matters because your deception made that decision for me.
” When her arms crossed this time, it wasn’t out of anger; it was like she was hiding herself from me.
She didn’t want me to see her anymore. “You breached a level of honesty that you can’t come back from. ”
Her words didn’t just hit.
They fucking slapped.
My heart was beating even faster when I said, “What are you telling me, Maya?”
“We’re done.”
Fuck no.
I didn’t want that.
I didn’t want to hear those words.
I didn’t want the rawness of her response to gnaw at my chest like it was.
“I offered more to you than I’ve ever offered anyone,” I said. “That should mean something. That should count for something.”
She waved me away. Unbothered. Completely turned off. “I don’t care.” The warmth I’d always seen was now ice.
“Maya—”
She walked to the end of the crosswalk, her sneakers teetering on the curb. “Out of all people . . . you’re a Worthington. I can’t even believe it.”
“What do you mean?” I followed her, and when she didn’t reply, I added, “Can we talk about this? Can you come over to my place, and we can sit down and—”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Maya! Please—”
She ran through the crosswalk, and instead of going straight like we normally did, she sprinted down the cross street.
She didn’t want me to catch up to her.
She didn’t want to talk.
She was done.