Chapter 27
CHAPTER 27
HUNTER
My palms sweat as I wait on pins and needles to find out what Isabella said to Dorothy. She might not want anything to do with me now.
Dorothy comes out of the stairwell, marching toward me. “Hunter, what are you doing here?”
I kick off the wall and meet her in the hallway. “I stopped by to see if we could talk. You ran out to dinner before we had a chance to finish.”
“It’s getting late. Are you sure this can’t wait until tomorrow?” She bypasses me and goes straight to the door.
“I’d like to have an open conversation tonight while we’re not in the office. You close down there.”
“You’re right about that. Come in and let’s talk. But fair warning, I need some sleep, so it can’t be a late night.”
“That’s fine.”
As she fumbles with the key and the metallic sound grates against the lock, I stand quietly at her side. She pushes the door open, revealing her dimly lit interior.
We enter, the silence broken only by the faint sounds of our own footsteps. I take off my coat as she removes her shoes and jacket .
She gives me a quick once-over. “You start because I can’t remember where we left off.”
“We were talking about you coming to my place tonight so we could rekindle some of our passion.”
“Make yourself comfortable on the couch. I’m going to change into something else. I spilled and smell like a martini. If you want a drink, there’s wine and whiskey. I also have iced tea or water in the fridge.” She rummages through her drawer and grabs some clothes.
“Can I get you anything?” I meander to the kitchen and look through her wine rack.
“Water, please.” She disappears into the bathroom.
I fix us a drink and make myself comfortable. My eyes wander around this tiny box she calls a loft. I don’t understand how she can live here. She keeps it clean and decorated nicely, but it’s nothing like my place.
After a few minutes, she steps out of the bathroom and tosses her clothes in a basket. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s not a problem. I poured you some wine to go with your water.” I shift to the corner of the couch.
“Oh, thanks. You said you wanted to finish talking. Other than rekindling our passion right now, what’s on your mind?” She sits on the other side of the couch with her back against the arm.
She didn’t hug me when I got here. I’m not getting a good feeling about this. She’s settled as far from me as possible, effectively ending any hope of rekindling our relationship. The distance is undeniable.
All my fears I’ve been discussing in therapy come to the surface. I face them head-on like I’ve been working on doing.
“To be blunt, I’m feeling defeated at the moment, so let’s start with that.”
“What’s making you feel defeated?” She crosses her legs and places a pillow over her lap.
I gesture to the pillow. “You’re making it clear you don’t want me to touch you. I understand we’re not together, but I’m trying, and I don’t feel like you’re on the same page.”
“Hunter, it’s just that I’m struggling to see how this works between us. I’m not quitting my job, and I don’t want to go to the board with our relationship. It’s too risky. It makes me wonder where that leaves us.”
“Do you still love me?” The muscles in my ribs tighten and I hold my breath.
“Of course I do. That doesn’t go away overnight.” She takes a drink of water, and some of my heart stays intact. “If I met you under different circumstances, there wouldn’t be a question.”
I nod slowly as I think about that. “You’re not trying to tell me this is over, are you?”
“Tell me how we go forward. You have a public relationship with Ava. On top of that, Ava thought Isabella was one of your current girlfriends. How many girlfriends do you have?” Dorothy’s jealous emerald gaze connects with mine, and she raises her brows.
Her doubt in me permeates the room. I hope she’s not walking me into a trap, but I have to believe Jamison would’ve warned me if she knew about Isabella and me. Dorothy knows me as a strong, forward man, so that’s who I need to be.
“That’s a lot to sort out there. Where do you want to start?”
“Let’s start with how many girlfriends you have.”
“Easy. Technically zero. One, if you count the person who’s always on my mind and in my heart. I don’t care that you think we’re not together because I don’t see it like that.” I need more time to think, so I take a quick sidestep. “How was dinner tonight?”
She pulls back in surprise. “Um… It was good. Melanie and Jamison showed up, so they crashed my dinner with Isabella. It turned out to be a good thing. That girl flips th rough topics faster than Melanie. She was all over the place until they got there.”
“That’s an interesting perspective.”
“What is?”
“Isabella always seems focused on one thing. Melanie’s the one I see all over the place. I blame it on how much time she spends on social media. That crap is crack. Those platforms reward you for behaving like a sheep to their algorithm. It’s sad to see people fall for that.”
“You realize you’re building an app that does the same thing as those social media platforms, right?” Dorothy smirks. “But yours is going to be even more powerful, so…”
I huff a laugh. “I didn’t think about it, but you’re right. Now I’m the one who gets a bunch of sheep to follow my algorithm.”
“It’s Jamison’s algorithm. He created it for you.” Her cheeks turn red, clearly upset I didn’t give him credit.
A knife drives into my gut. No matter how much I try to win her love, she’ll always have a soft spot for him in her heart.
“Speaking of Jamison. How was it seeing him and Melanie together?”
Dorothy shrugs and shakes it off. “It’s fine. I have no problems with their friendship. He deserves to have a friend like her. She helps him get out of his shell.”
“How’s that?”
“He has his employees, but they don’t work here in town. Aiden isn’t here. His closest friend is more like his grandfather. I’m here, but it’s tense with us, so Melanie is perfect for him.”
“If things are strained with you two, how did dinner go? Were you two able to talk at all?”
She lowers her head and hugs the pillow. “Not really. He held his ground for being with three powerful women, but it’s not his comfort zone. ”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that about him.” My conversation with Mateo comes back to me.
He made it clear Jamison’s into one-on-one contact. Three women at a time isn’t his thing. The poor guy is missing out. Although, when you have Dorothy, you don’t need anyone else.
Her brow furrows. “What did you hear about him?”
“Mateo told me Jamison’s more on the shy side. It’s nothing. I don’t want to talk about him. Let’s talk about how we get back on track.”
“Why would you and Mateo be talking about Jamison?”
“It was nothing but a side comment while we were talking about business.”
She nods, but her eyes hold a suspicious cloud in them. I take a sip of my drink to allow her time to bring up anything that’s causing her concern.
She presses back against the arm of the couch. “Where are things with Ava? I don’t see how your agreement with her is needed. She can get her own media exposure, and you don’t need the information she supplies.”
My adrenaline spikes because this conversation is irrelevant if my mother gets what she wants.
With a soft clink, I set my glass down on the coffee table. “I’m trying, but I can’t get out of that agreement for a while.”
“Why? And how long is a while?”
“Ava needs more time to get noticed. She’s getting closer, so five months tops.”
“Why is it your job to help her? Can’t Jonah do it?”
“Dorothy, Jonah doesn’t travel or attend the events I do. You have to understand.”
She huffs and shakes her head. “Whatever. This conversation isn’t going anywhere. I can’t be with you, anyway.”
“Don’t give up on us, beauty. I don’t want to lose you.”
Our gazes connect, and she has a shield over her eyes. My stomach hardens and hurt forms in my throat, making it difficult to swallow.
Her grip on the pillow tightens, the soft cotton a stark contrast to the tension in her hands. “Hunter, I have feelings for you, but I care deeply for Jami.”
“How is it possible you still have feelings for him when you two are barely speaking?”
“We’re doing better after our talk last night.” She glances away, but I catch the guilt in her eyes before she does.
Anger rises in me. “Is there something I should know about last night?”
“No.” She keeps her gaze downcast, her cheeks flush as she avoids my eyes.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” She looks directly at me. “We talked, and he said he needed time to work on forgiving me. He said we needed to take our time to rebuild our friendship. Then we talked about Melanie and her dating life while we cooked dinner.”
“What does he need to forgive you for? You’ve done nothing wrong to him.”
Dorothy stands and retreats into the kitchen. “After Denver, I blew him off for you. It’s not something he’s going to get over quickly. We crossed a line. I knew it would create this issue, yet I did it anyway.”
“Don’t remind me.” Acid flows through my veins like a battery charging my hostility.
“Sorry. You asked.” She opens the fridge and dips into it, hiding her face from me. “Since we’re on the subject of past lovers. Why don’t you tell me about your time with Isabella?”
“Why would you bring her up?”
“She told us tonight that you two had been together. She was about to go into the details, but Jami switched the subject. So, why don’t you tell me about it?” Dorothy closes the fridge and walks back to me with an iced tea.
I silently thank Jamison. “What all did Isabella tell you? ”
“Enough, so now it’s your turn.” Dorothy sits on the couch, analyzing me.
Strangely, she doesn’t appear as angry as I would expect. I take it as a sign she doesn’t know when it happened. Otherwise, she’d be furious. That means Jamison was able to shut down the conversation before it was too late.
I try to find a way to explain my night with Isabella. They say keeping lies as close to the truth as possible is the best way to do it, so I go that route.
Damn, my therapist is going to have a heyday with me when I tell her about this.
“Isabella and I met in a club. We spent some time together that night and nothing more. That morning in my office was the first time I had seen her since then.”
“Did you know she was going to be working with us?”
I laugh at the ridiculousness of that question. “No. She never mentioned anything about Efron Worldwide. She only said she knew who I was.”
“She’s pretty happy to be in your presence again.”
I turn to get my wine. “She means nothing to me. If I was interested in her, I would’ve called her after. Since I didn’t, I’m sure she’s aware I have no further intentions with her.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure.”
“Why do you say that?” I take a drink and brace myself for Dorothy’s answer.
“Isabella asked us all to put in a good word with you for her. I think she’d like to have more than a one-night stand.” Dorothy smirks. “You obviously left a lasting impression.”
Yeah, because I was thinking she was you the whole time.
“What can I say? I have no control over how she feels.” I return my glass to the table.
“Are you still attracted to her?”
“Isabella’s an attractive woman, but I’m not interested in her. I don’t know how many times I have to say this, but I love you. There’s no one else I’m interested in. Now, can we focus on us and forget about our pasts?”
My skin overheats, so I pull on my shirt. All this talk about Jamison and Isabella has me getting agitated.
Even though Dorothy and I weren’t together when she was with Jamison or when Isabella spent the night, it’s like walking on thin ice. One of us is going to fall through and drown.
I need a few additional weeks of therapy to strategize on how to deal with this situation involving Dorothy and to learn how to swim in case I am the one who breaks the ice and falls in.
“Hunter, your face is getting red, like you’re upset. I don’t want this to escalate.” Dorothy eyes me warily.
“I’m not escalating, but I don’t like talking about things that happened in the past. We agreed to move forward and I don’t see that happening. So yeah, I’m frustrated.” With a jittery sensation growing in my stomach, I stand and take my wineglass into the kitchen.
“I’m sorry you feel that way. I’m just asking you to put yourself in my shoes.” She follows me with her gaze.
“I have put myself in your shoes? The way I see it is if you felt the same about me as I do about you, then you would do whatever it takes to be together. Taking our relationship to the board would be worth the risk.”
Plus, it’ll take one of the threats that Ava and my mom have over my head out of commission. The pictures of Dorothy and me together would be a lost cause.
She releases an irritated sigh. “The issue with that is it’s not your dream job you’re walking away from. If they fire me, then what? It’s not like jobs like mine are available all over the city. If I get fired, I’ll likely have to move somewhere else to find something similar.”
My behavior is currently upsetting her, and it’s clear that we’re at a standstill in terms of resolving our issues. I can’t push the marriage idea until I figure out what Mommy Dearest wants, so I’m stuck.
My biggest fear is I won’t know what that is until long after Dorothy leaves me and moves on with Jamison.
“It appears we’re at a crossroads.” I find her gaze, a piercing green that holds untold truths. “Just tell me, beauty. Am I wasting my time?”