Chapter 33
“Now I understand why so many jokes are made about work. Work sucks.” ~ Dakota
Dakota
I park my car in front of the distillery and blow out a breath. I can do this. There are more difficult things than working with Rhett the Asshole all day. Lord knows I’ve been through worse.
My heart spasms. It doesn’t agree. For reasons I don’t care to think about for too long, Rhett dumping me hurts worse than finding out my husband was a lying, cheating scumbag wanker.
I check my eyes in the rearview mirror. My eyes aren’t too puffy, are they? I hope not.
The last thing I need is my boss, Eli, to try and comfort me in the restroom when I’ve been crying. The man is not good at pep talks. Although when he growled about killing his brother, I nearly cheered.
I notice the time on the clock. Shit. I’m going to be late. I don’t need to give Eli any more excuses to fire me. I need this job. Health insurance is worth it, I remind myself as I climb out of my car.
“Hey, Dakota!” Miles waves at me as he hurries across the parking lot toward me.
I nearly cringe at his use of my real name. None of Rhett’s brothers have called me anything other than ‘little sis’ since Rhett and I started dating.
“What are you doing here this early? Did you break your surfboard?” I tease instead of breaking down into tears about how the Raiders were never really my family.
“Hit the waves at dawn this morning. Dawn patrol is the best.”
“Huh. Maybe you could surf early every morning and come to work on time?”
He scowls at me. “Sounds boring.”
“Welcome to adulting.”
“Nah.” He smirks. “I don’t adult.”
“Must be nice,” I mutter.
Resentment rears its ugly head. It would be nice to have a billionaire brother who founded a company just so you could have a job. A job you can ignore as much as you want because your brother is never going to fire you.
“Hey.” Miles squeezes my shoulder. “I was joking.”
I force a smile. I’m not going to be a bitch to him. He’s not the brother I have a problem with. It’s not his fault I fell in love with his asshole brother.
“I know. It’s all good.”
He frowns. “I don’t know much about women.”
I snort. “Really?” Look up charming in the dictionary and you’ll find a picture of Miles.
“Let me rephrase. I don’t understand much about women. But I figure It’s all good is similar to It’s fine which every man worth his weight in sea salt means nothing is fine.”
I don’t want to discuss how nothing in my life is fine. How I have no choice but to continue to work in the same office mere feet from the man who broke my heart.
I hold up a hand. “Watch it, charming surfer dude. You’re awful close to adulting right now.”
He feigns retching. “Thanks for the warning, Dakota.” He unlocks the door before sauntering away to his office.
I wish I had an office. I could hide in there all day. Hiding in the restroom is out since Eli has no problem barging in to check on me. I had to find the one billionaire boss who understands the word sympathy.
I switch on the lights as I make my way to my desk. I frown when I notice my desk isn’t empty. I always make sure my desk is cleared off at the end of the work day. There’s nothing worse than a cluttered desk.
Hold on. It’s a gift basket. Announce to the world how you found me crying in the bathroom, why don’t you, Eli?
I snatch the card and read it. Sorry, I overreacted.
Damnit. There’s only one person who overreacted and he’s not supposed to know why he overreacted since he didn’t let me explain.
I grab the basket – intent on setting it somewhere out of sight – but curiosity gets the best of me. I unpack it instead.
Glucose tablets, nuts, protein bars, a compact first-aid kit with alcohol wipes and a backup syringe, band-aids, sugar-free chocolates, and a candy jar filled with jellybeans. The pink ribbon around the jar reads Break in case of low blood sugar or when you need a little extra sweetness.
“Do you like it?”
I screech and clasp my chest before whirling around to confront Rhett. “You scared the mermaid out of me.”
He scratches his chin. “Sorry. I thought you heard me.”
“You should wear a bell.”
“And let my brothers know I’m coming?” He shakes his head.
I roll my eyes. “You wouldn’t want to lose the prank war.”
He motions to the gift basket. “Do you like it?”
I love it. Most people do not react to finding out I’m a diabetic by giving me a gift basket. Usually, they run the other way. Or break up with me.
“I guess you figured out I’m not a drug addict.”
He grimaces. “I should have let you explain.”
Damn right, he should have. But he didn’t, so how did he find out?
“Who told you?”
“Eli.”
I should have known. He’s the only person who knows about my illness. Except my friends who I trust not to blabber to Rhett. Especially since they’ve nicknamed him the Dodge Master.
“Eli’s got a big mouth.”
“Eli cares about you.”
I snort. “Because no other assistant would answer their phone at four o’clock in the morning.”
He scowls. “Eli calls you at four in the morning?”
“It’s fine. I’m awake at my other job anyway.”
“I hate you having two jobs.”
Who does he think he is? Mr. High and Mighty is not allowed to comment on my life. Not anymore.
“Good thing your opinion on how many jobs I have is irrelevant. In fact, your opinion on anything I do is completely irrelevant since we’re no longer involved.”
He rears back. “I apologized.”
I fist my hands on my hips. “You did?”
He steps toward me but I back up. I can’t allow him too close to me. If he is, I’ll probably do something stupid like throw myself at him. Bad idea. The man broke my heart at the first hurdle in our relationship.
I deserve more. I deserve a man who thinks I hung the moon. Who doesn’t assume the worst in me the second he sees something he doesn’t understand.
“I’m sorry, Dakota. I overreacted. I should have let you explain. I shouldn’t have broken us apart.”
I try to hang onto my anger. But try as I might, I can’t. Not when Rhett’s staring at me with those piercing blue eyes, looking as chagrined as a boy who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
Miles may not be able to adult, but I can. “I accept your apology.”
Rhett’s eyes warm and he sighs. “Thank fuck.”
He reaches for me but I hold up a hand. “I accept your apology, but it doesn’t change anything.”
His brow wrinkles. “What do you mean?”
I motion between us. “This doesn’t work.”
“I recall us working pretty damn well.”
Sparks ignite in my belly at the heat in his eyes. I ignore it. Good sex is not enough to keep a relationship together.
“I’m not referring to our sexual chemistry.”
He clears his throat. “There’s more to us than our sexual chemistry.”
I wave toward the gift basket. “And yet you didn’t trust me enough to let me explain myself when you caught me injecting myself with insulin.”
He winces. “And I’m going to regret my actions for the rest of my life.”
“There’s no reason to be full of regret. Let’s learn from our mistakes and move on.”
“I can’t move on, Havoc.”
“I’m sorry, Rhett. But I can’t be with a man who lashes out at me the way you did. You dumped me and broke my heart for nothing.”
A muscle in his jaw ticks. “It was a misunderstanding.”
“It didn’t need to be.”
“Can I explain why I overreacted?”
I nearly tell him no. What good will knowing the reason behind his actions do? It won’t change anything. But I can’t resist his pleading face. I’m such a sucker.
“Go ahead.”
He glances around the room. “Not here. Where my brothers are eavesdropping on us.”
“Hey!” Miles shouts. “Not fair. I’m the only brother in the office.”
Rhett growls. “Go away, Miles!”
“Not until you grovel to Dakota and make her our little sister again.”
Heat radiates through my chest, and my hands tingle. I want that. I want to be part of a family. Someone’s little sister.
“I can’t grovel while you’re eavesdropping!” Rhett shouts back and I giggle. I can’t help myself. Rhett and his brothers are utterly ridiculous.
“She laughed. You’re good!” Miles shouts.
“I’m still waiting for an explanation,” I holler at him but he doesn’t respond.
“I’ll give you an explanation tonight,” Rhett says. “I promise.”
I blow out a breath. “Fine. We can use the conference room after all your brothers have left.”
“Nope. I’m taking you out for dinner at the resort.”
“The resort?” Hideaway Haven Resort is the only resort on Smuggler’s Hideaway. It’s also super expensive since its clientele are the rich and famous.
“Yep. I’ll pick you up at the motel at seven.” He saunters away before I have a chance to protest.
My muscles vibrate with excitement as I watch him leave. I try to calm them down but I can’t. Rhett is taking me to a fancy restaurant.
To apologize, I remind myself. And he’s my ex.
But he doesn’t want to be.
Nope. I’m not thinking about this. It’s time to work.