Page 60 of Meet Jon, the Billionaire

She sighed.

“It… didn’t turn out the way I’d hoped.”

“Why not?”

“Well, it was more about the fantasy than the reality of being with him. I tried to pink cloud for a while, but eventually I realized the truth and we broke up.” She fixed me with a firm gaze. “Now, are you hoping this woman is going to fix you somehow, or make your life better? Or are you really developing a deep, strong connection with her?”

I considered her query for a long time. I never thought of myself as a man who needed fixing. I knew I wasn’t perfect, and had my faults—I’d lied by omission to Amelia after all—but I didn’t think I was some broken thing that couldn’t be complete without her.

On the other hand, I didn’t think I could be truly happy without her. And I believed that I knew why.

“I think…” I nodded as my tone grew more confident. “I know that we do have a real connection, Mom.”

“Then you might be in love.” She smiled dreamily at me. “Ah, you poor, miserable bastard.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Love hurts,” she said. “That’s another difference between love and Limerence. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it.”

I felt a flash of inspiration. “I have to make this right with her.”

“What do you mean?”

I explained the situation with the corner lot, and the Salmon and Lox toaster pastry, and our need to beat out Breadcetera for it.

“Why don’t you just introduce a new product? One that will literally wash the taste of the Salmon and Lox from their mouths?”

“That’s… that’s not a bad idea at all.” I stood up. “In fact, it’s genius! Mom, thanks for everything, but I have to go! I’ve got to pitch this to the board.”

“You’re fine, honey. I’m glad you came and talked to me.”

“Me too.”

I gave her a long hug, and then dashed out to my car. I put it on hands-free mode and had a conference call with the other board members. They were a bit skeptical, but agreed that if the rollout looked good, we could nix the corner lot bid.

When I got back to the office, the sun was on its way toward the horizon. I was a little bit surprised to see that my assistant was still around.

“How come you haven’t gone home yet?”

“There’s a guest waiting for you in your office, sir. Amelia Faulkner?”

A smile spread across my face. Just who I was wanting to see.

“Thanks,” I said happily. “You can go now, sorry you had to wait.”

I rushed into my office and found Amelia standing there by the window. She looked up at me as I approached.

“Amelia,” I said “I—”

And then she promptly slapped me across the face.

Chapter Thirty-One

Amelia

My hand stung from the slap I’d delivered to Jonathon’s face. He stood there, blue eyes wide with shock as I fumed.

“You son of a bitch,” I sputtered. “How could you?”

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