Page 108 of Can't Get Enough

“I wanted to let you know that Maverick and I are seeing each other.”

“Seeing each other where?”

I frown, unsure how to respond for a second. “Seeing each other… as in dating.”

The line goes so quiet I wonder if we’ve been disconnected.

“Zere? Are you still there? I said—”

“I heard you. I-I guess I just don’t understand.”

“Mav and I have become friends. As you know, he’s investing in our fund, so we started spending time together. Talking and—”

“And now you’re dating?”

“Out of respect for the relationship you had with him and the working relationship I have with you, I wanted to tell you personally.”

“We just broke up two months ago, Hendrix.”

“You released a statement two months ago,” I gently correct her. “But he says the two of you had decided to part ways before that.”

“Wow. Three months. Big difference.”

I’m not sure what to say to that. She is literally in Paris with anotherman and tripping over me and Mav? But I do understand she needs space to process this. I’ve known almost from the beginning that Maverick and I were attracted to each other. We danced around it for weeks to avoid this very conversation, so I’ve had time to become accustomed to it. She’s hearing it for the first time.

“I know you were together for a while,” I say. “And that—”

“And that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him? You know that? That I wanted to have his children? Oh, but you don’t want to be anyone’s mother, so match made in heaven, I guess.”

Now my patience is hanging by a string.

“You and Maverick wanted different things. You said that yourself, Zere.”

“No, I wanted one thing. One thing, Hendrix, that he would never give me and that was a child. If I’d been fine with no kids, we’d still be together. Have you thought about that?”

“No, but you obviously have,” I say before I think better of it. “I didn’t mean it that way. You and I work together, and I wanted the air to be clear between us.”

“So you call to tell me you’re dating the love of my life? The air is so clear, Hendrix.” She audibly draws in a huge gulp of air. “Ahhh! Now I can breathe.”

“I don’t owe you anything,” I say, keeping my voice even and quiet and calm. “This call was a courtesy because I want to preserve our working relationship.”

“I’m not sure we have one anymore.”

Her words punch me in the gut. I knew this was a possibility. My heart is not the only thing I’m risking pursuing this relationship with Maverick.

“I need some time to think,” Zere says. “I know I should be big about this. I do recognize that neither of you cheated. I get it with my head, but my… my heart.”

Her voice breaks and my stomach muscles clench at the sound of her crying.

“I understand if this means you don’t want to make a show with me anymore,” I force out. “I’m willing to step away altogether. Just please don’t give up on Chapel. We both know how much talent and potential she has.”

“Oh, I’m not giving up on Chapel, but I may be giving up on you,” she bites out, voice still watery, but harder. “Let me think about this and we can decide what to say to Chapel once I’ve had time to consider. Let’s wait to tell her.”

“That’s fair. Okay.”

“I thought this was your next step,” she says, her words curling at the edges with contempt. “I thought breaking into television was so important to you.”

“It is. If not with this show, there’ll be another one.”

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