Page 83 of The CEO I Hate

“You know, after the accident, I was determined to stay by his side,” she said, “because I figured that once he started healing, we’d be past the worst of it. But it just keeps getting worse. It’s like…we take one step forward and then just spin in circles until I don’t even know which way is up anymore, much less which way is forward.”

I nodded, letting her talk.

“I can deal with the physical changes to our life, but all the fighting is really getting to me. And that’s all we seem to be doing lately.”

“Jake’s fighting the world,” I agreed.

“He won’t let me in. He won’t let me help. He’s pushing himself to a point that he’s risking his recovery to do things heknowshe can’t do. And I can’t watch him hurt himself—or yell at me for worrying overhim. He’s…taking me for granted,” Gabrielle said. “Taking for granted that I want to be here to watch that self-destruction.”

The words were more sad than bitter, and it was the resignation in them that worried me. Jake was going to lose her if something didn’t change soon. Liam was worried Gabrielle was pulling away, but to me, it looked more like Jake was pushing, little by little.

At some point there’d be a ledge she couldn’t come back from. And it wasn’t because she’d decided she didn’t love him or that he wasn’t worth the trouble, but because she was frustrated with how negative and self-isolating he’d become.

“I’ve been bending over backward for the past year,” Gabrielle said. “Trying to be whatever he needs, and it’s like he doesn’t even recognize how much stress this is putting me under.”

Jake was caught up in a spiral of his own angst. I knew that. Liam knew that. And Gabrielle knew that too. But there was only so much a person could take before they had to step away. Jake was my brother, and I loved him, but if he didn’t wake up and start thinking about more than just his own grief, Gabrielle wasn’t going to be there when he finally opened his eyes.

“I miss the guy he was when we first met. The one who was warm and kind and comfortable in his own skin. And I know he’s struggling tobecomfortable in this new skin, but I just…I don’t know how long I can keep dragging myself through this with him, hoping he makes some sort of peace with himself.”

“I’m not judging you, Gabrielle. Trust me.”

She leaned her head back against the wall. “Is love really supposed to be this hard? Why does it feel like I’m the only one who’s trying?”

I related more than I wanted to admit. I almost told her about Liam and me before remembering no one was supposed to know about us. I curled my fingers around the arms of my chair. Since the momentLiam and I had gotten together, I’d let him dictate the terms of the relationship—not telling Jake or anyone at work.

On top of that, I’d been the one bending over backward to try to make things work in the writers’ room with Lyle and Damien because I didn’t want to create any problems that might hurt VeriTV. I loved my brother, and I loved the show, but it would be nice to feel like Liam cared aboutmeas much as he cared about Jake andEnd in Fire.

I sighed, patting Gabrielle’s arm. “I know it’s hard right now—that it’s been hard for a while. I miss the old Jake too. But everything’s going to work out,” I said, trying to believe my own words. “You and Jake will get through this.”

Gabrielle hummed, hesitant, but she squeezed my hand. My chest clenched, realizing how uncertain webothwere that things would ever get better.

28

LIAM

“Don’t drive so fast,” Mia said. “I don’t want to be too early.”

“You were the one who practically pushed me out the door, saying you didn’t want to be late,” I said, weaving through the traffic on the freeway. The drive to The Sound Station, a podcast studio in West Hollywood, shouldn’t have been more than twenty minutes…on a normal day, with no construction or traffic. Naturally, we had both today.

Mia picked at her fingernails, then ran her hands over her thighs, smoothing out the lines of her skirt. She’d been talking about Ellie Park andThe Ink Spotfor two days straight, reviewing old podcast episodes and practicing potential answers to questions. Now she was tight-lipped.

“Nervous?” I asked, glancing in her direction briefly.

“Nope,” she said far too quickly.

“Mia,” I said softly, reaching for her hand before she could start pulling at her hair. I caught it, threading our fingers together. She wasadorably nervous. She’d been picking at herself and primping all morning. “You look amazing, and you’re going to be brilliant.”

“Youhaveto say that,” she said, trying to fight off a smile. “It’s in the boyfriend handbook or whatever.”

“My copy must still be in the mail,” I said, releasing her hand to take the Sunset Boulevard exit. “And I don’thaveto say anything.” Someone cut in front of me, and I laid on the horn until I was certain the driver realized he was an obnoxious asshole.

Mia sucked in a sharp breath.

“Everything’s going to be fine,” I said, aiming for reassuring.

“But what if she doesn’t like me?” Mia blurted. “Or what if she doesn’t likeHeart and Hustle?”

“I don’t think she would have invited you onto the show if she didn’t like your work,” I pointed out. “Why would she waste an entire episode on something she didn’t believe in?”

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