Page 83 of Claiming Her Cougar
He waves his hand like he’s flicking away a mosquito.“I’m not getting this.So, some busybodies gossip.It was probably that Janet chick you all can’t stand.”
I nod.
Logan huffs out a breath and rolls his eyes.“You throw away your relationship because of some nosy bitch.You decide to be a martyr and fall on your sword to protect your lady love.You don’t tell her, or anyone—for example, our fathers, or the human resources department of Morgan Development—what’s going on so they can handle it appropriately.You just throw a hand grenade into your relationship, blindside Mallory, and take off?”
He shakes his head in disgust.“Liam, you’re a fucking dumbass.”
“She didn’t fight for us!The second I gave her an out, she took it!”My voice is shaking.With frustration.Not with anything else.Frustration is all I feel.Not hurt.“She didn’t say there was no reason we couldn’t have our careers and each other.She just said okay and got out of my truck!”
“Why did you give her an out if you didn’t want her to take it?Why were you testing her?”Logan looks at me like I’m stupid.Why doesn’t he understand this?
“I’m trying to protect her!”I yell.I’m this close to throwing my phone against the wall of this generic hotel room in Podunk, Idaho, or whatever town this is.I don’t even care anymore.
“Give me that.”Daphne wrestles the phone from Logan’s grasp.
“What did you do, Liam?Did you break Mallory’s heart?Is that why she’s been quiet and withdrawn?She looks like crap, and I think she’s lost weight.I assumed it was her sister, but it was you?”Daphne’s face is flushed, and her narrowed brown eyes stare me down.I’ve never seen her like this.I’ve only ever seen her angry when hockey and bad calls from refs are involved.
“I didn’t do anything.There’s gossip at the office, and I’m shielding her from it.”
Daphne’s mouth falls open at my statement before she snaps it shut.She hands the phone back to Logan but leaves it facing her as she paces back and forth in front of their desk.She’s muttering to herself and waving her hands around, but I can’t hear what she’s saying until she comes back to the phone.
“You are such a fucking dumbass!”She points at me through the screen.“Do you think dumping Mallory protects her?If anything, she’s more vulnerable now because she’s on her own.If people were gossiping, they’d be careful in case it was true and she had your protection.Now she doesn’t, so they can be as nasty to her as they want without fearing repercussion.”
Daphne resumes her pacing.
“It looks hinky that she suddenly got this plum assignment over everyone else after we started hanging out.They hired her for collections,” I say.
“No, you idiot, they didn’t!They hired her for leasing, and when Martha and George both announced they were retiring, she agreed to do collections to help the company and helpmekeep my job!She sacrificed her career goals for the good of the company.”Daphne glares at me.
I run a finger along my collar to ease the tightness in my neck.
“She didn’t have to take the switch in position.She could’ve been in leasing this whole time, doing what she likes and what she’s good at.She didn’t have to spend a year downstairs with mice and crickets and jacked-up technology.She did it because she’s a team player.And this new position rewarded that loyalty and because she’s damn good at her job!You threw her caring about her career back in her face.I’m ashamed of you, Liam.”
I watch her stomp out of the office and feel a moment of vertigo when Logan flips the phone around to face him.
I look at my cousin, not knowing what to say.
“So that went well,” Logan says, the calm tone a welcome switch from Daphne’s ferocity.
“You’re supposed to be on my side.”
“I am on your side, Liam.Other than Daphne, you’re my best friend, and I want you to be happy.I know you have this urge to protect, but it’s misguided.”Logan’s green eyes are sympathetic.I need to look away before mine fill with tears.
“Well, I failed.I didn’t protect her.I hurt her.”I hate admitting that, but I have to be honest.
“And you hurt yourself.Let me know if I have this right.You two spend the night together at Devil’s Den, everything is great, she runs into the biggest gossip at your office, and that makes things weird.We run at her house, her sister is bitchy, then you leave town suddenly.You come back for this meeting and tell her you want to cool things off and focus on your careers.So, for all she knows, you slept with her, got what you wanted, and dumped her because you’re traveling and will sleep with other people while you’re gone.Because you hook up on your trips.You hooked up with her.”
“What?No!That’s not how it is at all!”My protest is automatic.Then my brain kicks in, and I think over what Logan just said.I think about what Mallory has shared with me about her past.Damn it.I hurt us both.
Groaning, I lean my head back and stare at the ceiling.“I am a fucking dumbass.”
“Daphne told you so.And dude, blow your nose, you got a big old booger up in there, and I did not need to see it.”
For what feels like the first time in weeks, I laugh.And get a tissue.
“What do I do?How do I fix this?”I hope Logan has the answers because I sure as heck don’t.
“Grovel.Hope she forgives you.”
