Page 69 of Love.V2
His demeanor shifted on a dime, frustration reading in every line of his body. “Are you serious right now? Did you not hear how she spoke to you?”
“I would have handled it, but you didn’t let me. You can’t just come in here and take over everything.”
“It’s actually my job to come in here and take over everything.” He stalked around the room for a few paces, furiously combing his fingers through his hair. “But even if it wasn’t, she’s been targeting you for months, Tess. If you really had it handled, she’d have been gone a long time ago.”
I winced. His words cut so deep into my insecurities, it felt like a physical blow.We all know this role was a huge jump for you.
“That’s not how I meant it.” He reached towards me, but I stepped back, running into my desk and rattling the pens. His fists balled. “I meant it is my job to lead the people of this office. Her attitude has been horrible for months. But even if I weren’t about to be CEO, I can’t tolerate someone speaking to you like that. You might be okay with her using you as a punching bag, but I’m not.”
“Whatever. It’s done.”
“Obviously, it’s not. You’re still upset. Talk to me about this. Is it really Victoria you’re mad about?”
It wasn’t Victoria. It was the fact I’d been worried for months that I wasn’t cut out for this job, toleadpeople, instead of just following. And he’d just proved me right. I should have cut Victoria weeks ago. Months, even, but I’d been too scared or…worried that she was right. Maybe somethingwouldfall apart without her here? As if she was the only thing holding the team together.
I realized now I’d given her that power, though. She’d walked all over me and made herself out to be the queen of the office, when I should have had the guts to step up and lead, instead of letting her manipulate me into whatever direction she wanted.
Maybe I wasn’t cut out for this. Maybe everyone back home was right, and I would never amount to anything. Dylan would always be above me, and I’d never have the courage to step out of my comfort zone, no matter how many lists I made.
But I couldn’t say all that now, not in the middle of the office, with all these realizations crashing into me.
“It’s fine. Look, I’m going to finish up some work at home. I’m sure you have things to focus on here. Meeting’s in an hour.” They didn’t need me for that. It was the Dylan and Eric show from here on out.
He blocked the door, bracing as if I was going to rush him to escape to freedom. Maybe I would. My hands were sweating, mind racing. Between this and Victoria, it was too much. I’d never been good with conflict, and now I was drowning in it.
“I won’t let you do this. I won’t let you pull away from me when something is obviously wrong. You did that for years, Tess, and it nearly killed us.”
Heat rolled down the back of my neck, hair prickling. “Me? It was you who killed us. Your obsession with work and money andstuff. I’m sorry if it was too painful for me to talk to you when you clearly didn’t care about me at all.”
“Didn’t care? Tess, everything I have done has been for you. Your car, the house, your painting studio. I was trying to give you the life you didn’t have growing up. Stability. Things you enjoyed. Ironic, now, because I realize you never enjoyed it to begin with. I found that house by myself. It was on me when the credit card bill came in. I bent over backwards to build that life for us, and you threw it away, anyway.”
I leaned back onto the desk, bracing myself. Dylan and I’d had a lot of fights, but I’d never seen him look like this. Pinched and red. There was a vein bulging in his neck. I had a fleeting thought that he’d been keeping this bottled up for a long time. He had to have been. There was too much resentment spewing out of him for this to be fresh.
I could feel my defenses rising higher, brick by brick. Years of hurt and neglect welled to the surface, threatening to pop.
“I didn’t want all that stuff! I wantedyou. And you were married to your job. Maybe that’s why you never married me.”
The instant those words left my mouth, I should have felt regret, but I didn’t. I didn’t want to tip-toe around this forbidden topic anymore. I wanted to hurl everything in my arsenal at him. To hurt him like he’d hurt me. It was twisted and horrible, but I didn’t care.
My chest heaved, breaths filling the silence between us as his face lost a bit of color. His arms fell to his sides.
“I did it all for you, Tess. But the more I gave you, the more you pulled away. It was like nothing I ever did was good enough. I didn’t want to start a life like that.”
A small shred of decency plucked at a nerve in my chest.Listen to him. He’s telling you something important. I shoved it down.
“If you were so unhappy, why didn’t you just leave, then?” I could feel my upper lip pulling into a sneer. Maybe this was why I’d left in the night months ago. I knew if all this anger and pain ever got loose, it would turn me into someone I didn’t recognize.
“I was willing to fight, but you never were. You’re the one who left.”
I might have dealt a blow, but he could throw one right back.
Every moment of guilt and second-guessing that had chipped away at me since walking out crashed into me at once. Heavy and sticky.
You left. You gave up.I could see it in his face.
I was the bad guy.
Reality trickled into the rage boiling through my veins. I opened my mouth.
