Page 53 of Playing A Risk
“What did you do now?”
“I came clean on some things I did while we were dating.”
He shoves the magazine he was reading over and rests his arms on the table. “Such as?”
I gaze out his kitchen window to avoid his stare. “Just that I threatened Jamison in an effort to keep them apart.”
“Jesus, Hunter. This relationship of yours has you acting like an ass.”
“I don’t need a lecture, Jonah.”
“Fine, but now you’re dealing with all this shit. What if it doesn’t work and you lose Dori, anyway?”
“I don’t want lies between us—it tore Jamison and her apart. I decided to come clean with her, thinking she’d at least respect me if nothing more. But the crazy part is when I told her about the threats, she was more upset that Jamison didn’t tell her the things he knew about me.”
Jonah raises his brows. “Well, there’s a plot twist.”
“You’re telling me. She’s still mad at me, but not nearly as much as I expected. The problem is she has a tendency to run and close down when she’s upset.”
I push out of my chair to get something to drink. “I’m afraid giving her space today will only give her time to pack her bags and leave, but she asked me for some time alone, so I’m giving it to her.”
“If she leaves, then what?” Jonah stands and follows me to his coffee bar. “Here, let me make the coffee.”
“If she leaves, then anything else I need to tell her won’t matter.” A layer of anxiety mixed with guilt twists in my guts.
He takes the coffeepot and rinses it out. “Why do you say that?”
“Because the things I still need to tell her are worse. If she can’t handle what I told her today, then there’s no way she’ll accept the other issues.”
“There’s more?”
“Yeah, but I’m slowly working through them.” I rest my hand on the counter and lean into it.
Jonah grinds some coffee beans, the shrill of the grinder filling the air. Once he’s done, he goes about brewing a new pot.
“Hunter, I can’t imagine what other secrets you have. But I’m wondering what’s gotten into you.”
I move to the cabinets and get out two mugs. “Dorothy’s worth it to me. I need to take these measures so she sees I’m trying to be better for her. If there’s a chance I can win her back, I’m going to take it.”
“If she’s still at your place when you get back, I’d say you have a chance.”
“I hope she’ll be there. She still doesn’t want to talk with Jamison, and if she goes home, he’s likely to show up on her doorstep.” I place down the cups near the pot as I wait for the coffee to finish brewing.
Jonah rests against the island. “What if you do all this for her and you lose her?”
My throat constricts. “Then I guess it was all for nothing.”
“And if that’s the case, then what? How do you work side by side with her and not let these personal issues affect you?”
What would it be like at work if Dorothy pushes me away?
“Good question, Jonah. I haven’t gotten that far.”
He huffs. “You might want to get there because we have too much riding on this launch. If you two can’t work together and something gets fucked up, I’ll kill you.”
“She’s professional and won’t let her work suffer.”
He nods and crosses his arms. “Yeah, right. And her missed deadlines had nothing to do with the problems between her and her co-workers. Namely, you and Jamison.”
