Page 51 of Fighting Mr. Knight

“Come again?” I ask in a strangled voice.

“Recently, I’ve been spending time with someone.”

“Danielle.” I quiver. “I know this.”

He blinks. “What? No. No, not Danielle. We were just messaging, I never met her. That was a mistake.”

“Pretty intimate messaging if you are talking about your dick.” I scowl.

His jaw ticks. “It was a private message you weren’t supposed to see. I learned my lesson.” He pauses to adjust his cufflinks. “It’s Olivia.”

“Olivia?” I repeat slowly as if I’m trying to learn the English language. “Okay. Who is she?”

His frown deepens. “Olivia. In our admin team.”

“From the office?” I freeze. “The admin at Bradshaw?” I add because he must be talking about another admin in another office.

He looks at me wearily.

“Are you fucking joking?” I choke out. “You hooked up with someone from theoffice, Max?”

This is a joke. Sometimes Max’s humour is off.

“You’re joking.” My voice cracks.

“No,” he says firmly. “Bonnie, I—”

“Could you not have looked farther than across the boardroom to find happiness?” I cut him off in a high-pitched squeak.

I think of all the meetings I’ve sat through with Olivia and Max and feel sick. With her blonde hair and fair complexion, she could be Danielle and my younger sister. “God, you’re so predictable, Max.”

Silence.

“As I said, we’re spending time getting to know each other.”

“Stop talking in riddles. Sex. You’re having sex with her.”

“Calm down, Bonnie,” he says through gritted teeth. “People are listening.”

“Calm down? This is bloody disrespectful, Max! You don’t do this to someone you were engaged to. Could you not have picked one of the other millions of people in London? Not someone I see every day.” I search his face for some sort of emotion. “Can you not see how insensitive this is? Giving me a front-row ticket to your new romance?”

“We both need to move on, Bonnie.”

My arms flap like an agitated wasp. “This isn’t moving on! This is rubbing it in my face.”

“Well, that’s not my intention.”

Looking at him, I believe him. He hasn’t given me a second thought. Bradshaw Brown is a convenient hunting ground, and he just replaced me in a matter-of-fact way.

I should quit. I should quit on the spot. But who would that harm?

Me.Not Max.

“These things aren’t planned. Olivia and I want to do everything possible to make sure you feel comfortable.”

How dare he.

I laugh. A demonic laugh. “What do you expect us to do? Should the three of us skip around the office holding hands like theTeletubbies?”

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