Page 153 of His Good Girl

“No. But I put you in that position.”

Her hand dropped. She turned back to face me. “I put myself there too.”

“Avery—”

“No.” Her voice shook, but her chin lifted. “Do not do that thing where you take all the blame because you’re older and richer and broader in the shoulders.”

I swallowed hard.

“I’m withdrawing from Hartwell,” I said.

The silence that followed was absolute.

Avery stared at me. “What?”

“I’ll exercise the withdrawal provision.”

“Because of the photos?”

“Because of you.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”

“It means I choose you.”

For one foolish second, I expected to see relief on her face, but I should have known better. In that moment, Avery looked at me like I had just insulted her.

“What do you mean, you choose me?” she asked.

“I won’t let them expose you.”

“They can expose me either way.”

“If I withdraw, they won’t.”

“You believe them?”

“No. But it buys us?—”

“It buys them proof that I’m leverage they can use against you.” She crossed the room toward me, anger bringing color back into her face. “Callum,think. You will have me either way. Either you give up Hartwell and they own you forever, or you fight and risk the contract when this comes out. But in both versions, I’m still here.”

“You say that now.”

“I mean it now. I will mean it equally as much later. No matter what.”

“If the photos go public?—”

“Then I will be humiliated,” she said. “I will cry. People will say disgusting things. People will say I fucked my way into my job. People will say you groomed me, or I used you, or both, depending on which lie sells better.”

Each sentence hit harder than the last because she was right.

“And I will hate it,” she continued. “I will hate every second. But I will hate it more if you hand them Hartwell and call it protecting me.”

“It is protecting you.”

“No. It’s making me the reason you surrendered.”

I went still.