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“A final rebellion?” she scoffed, not even bothering to deal with the rest of the shit he’d just uttered. The last thing she needed was an ulcer, and his audacity was so irritating, it was enough to make her want to shoot back a bottle of Pepto Bismol like it was a chaser.
Before she could say another word, he cut her a look then one at the barman who was, without doubt, listening in. “I think I’d prefer for this conversation to happen somewhere more private, Hannah.”
Because she didn’t exactly want staff listening in either, she conceded with a nod. Sliding off the stool, she reached for her glass and carried it with her. In silence, they crossed the bar and headed back to the reception, where an elevator was waiting for them.
Fortuitous, or a death knell, she didn’t know.
Unease crawled through her yet again, but she owed Mark this much.
Apparently, she’d not done that great a job at breaking up with him before. Although how the words, “This is over. I’m moving three thousand miles away,” could be misconstrued, she really didn’t know. The man still thought they were dating, for crying out loud. Worse, on the brink of marriage! What the hell did she have to do to make him realize the end was more than just nigh, it was already fait accompli?
Silence was their companion as they soared high to the tenth floor, and it continued as they headed down to his room at the end of the hall.
Only when the door was closed behind him did she feel like speaking, but with that door firmly shut, she regretted, more than ever, the need to be in here with him.
Before he could speak, she murmured, “Just a second, Mark.” She grabbed her phone from her small clutch purse. “I need to text Aidan; I just remembered he asked me to run an errand for him today and I forgot.” Though he looked displeased, he just ducked his chin in understanding.
Aidan, James, I’m really sorry to ask, but I’m in the Aviary Hotel downtown. Room 1098. Please could you come get me? It’s kind of urgent. I’m with Mark and I don’t think he’s going to take this conversation lying down.
I really appreciate it.
H x
A sigh of relief washed through her once the group text flickered to ‘delivered’, and she knew she could face this conversation with the knowledge either Aidan or James, or both, would be on their way for her soon.
Damn, why hadn’t she prearranged that before?
She’d have been in a stronger position, but the truth was, she knew James would have done his level best to prevent any kind of conversation going down between her and Mark, period. And though he was creeping her out, Mark deserved closure.
Mark obviously still thought he could manipulate her into going back out with him, and she was about to show him that wasn’t the case.
“I should never have let you leave Florida,” he declared the minute she popped her phone back into her purse.
Her brows rose. “There’s no letting me do anything, Mark. It’s my life, and I can do whatever I want. That’s the joy of being an adult.”
He shook his head. “Your trouble is, Hannah, you don’t know what you want. When you told me you’d quit, I was astonished. Hardly two years after college, you’d managed to create a client list that most execs with ten years on the job would be jealous about. But, rather than ride that gravy train, you jump ship. You’re flighty. I always knew it, and should have gone further to address the issue. It’s to my own detriment I didn’t.”
She scowled at him, not liking his tone. “My partners don’t have to address my issues. I’m not flighty, Mark. I’m trying to find the right path for me. Being a marketing exec isn’t my be all and end all. It isn’t what I want to do.”
“No? So why go freelance? You told me that’s the business you’re starting.”
“Yeah, it is, but I intend to have completely different clients to the ones I was dealing with in the past.” Hayward & White had been directed at the sports and leisure industry. That wasn’t where her heart was, even if her brain was damn good at picking up clients from that particular sector.
“What do you want to deal with?” Mark asked, then scoffed, “Are you going to let nepotism get in your way and ask your brother for help?”
She shrugged. “Yes.” She’d realized that first day back home that they needed someone like her. What they were doing at Arias was incredible. Equal rights should have been a basic part of company infrastructure, yet it wasn’t. She wanted to publicize that fact that if a massive conglomerate like Arias could do it, then so could everyone else. She was only waiting on her business being properly set up before she approached Aidan about it.
Mark gawked at her like he didn’t r
ecognize her, though. Like she was admitting to stealing babies or something. “What the hell? Hannah, it’s like you’ve changed overnight.”
Her phone buzzed. Mark’s eyes darkened and she didn’t dare answer the cell. It was either Adian or James, maybe telling her they were outside and waiting or that they couldn’t make it. She’d been pretty shitty by dumping them in this at the last minute. But she guessed, inadvertently, it was a way of measuring how much she meant to James. Not that she’d set this craziness up for that, but hell, a woman had to use every situation to her advantage when it came to men like James Arias.
“I didn’t change quickly enough for you, Mark, that’s all this is,” she retorted, finding strength in the fact she could and had butted heads with James many times. If she could do that, then she could do anything. “You wanted me to be a certain way, and I can never conform to that.” She shrugged, then felt relief flood her when her cell stopped ringing. “That’s on you, not on me.”
Mark stalked toward her, his eyes flashing. “This isn’t how it was supposed to be, Hannah.”
“No? How was it supposed to be, Mark? Me, your perfect kind of Stepford wife?” She shook her head. “That was never me. If you couldn’t see that, or read it in me, then you don’t know me. You never did. And you never had me if you failed to see how I really am.”
