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“We met and we had that connection all on our own,” Lyle continues. His eyes are boring into me and I try to avoid his gaze. But it’s impossible. “The next day, I was thrilled you gave me your number. I went into work and sent one of my employees down to meet the representative of Tech Square Inc.”
“And…?” I ask, cautiously intrigued.
“I was a little thrown off about being left out of the proceedings, even though that was my decision,” Lyle admits with a rueful laugh. “So I went downstairs to see what was happening. And I saw you in the boardroom.”
I try to imagine the scenario. A reluctant smile twitches at my lips.
“That’s…crazy,” I can’t help but laugh.
“It was a little,” Lyle admits. “Then you sent me a message back, asking me to meet up for lunch. I was actually worried you were using me, you know. But then we met for lunch, and I knew you weren’t. I should have told you right then who I was.”
“Why didn’t you?” I ask.
“I wanted to keep dating you,” Lyle confesses. “I was afraid that, if you knew who I was, you wouldn’t want to date me.”
I stare at him, trying to process what he’s saying.
“So…you put me through all that…because you were a coward?” I ask.
Lyle winces.
“More or less,” he coughs.
I can’t believe it. I knew, deep down, that Lyle’s motivations weren’t malicious. But, still, I can’t believe that it was over this.
“You…you just assumed that I would react badly?” I ask, my voice rising. “Are you kidding? How selfish is that? Didn’t it occur to you to talk to me about it?”
“It did,” Lyle says with a wry smile. “I just kept coming up with some very good reasons why that wouldn’t be a very good idea.”
“Holy shit,” I say.
I get to my feet and start to pace. How is this my life? I get together with a goddamn billionaire who lied to me so that I wouldn’t dump him, which ended in me dumping him anyway. Meanwhile, I’m still hiding the fact that I’m carrying his baby, a secret that I was keeping more out of spite than anything right now.
“This is…unbelievable,” I say, shaking my head.
I can feel my temperature rising. I’m angry and sad and really fucking happy, all at once, and it’s making my head spin.
“I’m sorry,” Lyle offers.
“Sorry?” I echo. “No, you don’t get to be sorry, you fucking coward. I dumped you because I thought you were just using me to further this fucking alliance! I almost went to my father and told him I couldn’t do it! Do you know how that would have looked? He would have crowed about it for years! And forget about getting chosen as his successor… He already doesn’t want me to succeed, so failing at the one responsibility he decided to give me would give him more than enough reason to keep me from taking over!”
Lyle blinks. I’m rambling, but I can’t seem to stop myself, the words spilling over my lips without abandon.
“And, on top of all that, I’m still fucking sick every morning, and everyone seems to know it,” I say, throwing my hands in the air in exasperation. “I’m tired all the time, I can’t focus on work, I’m snapping at everyone…and it’s all your fucking fault!”
I’m talking about the baby here, not about his lies, but I’m not about to correct the misconception at this moment, not when I’ve gotten up good momentum. Obviously I needed to let off some steam, and Lyle is just standing there and listening quietly as I talk.
“Meanwhile, my mom is on my case,” I snort. “‘Talk to Lyle,’ she says, tell him what you decide. Talk to him. Well, I did! I broke up with you! Remember that?”
“Hard to forget,” Lyle says.
I shoot him a suspicious glare. He looks like he’s fighting a laugh. He better not dare be thinking about laughing right now!
“Are you finding this amusing?” I demand.
“Not at all,” he says.
But his glittering eyes say it all. I try to imagine what he’s seeing. Here I am, pacing his office and ranting insanely, my hands waving in the air, rambling about topics that have very little to do with what he brought me up here to talk about.
