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My employees would keep chugging along.
Scarlett would mourn.
The members would somehow be reassured that their information was safe, and Lush would operate like I never even existed.
I was dispensable.
Yes … it was that easy.
I paused several feet in front of him.
And every ounce of emotion came bubbling up to my mouth. I was a pot full of steam that needed to be released. Wave after wave of anger caused my hands to clench.
But there was more.
My emotions were rising to the highest peak and crashing to the lowest point.
And with each plunge and spike, my eyes filled.
Dripped.
And refilled again.
“You did this.” I swatted away the tears so I could glare even harder at him. “You gave them the in. You put them inside my business. You led them straight to me. I’m in this situation, all because of you. And you’re standing in my apartment right now, looking at me like I’m just supposed to forgive you. Like I don’t resent you with every ounce of my fucking being.”
He took a step forward. “Pepper—”
“Don’t come near me. Stay there. Don’t you dare move.”
His hands went up in the air, but he didn’t back up. He stayed put and said, “As wrong as it is, this is my job. It’s what I do every day—and what I’ve done for years. That’s the guilt I have to live with. That’s what I have to stomach when I go to sleep at night.”
I wasn’t sure how he was so close again, but he was, and his hand was gently clasping my waist.
“But the thing that I never do, Pepper, is return to a job. I never come back and warn the mark. I never give them an out, a way to get away and start fresh and not worry.”
I laughed.
I laughed so hard that I hiccuped. “You think I would go anywhere with you after what you just told me? That you’re the sole reason I’m about to lose everything? Including MY LIFE?”
As my voice rose to a screaming pitch, I felt the bile start to rise.
I felt my heart stop beating.
I felt my lungs empty out all the air they had been holding.
My life.
Oh God.
Is that what we’re really talking about?
Is it really at risk?
He isn’t exaggerating?
Embellishing?
Using every tactic to scare me?
