Tiffany cooed to an irritated-looking Dylan, and I made my way toward them and took her gently from Tiffany’s arms.
“I’ve got her.” I kissed Dylan’s forehead and hugged her close. “You know, while I appreciate you looking out for me, I think the way you handled that with Addison was inappropriate. You overstepped, Tiffany.”
She had the grace to look chagrined as she nodded, her cheeks flushed. “Sorry, boss. I was only trying to help.”
She said the right words, but as I looked harder, I couldn’t help but wonder if she wasn’t sorry at all. In fact, her eyes still gleamed with triumph.
Once I figured out how to untangle this mess with Addison, I was going to have to decide how to handle Tiffany. Between what she had done today and how she’d neglected to mention her visit with Addison earlier in the month, I was starting to feel like her feelings for me were getting in the way of her being able to work for me any longer.
Tiffany left my office and I closed the door behind her, groaning.
Everything had been peachy not twenty minutes before, and now everything was fucked. I wasn’t sure who I could trust anymore. I had this perfect tiny little person counting on me to surround us both with people who could be counted on, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I was failing her miserably.
I blew out a sigh and rested my forehead to Dylan’s.
What the fuck was I supposed to do now?
Chapter Twenty-Two
Addison
I stood in front of the bathroom mirror staring at my reflection, wondering how things had turned to shit so fast.
“It’s your own fault,” I muttered accusingly to the devastated person looking back at me through tear-blurred eyes.
As much as the whole coordinated attack in Max’s office hurt, he was right. I had lied to him the day we met, and by not coming clean over the past month, I’d in effect lied to him every day since. But, damn him, he’d broken my heart today.
I could still picture the cold anger on his face as he told me to leave. Could still see the faint grin stretching Tiffany’s lips.
“What a bitch.”
There was no question I’d brought this on myself, but she’d made it a million times worse. And what made it even worse than that? The fact that I’d actually gone to Max’s office today to tell him the truth and admit that I was madly in love with him.
Fresh tears slipped down my face as I turned away from the mirror and continued stuffing my toiletries into my suitcase.
I thought it had hurt when Greg and I had broken up, but compared to how I was feeling right now, facing the rest of my life without Max? That was like a paper cut. Now my heart felt like it had been stomped on by a herd of buffalo, and there wasn’t shit I could do about it.
“Hey.”
Max’s voice jarred me from my thoughts, and I let out a gasp.
“I didn’t hear you come in. Sorry, I’ll be out of your way in a few minutes.”
He glanced at the suitcase that was already stuffed with clothes, and his mouth settled into a grim line. “So you’re leaving?”
I froze, staring at him like he’d lost his mind. “Of course. You and Devil Wears Prada basically fired me back there. What else would I be doing?”
I wanted to throw myself at his feet and beg him to forgive me. To tell him that I never meant to deceive him. I’d been in a desperate place and knew I was capable of taking care of Dylan, but what was the point? He’d already proven back at the office that he didn’t want to hear my excuses.
“I can’t imagine this house without you anymore,” he said simply. “And Dylan would be lost without you.”
I refused to let those words give me even a glimmer of hope. The fact that his daughter loved me didn’t change anything. “I wanted to talk to you about that. I know this is weird, but I’d like to be able to still spend time with Dylan once I leave. Maybe not right away, but in a few weeks, once a little time has passed.” And I can stop crying for more than three consecutive minutes. “I’d like to be able to come take her to the park or something. I realize you probably don’t trust me anymore, but at least think about it. She’s lost enough, Max.”
His eyes looked wild as he stepped closer and took my hands, using them to lead me out of the bathroom and into my bedroom.
“I can’t concentrate on anything watching you pack that suitcase,” he admitted with a low growl. “It’s making me want to puke. And I also don’t want you to come and take Dylan to the park once in a while.”
I should have expected that, but it still felt like another blow to the solar plexus. “Please, Max . . .”