“What?”
“You kept so much from me that I have a hard time trying to figure out what parts of you are real.”
“You can’t be serious. I didn’tlieto you.”
“You kept things from me—important things. You interfered with my job and pretended that you didn’t know anything about it. What kind of sick person does something like that?”
His head reared back as if she’d slapped him with every ounce of strength she’d possessed. “Jane?—”
“No. I’m done talking. You’ve said your piece. You might have been genuinely impressed by my job with the first gala, and I can accept that you wanted to give me a better opportunity, but keeping that from me—keeping the fact that you were basically my boss—that isn’t something that sits well with me. I can’treally blame you for keeping your wealth from me because that’s private and should only be shared on your terms. But since you knew how I felt about that sort of thing, I’m hurt that you chose to hide it for so long.”
He watched her strong exterior crumble as the façade wore away and revealed the pain in her eyes and the way she viewed herself. Her shoulders sagged, and as she took in a shuddering breath, he knew that everything was about to change forever.
Before he could let her break things off with him, he took one step toward her and snatched her hands in his. “Whatever you’re going to say next…” Noah searched her eyes desperately. “Please consider everything I’ve said—everything you mean to me. Try to see things from my side?—”
“Noah,” she said, her voice breaking. “I think you should go.”
Go? He couldn’t do that. Not when everything he ever cared about hung in the balance. He’d give away his charity—pour every penny of his wealth into it—and shove it into the hands of someone else if it meant he could have Jane’s heart again. “I can’t?—”
“You have to. I…” Her brows pulled together tight, a deep crease forming between them. “I have a lot I need to think about. I need time.” With that, she pulled her hands free of his grasp. “You need to give me time, Noah.”
He couldn’t decide if he was more broken or more relieved over her words. On the one hand, she hadn’t officially broken things off with him. But on the other, she was pushing him away and asking him to do something that he wasn’t sure he’d ever be capable of doing.
Could he walk away from her tonight, knowing there was a chance this would be the last time he could touch her?
Noah didn’t know if he had the strength.
Jane stepped backward and reached for the door handle before pulling it open. “Noah… please,” she whispered.
He hesitated, his feet feeling like they weighed a ton each. Then with a heavy breath, he nodded. Stopping in the doorway, he tossed her one final glance. “I love you, Jane.” With that, he slipped out of her apartment, hearing the door click behind him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Jane staredat the building she’d grown to love so much, unable to bring herself to walk through those front doors. The people inside were likely fully aware that Noah was in fact the man who ran everything. They’d seen him around. He was a local celebrity now.
She could already imagine hearing everyone talk about how he’d been right under their noses this whole time. And the fact that they’d seen her here with him would only make them look at her differently.
Would she be getting some unwanted attention from the people she worked with? How many of them would assume that he’d given her the promotion? There were probably a few who wouldn’t have even noticed that Noah’s arrival happened at the same time that Cassidy left. But she was sure there were more than that who would connect the dots, and she wasn’t looking forward to having to deal with the fallout.
Maybe she should’ve called in sick. At least then everything would have a chance to settle before she showed her face.
Jane closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She already knew she couldn’t do that. She couldn’t just ignore her responsibilities and the new set of problems Noah’s revelation had created. If there were people who wanted to call into question the reason for her promotion, then that would be something that Noah would have to take up with HR. It didn’t stop the fact that her heart rate was higher than it should be and that her body seemed incapable of relaxing.
Every muscle in her body ached. Every nerve felt like it had been stimulated beyond reason. She might as well walk through those doors with her head held high and just get it over with.
Jane nodded to herself and headed for the entrance. The second she crossed the threshold, she felt ridiculous. There were no crowds of people demanding for her to explain herself. No one in the immediate vicinity seemed to even notice that she’d entered the building.
She offered the receptionist a small smile and headed for the elevator so she could head for her office when two women approached her.
“The party last night was a big hit. Congratulations are in order.” The first one, Kristi, spoke brightly. “We’ve been hearing all sorts of good things. You pulled it off.”
Jane blinked with surprise. No one was talking about Noah or the fact that he was a local. Neither one of these women even brought up the fact that she was dating him.
Was she?
Jane shook off the thought the second it appeared. She wasn’t about to make a firm decision on whether or not she wanted to continue dating Noah. Prioritizing her problems was the mostimportant thing to focus on, and her job was at the top of her list, as much as that hurt. The only balm to her wounded soul was the fact that Kristi was giving her recognition for how the party turned out.
“Thank you,” Jane murmured.
