The name hangs in the air between us.
Damon Blackwell.
I know that name.
Everyone knows that name.
He’s the CEO of…
Oh God.
“You’re…” I can’t even form the words. “You’re Damon Blackwell? As in… Blackwell Entertainment Group?”
“Yes.”
The room tilts. I grip the arm of the sofa to steady myself. “The company I work for.”
“Yes.”
“The j-job.” My voice cracks. “My job. The interview, the offer…”
“I created the position for you,” he says quietly. “The job is real, Marley. The work you’re doing is real. But yes… I made it happen.”
I can’t breathe.
The air has turned to concrete in my lungs.
Oh, my fucking God!
“You… you gave memy job?”
“I wanted you to have something that made you happy. Something that got you away from Derek and that toxic environment—”
“Yougavememy job.” I stand abruptly, though I don’t remember getting up. “Everything I’ve accomplished there, everything I thought I earned—”
“You did earn it!” Nitro, no,Damon,steps toward me, his hands outstretched. “Marley, you’re brilliant. The team loves you. The work you’re producing is exceptional.”
“But I got it because youg-gaveit t-to me!” My voice rises, cracking and breaking apart. “Not because I was qualified. Not because I impressed anyone in an interview. Becauseyouwanted to swoop in and save poor, pathetic Marley, who couldn’t get a job on her own.”
“That’s not what happened.”
“Thenwhat?”I demand. Tears burn at the corners of my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. “What was it, Nitro? Damon? Boss?What the fuckdo I even call you?”
He flinches. “Nitro. I’m still Nitro.”
“Are you?” I laugh, but it’s a bitter, broken sound. “Because I don’t know who the hell you are. I thought I did. I thought I knew you.”
“You do know me.” His voice is a desperate plea. “Marley, everything between us has been real. The way I feel about you—”
“How cananyof it be real when you’ve been lying to me this whole fucking time?” I can’t hold back my tears now as they fall, hot and fast, down my cheeks. “When did you plan to tell me?Ever?Or were you just going to keep playing this role, keep pretending to be some regular guy with an Uber side gig and a heart of gold?”
“I wanted to tell you so many times,” he says, and God, he sounds destroyed. “But I was scared. I was terrified you’d look at me differently. That you’d want me for the money instead of—”
“Instead of what? Instead of loving you for you?” I swipe at my face with the back of my hand. “Do you haveanyidea howinsultingthat is? You didn’t trust me enough to see past your bank account. You didn’t think I was capable of loving you for who you are.”
“I do trust you.”
“No, you don’t!”I shout, and I can’t seem to stop. “If you trusted me, you would have told me. You would have been honest with me instead of building our entire relationship on a foundation of lies.”
