The answer, of course, was easy to figure out. Luke’s anger and hurt had been truly terrifying, and Mikey had been so desperate to fix the situation, or at least to get Luke to see his side of it, that he’d said whatever his frantic mind thought might make for a good excuse. The fact all of his rambling had had the opposite of the desired effect was bleakly ironic, as was the fact he couldn’t even remember doing the things he’d just told Luke he’d done.
He was thus led to an even more urgent question: why had he been so willing to take Damian’s word for what happened?
As he made his way through the lobby and got into the elevator, the scales fell from his eyes, and he finally saw the truth about Damian.
And I know he’s the one who put Gina LaBun on the scent for this new story,he thought.Which just gives me more reasons to be pissed off.
By the time the elevator got to his floor he was more determined than ever to get rid of Damian once and for all. When he got to his room, though, he hesitated. It was one thing to storm through the halls of the hotel. It was quite another to actually confront the person who’d been so key to his career success. Moreover, he had no idea yet what he was going to say, and he briefly thought about just not saying anything at all, at least not until he’d had a chance to cool down a bit.
Then the memory of the hurt on Luke’s face flashed through his mind, and he realized all of it was Damian’s fault.
He knocked on the door and, when Damian opened it, he swept in, counting on his anger to see him through. Damian, to his credit, at least looked like he knew why Mikey was there and wasn’t going to fight him about it.
This fucking guy,he thought.He always acts like he knows everything. Well, he’s not going to know what hit him.
“So,” he said as soon as he was inside the room, “are you going to tell me the truth about how Gina LaBun’s producer found out about our conversation, or are you going to continue lying and pretend you had nothing to do with it?”
Damian shrugged.
“I don’t know what you want me to say, Mikey,” he said. “Something had to be done, before you started to throw your life away on Luke Carter again. I did what I had to do to keep your career afloat, just like I always do. It was bad enough the first time you did this shit, and you’re just lucky I was there to save you last time, too.”
At first it didn’t compute, and then when it did, Mikey had to physically keep himself from punching Damian right in the face. For his part, Damian looked shocked at the words that had justcome out of his own mouth. He clearly couldn’t believe he’d just admitted his wrongdoing.
I guess your arrogance finally tripped you up, you little shit,Mikey thought vengefully.
“You did all of this,” he said at last. “You’re the one who told the reporter where to find Luke. But how did you…? No, never mind, I don’t want to know any more about your bullshit than I already do. It’s bad enough I’ve put up with you all these years. I’m not going to be a part of this any more. You’re fired.”
Mikey felt so many things he wasn’t quite sure how to even begin sorting them out: anger, sadness, and disappointment all jostled for attention. His palms were sweating and his heart was trying to claw its way up his throat.
The next minute, though, another feeling took over: relief. He was relieved he hadn’t been the one to ruin Luke’s life.
Thank God,he thought.
And then the full enormity of what he’d done hit him, and he realized he was now free of Damian. He almost couldn’t believe it.
It was clear Damian couldn’t believe it either, because he just stood there staring at Mikey with his mouth open, looking like a fish on dry land. Mikey actually felt a savage sort of pleasure at seeing Damian put on the back foot for once, especially considering he was usually so in control of everything.
Take that,he thought.
“You don’t mean that,” Damian said at last, hands tightening to fists at his sides. “You can’t mean that.”
It was almost pitiful, really, seeing him be so vulnerable. If Mikey didn’t know just what he was capable of, he would’ve actually felt sorry for him.
“I do mean it,” he said. “I’ll pay for you to get on the first flight to California, but I want you out of here.”
“You know,” Damian hissed, “all of the NDAs in the world aren’t going to be able to protect you.”
Mikey just laughed, even though he was a little afraid of just what Damian might do, now he was really mad. At the same time, he was also buoyed up by a new confidence. It was almost like being high, or like being at the top of a ferris wheel and looking down at the world below. He was determined to hold onto the feeling as long as possible.
Strangely enough, the fact that he was willing to have a showdown with Damian seemed to be the last thing Damian himself expected and, as Mikey stood there staring at him and not breaking his gaze, he actually seemed to deflate, all of his bravado fading away.
That’s about what I figured,he thought.He’s not nearly as tough as he wants everyone to believe. Why did I let myself stay under his thumb for so long?
“I’m…I’m sorry,” Damian managed to say at last, and this was somehow even more surprising than anything else.
“I’m sure you are,” Mikey said, shocked at how cold his voice sounded. “But it’s too little, too late. I meant what I said. We’re done. I’m not going to forgive you. Just tell me…why?”
Damian actually dared to smirk. “Honestly? Because it had to be done. I did what I had to do to save your career, and you’re too cock blind to see it. Well, if you want to ruin your life with a nobody hick like Luke Carter, then be my guest.”
