Page 69 of Just a Little Tempted

I thought about showing up at her apartment with flowers. Immediately dismissed it as inadequate. Flowers couldn’t undo the things I’d said. Flowers couldn’t heal the wounds I’d inflicted.

I thought about calling her, but what would I even say?I’m sorry I accused you of corporate espionage because I have trust issues? It sounded pathetic even in my own head.

The truth was, I didn’t know how to do this. I’d spent my entire adult life building walls, maintaining control, keeping people at a careful distance. I had no framework for vulnerability. No experience with the kind of raw, honest apology that Raina deserved.

But I knew I had to try. Because the alternative—a future without her light, without her warmth, without the way she made me feel like I could be more than the sum of my fears—was unbearable. I just needed to figure outhow.

The door to my office slammed open with enough force to crack against the wall. I looked up, startled, as Kurt stormed in. I’d known him for over a decade, through the rise and fall of our athletic wear company, through Chuck’s betrayal, through all the years of rebuilding that followed. I’d seen him angry before.

I’d never seen him like this.

His face was flushed, his jaw set in a hard line, his eyes blazing with a fury that was aimed directly at me. He crossed the room in quick, aggressive strides and stopped at my desk, close enough that I could see the muscle ticking in his cheek.

I didn’t need to ask why he was here.

Slowly, I set down the pen I’d been holding and rose to my feet. Kurt was one of my closest friends, but he looked seconds away from throwing a punch. I couldn’t blame him. If someone had treated my sister the way I’d treated Raina, I’d want to do worse.

“Where the hell do you get off treating my sister like that?” he asked furiously. Kurt jabbed a finger toward my face, leaning over the desk. “I asked you to hire her because I trusted you. I thought you were a good man.”

The accusation cut deep—deeper than he probably knew. Because he was right. Iwasn’tbeing a good man. Not yesterday. Not when it mattered most.

“You know,” Kurt continued, his voice lowering to something almost more dangerous than his earlier fury, “I was willing to accept that you were dating my sister. Even though you’ve never been serious about anyone, even though workplace relationships are complicated, even though I had every reason to worry about how it might end.” He shook his head, disgust written across his features. “Raina seemed genuinely happy with you. So I told myself it would be okay. I thought you actually cared about her.”

I did. I do.But the words felt hollow even in my own mind.

“This wasn’t about our relationship,” I said, knowing how weak it sounded.

Kurt’s laugh was sharp and humorless. “You think you can separate the two? You think you can treat her like a failure at her job, accuse her of sabotage, question her character—and then go back to dating her like nothing happened?” He held my gaze, unflinching. “You’re smarter than that, Simon. You know exactly what you did. You didn’t just fire an assistant. You broke her goddamn heart.”

The words landed like a physical blow. Because he was right. The moment Raina saidI quit, I’d known she wasn’t just talking about her job. She was ending everything. Our professional relationship, our personal one, any future we might have built together.

And I’d given her every reason to.

“Do you even want to know what actuallyhappenedyesterday?”

My throat tightened. Some part of me already knew that whatever Kurt was about to say would gut me completely.

He didn’t wait for an answer.

“Hazel called Raina yesterday morning. She was worried about Miles. He’d been feeling sick since the game, and she couldn’t reach him. So Raina drove over to check on him.” Kurt’s voice was tight, controlled, each word deliberate. “She found him disoriented. Confused. One pupil blown wide and not responding to light. She recognized the signs of a serious head injury and got him to the hospital.”

My stomach dropped.

“She dropped her phone and it shattered when Miles stumbled. She had no way to contact you, no way to explain. And she stayed with him forhours, waiting for test results, waiting to find out if her brother was going to be okay.”

I closed my eyes, the full picture finally coming into focus. Raina at the hospital, terrified for her brother, desperately wanting to be in two places at once. Watching the clock tick past the meeting time with no way to let me know.

“The doctors found a grade two concussion,” Kurt continued. “He’s going to be fine, but he’ll be in the hospital for observation. And thesecondRaina got that news, she rushed to your meeting. She left her injured brother to come explain, to apologize for something that wasn’t even her goddamn fault.”

And I didn’t let her.

“She found you in that parking lot, and instead of asking if she was okay, instead of showing even basic human concern, you accused her of working for Chuck.” Kurt’s voice cracked with anger. “You fuckingdestroyedher, Simon.”

Each word hit like a hammer, driving home the full scope of my failure. Raina hadn’t let me down. She’d been dealing with a family emergency, doing exactly what anyone with a heart would do, and I’d punished her for it.

I’d let my fears—my ancient, festering fears about betrayal and trust—convince me that the woman I cared about was my enemy.

“She didn’t tell me about Miles,” I managed, my voice rough.