“Lily, like I said, I never intended for you to get dragged into this.”
Okay, I knew he wasn’t alone in the blame, but I had to say this. I had to confront him with his part in all this, because things were going to get very bumpy and I needed to know if I could really trust him.
“You knew the book was coming,” I said.
“Yes. But Nancy had already written it. I had no idea she’d approach you when she had all the ammo she needs to wage her little war.”
I looked down at my feet, panting with livid anger. “Well, I guess you were wrong.”
“Lily.” He approached and gripped my shoulders. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am. But I’m the injured party here. And so are you.”
“That doesn’t fix anything.”
“I know. And neither does having surgery.” Why was he changing the subject back to me?
“That’s not your choice, Mr. Cole. And you’re not the one who will have to go through the rest of life being known as that fucking ugly woman Maxwell Cole hired just for his ‘therapy.’”
“Fuck them. There’s nothing wrong with you, Lily.”
I scoffed. “Says the man who can’t even look at my face.”
He looked up at the ceiling. “There’s nothing wrong with you,” he said, with a frustrated irate tone. “The problem is me. Me, Lily.” He looked at my face, trying his best to hold his gaze there. “I think by now, you would’ve come to realize that.”
“We made a deal. I want the surgery. I don’t want to talk about it.”
He blew out a breath. “Fine. I’ll make the arrangements, but you can’t have the surgery until after the book comes out.”
“What? Why?”
“Because everyone will think you were trying to cover something up or, worse, that I made you do it for a twisted reason.”
So he was afraid it would make him look bad. “So all you care about is yourself.”
He shook his head. “I’m looking after you, Lily. I don’t want this to be any worse than it already is. Let the book come out. I’ll refute it with an army of publicists, experts in the field, lawyers—I’m prepared for this, I promise. Then you can quietly go have your surgery. You can tell anyone who asks that you did it for your own reasons. Besides, you just started working at C.C. If you take time away now, it will look bad with the clients.”
“That doesn’t matter, Max—I mean, Mr. Cole.”
He grabbed my hand, and it was warm and soothing on my skin. “You can call me Max,” he said with a tone that made it sound like I was being ridiculous for maintaining the formality between us.
I looked up at him, knowing he was right. I was being ridiculous. Using his last name wasn’t going to insulate me from getting hurt. Not anymore.
I took a quick breath, crossing over that invisible threshold. “Max, I told you I want out. I can’t stay at C.C. and face the people who work there or the clients. I can’t do anything but get surgery, move back to California, and find a way to move on with my life quietly. After I’ve filed for bankruptcy because my student loans will eat me alive. But if I’m lucky, people will forget about me in a few years.”
“So you’re giving up. You’re going to run away.”
“You left me no choice, Max,” I spat his name. Truthfully, he should’ve been honest with me from the beginning. Knowing about that book would’ve changed everything.
“I left you the choice to trust that I know what I’m doing and that I would not hurt you, Lily.”
“I want the surgery. I’m doing it now. And I’m leaving C.C. This is what’s best for me. Not you, but me.”
Frustrated, he shook his head. “No.”
“What?”
“No. I’m not letting you throw it all away, Lily.”
“Seriously? You’re going to tell me how I should deal with this mess you’ve left me with?” How dare he.
“Yes. Because you’re making a mistake. And you do have backbone. You can stand up to anything anyone throws at you, Lily. And you have a promising career ahead of you. This issue will blow over, people will move on, and they’ll see what I see in you after you give them a chance.”
“What do you see in me?”
He cupped my cheek and stared into my eyes. “A very intelligent, feisty, beautiful woman, whose only mistake was getting involved with me.” He bent his head and gave me a soft kiss.
I blinked at him, completely shocked, my body going tingly and nearly limp from the feel of his lips. “Why did you do that?”
There was a knock on the door. “Max, you in there?” It was Adeline. “We’re already running late and the limo is waiting.”
“Your girlfriend is waiting,” I said bitterly.
“She’s not my girlfriend, and she decided to surprise me by showing up here, instead of at the venue.”
Frowning, I gave him a “whatever” shrug.
He gave me a look, walked over to the door and opened it. Adeline instantly noted me standing there.
“Who’s she?” Adeline asked.
Of course, Adeline wouldn’t remember me.
“Lily,” he replied. “A very close friend. And I’m afraid I won’t be joining you tonight because something important has come up.”
Adeline’s jaw dropped. “You can’t make me go alone. What will the press say?”
He shrugged. “Tell them that Maxwell Cole stood you up.”
“Nobody stands me up.” She rolled her eyes.
“Then tell them anything you like, but I’m afraid I’ve got to stay here with Lily to work out a few things.”
“What could possibly be so important that you’d flake on me for…” Her disgusted gaze completed the sentence.
“That’s between Lily and me, but if you really want to know,” he leaned down a little, “I’m hoping to convince her to be more than friends.”
Adeline looked like she was about to implode with shock. “But…but…”
“Let me walk you out,” he said.
As for me, I stood there trying to make sense of his words. What the hell?
He left the room, and I sat down in a leather armchair wedged into the corner near his bookshelf. Wait. This couldn’t be right.
“Adeline is gone. And I sent my maid home.” Max stood in the doorway, still in that beautiful tux, his freshly shaved face looking like he’d never been more serious in his life.
I stared at him. Speechless.
“Say something,” he demanded.
“I can’t.”
“It’s fairly simple. It’s either yes or no.”
“What about my…”
“You have no idea how much I like you, Lily. Do you?”
“No.”
But…my face and my…well, face.
“I knew the moment you walked into my office there was something different about you.”
“So why didn’t you say anything sooner?” I asked.
“I’d planned to, but you ran me out of your hotel room in Milan. What was I to think?”
Made sense, I supposed. “But you and I…we can’t work.”
He shook his head. “So you mean, simply because I have this issue I’m not in control of, you wouldn’t consider me.”
“Don’t put it like that—it doesn’t make any sense.” It really didn’t. He was my boss. He had issues. There was a huge shit storm of scandal coming our way, too.
He stepped closer, reached down to grab my hand, and yanked me up. “You honestly can’t see how hard I’m trying to fix myself? And did it ever occur to you that you’re the only reason it’s working this time?”
He pulled my body against him, and as much as I wanted to push him away, I really couldn’t. He felt too…too…perfect. Every nerve ending lit up with pulses, especially between my legs.
“Give me a few weeks, Lily. I’m close to breaking through this. I can feel it.”
I wanted to. I did, but it felt like he was asking me to walk through a minefield with him, and frankly, my mind couldn’t accept he really wanted me.
He went on, “I’ll work through this issue with the press, and the fact you’re my employee. The only thing you need to do is trust me and give me a chance. What do you have to lose?”