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It was vague, but I didn’t know what else to say.
I pressed send, forced myself upright, and headed to my bedroom. I couldn’t do shit to fix what had happened.
But I felt dirty.
Dirty from the thousands of people who’d looked at those pictures.
Dirty because somebody had snapped such a picture.
Dirty because I’d damaged a bond so precious to me.
I made my way to the bathroom and stripped to the skin, then climbed inside the shower.
The water didn’t get hot enough to wash away the stain, but I sure as hell tried, blasting it to as high a temperature as I could stand and scouring my sensitive skin with a loofah until it felt like I’d peeled the top layer off.
After that, I collapsed into a corner, letting the water wash over me until the heat gave out and the spray felt like ice on my skin.
Only after shivering did I climb out.
I still felt dirty and exposed.
* * *
Sitting in my bed,I rubbed at my face and stared off into the distance.
I had to do something—everything was spiraling out of my control.
Only one thing came to mind.
Since Maximus couldn’t even take a minute or two to respond, it made sense.
I tapped ‘new message’ on my phone.
Maximus, I’ve thought about the situation, and I feel the best thing to do would be to minimize our interactions until people forget about this matter.
I’m withdrawing from the hotel project.
For the foreseeable future, you and I should keep our distance.
Twenty-Two
Maximus
A vicious headachepounded as I ended the call with Gianni. Over the past hour and a half, I’d been on the phone with her, then my lawyer, then Gianni pretty much nonstop, while messages and notifications lit up my phone.
Until I had finished my calls, I ignored them. First, I needed a plan. I hoped that Tina hadn’t seen any of this shit, but I was a realist and knew she probably had.
However, now, after skimming her messages, I realized I should have contacted her before the lawyer.
She wanted distance.
Fuck that.
We had something intense burning between us and the idea that she would let this come between us?
Hell no.
My frustrations only got worse on the drive over. Sitting in my car in her driveway, I took several deep breaths. The only way to handle this was through calm, rational logic.