Page 38 of The CEO I Hate (The Lockhart Brothers #1)

LIAM

I kept myself as controlled as I could while we walked down the hall, all too aware of staff milling around who might see us. But inside, I was a volcano about to erupt. I could only hope I could get the two of us behind a closed door before my top blew.

Finally, we reached my office. I opened the door, and Mia slipped past me to step inside. I turned to Carl, seated behind his desk, phone held between his hands. “I don’t want to be disturbed unless the studio is burning down, got it?”

He nodded once. “Understood.”

I marched into my office and closed the door. Then, at last, I turned to Mia.

“What the hell was that?” I demanded.

She looked surprised for a moment, then she frowned. “So much for thinking you’d brought me in here to comfort me, huh?”

“Don’t change the subject.” I clenched my teeth, anger bubbling up inside me.

I couldn’t help it. The image of Damien’s smug, predatory smile was there before my eyes every time I blinked, like it was burned into my brain.

“I’d be shocked if this was the first time that piece of shit got out of line. How long has he been acting like that?”

She rolled her eyes. “Since day one.”

“And were you ever going to tell me?”

Mia blinked at me, stung. “Really? That’s what we’re doing? You’re going to blame this on me?”

“I’m blaming it on him ,” I insisted. “But if you’d told me what was going on, I could have gotten rid of him that much sooner. Why would you keep that to yourself? Mia, he could have hurt you. He could have—” I trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

Fuck!

Anger and bile and rage boiled in my gut at just the thought of what he might have done. I felt sick.

“I’m well aware of what could have happened,” Mia snapped.

“Then why didn’t you say anything?” I seethed. I wanted to take her by the arms, to shake some sense into her, to demand answers as to why she hadn’t turned to me for help. “Why didn’t you tell me you were being harassed by that jackass?”

“Why are you yelling at me?” she shot back.

“Because I don’t fucking understand why you’d rather be alone in a room with that man than tell me what was going on.” The words came out furious and sharp. “If you’d told me you were having a problem, I could have fixed it.”

Mia sneered at me. “That’s such a typical guy thing to say. I wasn’t the one with the problem. He was the one who didn’t know how to act like a fucking professional. I didn’t choose to be harassed, Liam! ”

“That’s not what I meant,” I said, rubbing at my face.

“You’re sure?” she said, spitting the words.

“Obviously I know you didn’t choose it. But I still should have been told what was going on.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I had it under control. Yeah, he’s a creep, but he’s not exactly the first guy in this town to make a crude pass at me.”

That didn’t make me feel any better. “Well, it shouldn’t be happening here, in my studio.”

“And that’s exactly why I didn’t tell you,” Mia replied. “I wasn’t interested in being just another problem you have to fix because it might be bad for the studio.”

I drew back from her. What the fuck? Did she seriously think this was about the studio? “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

Her jaw tensed. “Look, you’ve always got a long line of problems to fix.

I know where your priorities are—and I know where I rank.

Did you really think I was going to stir up trouble in the writers’ room?

Does that really sound like something I would do, when I’ve been bending over backward to try to make all of this work for you?

Of course not. When Damien turned out to be a pain in the ass, I did what I always do and figured shit out myself. ”

“And that’s what you call figured out ?” I snapped. If he’d been acting like this for weeks now without having to face any consequences, it was no wonder he’d thought he’d get away with it forever.

For weeks , she’d been putting up with his garbage, all because she’d thought she had to deal with it on her own. She hadn’t trusted me to handle things, to protect her. A sharp, cold feeling flooded my veins. “I feel sick just thinking about how wrong things could have gone.”

“Well, they didn’t,” Mia said, arms curled around herself protectively. “And I really want you to stop bringing up everything that could have happened when I’m still processing what did happen. Did you even consider taking two seconds to ask if I was okay, Liam?”

That hit me like a punch to the gut.

“No, you didn’t. Instead, you marched me away in front of everyone, and then proceeded to yell at me, like it was my fault Damien is a slimy bastard. Like I asked him to come on to me. Do you know how insulting that is? How worthless that makes me feel?”

Frustration and guilt battled inside me.

“I don’t know what you expect me to say to that,” I said.

Of course I didn’t want to embarrass or upset her, but I was still reeling that this had happened in the first place.

How was I supposed to protect her if I didn’t know what to protect her from?

I’d been blindsided, learning I’d let that scumbag into my writers’ room, that I’d put them all at risk. “How do you expect me to react?”

“Jesus, Liam! Like my boyfriend,” Mia cried. “Like you give a shit about me.”

I threw my hands up in the air. “You think I’m acting like this because I don’t care?”

“What have you done to actually show me that you do ?” she shot back. “For weeks now, I’ve been tying myself up in knots trying to balance things in the writers’ room, trying to keep everything ticking along the way you want it to, playing nice with all the jerks you hire.”

I gritted my teeth. I knew what bringing Lyle back would mean for the room. But Damien…That was unfair. I never would have put Mia in that position if I’d known what he was like.

Never.

“I’ve done everything you’ve asked,” she carried on, “even when it meant lying to Jake and working with one of the creepiest men from my past, trying to make sure everything was perfect for you . And all this time, how much thought have you given to what I needed? How long did it take you to even look up and notice what was going on?”

Her words were hurled like bullets, but one stuck more than the others. “What do you mean ‘one of the creepiest men from your past’?” I demanded. Had she known Damien before now?

There was a long pause, as if she was considering not answering me at all. Then she let out a harsh exhale and spoke. “I met Damien in school,” she said. “He was one of my professors.”

“And was he like this back then?”

“Pretty much,” she agreed. “He wasn’t as blatant back then—or maybe I was just more naive and didn’t notice it as much.”

“And you didn’t think to mention this before because?”

“When he showed up in the writers’ room, I didn’t want to cause more trouble than what we were already dealing with in terms of Lyle.

I figured it would be fine in a room full of other people.

Besides, I was one of the head writers now.

It’s not like he was in a position to do anything to me like he did before. ”

“What happened?” I growled. I was seeing red. So much red.

Mia lifted her shoulder. A half shrug. She wouldn’t look at me.

“Not what you’re thinking. He never touched me.

He was…I guess he was playing the long game, trying to win me over.

Get me to come to him. He just played the mentor role at first, complimenting my work and helping me improve my writing.

He encouraged me to submit one of my projects to a studio, and with his help, I actually got it in front of an exec who seemed really interested at first.”

“And then?” I said through gritted teeth. This was a story as old as time. Shitty Hollywood men doing shitty things .

She pulled her arms tighter against herself.

“The deal fell through. Obviously. And I was devastated. I went back to Damien, hoping he would offer some sort of advice. I was just desperate to understand where I’d gone wrong or what I could do better next time.

And that’s when I overheard him on the phone.

He was talking to the producer who’d withdrawn the offer from me, thanking him for temporarily putting a kibosh on the deal. ”

“Mia,” I started to say, but she plowed on.

“I stood there, listening to that asshole as he outlined his plan to console me over the lost contract, after which he’d step in to help me resuscitate the offer so he could be my hero.

He laughed with his producer buddy over how he was sure I’d thank him with sex.

Hell, I’d probably thank them both by sleeping with them, because that’s apparently what’s expected of women around here,” she said, spitting the words bitterly.

Disgust coiled inside me. I couldn’t believe I’d let that man within ten feet of her.

“What happened after that?” I asked.

“Not much, thankfully. I was already done with his class by then, and I made sure I didn’t take anything else with him for the next year and a half until I graduated.

I made it a mission to never have anything to do with Damien again.

And it was working,” she glanced at me finally, “until he showed up in the writers’ room. ”

“You should have told me about your history the moment he turned up.”

She shook her head again, eyebrows drawn together. “I can’t believe that’s still all you have to say to me.”

“What do you want me to say? This entire experience could have been avoided if you’d been honest with me. ”

She laughed, the sound coated with disbelief. “How about just starting with, ‘Gee, Mia. That really sucks. Sometimes men are shit.’ Or, I don’t know, how about a hug? But you know what, that’s obviously too much to expect from you.”

A knife had slipped between my ribs at her words. “I don’t get why you’re pissed at me . I fired that bastard on the spot.”

“Yeah, you fired him as soon as you noticed something was going on. But it’s been going on for weeks now, and you couldn’t be bothered to pay attention.

For all these years you’ve known me, you never had any interest in figuring out what was going on with me aside from making fun of my relationships with Jake. ”

“That’s not true.”

“It is. And now, even as your girlfriend, nothing’s changed.

You don’t know how I feel half the time because you’re too busy running around after everyone else.

And today, when you did finally pay attention, you dragged me in here so you could yell at me about it.

So why the hell would I open up and share things with you when I’m just going to feel like shit about it in the end? ”

“I’m not trying to make you feel like?—”

“But you do . You make me feel like I’m an obstacle. Like your life was fine until I complicated it. And today, when I needed comfort, you dragged me in here like I was just another business problem, and interrogated me.”

“I’m your boyfriend, Mia. Jesus. I was worried about you.”

“Are you?” she snapped. “Because it doesn’t feel like you’re my boyfriend lately. When you hide me from your best friend, when you tell me we have to keep it quiet at work. When you make me feel like a dirty secret—or worse, a problem you have to fix. ”

“What the hell are you saying?” My chest was a war drum, beating too fast. “Do you want to end this?”

“What if I did?” she asked, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

There was a beat. One goddamn second where I could’ve stopped, could’ve grabbed her hand and told her not to go, could’ve been the man she wanted, the one she believed in.

But I wasn’t that man.

Not today.

“Then there’s the fucking door.”

I didn’t shout. I just pointed.

Mia blinked at me like she was waiting for a punchline. Like I was about to laugh and pull her into a kiss. But I didn’t.

Her entire body snapped into action.

She stalked past me, threw the door open with a thud, and left.