Page 76 of Open for Negotiation
“I’m so fucking sorry this is happening, baby, we can fix it. We can do whatever we need to clean this up.”
“It’s 2021, Max. These things don’t just go away. There will always be a video of Scarlett Hale fucking her boss in order to get ahead at her job.”
“What? No!” I point to the door, toward the set, toward the thing that is currently tearing us apart. “Is that what you think happened between us?”
She wipes her face with her hand. “It doesn’t matter what I think. That’s the angle that will be taken. That’s the story that will spread. Trust me, Max. This isn’t my first rodeo as the town slut.”
I begin to pace, sliding my hands into my hair and tugging in frustration. “Goddammit, let me fix it!”
“You can’t, and I told myself a long time ago that I wouldn’t do this to myself. I wouldn’t put myself in positions like this. I broke my rule for you… because I love you.”
Her admission is like a fucking bullet to the chest. I can only respond by placing my hand over my racing heart. I love you too, I want to say, I want to shout, but I don’t. I don’t because I’m a fucking coward.
“I love you, so I put myself in the line of fire and got hit. Miranda is never going to let us be together, and she just delivered the kill shot.”
I shake my head. “Don’t do this, baby. Don’t.” I step toward her and she steps away, not letting me get closer.
“Mr. Duke, this is my formal resignation,” her voice breaks and it shatters me. “Effective immediately, I’m no longer an employee at Fortress… and I’m no longer a part of your life. Thank you for the years of education and past few months of… happiness.”
And with that… she’s gone.
I’m left here, sinking to my knees in the middle of a greenroom floor, utterly heartbroken.
“I love you too,” I say to no one at all.
