Page 77 of Open for Negotiation
Chapter 15
Max
It’s been four hours since she left that greenroom and left my life, but it may as well have been four days. I’ve got my attorney handling the cease and desists of the gossip sites and news stations that are reporting the story, but that hasn’t stopped social media from spreading it like wildfire.
I’ve ignored every other call that has come through my cell. People want answers. My staff wants answers, but the truth is, I don’t owe those answers to anyone.
I’ve been driving my car around, going nowhere in particular, since I walked out of the news station. With each passing moment, I grow angrier and angrier and my grip on the wheel tightens.
All I want to do is go to her apartment, throw her over my shoulder, and take her back to my house and shield her from all of this, but she’d never let me in, even if I begged. I may be a caveman in some aspects, but I’m not going to cross the line she drew in the sand.
My phone continues to vibrate on the seat next to me, over and over, until I finally explode, reaching over and nearly chucking it against the windshield when I see that it’s lighting up with a text message.
From Miranda.
Miranda: Anything interesting happen today?
If I were a superhero, I’d be a raging, green, monster after reading that.
I check my mirrors before hitting the brakes and flipping a U-turn in the middle of the highway, nearly causing an accident and creating a cacophony of car horns. Clearly I’m not the only person who’s pissed off this evening.
I drive to the hotel Miranda has been staying at faster than I’d ever be happy to admit, and I don’t even properly park.
I pull up to the covered drop-off area at the front of the building, leaving my car running and the driver’s side door open. I don’t speak to anyone at the front desk. I don’t even take the elevator up to the fifth floor. I take the stairs instead, two at a time, not even breaking a sweat. My body is running on pure emotion at this point.
I left my suit jacket in the car, and have rolled my white shirt sleeves up to my elbows by the time I’m pounding on her door with my fist.
“Miranda! Open the fucking door,” I shout much louder than I should have.
It only takes a moment before the door swings open, revealing her looking more like herself than she has in months and months.
Is she thriving off of Scarlett’s… and my… misery?
“Maxie, I’m so happy you’re here. Come on in, please.” She steps aside so I can go in.
Once the door is closed behind her, I turn on my heel and back her up against the heavy door, planting my hands on it, on either side of her head, trapping her there so she can’t look anywhere but my face.
“What the fuck have you done?”
She rolls her eyes and smiles. “Well, Maxie, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I didn’t do anything.”
“You stalked me to my house and filmed me fucking my girlfriend without consent! What the fuck is wrong with you?!” I slam my fist against the door and she jumps at the sound. “Then you find a way to sabotage the broadcast today! Not only potentially destroying her career but Fortress as a whole!”
“I-I…” she stutters, beginning to cry.
“Fuck the tears, Miranda. I’ve tried for so long to take pity on you, to give you the benefit of the doubt because I know you’re sick, but this, I can’t forgive. I can’t overlook. I can’t help you.”
Her eyes read anger, but her tears read heartbreak.
“Tell me now, before I tear this city apart to prove it on my own and fuck your world up even more. Was this you?”
For a moment, I think she may tell me the truth, but those hopes are quickly bashed when she begins to laugh.
“Nope. It wasn’t me.”
I lean in closer to her, bending so I can look her directly in the eye. “Listen to me when I say these words. We are done, do you hear me? Our marriage is over. We are going to finalize this divorce and then I never want to see your face or hear your voice ever again. You’ve messed up for the final time. Miranda.” I emphasize the next words slowly so she really understands, “Let… me... go.”
She tries to talk to me, tries to stop me from leaving, but I shrug out of her touch and leave her standing there alone in the hotel room.
