Page 74 of Billionaire's Desire
He doesn’t even look at me as he starts talking. “How could you not tell me that your friend Poppy is my brother’s Pen?” he says, his voice filled with anger.
“I didn’t know that you knew her,” I say, trying to explain myself.
“Stop making excuses, Maggie,” he snaps. “You knew exactly who she was and you didn’t tell me. And now, you come here, acting like everything’s okay, when you’re the reason she’s not here anymore.”
I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut. How could he blame me for Poppy’s death? I try to defend myself, but he’s not listening.
“We should have never done this, pursued any of this.”
He tells me that our whole relationship was a mistake, and he slams the door on my face.
I stand there, devastated and alone, tears streaming down my face.
And in that moment, I know that everything has changed.
The pregnancy kit in my pocket suddenly feels heavy.
Chapter 14
Max
Threedayslater
I make my way to Finn’s office, feeling a sense of dread in the pit of my stomach. We need to discuss the contract about the yacht, but I can’t focus on that right now. All I can think about is Maggie and the way everything ended.
When I get to Finn’s office, he looks up at me with a confused expression. “Hey, Max. What’s going on? You seem a bit withdrawn.”
I take a deep breath and try to compose myself. “I’ve had some personal stuff going on,” I say, my voice a little shaky. “But we need to talk about the contract with the Wheelers.”
He nods, but I can tell he’s still concerned. We go over the contract details, but I’m barely paying attention. All I can think about is how I’m feeling betrayed by Maggie. I can’t believe that I never considered her best friend Poppy to be our Pen.
Finally, Finn looks at me and says, “Max, what’s really going on? You seem like there’s something else going on besides just the contract.”
I hesitate for a moment, not sure if I’m ready to tell him. But I know that I need to talk to someone about it, and Finn is the closest thing I have to a confidant.
“I broke up with Maggie,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Who the hell is Maggie?”
“This woman I was seeing.”
“I thought you were seeing Mia.”
“Well, Mia and I took a break, especially after I went on the yacht instead of flying over to see her.”
“Wait, what? What are you talking about?”
“Mia and I had a different kind of relationship, and when we decided to put it on hold, I thought I was going to focus on work, and then I met Maggie.”
“Okay?”
“Don’t look at me like that. After our first kiss, I called Mia the next day and told her that I didn’t think we would ever be getting back together.”
“Ouch!” Finn hisses, “And how did she take that?”
“Surprisingly well. She said that she was down for fun whenever we were in the same town. Now enough about Mia. I am telling you about Maggie.”
“Go on…”
