Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Three: An Explanation

I’m battling anger at her for assuming the worst. On the other hand, I understand her reaction. I would be the same way if I were in a similar situation. It was nowhere near what she assumed. Georgina is someone I’ve known for a long time—that’s why I stopped having sex with her. But, if she’s around, I need to play nice. Her father’s businesses intertwine with mine; she’s a daddy’s girl, and if I made one wrong move around her, she would try to convince her father to stop doing business with me. We would lose hundreds of millions if that happened. Her dad’s an asshole, but he’s a great businessman. He’s ruthless and powerful.

I didn’t introduce Alyssa as my girlfriend in front of her because Georgina would have been jealous. Even though we’ve seen each other for months, I didn’t want her to know my personal business, especially because I didn’t want her to say horrible things to Alyssa. She has no filter, and I have to deal with it. She’s a mean girl. I didn’t want Georgina to stay as long as she did. She came by for business on behalf of her father. I didn’t ask her to leave because it would have caused a scene; she thrives on drama. I didn’t want to give her the gasoline to start a fire. I should have been on my way to Alyssa’s two hours ago, but she wouldn’t leave. I finally managed to get rid of her by telling her I had a meeting to attend outside the office.

She has been ignoring my calls and texts. I park outside her building. I’m not going to wait for her to let me in; I will let myself in. There’s a chance she wouldn’t have granted me access to the building, so I rushed up to her apartment and let myself in with a key. She’s nowhere in sight.

“Baby girl, where are you?” I call out.

There’s no response. Is she not home? I search the place and find her sound asleep in bed. Why is she sleeping at this time? Is it because she was upset, or is something else wrong?

I sigh, hating knowing I’ve upset her. I stroll over to the bed and sit on the edge. I gently stroke her face.

“Alyssa, wake up, angel,” I say softly.

She groans, “Wyatt, go away.” She huffs and turns away.

“Alyssa, please let me explain.”

“Explain what? Why were you getting cozy with a stunning redhead, or why you made it seem like I meant nothing and was only…your…or how you didn’t stand up for me when she was being rude towards me? Are you ashamed of me? Because that’s what it seemed.” She snaps.

I climb off the bed, go around to the other side where she’s facing, and sit there. She rolls her eyes.

“She was there for business.”

Alyssa scoffs, “Yeah, right. She was after more than business. Tell me, Wyatt, how many times have you…”

“We hooked up in the past, but it was nothing. She stopped by for business. Was she flirting? Yes. I am not interested in her…”

Alyssa shakes her head and climbs out of bed.

“You seemed to be enjoying it. You still didn’t answer my question. Are you ashamed of me? Why wouldn’t you tell her who I was?” Despair permeates her voice. Does she really think I would ever be ashamed of her? I crawl to the bottom of the bed. I reach for her…