Those Three Words: A Single Dad, Billionaire Boss Romance(73)

“You heard me.”

“I—I don’t know why.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

She lets out an exasperated exhale. “I may have insinuated that you were involved with the last nanny and that’s why she left.”

I can feel my blood pressure rising and it takes everything I have not to flip this desk.

“Here’s what’s going happen. You’re going to go upstairs and pack your things. Then you’re going to leave and never show your face around this house, my daughter, my company, or Margot ever again.”

“Mr. Hayes, ple—” she interrupts, but I hold up a finger to silence her.

“I will give you three months’ pay, but if you fight this or try to cause a problem”—I lean forward on my desk, wanting to make sure she doesn’t miss what I’m about to say—“I will fucking destroy you.”

Her mouth snaps shut.

“Do you understand me?”

She stands. “Yes.” Then she turns and exits my office.

While it’s only one small part of the bridge I need to fix with Margot, it’s a start. I’m just praying the rest hasn’t been completely burned to ash.

I give Fiona a few moments to exit before I take Margot’s resignation letter and walk up to her quarters. The door is ajar and I knock softly.

“Come in,” I hear her say softly. I step inside. She’s sitting on her bed, her eyes red from crying.

“Got your letter,” I say, holding it up as I sit on the edge of the bed. I place it on the comforter and slide it slightly toward her.

“Is there room for negotiation in these terms?”

She rolls her eyes. “It’s not a business deal; there are no terms or negotiation. I’m quitting, plain and simple. I was offered my dream job and I accepted it. If you can’t—”

I reach forward and press my hand to her lips softly, and she stops speaking.

“I’m not here to fight with you or upset you. It was merely a question.”

I’m curious about this dream job she got offered. Not because I want to talk her out of it, but because I truly want to know what kind of job is Margot’s dream.

“I also came up here to apologize.” I slowly remove my hand from her lips. “First for the way I acted the other day. I shouldn’t have invalidated your feelings. There were other things at play that I truly wasn’t aware of.”

She looks at me as if I’m crazy.

“I know. I think I turned a willful blind eye to those things. That wasn’t anyone’s fault but my own. For what it’s worth, you were right about Miss Perry. About her trying to sleep with me, I mean. But for the record, I have and had zero interest in her like that.”

I glance up at her, our eyes connecting briefly before she looks away.

“I fired her. She won’t ever be an issue for you again, not that it matters at this point. I also wanted to clear the air about the last nanny. There was nothing ever between me and her, not even remotely. I barely spoke to her. Miss Perry told me about the lie she told you regarding my relationship with her. It wasn’t true.”

Her eyes dart back to mine.

“Margot, I can’t express to you how sorry I am that I hurt you. I never wanted that to happen and I know it’s too late but I have to tell you that now.”

I stand, waiting for her to say anything. Hoping she begs me to stay or runs into my arms but she doesn’t.

“And I also wanted to tell you that I will respect your wishes and boundaries while you finish out your time here. I will give you the space you need to do your job and care for Eleanor, and I’ll have the conversation with her about you and me and you moving on.”

I see her shoulders fall. I debate bringing up the whole Warren Dorsey thing, not because I’m hoping to get brownie points for doing the right thing and cutting the shitbag loose, but because I want to hold her and apologize on his behalf for being her father—even if it is only biologically.

In the end, I decide against it. It’s her business and if she wanted to share that part of her life with me, she would have.

“Are those terms you can agree to?”

She nods her head yes and I smile at her, hoping she can’t see my heart breaking into a million little pieces right now.

“Good night, Margot,” I say as I leave the room and shut the door softly behind me.





25





MARGOT





Ten days… I can make it.

I can resist his tempting looks.

I can resist the way his body calls to me.

I can resist the way his fingers move across the toast he’s buttering as he grips the knife. I will not think about all the delicious toe-curling things he’s done to me with those fingers…

I choke on my coffee, shooting up from the chair I’m sitting in. It skitters across the hardwood floor, clattering to the ground.

“You okay?” Graham looks up at me.

I don’t respond; I just run out of the kitchen as my cheeks burn from embarrassment. I take the stairs two at a time, launching myself into my bedroom and slamming the door.

“You’re fine. You got this.”

I pace back and forth in my room. I grab my iPad and settle into the chair.