CHAPTER 5
Mila retreated to her hotel suite as fast as she could. As soon as she shut the door, she unraveled and curled up on her bed.
Did this mean she did have feelings for Jackson or was she just upset in a general way? Or upset because she felt humiliated?
Mila couldn’t tell and chose not to worry about it until she could think straight.
Once she calmed down, she looked up Jackson online and found out Maddox was right. Jackson was engaged to some heiress.
Mila threw the phone away on the bed and buried her face in the pillow. No wonder Jackson only met her on that side of the city. He didn’t want to get caught. And she’d stupidly assumed he was available. No one had ever mentioned he had a fiancée. And she’d never come with Jackson to any of the company functions.
Even if Mila didn’t care for him, it was still humiliating. And she still felt betrayed.
Plus, his kiss had messed with her head. Did Jackson assume she would never know he was engaged?
Regardless, Mila couldn’t hang out in Hawaii and pretend everything was normal.
The next day, she told her mother she was leaving. “How?” her mother asked.
“I got a plane ticket.” Her mother started to protest, but Mila said, “It’ll be fine. I’ll explain to Danny that I need to go back to work. He runs a company; he’ll understand.”
Her mother frowned. “That’s not what I’m worried about.”
Mila knew her actions at the restaurant would come back to haunt her. After Mila’s initial shock, she realized she must have really pressed Maddox’s buttons for him to tell her about Jackson.
“I’m going to apologize to Maddox before I leave,” Mila told her mother.
“I can’t imagine what possessed you to do that.” Her mother let out a loud exhale. “Fortunately for you, Danny assumed Maddox got too fresh with you.”
Mila toyed with her hair. She wasn’t going to tell her mother about Jackson. “Maddox has a big mouth. But I overreacted and I’ll apologize.”
She knew her mother wasn’t happy about it, but she didn’t press the issue. Her mother did help arrange for Mila to meet Maddox before she left.
Mila approached Maddox in a back wing of the resort where guests typically never entered. She waited for him to finish a conversation with an employee and then he met her halfway in the office. “Danny told me you wanted to meet,” he said casually.
Mila clasped her hands in front of her and took a breath. “I wanted to apologize for slapping you the other night. It was uncalled for and I’m sorry.” She meant it even if she suspected he’d hurt her on purpose.
Maddox tucked his hands in his pockets. “It was absolutely uncalled for. All I did was expose the truth about your pseudo boyfriend.”
Mila bristled. “He’s not anything to me. And you definitely weren’t trying to help me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” His dark eyebrows knitted together.
“It means you told me because you knew it would hurt.” Mila could tell he wanted the news to bother her. Unfortunately, it worked.
Maddox scoffed. “You think I would stoop to doing that?”
“Yes.” Mila folded her arms.
Maddox took a step closer. “Why would I want to do that?”
“Because I hurt your pride. I didn’t swoon or fall into your arms. So this was your way of getting back at me.” He seemed like the spiteful sort to her.
He feigned disbelief but Mila wasn’t pretending to buy it this time. “I’ve saved you a lot of trouble and this is the thanks I get?”
“I think you were hoping to cause trouble.” And he might have succeeded. At least to a point.
Maddox rocked back on his heels and lifted his chin. “You must think you’re something special for me to go to that length because of you. But let me fill you in on a little secret: you’re not. That’s why Jackson kept you where he did. You weren’t enough to become the main course. You were only a side dish.”