Bye-Bye Jerk, Hello Mr. Right

Chapter 150 Chapter

150

I froze for a second, wanting to pull away from Wayne's grip, but his grip was too tight, not giving me a chance to break free.

The whole vibe of being controlled by someone else totally freaked me out, and I hated it. I scrunched up my face. "Wayne-" Before I could even get the words out, Wayne cut me off. "Rea, Jace is my brother. I can't talk bad about him, but he's different. You can't just throw away your principles because of him."

His grip tightened even more, and I could feel the tension radiating off him. His hands shook slightly, and the way he looked at me was intense, his eyes dark and serious, his voice almost desperate. "Dating isn't some game. One wrong move could mess everything up." Seeing how serious he was, I started to feel a little bad for him. I almost thought about telling him that Hayden was just a temporary thing.

But that thought disappeared as fast as it came. I brought Hayden into this mess to shut down any lingering hopes they had, and if I told Wayne the truth, what would be the point?

"I'm not a kid anymore, Wayne. I know what I'm doing," I shot back.

"But you've only known Hayden for a few days!" Wayne's voice got louder, like he was starting to lose it.

Seeing the disbelief in his eyes, I decided to drop a bombshell. "It's true I've only worked with him for a few days, but our thing started way before, back when I was in Chiverton."

I kept my words vague, thinking of Wayne like an older brother. Some things were better left unsaid.

But Wayne wasn't clueless. He got it right away, his eye's going wide in shock as he stared at me. His grip on my shoulder tightened, like he might actually leave a bruise.

He didn't say another word, just kept looking at me with this mix of disbelief, disappointment, and a deep, raw hurt...

I met his gaze, fully understanding just how much he was feeling, then shifted a little. "Wayne, some things are just out of our control. Maybe Hayden and I are meant to be."

As soon as I said it, I felt Wayne's body sway slightly.

But even then, his hands stayed on my shoulders, though not as tightly as before,

Just as we were stuck in this awkward standoff, Ron popped up out of nowhere, grinning like he had no idea what was going on. "Ms. Kay, you've got a guest! Why don't you bring him to the office?"

He glanced at Wayne as he spoke. "Come on, I'll have someone bring some tea."

Wayne pulled himself together quickly. He let go of me and nodded at Ron. "No need, thanks."

Without even looking back at me, Wayne walked away. The sense of loss he left behind was suffocating.

Jstood there, kinda dazed, for what felt like forever before finally heading back to my office. As I passed by Ron's office, I decided to ask for the afternoon off. I needed to pick out a gift and then head over to the Johnston residence. 1/2

Chapter 150

+25 BONUS

But just as I was about to knock, I overheard Ron talking on the phone. "Bro, it's done... Yeah, he's outta here... Haha, don't worry, you're way ahead of him. He couldn't catch up even if he tried... M-Ms. Kay-"

Ron suddenly walked out of his office mid-call and almost crashed right into me. He was so startled, he nearly dropped his phone.

I had no idea why he looked so freaked out. I quickly caught his phone before it hit the floor and noticed that the call was with someone saved as "Bro".

I handed the phone back to Ron, who looked like he'd just seen a ghost, and motioned to him that the call was still connected.

Ron fumbled with the phone, pressing it back to his ear, "Bro, I'll call you back later. Ms. Kay's here to see me," he stammered before hanging up, his eyes full of obvious panic.

All this over a phone call?

And it wasn't even with some secret lover or a sketchy business deal. Even if I overheard something, why was he so rattled?