I nodded. I had met him only once, but he had seemed very nice.
“And I bet you wondered for a moment, 'Is Maddy crazy? This is a great guy!'” Maddy paused just long enough for me to start denying it before she cut me off. “But you saw what he did to me. How he was so sweet and kind and caring about the whole affair. He apologized so many times and I believed him.”
“I remember,” I said softly.
She sniffled and wiped her eye with her hand. “And then he took everything. And because I had trusted him—because I thought his lies were sincere promises—he got it all. He left Tyler and me with nothing because I trusted him when he said he had 'only good intentions' toward me.”
I remembered that part, too. I met Maddy just as the divorce proceedings had started. Things had seemed to be amicable on the surface, but the lying, cheating bastard had abused Maddy's innocence and love. He took almost everything in the divorce simply because he could.
“Tell me you don't see the parallel here. Tell me that Logan, and all his tactics and charm, doesn't remind you of Tom.” Maddy held onto me, forcing me to look her in the eye instead of down at the floor. The parallels were strong, but surely Logan was a better person than Tom. As much as I loved Maddy, I knew I was better at reading people. But when I met Maddy's pleading gaze, I wasn't so sure about anything anymore.
Maddy was one of the sharpest people I knew. Nothing seemed to get by her, and yet Tom had taken advantage of her, time and again. Could I be missing what Logan was doing in the same way? Was Maddy right? Was love blinding me? I wasn't sure.
“I'm not trying to destroy your happiness. I'm really not. I'm trying to do you a favor here. Don't be me.” She let go of my shoulders and sighed. “Just don't believe his sweet words and leave your business unguarded.”
I looked down at my hands. I was so confused. Logan and Maddy each pulled on my heartstrings and unsettled my mind. How on earth was I supposed to chose?
“Even if he is exactly what he says he is, even if the evil Travel, Inc. company did all of this without his knowledge, is Logan Hayes of Travel, Inc. someone that Olivia Statler of Dream Vacations should be associating with?” Maddy asked, switching to a more logical tactic.
When I didn't respond, she continued, “If he can't buy your company, he's going to become your biggest competition. His company, with or without his consent, stole our top consultants. If Travel, Inc. can't get ownership of Dream Vacations, they are going to make their own. With that in mind, where do you see this relationship going?”
I didn't have an immediate answer for that. I had been so caught up in the moment, in our passionate hurricane kisses, that I hadn't thought of the future. I turned and walked to the window, trying to think. The wind rattled the boards, but we were still safe from the storm outside. I realized I was now accustomed to the roar of the rain and barely even heard it anymore. It was funny how quickly that had happened.
I tried to imagine a future where I still had complete control over Dream Vacations and also still had Logan. My imagination was not kind. In every scenario I could think of, hostilities were bound to brew up between us like storms. I thought of us trying to talk over dinner about work; thought of meeting his brother; thought of meeting his father.
That last one made me shudder. If his father was willing to go to the work of stealing my consultants away in order to bring down my business, what would he be willing to do if he found out we were together? Not only would both of our lives revolve around our work; we'd be working toward completely opposite goals. Despite my feelings for Logan, I couldn't see a way of us working beyond these hotel walls.
“What do I do, Maddy?” I felt a tear run down my cheek. I turned from the window to face her. “I like him, and I know he likes me. A lot. How do I go downstairs and say, ‘Hey, thanks for the fantastic sex and deep conversations, but for business reasons, we’re going to have to stop seeing each other.’”
“You say just that. Maybe a little more nicely,” she offered with a smile.
“I don't want to hurt him,” I whispered. Even though he had once hurt me, I didn't want to turn around and do the same. Once, not that long ago, I would have relished this opportunity. But now ... now, I hated it. I slid to the floor and leaned against the wall. I could feel the strength of the storm outside as it pummeled the siding.
“You have a choice to make, then,” Maddy stated logically. “Logan Hayes, billionaire playboy representing your biggest competition, or the business you built with your own blood, sweat, and tears. The business that feeds not only my son and me, but six other women's families? The company of your dreams. It's either Logan, or Dream Vacations, Liv.”
I glanced up at her, my eyes welling with fresh tears. I knew she was right. I was responsible for the financial well-being of my employees. That didn't mean I had to like it, though. “Why can't I have both?”
Maddy crossed the room and dropped to her knees to hug me. I felt safe in her arms—not as safe as I did in Logan's, but I knew she loved me and would always do so. “Because life sucks. I'm pretty sure the whole goal of existence is to make things as complicated and difficult as possible.”
I let out a shuddering sigh. I wished I had never gotten out of bed. This isn't what I wanted. Not even close, but I knew what I needed to do. Maddy rose and helped me stand.
“You ready?” she asked, once I was up. I stared at the door, desperately racking my brain for an alternative solution. I couldn't find one.
“I hate being an adult,” I whined, sounding more like a kid instead. “I don't want to do this.”
“Do you want me to do it for you?” Maddy offered. “I'll go down there and do it myself if it will make it easier for you.”
“Thank you, but no.” I shook my head and took a deep breath. “It needs to come from me. Otherwise, it's too close to what he did to me. I had the hardest time accepting that and letting it go. If I do it, it will be real. If you do it, then there's a chance. I don't want to tempt him with false hope. If he had been the one to call and tell me that Travel, Inc. didn't want me—that our drinks had been fun, but there was nothing for us—I would have believed it and it wouldn't have weighed so heavy on my heart.”
Maddy hugged me again. I tried to absorb some of her resolve, but I didn't feel any tougher. She squeezed me tighter. “You can do it. Do you want me to come down with you?”
“Yes,” I said timidly. “But stay out of sight. I need to be the one doing this. I can’t have you standing there coaching me.”