The Unwilling CEO's Love Game novel Chapter 13

"What's up? Got a bee in your bonnet?" Melvin sidled up to her, whispering sweet nothings, the air between them thick with ambiguity.

Jocelyn turned her head and forcefully pried his hand away, putting some distance between them.

She saw a flicker of annoyance in his eyes and remembered the way he looked at her after he put that woman in the car the other day. It hurt like hell.

Melvin stepped back, leaning against the wall, his expression cooling off.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Jocelyn stared him down, only now realizing how little she meant to him.

He didn't even bother to offer an explanation.

She didn't want to go all harpy on him, interrogating who that woman was, or who he had been with during those two days and a night.

She pointed at the bag by the door, "Did my dad give that to you?"

"Yeah," Melvin glanced at it nonchalantly.

"So, why'd you bring it here?"

"Well, I'm here, aren't I? Where else should I have taken it?"

"You know damn well that's my dad returning a favor. Even if you think it's beneath you and don't want it, you shouldn't flaunt it in my face!" Jocelyn's temper flared up.

Melvin frowned, "So where should I have dumped it?"

"Do you despise these things that much? Are they just not worthy of your precious attention, so you dump them on me?" Jocelyn's tone was sharp, she wanted to keep her cool, but she just couldn't.

"You're way off base." Melvin reached for her hand, "Come on..."

Jocelyn shook him off, "I don't even know what my place means to you. Sure, I like you, but I'm not bottomless. Like this stuff, if you don't value it, toss it. Don't give it to me or flaunt it. It just makes us look like a joke!"

"What are you trying to say?" Melvin's face darkened too.

Jocelyn took a deep breath, "I won't be the other woman."

With one woman out in the open, one in the shadows, hoping to have it all?

Dream on!

Melvin scowled, "The other woman?"

Jocelyn didn't want to say much more, stepping back to widen the gap between them, "I thought we weren't planning on marriage, just living day by day, in the moment. But now, even that's too much, so what's there to cling to?" She looked at Melvin, "You've just been playing with me, and now, I'm done playing."

She refused to be labeled a homewrecker, a mistress, a floozy.

With not even a flicker from Melvin's eyelids, he asked, "Got someone else lined up?"

Jocelyn exhaled in irritation, "No."

"Done playing?"

"Yes."

"Kicking me out?"

"Yes."

Melvin stared at her for a long while before turning and heading into the bedroom. He didn't even shut the door. He got dressed and walked out, face sour as hell.

The door slammed shut with a bang.

Jocelyn took a deep breath, filled with nothing but frustration and disappointment.

He knew what she cared about, what she wanted to hear, but he wouldn't explain, not one bit.

In the end, he disdained to explain because they were not even in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship.

No need to retain, no need to explain; it's over just like that.

Jocelyn had her limits, and now that they'd been crossed, no matter how painful or unwilling, she had to cut ties. Otherwise, she'd make a mistake.

She went to the bedroom, yanked his clothes out of the closet, and threw them into his suitcase, her eyes starting to burn.

She hadn't finished packing when someone knocked at the door. Judging by the rhythm, it couldn't be Melvin.

She steadied herself and answered the door. It was Rose, her neighbor from downstairs.

His smug look, knowing he had her in the palm of his hand, was infuriating.

He understood love alright; he was just too damn good at it.

Knowing she loved him, that's why he was so cocky.

"So late and you're still here, not worried your girlfriend will be upset?" Jocelyn admitted she was jealous.

Melvin frowned, "My girlfriend? Isn't that you?"

Jocelyn felt weak, his words dissolving all her built-up tension and irritation.

He acknowledged her as his girlfriend! For the first time in years, he said it.

"Then who's that woman you met in the middle of the night?" As his girlfriend, she had the right to ask.

Melvin backed off a bit, "A friend."

Jocelyn was smart. A mere friend wouldn't have him rushing out like that.

She didn't dare ask more, scared that the more she knew, the quicker her dream would end.

"Then why'd you bring my dad's gift to me?" She changed the subject, not wanting him to see her concealed thoughts.

"I'm staying at your place, if not to you, then who?" Melvin took her hand, "Let's go back to sleep."

Jocelyn's temper had cooled, and she let him lead her back to the elevator.

As the numbers climbed, Jocelyn pursed her lips and asked a question that was hard for her to voice.

"If we bump into someone outside, can I introduce you as my boyfriend?"

Women are like that, always pushing their luck. The inch you give them, it's like handing them a free pass to run wild.

Melvin looked at her, and the look in her eyes spelled out exactly what she wanted. His Adam's apple bobbed slightly, "What's the point of going public anyway?"

The little thrill Jocelyn had felt inside vanished in a puff of smoke. She was done being led around by him.

"So, we're still in a relationship that can't see the light, right?"