She dabbed her eyes with her napkin. “I can’t let you lose your company.”
“If I lose Pictogram, it’s on me. Not you. In retrospect, there are a million things I could have done to not be in this position. All of them have nothing to do with you.”
She bit her lip, tears still streaming down her face. “You love Pictogram. You put your whole life and soul into it.”
“But I made repeated fatal mistakes. For so long, the Board urged me to fix my party playboy image. I refused! If anything, it only made me party even more. Do you know how hard it is to party and have a good time out of spite?”
Mia laughed, wiping tears from her cheeks.
“It turns out it’s incredibly easy to to do actually. That’s why I did it,” I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.
Mia gave me a small amused smile.
I continued, “They want to expand Pictogram past just Millennials and make it a family app where user parents are comfortable posting pics of their families. The older generation and more conservative users were disturbed by my photos and are now turning to other photo sharing apps that have a more family friendly image.”
Mia threw her face into her hands. “It’s all my fault. Everything! If those photos hadn’t have come out…”
I took both of her hands into mine. “No, it’s not your fault.”
She looked away unconvinced. Gently with my fingertips, I brought her gaze back to me. “Those photos represent the old me, but should I pretend none of that happened? Whether those photos came out or not, those sex parties happened. I can’t deny it.”
What the Board wanted me to do was pretend I was something I wasn’t. Of course, things were different now that I was in love with Mia. But still, I’d had sex with a bunch of girls. Did that make me such a horrible person? Did that mean I should be crucified?
Mia touched my lips with her fingertips with the saddest expression on her face. “I wish there was something I could do.”
Kissing her fingertips, I said, “Just being here for me is enough.”
She smiled woefully. “Okay. I hope it is.”
Mia’s determination to fight for me touched me. She was the kind of woman that would make a wonderful wife. A man was unstoppable with a strong wife behind him who had his back.
Wife? What was happening to me? How had that thought snuck into my head?
I’d never considered getting married before until I met Mia, but I couldn’t deny it. Mia would make a great partner. What I’d said to her was the absolute truth. The playboy in all of those orgy photos was the old me.
Mia would be a perfect match for the new me in every way. I couldn’t think of a better person to be my partner in life.
Chapter 13
Mia
I had been dying for weeks for Jill to come visit the Pictogram office. She was finally here!
Walking to the front desk, I saw Jill talking with Amanda. “I’m so happy you could make it!” I cried.
Jill embraced me with a hug. “Thanks for having me! This place is amazing.”
Amanda handed Jill a guest I.D. “Here you go! Welcome to Pictogram.”
Jill clipped it onto her shirt. “Thanks! I’m proud to be an official visitor.”
“How is the online programming class going?” I asked Amanda.
Her face went into a grimace. “Okay, but do you think you have time to help me with my assignment? I’m really stuck.”
I gave Amanda a reassuring smile. “Of course! How about this afternoon?”
Amanda beamed in appreciation. “That’s perfect. Thank you!”