Shattered Pride

Donovan POV.

I nodded, running a hand through my hair, trying to shake off the embarrassment. But it stuck to me like glue. I couldn’t look Hayes in the eye. The man had seen me in boardrooms, in negotiations where I was the most powerful man in the room, and now… he’d seen me like this—pathetic, desperate, and broken.

He held the door open for me, and I stepped out, still wincing at the morning