The Man I Thought I Trusted - E. L. Todd Page 0,65
me to go.
I didn’t want to be around Dax, and I didn’t know why.
I just…needed space.
I made it to the sidewalk and headed back to the office. I didn’t know what else to do. I was in no mood to work, but I didn’t want to go home either.
Dax called me.
I knew if I didn’t answer, he would just keep calling, so I took his call. “Hey, I just got a call from my boss. I have to get back to the office right away. I’ll see you later.”
“Alright.” There was hesitation in his voice, like he didn’t believe my story but wanted to. “I’ll see you at home, then.”
“Okay.”
“I love you.” He never said that when we got off the phone. We said it rarely, so it would mean more when he spoke it aloud. But now he said it like he needed assurance that we were okay.
I said it back, but I didn’t feel the way I usually did when I said it. I just said it to get him off my back, so I could take some time to figure out what had happened. “I love you too.”
I hung out at my desk until it was time to leave.
Charlie came by my cubicle. “I’m going to go home and change. Then we’ll be right over there.”
“Great.” I gave him a forced smile but didn’t rise from my chair.
He lingered, like he saw through the façade. “Carson, you alright?”
“Oh yeah. The prime minister is being a bitch, that’s all. I’ll see you at my place in a bit.” I almost wanted to call the whole thing off, but that would mean I’d have to explain why, and I wasn’t sure how I felt at that moment.
Charlie continued to study me, but his concerns must’ve been assuaged because he said, “Alright. See you soon.” With his satchel over his shoulder, he left the office and disappeared into the elevator.
When he was gone, I released a painful sigh. I really wished game night weren’t happening tonight and we could just reschedule. But did I really need to reschedule it? I wasn’t even sure what I was upset about. There was nothing wrong with signing a prenup. He had those assets before we met, and it only made sense for him to protect them. I really didn’t care at all.
But that meeting didn’t feel right.
It made me feel…insignificant.
I couldn’t explain it. A room full of ten lawyers pushing mounds and mounds of paperwork at me? How could I possibly need to sign that many documents? Dax didn’t even give me a warning about it. He didn’t send me the paperwork beforehand so I could actually read what I was signing. He didn’t tell me to get a lawyer, who was probably someone I should’ve brought with me.
I was a little guy. He was a corporation.
He crushed me.
I knew it was just business, nothing personal, but it didn’t feel like an arrangement between a future husband and wife.
It felt like a demolition.
When I stepped into the penthouse, they were already there. Matt was talking to Kat, probably trying to keep her preoccupied so she wouldn’t focus on Charlie and Denise.
They all turned to look at me when the elevator beeped.
“What took you so long?” Charlie asked. “What kind of host invites everybody over for game night without being here?”
Dax was in the kitchen getting the appetizers ready, and when he heard that I was in the penthouse, he stopped what he was doing and came straight to me. Now, he was in jeans and a shirt, looking like a regular person instead of the suit he’d been a few hours ago.
He stood in front of me and stared, took in the features of my face like he was afraid something had changed.
I met his look, but I didn’t know what to say.
He didn’t say anything either.
The gang looked back and forth at us as they picked up on the strange energy. Charlie addressed it. “Everything alright?”
I finally moved into Dax and placed a kiss on his lips. I didn’t feel good doing it, just the way I didn’t feel good saying I love you on the phone earlier.
His affection was muted too, like he could feel how frozen my lips were
I took a seat on the floor in front of the armchairs. “Yeah, everything’s fine. Let’s get the food on the table and start the first game. What should we play?”
Dax continued to stare at me, his gaze burning into the side