hell he would. Probably secretly laugh at my stupidity and his canny ability to predict this whole thing was a bad idea.
“Go, woman! I’m fine. I have some yummy alphas to keep me company,” I joke as I pull out a romance novel from the nightstand.
“Is it any good?” she asks, still unsure.
“Yes. The heroine is secretly pregnant by the best friend’s brother. He’s an old flame, but he left. He came back into the picture only to find out she’d moved on with his friend. He wants her back, so I’m waiting to see who she goes with.”
“Sounds interesting.”
“It is. Now go on so I can read,” I say, pushing her out the door.
“Okay, but tomorrow we’re going to talk.”
“Absolutely. Now go.”
When she leaves, I can finally let the events of tonight take hold. I sit on the bed with my book, wishing I really could get lost in the story of the characters. Instead, Melissa’s words play on a loop. I get the sinking feeling she was his submissive. What other things would blow my vanilla mind? She sounds just like Phoenix in that regard, and it makes sense. She has a different kind of bond with him, so I may be fighting an uphill battle. Hell, she said she’s here for them to work things out. That he wants things to go back to the way they were. I don’t know what the hell “things” are, but he’s surely not saying anything to the contrary. It could also explain why he’s not sleeping with her. They’re in the middle of working things out, and he’s fucking me in the interim.
I may need to seriously rethink my intent. Besides, he looks fine to me. If he was spiraling or had some issues to work through, maybe her presence was what he needed—the real reason she’s here. If that’s the case, I need to accept that what we had has been replaced and move the fuck on. I don’t know how much more of this I can take. Fighting for a lost cause is the definition of insanity. He’s not a lost cause, but the obliteration of our relationship is.
Chapter Fourteen
Phoenix
With the rise of the sun comes another promise of a shit day. Having Melissa here is weighing more on my psyche than I care for. I have Sevyn working alongside the PI the company hired to find out what they can about the board members, but things aren’t progressing as I’d hoped. I’ve purposely launched my own investigation into Melissa’s involvement via my brother without him knowing what I’m searching for.
The sun shines through the floor-to-ceiling windows, which usually offers a nice view of the beach—except when you spent the night on the sofa and aren’t quite ready to get up. I know I need to run off last night’s pizza, but I don’t have the motivation this morning. The conversation with Harlow plays on a loop. I can’t seem to shake the guilt gnawing at me. I refuse to be weak for her or any woman, but I’m drawn to her. I want something with her, even if I don’t know what the hell that looks like yet. I can feel her slipping away from me, but there’s little I can do without telling her what’s going on with Melissa. I don’t have to look outside to know she won’t be out there to join me on my morning jog.
After she disappeared to her room last night, she never came out again. My phone vibrates next to me, and I welcome the reprieve.
“Hey, brother,” Sevyn greets.
“Tell me you have new info for me.” I get straight to the point.
“Actually, I do, and I kind of think you already knew.”
“Okay. Are you going to spit it out already?”
“To start, we uncovered that the man consorting with Trevor in an attempt to get control of our company is none other than his lover.”
“What? Trevor’s married. He’s not gay.”
“Never said he didn’t like pussy. I said he’s getting dick on the side. The question is whether the wife knows about it. Maybe money and their opulent lifestyle are enough for her to turn a blind eye.”
“I don’t understand. How is this something I already knew, and how can we use this as leverage? His sexuality is not enough to get the board members and shareholders on our side after our twin scandal. They don’t trust us.”
“Because I’m guessing you knew that Melissa is Trevor’s daughter.” I fall silent. He’s right.