“I haven’t even had time to research any of this.” I walked into the office and took the folder.
“That’s why I’m asking you. You’re the only one who can think quickly on their feet.”
I took the compliment and pulled the folder close. “Well, thank you. Why are we doing an editorial piece, though?”
“My sources tell me there’s some shady stuff going on at that company. We get him on record talking about the company and whatnot, and then use that as a backdrop later.”
That was brutal. “Alright. What’s the guy’s name?” I flipped through the paperwork but couldn’t find it.
“Dax Frawley.”
I slowly turned back to him, my eyebrow raised.
“What?”
“His name is Dax?”
“Yes. Why?”
It was an odd coincidence, since Dax had told me he worked at that very software company…and his name was Dax. But he never mentioned he owned the place, and that was something that would have come up by now. I’d known him for nearly five weeks at this point. Why would he lie about his job? It just didn’t make sense. I wanted to jump to conclusions, but Charlie’s rational voice was in my head, telling me to give Dax the benefit of the doubt.
Because I was sprung on this man.
“Carson?”
I snapped out of my thoughts. “Yeah, I’ll take care of it…”
I checked in at the lobby and held up my ID. “New York Press.”
The security officer buzzed me through. “Top floor. Check in with the assistants first.”
I got into the elevator and took the long ride to the very top, nervous when I was never nervous. I wasn’t intimidated by anyone, afraid of anything. But I was afraid I’d walk into that office and see the face of the man who had been in my bed last night.
That couldn’t happen.
I couldn’t have two men in a row I cared about be liars.
I couldn’t handle another betrayal…not when I was still hurt from the first one.
Dax wouldn’t do that to me.
Right?
The doors opened, and I checked in at the front desk with a young blond woman. “Hi, I’m here for the interview with Mr. Frawley.”
“Of course. Vivica?” She looked through her schedule.
“Vivica had a medical emergency, so I’m filling in.”
“Alright.” She nodded to the couch. “He’ll be with you in a second.”
I took a seat, having left the folder at home because I already knew everything I wanted to ask. I’d quickly browsed through Vivica’s notes at my desk before I’d left for the interview. I had my recorder with me, hanging on the chain around my neck along with the ID card.
A minute later, the blonde walked to me, in a pencil skirt and heels. “He’s ready for you.”
I got up and followed her.
She led me to the double doors, both charcoal black. She held the door open for me.
“Thanks.” I stepped inside the large office. There were two couches facing each other, bookshelves on either side. The desk was located on the far side of the room, in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows. I stepped inside and stared at the man leaning over his desk, his hand on the pad of his laptop as he scrolled through something at the last minute.
Brown eyes.
Dark hair.
Scruff along his jaw.
A designer suit on a chiseled body.
I stood still as I stared at him, his eyes focused on the laptop as he finished up whatever he needed to take care of before giving me his attention. My heart hadn’t beat this hard in a long time, not since I’d found out my husband was a piece of shit. My eyes couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Didn’t want to believe what they were seeing.
I would normally scream or lose my temper, but I was quiet, speechless.
I waited for him to look at me.
He shut his laptop and straightened. “Just needed to finish something.” His hands moved in his pockets as he came around the desk. He lifted his chin to address me, but instead of opening his lips to speak, he halted in place.
I stared at Dax, so livid I wasn’t even sure what to say. Sometimes men took swings, and I never took it personally. Sometimes things didn’t go my way, but I never got mad. But right now, I was furious…fucking furious. And I knew why.
Because I was hurt.
I was hurt for a lot of reasons. More than I could share at that moment. But the biggest hurt of all was that Dax knew I’d been hurt, betrayed, and then he did it again. He’d lied to me. Fucking lied to me.
When he recovered from the shock, he moved forward again. “Carson, let me explain—”
“You’re a billionaire CEO. No explanation required.” I turned away and opened the door. I left it open on purpose, so his assistants could hear the insults I unleashed. My head turned his way, and I kept my voice calm, holding the higher ground and keeping my dignity. “And a liar. A fraud. A phony. And overall, just a really shitty person.”
“Why are you back so soon?” Vince came to my desk.
“He rescheduled.” I made up a lie because I didn’t want to say I ditched the interview for personal reasons.
Vince nodded. “Alright. If Vivica is up for it in a few days, I’ll give the article back to her.”
“Yeah…”
Vince walked away.
My phone had been ringing nonstop because Dax kept calling me. I got so tired of it that I just blocked him.
Charlie walked into the office a moment later, his satchel over his shoulder. He came to my cubicle but stilled when he saw the look on my face. “Geez, what happened?”
“Why do you assume anything happened?”
“Because you look like you’re about to cry.” He kneeled so no one else could overhear our conversation.
I was hurt, but I wasn’t going to shed a single tear over that asshole. “I don’t cry, Charlie.”
“What happened?” he whispered.
“Let’s talk about it later.”
He still looked anxious and refused to leave, like the concern was too much for him to walk away.
“Let’s just say that my hunch about Dax was right.”
The second we left the office, Charlie was on me. He couldn’t ask me anything in the elevator because people were with us, but when we were on the sidewalk, the words launched out of his mouth. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the fact that I knew something was wrong, but you told me to deny my instincts. This is all your fucking fault, Charlie. My instincts have helped me survive, have gotten me where I am today, and I knew there was something up with that asshole, but you told me to ignore it.”
“Whoa…” He raised both hands in the air, visibly offended. “Let’s take it down a notch, alright?”
I immediately felt guilty, knowing Charlie just wanted the best for me, just wanted me to be happy. “I’m sorry…” I ran my fingers through my hair and stared at the sidewalk for a second. “I just… I’m fucking furious right now.”
“What happened?” He came closer to me, his hands gripping my arms. “Did you see him with someone else?”