One
Dax
She disappeared from my life.
I couldn’t text her because she blocked me.
When I texted Charlie, I got no response either.
They didn’t show up to the basketball game on Wednesday.
I didn’t show up at her door again because it seemed pointless.
So, I let her go…even though it hurt like hell.
I sat in my office and stared out the window, constantly distracted by the final conversation I’d had with Carson. Her intelligence made her difficult to argue with, and she wove a painful narrative that made even me hate myself.
I’d thought it was a harmless lie, but now I realized how terrible it truly was.
I’d do anything to take it back.
Renee walked inside. “Are you sure you’re alright? Every time I see you, you look worse and worse.”
“Yeah.” I hadn’t told her what happened because it was too painful to share.
She took a seat and gave me an incredulous look. “Dax, come on. Did something happen with Carson?”
I couldn’t hide it any longer. “Carson knows the truth.”
“She knows?” She tilted her head slightly. “That sounds like you didn’t tell her?”
I shook my head. “Her colleague was supposed to interview me for that editorial piece…but they sent her instead.”
“Oh geez.”
“Yeah…”
“What now?”
“I tried to talk to her, but she wanted nothing to do with me. That was a week ago.”
She crossed her legs and ignored the folder she’d brought to my office to discuss. “I’m sorry, Dax.”
“Don’t be. It’s all my fault.” I should have told her sooner.
“And that’s it?”
“Yeah. She doesn’t want to see me anymore.”
She looked out the window. “If you really like her, you should do something.”
“No. She made her stance perfectly clear.”
“But you’re a good man, Dax. You’re worth giving a second chance.”
“You don’t know Carson,” I said with a painful chuckle.
She was quiet for a long time, as if the conversation was over. “What happened to the article?”
“Kinda just got dropped.”
“Well, I have an idea.”
“Hmm?”
“Ask to do it—and specifically request her.”
I stared at my sister for a while, finding the suggestion ridiculous. “Force her to spend time with someone she hates?”
“She doesn’t hate you.”
“I don’t know about that…”
“And work on the best friend. Convince him, and you can convince her.”
“He’s loyal.”
“But I doubt he thinks you’re a bad guy because you’re not, Dax. Sure, you could have handled it better, but you deserve another chance. Fight for her. She sounds special—and you can’t just let her go. If she doesn’t give you a second chance, you make her give you a second chance. Because you’re a very incredible man. She could have an incredible man if she’s forced to see it.”
Since Matt and Jeremy were still seeing each other, it was easy for me to figure out a time when I could run into Charlie. The three of them went out for a drink after work, and Jeremy passed the information on to me.
They were sitting at the bar, watching a game on the TV when I walked in.
Jeremy saw me first. “Hey, man.” I clapped him on the shoulder before I did the same to Matt.
Charlie glanced over his shoulder to look at me, but he gave no reaction. Stoic and cold, he turned back to the TV and drank from his beer.
Charlie was the more reasonable one, the calm that canceled out Carson’s fire. Maybe she would never understand why I’d lied, but he might. It was worth the shot. Instead of taking the empty seat beside Jeremy, I took the one beside Charlie.
He looked straight ahead, his elbows on the bar, his eyes on the TV.
“I’ll take a scotch,” I said to the waitress.
She gave me a smile to earn a big tip before she poured the scotch in front of me. “There you are.” She moved away to take care of the other guys who’d come in to watch the game.
I took a drink.
Charlie pretended I didn’t exist.
“How’s it going, man?”
He grabbed his beer and took a drink.
“The silent treatment… Cliché.”
He turned to me, provoked by the statement. “What do you want, Dax?”
“To know how it’s going. Exactly what I asked.”
He faced forward again. “Look, we can’t be friends like we used to. I’m sure you’ve figured that out.”
This was not going well. I took another drink of my scotch. “That’s too bad.”
He watched the game like nothing happened.
Charlie didn’t have the rage Carson did. He was her best friend, but he wasn’t an overprotective brother figure threatening to kick my ass outside the bar. He simply wasn’t an aggressive person. That was probably why he was a journalist—because he didn’t get emotional. “I’ve had a really shitty week.”
He didn’t turn my way, but his body tightened noticeably.
“I really fucked up with Carson. And I wish I could take it back.”
He looked down into his beer. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you’re the brain, and she’s the heart.”
He turned back to me, his eyes curious at my words.
“You know, you’re more logical and pragmatic. She’s emotional, passionate, spontaneous. Those aren’t bad attributes. I mean, it’s what attracted me to her in the first place. But right now, it’s working against me.”
“If you think you’re going to get her back…it’s not going to happen.”
It felt like he’d pressed his shoe right against my chest and cracked it. “I’d still like us to be friends.”
He stared into my eyes, his dirty-blond hair combed back.
“Charlie, I never meant to hurt her. I know I should have told her the truth, but honestly, I haven’t met a woman I’ve actually cared about since my ex-wife. I wasn’t expecting to feel that way for a long time, so stumbling across Carson was unexpected.”
“If you’d told her sooner, if she’d heard it from you, none of this would have happened.”
“I know. I shouldn’t have dragged my feet.”
“You should have told her the moment you knew she wouldn’t care less about your money.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I should have. But we were already in pretty deep at that point.”
“Or when you asked her to be exclusive, you should have told her then.”
I sighed. “Charlie, we can play this game all night long. We can look back and point out every mistake and what I should have done better. But at the end of the day, I was just trying to find something real, and that’s impossible when women know I’m a billionaire. I never know if they want me for me or my wallet—and it’s usually my wallet.”