Chapter 1

The whole room was still cheering when Tyler Smith laughed it off.

"Don't read into it, guys. Vivian and I are just boss and employee, nothing more." He grinned. "Keep it up, and she'll dock my pay."

But the way he said it only made it more obvious he was covering something up.

The teasing got louder. Someone shouted, "Kiss him again!"

The tips of Tyler's ears turned bright red.

I stared at my girlfriend, Vivian Chase. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. She looked away and raised her glass instead.

"I'll take three shots as punishment. Tyler just started, and he's shy. Quit ganging up on him."

It was only a long time after what happened that she bothered to text me an explanation.

[It was just a game. Everyone's having fun tonight. Didn't want to be a buzzkill.]

Funny, since Vivian was normally such a clean freak that I had to brush my teeth and shower before she'd even let me near her for a make-out session. Apparently that all went out the window the second it might ruin the mood for somebody else.

The room let out a knowing little chuckle.

"We all get it. Ms. Chase is just soft on her new assistant."

Everyone in that room had drawn the obvious conclusion, and Vivian didn't say a word to correct them.

Something closed around my heart like a fist and squeezed until I could barely breathe.

Three years ago, Vivian had begged me to take a job out of state to help build up the business.

Before I left, I asked her to make our relationship public. She said, "The company just got started. If people find out about us now, it won't look good. Just wait until you're back."

I believed her.

I worked myself half to death bringing in new businesses, and ended up in the hospital more than once with stomach bleeding from all the client dinners. I finally transferred back to the main office right before the company's annual event, thinking I'd finally get to stand beside her out in the open.

Instead, she already had someone new by her side, someone who apparently didn't need to worry about appearances at all.

I put my phone away and sat there listening to them as they kept playing their game.

A coworker shoved a drink into my hand. "Why are you still sitting here? Go toast Ms. Chase and her boy toy. Or are you still holding out hope for her yourself? Might want to check a mirror first."

The whole table burst out laughing, sharp with mockery. Someone forced a glass into my hand.

"Come on, man, can't you take a joke? What kind of man are you?"

Vivian's eyes landed on me, her brow furrowed. My heart skipped a beat.

For three years, I'd basically been drinking liquor like it was water just to land new businesses. I'd been hospitalized for stomach bleeding more than once. Vivian knew about my condition.

She even swore to me once, "From now on, I don't need you to drink another drop for my sake. I just want you healthy and by my side."

But now she just looked away coldly and cut the joke short.

"Derek, don't be so unsociable."

It sounded like a reminder to know my place, like she was drawing a line between us.

I let out a bitter little laugh and downed the glass in one go.

The laughter hadn't even died down before Tyler suddenly clutched his stomach, groaning in pain.

Someone asked nervously, "Tyler, are you allergic to alcohol?"

Vivian's face went through a kind of panic I'd never once seen from her. She jumped up, called over a couple of the guys, and had Tyler loaded into the passenger seat of her car. Then she floored it and disappeared.

Nobody noticed that I was doubled over on the couch too, in just as much pain.

The table kept talking, full of admiration. "Ms. Chase really does look out for Tyler."

"Three years now, and even though he's technically her assistant, half the time it feels more like she's the one taking care of him."

"She calls it looking out for a little brother, but I've seen them coming and going from the same building more times than I can count."

Tyler had forced out a text through the group chat earlier that night. [Don't go spreading rumors, guys. Vivian's boyfriend will get jealous if he hears this.]

That only got everyone more worked up.

[Tyler, you can drop the act.]

[Ms. Chase doesn't have another guy in her life. If she's got a boyfriend, it's you.]

My phone kept buzzing with notifications the whole time. And through all of it, Vivian never once corrected anyone.

Someone at the table who wasn't glued to their phone leaned in and whispered instead.

"I actually saw Tyler's phone background once. It was one of Vivian's private photos. Pretty revealing too, if you know what I mean."

My face changed instantly.

Vivian was cold to me most of the time, only warming up occasionally at home when she felt like it, and here she was sending racy photos to Tyler to use as his wallpaper.

Whenever I wanted her and she wasn't in the mood, she always said, "Derek, can you tone it down? I just don't have much of a drive that way."

But sometimes all I wanted was to hold her.