Long moments passed, and I wondered if he had fallen asleep. I didn’t want to stop or move and disturb him. The intense satisfaction of knowing I was helping him in some way surprised me. Until that moment, I hadn’t realized how much I had missed him. His smiles and laughter. His warm voice and bossy attitude. I had been restless and upset, worried and annoyed over his absence, but all of it vanished when he was near. I desperately wanted to know what made him look that way, but I knew he wouldn’t tell me until he was ready. I hoped he was confiding in Bentley or Aiden, because whatever he was carrying was too heavy to cope with on his own.An unexpected feeling hit my chest and I held my breath. I wanted to be that person for him. To share his troubles and ease them the way I was doing right now. I had never wanted to be that person for anyone except my sister, and the feeling was different.I cared about Maddox. More than I should. But it was there, and although I wasn’t sure what t

“No. I’ve been giving the entire fucked-up situation a lot of thought.”“What about your pretty lady? Dee? What does she think you should do?”I lifted my glass, taking a long swallow. “I haven’t told her, either.”Richard’s brow furrowed, and he sipped his scotch.“You know, often decisions made on your own are the worst ones of all. We can never look at the problem objectively and tend to see only one side.”I snorted into my glass. “There is only one side to this mess.”“I doubt that.”“No one else can make this decision.”“Agreed. I know I don’t know you that well, Maddox, and Bentley and Aiden even less. But I see the strength of your friendship. The respect you have for each other. I think they’d want the chance to have their thoughts on your decision heard. In fact, I’m certain they would insist.”“I can’t allow Bentley to risk the reputation of his company.”“Don’t you think he should have a say in the matter?”I sighed, unsure how to respond. “I can’t put him in the position

Bentley read it and scowled, lifting his eyes to meet mine, then handed the letter to Aiden. He read it slowly, his brow furrowed as he made his way through the short document.“Explain this, Maddox,” Bentley demanded.I leaned forward. “She wants a house and money—a yearly payout. If I don’t give it to her, she is going to put these pictures out there. To the media, on social sites, everywhere. Once they’re out there, that’s it. BAM will forever be associated with them. The scandal will be huge. You don’t want that stain on your company, Bent.”“Our company,” he said.I continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “If I pay her, shut her up for now, and leave, if it ever comes out, you can distance yourself. Spin it so you can keep your reputation clean and not affect the company. Say you fired me the second this came to your attention. Whatever you need to do.”“And what do you plan on doing? Where will you work?”I barked out a laugh. “I don’t need to work. You know that.” I huffed out a long

“I met her in university. I thought she was beautiful and bright. She seemed to have it all. We were together for a short while.” I sighed and groaned. “It was the biggest mistake of my life.”“Why?”“She hid the real person she was under her charming persona. She had a way of getting me to do things I didn’t really want to do. She could manipulate me—something I didn’t allow anyone else to do.” I rubbed the back of my neck as memories pricked my brain, making me uncomfortable. “I was going through a bad time. Bent was setting up his business and hardly ever around. Aiden was writing finals of two majors. He was either at school or at the library. If he was at home, he was studying or sleeping. I was feeling lost and at a crossroads. For a short time, she made me feel better.”“What happened?”My shoulders felt tight and my neck ached. I rolled my arms, trying to release the tension. I sat beside her, reaching for her hand. Absently, I kissed her thumb, hating the fact that it was her

Jill answered the door, overdressed and made up for a Monday morning. She looked exultant, sweeping her arm in a grand gesture. “I’ve been waiting.”I stepped in, hiding my distaste. The room was a disaster. Clothes strewn around, bed unmade, and last night’s dinner tray on the floor, an empty bottle of wine laying on its side.“You took your time. I thought I was going to have to come for another visit, Maddox.” She simpered. “You know I hate to be kept waiting.”“I don’t know anything about you anymore, Jill. I never really did. But as I told you, I’m a busy man. It takes time to make arrangements.”She grinned, her crimson lips stretched across her teeth at the word “arrangements.” A smear of lipstick stuck to her front teeth, as if she had bitten into something and it left behind blood. It was fitting.“You have a video.”Her eyebrows rose. “Someone is clever.”I tamped down my revulsion. “I want to see it.”“Why?”“Why not?” I countered.She regarded me, her arms crossed, red-tip