Chapter 7
ALEX
Alex shot Chris an annoyed glance as he balled his napkin and tossed it onto his empty plate before tossing it onto the coffee table and racing after Ava.
She’d stormed from the room moments ago when her supposed fiancé had failed to say he found a woman planting a kiss on someone’s husband in front of them terrible behavior.
He didn’t blame her for walking out, though he desperately hoped this helped her see the light. Chris Maxwell was not the man for Ava Collins.
Between his controlling behavior like buying her “acceptable” pajamas to his practical drooling over another woman, Ava deserved far better.
She deserved far better than Alex, too, but he’d spend his entire life trying to deserve her.
He caught up to Ava before she ducked into her room, his heart breaking as he spotted her glassy eyes.
He tried to reassure her, but Chris appeared, another argument ensuing until Ava’s cell phone rang.
After a minute of speaking on the line, Ava’s gaze met his, a mix of fear and concern hanging in her eyes.
He rubbed her forearm, trying to offer her silent support for whatever had just happened on top of the argument with Chris.
His mind flashed to their agreement to go to Paris. He really needed to take her there. She deserved a moment to breath and relax.
“Okay, I’ll be right there,” Ava said with a bob of her head before she ended the call.
“What’s up?” Alex asked.
She stared up at him again, concern twisting her delicate features. “That was Simon Blackburn.”
“You gave him your cell phone number?” Chris asked, his voice tinged with surprise.
She shot him a cold glance before she turned back to Alex. “He says someone’s trying to kill him.”
“What?” Alex asked.
Ava ran her fingers through her hair. “Can you call Barry? Maybe see if he can get something done on an emergency basis? I’m going over there.”
“No, you’re not,” Chris answered, his hands on his hips.
“Chris, he’s terrified.”
“I’ll bet. Prison is not a nice place. If he hadn’t committed a crime, he wouldn’t be in there.”
“He didn’t.”
“Says him. Ava, you’re not going to race off to a prison at this time of night. You won’t even get to see him now.”
Ava shook her head at him before she stepped toward her room. “I’m going to change and head over there.”
“I’ll go with you,” Alex answered.
“Hold on, Nerd Alert, I don’t think so. I’ll take Ava.”
“No one needs to take me. I’m perfectly capable of going alone,” Ava answered.
“Avs–”
“You stay here and go over the data from those files. Chris, help him. I won’t be long. Call Barry.”
She disappeared into her room, leaving Alex and Chris in the hall together.
“Nice going,” Chris said. “Now, she’s determined to flex her authority and independence.”
Alex screwed up his face as he glanced over at the man. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. You know, ever since Ava’s been out here in the Hamptons, suddenly, she’s a different person.”
“Ava is the same person she’s always been. She has always been fierce and independent.”
“Maybe, but she wasn’t stupid about it. This is ridiculous. It’s like she’s doing things just to spite me.”
Alex scoffed, rolling his eyes as he pushed past the man and descended the stairs.
“What?” Chris asked as he followed him.
“If you can’t figure this out, you don’t deserve her.”
“Oh, and I suppose you do, huh?”
“Of course not,” Alex answered. “There’s no way I deserve Ava. But if I had her, I wouldn’t treat her the way you do, that’s for sure.”
“Unbelievable,” Chris grumbled with a shake of his head.
Alex plopped onto the couch. “It really is unbelievable that she picked you the way you behave.”
Chris huffed out a chuckle. “Yeah, well, she did. Get over it.”
Alex chewed the inside of his cheek as he grabbed his laptop and the list of compromised files.
Footsteps echoed outside of the living room.
Ava appeared, stuffing her phone in her purse as she entered. “Okay, I’m heading out. I’ll call you when I know anything.”
“Okay,” both men said at the same time before Chris glared at Alex.
Alex twisted toward her. “Are you sure you don’t want company?”
“I’m sure. Work on those files. I’ll be okay.”
“Okay. I’m calling Barry now. I’ll text you once I’ve spoken with him.”
Ava nodded as he pulled his phone from his pocket. She left them behind as the line trilled. Alex explained the situation to his legal counsel, and the man agreed to see what he could do. He ended the call and fired off a text to Ava, telling her Barry would meet her at the jail.
“Got it all handled there, Sport?” Chris asked, his arms crossed tightly.
“Yep.”
“You really think you’re something, don’t you?”
Alex shot the man a nervous glance, preferring not to entertain a confrontation with the alpha male personality. Chris Maxwell was every guy he ever avoided, every man who used to tease him relentlessly, every person who thought his quirks were strange and so was he.
He pounded against his keyboard, sorting through the files on the paper.
“No, I’m serious,” Chris continued. “You think you’re really it. I think this whole wounded geek thing is all an act.”
Alex gritted his teeth as he flicked his gaze to the growing darkness outside.
“Do you think it’s going to work?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m trying to do a little work here, so if you wouldn’t mind–”
“Actually, I would mind. I very much mind. Because I can see right through you.”
Alex raised his gaze from his laptop screen again, heaving a sigh. “Oh, yeah? How’s that?”
“The car, the clothes, the snazzy house. How much did you pay the CFO to come on to you?”
“What?” Alex asked, his features twisting in shock.
“You heard me. How much did you pay her to make the scene in front of Ava? It’s not going to work, so I hope it wasn’t much.”
Annoyance roiled within at the accusation, partly because some it was true. He hadn’t paid Miranda to do anything she’d done, but he’d been extremely pleased when Ava had reacted as she had. Frustration laced his tone as he repeated, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Chris leaned forward, his eyes ablaze. “Don’t you? Okay, we can play that game. But know this…Ava is not staying with you. She’s my fiancée. And as soon as we can get this divorce from you, I’m going to take her home.”
“Well, good luck with that because Ava asked me to hold off on the divorce. I can see why she’d be having second thoughts after tonight’s discussion.”
He took pleasure in the flash of confusion and surprise on Chris’s smug face.
“Yeah, that’s right, Builder Bro, so it may not be as soon as you think.”
“You’re lying.”
“Am I?” Alex dug his phone from his pocket and swiped into his texts. “Hey Ace, I’ve been thinking…maybe we should hold off on the divorce for now.”
“Bull,” Chris answered.
“Here it is in black and white.” Alex wiggled the phone’s display at him. “Read it for yourself.”
Chris reached for it as Alex pulled back. “Seriously? Are the texts that private? Because if that’s the case, I need to have a serious conversation with Ava.”
“There’s no need for you to go through my phone. You can see it right here.”
Chris narrowed his eyes at the screen before he shook his head. “I don’t believe it. You could have totally rigged that. Aren’t you a computer whiz?”
“I didn’t rig it. But you believe what you want.” Alex tossed the phone onto the cushion next to him and returned to his laptop.
He slid his gaze sideways, peering at Chris out of the corner of his eye. The corners of his lips turned up slightly when he spotted the man’s frown and his tightly crossed arms.
A pang of guilt shot through him. He hated that he’d just used that against him. Ava would be so disappointed in him. What was he doing?
Why didn’t he just tell her how he felt?
He glanced sideways again. Because he couldn’t compete with Mr. Dominance. The cool confidence, the way he “handled” Ava, the self-assured way he demanded things to be the way he expected.
He’d never done well against these types.
Ava would tell him they were perfect as friends, and she’d always be there for him, but she loved Chris. She didn’t love Alex. Not that way.
His features fell as he focused on his screen again. The last thing he wanted was to lose her entirely. He didn’t want that sadness shattering his heart to pieces and putting the final nail in his coffin.
Chris rose from his seat as he continued to pound on the keys in search of information. “I’m going for a walk.”
“Okay,” Alex murmured as he tried to ignore him.
The man disappeared through the sliding door leading to the pool, and Alex blew out a long breath, letting the tension release in his shoulders.
His head fell back against the cushion as he stopped searching for clues, taking a moment to assess the situation. When Ava came home, would Chris confront her?
Would she confront Alex? He imagined the potential argument.
“Why would you have told him, Alex?”
“I don’t know, I just…he was being really aggressive, and I reacted.”
“I was going to tell him, but not yet. Now…I have to leave with him. He’s pretty mad, and he’s demanding I go.”
“But, Avs–”
“No,” she’d say with a shake of her head, “no, Alex. I have to go. He’s really upset, and I need to fix this.”
“Ava, please,” he’d beg. “Don’t go. Please. I…need you. I love you.”
She’d stare at him before she shook her head and walked away from him forever.
He winced at the imagined scene and reached for his phone, his thumbs hovering over the keyboard. Did he want to bother her with this?
What if Chris already was? What if he called her while on the beach?
A million what-ifs, all ending in heartbreak for him, shot through his mind. “Ava, why is this so hard?”
He chewed his lower lip before he finally typed a message and sent it.
Hey, Avs, I did something really stupid.
I’m sorry. I hate to bug you while you’re dealing with Simon.
But…I accidentally let it slip that you asked to postpone the divorce.
I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to, and it just slipped out. Avs, I’m so sorry.
His heart pounded hard against his ribs as he stared at the message on the screen. His chest tightened, making his breaths difficult.
He drummed his fingers against the keyboard, unable to focus on the work as he waited for a response from Ava.
He should hack her phone and see if she’d read it yet. Was she avoiding him or just fuming?
With shaky hands, he brought up a new program on his laptop, his fingers flying across the keyboard.
A second later, he puffed out the breath he’d been holding and shook his head. “What are you doing, Alex?”
He was about to invade her privacy…again. The situation with Crossbeam Chris was invading his sanity.
His eyes slid closed as he tried to regroup. The chiming of his cell phone stopped his heart. He nearly toppled his laptop as he grabbed for the phone.
Ava’s name showed up on his lock screen, sending his heart pounding wildly against his ribs. He hesitated, uncertain he wanted to read the message. Until he did, there was a chance that Ava wasn’t angry with him.
With his teeth gnawing his lower lip, he swiped into the message. Thanks for letting me know. Not the best thing to happen, but it’s okay. Accidents happen. I’m waiting to see Simon, but so far, no dice. See you soon. And try not to kill Chris.
A kiss face followed, sending his mind racing back to the kisses they’d shared earlier in the day. Heat washed over him again as the memory of her lips pressed against his coursed through his mind.
He wanted so many more of those moments. But every move he made jeopardized their relationship even further. So far, he hadn’t pushed her away, but one wrong move…
He stared at the message, reading it again, his heart and mind swimming with a mix of regret and relief.
At least he hadn’t blabbed about their lip locks to Ava’s fiancé. “Yet,” he reminded himself.
He hurriedly typed a response. Thank you, Ava. I feel so bad about this, but as always, you’re awesome.
She sent back a smiley face. He stared at it longer than he should have before Chris strode back into the room. He tossed the phone down and started typing.
“Have you heard anything?” Chris asked as he collapsed into his chair.
“Uhh, Ava was waiting to see Simon, but she wasn’t able to get in yet.”
“So, she texted you?”
“She answered a text I sent,” he said, his eyes fixed on the screen.
“Right. Of course, you texted her. What did you do? Tattle on me? Complain I was mean to you?”
Alex scoffed. “No.”
“Yeah, right. You probably cried to her about how bad I was. You love playing the helpless victim.”
Alex slammed the top of his laptop down. “I do not. I just…”
“Just what? You just what, Alex?”
He tugged the laptop open again. “Nothing.”
“No, say it. Because I’d love to hear what you just were doing.”
Alex tapped on the keys, ignoring the statement.
“Just…shooting the breeze. Just…checking in with her. Just…trying to get her to leave me?”
Alex snapped his gaze up to the man’s face at the last words. “That’s crazy.”
“Is it? Because I don’t think so. I haven’t thought so since I came out here and saw your…cozy little setup here.”
Alex let his head fall back against the cushion behind him. “Ava explained that.”
“Yeah, I know what Ava said. Now, I’m asking you. Ava thinks you’re so innocent, her good buddy, Alex. But I’m asking you straight out…are you after Ava?”
His heart stopped as his stomach twisted into a knot. Could he lie his way out of this, or would he need to admit it?
He couldn’t. If he told Chris, Chris would tell Ava. And his entire plan would be blown.
His lower lip bobbed as he tried to come up with an answer. The chiming of his phone saved him. He chuckled nervously as he waved the device in the air before he checked his messages, expecting one from Ava.
His chest tightened as he spotted Miranda’s name instead.
Chris leaned forward, his brows furrowing. “Is it Ava?”
Alex hesitated before replying, “No, it’s Miranda.”
He leaned forward, swiping to read her message. Hey Alex, I am incredibly sorry about what happened earlier. I acted really foolishly. But I really want to help. I have some information that I think could help you. Can you meet me?
Sweat beaded on his brow as he considered the invitation. He needed information, but he wasn’t certain this was the way to get it. Was he walking into a trap?