Chapter 39
Ava glanced up from her laptop as Marcus stepped into the living room, looking alert despite the fact that he must have just woken up.
“Hey, sorry if I woke you,” she murmured.
“You didn’t.” His voice was raspy. “Why don’t you come back to bed?”
It was about three in the morning, but she’d have to be home soon. She didn’t think Ryan knew about her and Marcus—he was too self-involved to imagine that she’d cheat. But she still didn’t want to do anything to ruin the deal she’d been working on for the last year.
They were so close she could taste it. And with the bonus she would get… She could leave the company for good and start somewhere fresh.
“I can’t. I’ve got too much to work on.” That was actually true.
“What’s going on with this job?” He sat on the other end of the couch, took one of her feet in his lap and started kneading the bottom.
She bit back a moan at the unexpected pleasure.
That was the thing with him, or one of the many things—he was so in tune with her.
Or maybe he just cared about her needs. Something that should have been basic in a relationship, but she’d been starved for touch, for attention, for someone to know she existed, for so long.
Being with him was… He was watching her closely and she realized she hadn’t answered.
“It’s boring stuff.” Not exactly, but she couldn’t talk about it with anyone. Not even the man she loved.
“Liar.” He squeezed her foot harder.
This time she did moan. “Fine. I can’t talk about it. You know that.”
He just shrugged. Marcus didn’t seem to care about things like that. Things she should or shouldn’t do. He played by his own rules. “What about this job is stressing you out, then? Give it to me in generic terms. Maybe I can help.”
She loved that he wanted to help, but… “Other departments aren’t doing what they need to do.
And because of that, I can’t do what I need to do.
And we’re so close to the hard launch.” They’d already done the soft launch so there was no going back.
They had so many investors and people counting on this going forward.
And she was sweating thinking about what could happen if they officially launched and things went wrong. Milo didn’t seem concerned about it at all. Neither did Ryan or any of the others involved. It was maddening.
“The others on the team aren’t concerned and…I feel like they’re gaslighting me.” An overused term she’d grown to hate. But it was appropriate in this situation.
“So what happens if this department doesn’t do what they’re supposed to before the launch?”
People could die. She didn’t say that though. Instead she closed her laptop and pulled her feet away from him. “I honestly don’t know,” she lied. “And I need to get home before Ryan realizes how long I’ve been gone.”
“You told him you were sleeping at the office.”
She had, but she needed space from Marcus. Because if she was around him longer, she’d tell him the truth. And while Marcus might live in shades of gray, she knew there were some things he wouldn’t abide.
The truth was… Hell, she wasn’t sure what the truth was at all anymore.
She just knew that she needed distance from Marcus and his all-seeing eyes. The man read her too clearly.
“Talk to me, Ava.” His voice was deep and intoxicating, his expression concerned.
“I will, but let me get through next week.”
She could tell that he wanted to argue, but he eventually nodded. “Okay. Call me if you need me.”
“I will.” Or more likely, she’d have to resist calling him. She didn’t want his help. And she wasn’t sure he could or would help her anyway.