24. Aiden
24
AIDEN
“ T hey’re just, like, so freaking good,” Cassie said, the fashion influencer throwing back the rest of her Elixir Free mocktail like it was a shot of tequila as she tottered on her ridiculously high heels. She stumbled a bit before latching onto Elio as if he were a lighthouse in the darkness. To be fair, the make-up influencer currently had neon-green tips accenting his dark hair, which did make him easy to spot.
“Babes, why are you already tipsy?”
Cassie rattled her glass at him, giggling. “This is my fourth drink.”
“They’re alcohol free.”
Cassie blinked at him, then burst out laughing. “Guess I’m drunk on the vibes.” She threw her arms around Elio, kissing him on the cheek as she snapped a selfie of the two of them. “Where the hell did Artie go?”
I shook my head discreetly, sipping my Old Fashioned. I’d already walked the step and repeat and took the obligatory photos Dominic insisted on—mostly me posing with the mocktails in hand. But I’d needed a real drink to help me endure the task of micromanaging the influencers and keeping them focused.
“Oh my god, should we go live on Insta?” Cassie asked.
“Maybe later,” Elio said. “I heard Bethany Lyons is invited tonight.”
“Ew,” Cassie said, shooting me a hard look. I had no idea what it meant or who the hell Bethany Lyons was. “We’re keeping away from her. She’s nothing but a backstabbing, content-stealing?—”
Jesus Christ . I turned away and seized on the chance to talk to some of the execs from Golden Oak Distilleries who came over to congratulate me. I’d already shaken more hands tonight than I would for the next year, and I didn’t exactly enjoy rubbing elbows with our competitors, but at least I could hold a conversation with them without missing every third reference they made. Man, these influencers made me feel old.
By all accounts, the launch was a success, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was walking a tightrope, waiting for an errant wind to sweep by and trip me up. I needed to keep everyone happy. I had to keep the drinks flowing. I needed to make sure the influencers were sufficiently entertained but not running wild. Mostly, I needed to convince the press that I was a happy, suave, put-together CEO who was riding the high of a successful launch for the photographers because I needed good media buzz about Elixir Free. Any one of these things could tip the balance of the scales I was holding so perfectly, and it was all starting to wear down my nerves.
“So, I’ve made the rounds,” Artie said, as the street artist rejoined the group. I turned my head, half listening to their conversation.
“What did you learn?” Cassie asked, clearly desperate for drama. “Did you see Bethany Lyons? Is she here?”
“Haven’t seen her. But I did hear that the Masked Mixer is being wooed by competing companies,” he stated with a look my way.
“Which company?” Elio asked.
“Ironwood Distilleries.”
I swallowed my whiskey too quickly. It burned on the way down.
“Huh, that could be interesting,” Cassie said. “If she’s smart, she could turn this into a bidding war. Is Elixir going to fight to keep her?” she asked, giving me a sly look.
Fight to keep her . The words were unsettling, because they mirrored exactly where my mind went. Exactly where I didn’t want it to go.
“We highly value her contributions to Elixir,” I said woodenly. “But if she wishes to explore other options, we’ll wish her all the best.”
She looked disappointed at the lack of drama she could mine from my answer. I was just lucky she couldn’t see how much turmoil I was experiencing inside.
I hated the thought of Cora leaving to work for the competition, but didn’t I need some distance from her? Wasn’t that what I wanted?
I’d tried to take a step back lately, to look for that elusive balance where I could be with her without losing control of myself, but I hadn’t found it yet. All she had to do was bat her eyes at me or touch me, and all thoughts of self-control crumbled. I was clearly in over my head when it came to Cora, but I couldn’t bear the thought of giving her up. And the last thing I wanted was to wrestle my way through my feelings with this pack of sharks—er, pack of influencers—standing around watching. I needed someone else to babysit them for a while.
I looked across the room, trying to signal to Dominic that he needed to step in and distract them, but Dominic leaned against one of the bars, a series of empty shot glasses beside him. The bartender passed him another shot, and Dominic threw that back, too.
That wasn’t good. I thought back to the other times I’d seen him overindulging lately. It was becoming enough of a trend to have me worried—and start me wondering whether I should talk to the other guys about giving Dominic some sort of intervention. I didn’t think his drinking had gotten quite that bad yet, but how certain could I be? I was only aware of the drinking he was willing to do in public. Who the hell knew what he might do in private, on the nights he didn’t have Hailey to worry about? I ran my hand down my face. Damnit, Dom .
I studied the crowd, wondering if Trent or Paul might be able to keep tabs on him. Vincent and Piper were still on their honeymoon, so my options were limited. The guys had wandered off. I pulled my phone out, about to text them, when my eyes landed on Cora. She stood out in the crowd, just as she always had to me. But her arms were crossed as she stared up at the man towering over her.
It was goddamn Levi! How’d that guy get himself on the guest list?
My last fucking nerve frayed to pieces as I stormed across the floor, grabbing Levi by the arm and escorting him out of the event. I dragged him from the room, grinding my teeth as he sputtered in confused surprise.
Cora dashed along behind us, hissing my name, but all I could focus on was Levi trying to wrench himself out of my grip. Not a chance in hell, buddy .
I ducked down a back hallway, out of sight of the main event space, and shoved Levi up against the wall, my forearm rammed up against his windpipe. “How the hell did you get in here?”
“Aiden!” Cora said, clearly alarmed. “Let him go!”
“What the fu—” Levi started as I removed my forearm, his words cutting off as I grabbed him by the shirt collar instead, giving him a hard shake.
“What’s it gonna take for you to get the message, huh?”
“Get your damn attack dog off me,” Levi spat at Cora, shoving at my chest.
“Don’t look at her!” I snapped, seeing nothing but red. “Just leave Cora the hell alone .”
“Is this how the guy treats you too?” Levi asked, still talking to Cora.
“No,” she said, sounding hurt and confused. I wished she were anywhere but here right now. “Aiden, that’s enough. Please . Just…both of you, stop this. What is happening right now?”
“You can’t call off a rabid animal,” Levi said. “That’s what’s happening. I’m guessing this freak never told you he practically attacked me at your apartment building the other week?”
“What?” Her voice hitched in genuine surprise. “What are you talking about?” She caught my eye. “Aiden, is that true?”
Levi smirked, looking from Cora to me. He shoved at me again, and this time I stumbled back a couple steps, caught off guard by her question. “Figured you hadn’t told her,” Levi said. “Because that wouldn’t fit the charming little lie you’ve sold her about you being the perfect boyfriend. But in reality, you’re an unhinged, controlling?—”
“Shut the hell up!” I growled, my fist clenching at my side.
“I know you think I’m the problem,” Levi continued, his voice getting louder as he focused on Cora, pleading with her. “But this is the guy you really have to be worried about. He’s clearly dangerous.”
I lifted my arm, winding up to take a punch. If the guy wouldn’t shut his mouth I’d shut it for him.
“ I’m the one who loves you, Cora,” Levi said. “I only want to make you happy.”
“Does any of this look like it’s making me happy?” she cried, pressing her fingers to her temples.
“ Here you are!” a voice cut in, interrupting my raging thoughts. I turned to see Dominic, hurrying down the hall toward… oh holy crap . Heading down the hall toward Elio, who was standing a little ways down from us, with his phone in his hand—pointed right at me.
“So glad I found you. I was hoping we could talk,” Dom continued, getting close enough to wrap an arm around Elio’s shoulders, guiding him back toward the party. “I just love your socials. Oh, are you getting footage from tonight? Can I take a look?”
There was a minor scuffle as he managed to swipe the phone out of Elio’s hands.
“Oh, whoops!” Dominic said. “I think I deleted it. So clumsy! My bad, man. Here, let me get you a drink to make up for it.” Dominic’s arm tightened its grip, pulling the man with him down the hallway. “Elixir could have big things in store for you. How would you feel about a partnership?”
My jaw clenched so hard my teeth ached. I’d been so rage-blind I hadn’t even realized Elio was there. Damn it, I should have known better—especially after something similar happened to Vincent not that long ago. I’d felt so horrible for him at the time, but even while it all played out, it never crossed my mind that the same thing could ever happen to me. For one thing, I didn’t have a vengeful shrew of an ex like Maya, the supermodel who had set Vincent up to look bad. But for another, I wasn’t the guy who lost his head. I was supposed to have a better handle on myself than that.
I usually did have a better handle on myself than that.
But Cora…Cora always broke all my rules.
Paul and Trent stood at the end of the hall, staring at me with mingled looks of concern. They’d obviously realized what was going on and rallied Dominic from his drunken stupor at the bar. Thank god, he’d still been with it enough to know what to do. If they hadn’t stepped in, this could have turned into a massive scandal.
Trent arched his eyebrow, silently asking if I was okay. I gave him a brief nod in return. He disappeared back into the party with Paul, leaving me in the hallway with Cora and Levi. It was thunderously silent.
“I need to talk to Levi,” Cora said without looking at me. Her voice was quiet. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Levi shot me a triumphant, cocky smirk as he and Cora walked off down the hall where they could speak privately. I didn’t know what to do. I just stood there, breathing hard, feeling like an idiot. How had I gotten here, in this position where I’d lost control, putting my company’s reputation at risk?
I didn’t want to be the kind of person who acted without thinking, who lashed out and made irrational decisions. But that was who I’d become now that Cora was back in my life. These overwhelming feelings for her had me losing sense of myself. It was happening all over again, just like in high school.
I needed to take back control.