Chapter 40
Ruby
Imake it five steps toward my desk before I hear it:
“Ruby. Wait.”
I stop, of course it’s Evan.
He jogs up beside me, out of breath like he chased me across continents.
“We need to talk.”
I force a smile. It feels like it’s been ironed onto my face.
“Can it wait?”
“No,” he says quickly. Too quickly.
He ushers me toward a quiet alcove near the supply closet. I don’t want to go, but I also don’t want a performance in front of the entire floor.
So I follow.
He closes the door.
Not a great sign.
He turns to me, eyes full of something between confusion and hurt.
“Ruby… what are you doing?”
I blink. “What?”
“Cole,” he says. “Why him? Why… this?”
Heat crawls up my neck.
“This is not your business.”
He shakes his head. “It IS if you’re in danger.”
I almost laugh. “Danger? Evan, please..."
“I’m serious.” He steps closer. “He’s powerful. He’s your boss. He could destroy your career. He could hurt you without even meaning to.”
My chest tightens, not because he’s wrong about the power imbalance, but because he thinks Jaxon would hurt me.
“He isn’t like that,” I whisper.
“You don’t KNOW him,” Evan insists. “You think you do, but you don’t. People like him always take what they want. They always leave damage behind.”
I swallow hard.
“Evan… you don’t get to decide what he’s like.”
He takes a shaky breath.
“I just… don’t want to lose you.”
Oh god.
My heart drops.
“Lose me?” I whisper.
He nods.
“I care about you. I always have. And watching you, watching him..."
His voice breaks.
“I hate it.”
I step back.
“Evan… I didn’t know you felt that way.”
“Because you never looked,” he says softly. “You never looked at me the way you look at him.”
My stomach twists painfully.
“I’m sorry,” I say, barely audible. “I never meant to lead you on.”
“You didn’t,” he says quickly. Then softer, “But it still hurts.”
I breathe out slowly.
“I need you to understand something.” I meet his eyes. “What’s happening with Jaxon, it’s messy and it’s complicated, but it’s my choice.”
He flinches.
“And I’m asking you,” I continue gently, “to trust me.”
He closes his eyes for a moment.
“Okay,” he whispers. “But… be careful. Please.”
Before I can reply, the door opens.
And Jaxon is standing there.
His eyes? Cold.
His jaw? Tight.
His presence? A warning wrapped in a perfect suit.
“Everything alright?” he asks, but his eyes never leave Evan.
Evan straightens.
“We were just talking.”
“About what?” Jaxon asks, voice deceptively calm.
“Nothing that concerns you,” Evan says.
Oh no.
OH NO.
Jaxon steps closer, just enough to fill the space.
Ruby’s body remembers last night and reacts, heat flushing her cheeks, breath catching.
Evan sees it. His expression cracks.
Jaxon sees that reaction too.
And something shifts behind his eyes, possessiveness, cold and hot at once.
He leans in slightly toward me.
“Ruby,” he murmurs, low and intimate, “I need you in my office.”
My breath catches.
He knows Evan is listening. He doesn’t care.
He wants him to.
I nod, unable to speak.
Evan sees the nod. His face falls completely.
Jaxon places his hand lightly, very lightly, on the small of my back.
Guiding me out.
A claim without force.
A claim Evan fully understands.
My body shivers.
“Talk later?” Evan asks softly.
I turn.
And the answer is unavoidable.
“…Maybe,” I whisper.
But Jaxon’s hand guides me forward, gently but firmly.
And Evan sees that too.
EVAN
He watches them walk away.
The hand.
The way Ruby leans the slightest bit toward Cole. The way Cole watches her like she’s the only person he sees.
Something inside Evan breaks.
He thought he had time. He thought she’d realize on her own. He thought she’d wake up and see him. But she didn’t. She saw Cole.
And now it’s too late.
JAXON
I don’t say anything until the elevator doors close.
Then I turn to her.
“Did he upset you?”
My voice is too calm. Too controlled.
She shakes her head.
“He just… needed to talk.”
“He doesn’t just want to talk.”
Her breath catches.
“I know,” she whispers.
My jaw tightens.
“I don’t like the way he looks at you.”
She swallows. “It’s not like that.”
“It is,” I say. “And you know it.”
She doesn’t argue.
I step closer, just enough to feel her breath.
“I’m not going to fight him for you,” I say quietly. “But I’m also not going to step back because he feels something he shouldn’t.”
Her eyes widen slightly.
I lift a hand, brushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
“Ruby,” I say, voice low. “I want you.”
Her breath hitch tells me everything.
“And unless you tell me to stop,” I murmur, “I’m not going anywhere.”
She whispers, “I’m not telling you to stop.”
Heat punches through me.
I take her hand in mine.
And I don’t let go.