Chapter 29
“I heard what I heard.” ~ Eli
Eli
I don’t want Eli to find out. No one can tell him. Paisley’s words have been on repeat in my mind for the past day.
I ignore the light in Paisley’s office as I march into the office building of Buccaneer’s Whiskey. The same way I’ve been ignoring her for the past day.
I went to Five Fathoms to surprise her and take her out for dinner. Instead, I walked in on her having a meeting with her friends about me. No one can tell him.
Fucking secrets. I hate secrets. I knew better than to trust anyone but I went ahead and fell for Paisley anyway. Or, rather, the version of Paisley she showed me. I obviously don’t know the real woman.
“Good morning,” Dakota calls as I walk past her desk.
I grunt in response.
“What crawled up your ass? You’re grumpier than Mr. High and Mighty.”
“None of your business,” I grumble .
Rhett exits his office and stands in front of me with his arms crossed over his chest. “You don’t speak to Dakota that way.”
I rub a hand down my face. I shouldn’t take my frustration with women out on my assistant. “Sorry, Dakota.”
She waves my apology away. “No reason to apologize to me just because Mr. High and Mighty ordered it.”
“Stop calling me Mr. High and Mighty,” Rhett orders Dakota.
“Stop acting all high and mighty and I might consider it.”
I don’t have time for their antics today. I have things to arrange. I motion for Rhett to move out of my way. He steps to the side but then follows me into my office and shuts the door behind him.
“What’s wrong?” I ask as I settle behind my desk.
“That’s my question.”
“Nothing’s wrong,” I lie. “Just busy.”
“You’re always busy, but you’re usually not an asshole.”
“I apologized for barking at Dakota.”
“You’ve been an asshole since yesterday.”
“Only since yesterday? I’m falling down on the job.” I chuckle but it’s forced.
“What’s going on with you? Is there a problem with the distillery? Or Apparoo ?”
There isn’t but I latch onto the excuse. “I need to visit Apparoo. I’ll probably be gone for a few weeks.”
“A few weeks? I thought you were done traveling back and forth between Smuggler’s Hideaway and California. ”
I thought I was, too. I also thought I could trust Paisley. Apparently, I don’t know shit.
I feign nonchalance. “It’s only a few weeks.”
Maybe longer if I can get away with it. I don’t want to spend time on this island where Paisley is running around keeping secrets from me. I’ve had enough of people keeping secrets from me.
Dad left a week before my sixteenth birthday but his departure wasn’t sudden. He’d planned it in detail. He had an apartment already rented in another state. And a woman waiting for him there.
I was blindsided by his betrayal. I refuse to be blindsided ever again.
“I can’t neglect my role at Apparoo. ”
Rhett frowns. “I didn’t say you were.”
“Good. If there’s nothing else?”
“What the hell is going on with you?”
“I already answered this question. I’m busy and need to travel to California. I have a lot on my plate.”
“Unlike me?”
“I’m not comparing us.”
He raises his eyebrows. “You’re not?”
The door flies open and Paisley marches inside.
I glare at Rhett. “I thought you locked the door.”
“Good luck.” He pats Paisley on the shoulder. “Maybe you can straighten him out.”
I wait until he leaves before addressing Paisley, “Can I help you? ”
She rears back. “Can you help me?”
“Yes.” I nod. “This is a work environment. I’m the CEO. What can I do for you?”
“It never bothered you about how this was a work environment before.”
Visions of taking her on the sofa in her office try to invade my mind but I shove them away. There will be no repeats of the event. In fact, there will be no sex with Paisley whatsoever. I can’t be with someone I don’t trust.
“That was before.”
“Before what? What crawled up your ass and died? I warned you my friends wouldn’t behave at the ball. There are a limited amount of times I can apologize for Chloe daring your brothers to go skinny dipping in the resort’s swimming pool.”
“I don’t give a shit what your friends do.”
Her nose wrinkles in confusion. I refuse to think it’s cute. There’s nothing cute about Paisley the liar. “Then, what’s wrong?”
“You seriously have to ask?”
“Obviously since I’m asking now.”
“I can’t believe you.”
“I’m beyond confused and I hate being confused. Can you please explain yourself?”
“You need me to explain myself?”
“Yes.”
“Fine.” I snarl. “I’ll explain myself.” I lean forward and hiss toward her. “I heard you. ”
“Heard me what? Yell at my assistant?” Her cheeks darken. “I know it was wrong of me to raise my voice at Blossom. I lost my temper. It won’t happen again.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’m discussing your anger at me for raising my voice at my assistant. Although it’s not any of your business, the brewery is technically on the distillery’s property so I can understand your concern with how I acted.”
Is she really this clueless? Or is she making shit up? Are these more lies?
“I realize I’m a hypocrite. I yelled at Blossom for making out with someone at work. Considering what we did in my office, it’s beyond hypocritical. But I was shocked at what I saw. I never want to see Jaxon’s naked rear end again.”
“Jaxon and Blossom were having sex in the distillery?”
Her brow wrinkles. “Technically they were still on the foreplay stage but yes.”
“Whatever. Jaxon’s a grown man he can do what he wants.”
“If you’re not mad about Jaxon, what are you mad about?”
“I told you. I heard you.”
“What exactly did you hear?”
“You said – and I quote here – Eli can’t find out.”
Her eyes widen. “You heard?”
“And now I know you’re a liar.”
Her brow wrinkles. “A liar?”
“Yes. A liar. A woman I can’t trust.” I shake my head. “I thought you were different. I thought I could trust you. Hell, I thought I…” I trail off before I tell her I thought I loved her. I don’t want her to have an excuse to try and dig her way back into my good graces.
All this time I thought she didn’t care about my money. She certainly fooled me.
“You’re taking my words out of context.”
“I don’t know what context could be good.”
“Listen, I’m—”
I hold up my hand. “I don’t want to hear any more lies. I don’t want to hear anything more from you at all.”
Her eyes narrow on me. “Are you serious? You heard something out of context and now you’re throwing away what we have?”
“We had nothing. It was just a bit of fun. Nothing more.”
Pain flashes in her eyes. “Just a bit of fun?”
“Yep. And I did have fun. But now it’s over.”
She sniffs and tears well in her eyes, but I refuse to be moved by her act. And it is an act. It’s been an act all along. What was I thinking? Pursuing her? She planned the entire thing. She lured me in and I fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker. I’m a fucking idiot.
“You’re breaking up with me?”
“We’re done.”
The tears fall from her eyes and I lock my limbs before I go to her. It’s a lie, I remind myself. It’s all a lie. It’s not real. It’s a mirage. She isn’t the woman I thought she was.
She rushes from the room and I blow out a breath. It’s done. I don’t need to see Paisley ever again .
Dakota stomps into my office. “You’re worse than your brother. You’re an asshole. I’m taking a mental health day because I can’t look at you right now.”
“You don’t know what she did.”
She throws daggers at me from her eyes. “Neither do you, asshole.”
“What do you know?”
“I know you’re an asshole who will never deserve Paisley.” She shakes her head. “After everything she’s been through with her family and her asshole ex. I expected better of you.”
Guilt tries to push its way into my conscious but I ignore it. I refuse to feel guilty for scraping Paisley off. I’m not the one in the wrong. I’m not the one who can’t be trusted.