Chapter 8
Addison
It’s the start of my fourth week at Palmer Capital, and I arrive forty-five minutes early on Monday morning.
The building is empty, just the way I like it.
On the way to work, I rehearse what I could say to Axel: It was a mistake. Heat of the moment. We were both furious. Professional stress. It won’t happen again.
The words sound hollow even to me.
I make it to my office, still thinking about that kiss. Then I sit and stare at the blank wall until my pulse slows.
After an hour of doing absolutely nothing, besides questioning all my life choices, the building fills with people. Voices echo in the hallway, and footsteps pass my door.
None of them belong to Axel.
I know his walk. The rhythm of it.
And I realize that’s pathetic. Knowing someone’s walk is pathetic.
I open the crisis communications file and force myself to focus.
By noon, I’ve rewritten the same paragraph six times.
The words blur together, and my cursor blinks accusingly on the screen.
River knocks twice and enters with lunch.
I had forgotten that today was his first day here, and I told him to come in at lunchtime.
After three weeks of watching me work ridiculous hours, Liam informed me I was getting support staff whether I wanted it or not.
River had been my assistant at Archer Media Group before the acquisition. He was twenty-two and fresh out of college when I originally hired him a year ago. And in that year, he’s proved himself to be an asset.
Having someone who already knows how I work, what I need before I ask for it, feels like a lifeline I didn’t know I needed. I definitely didn’t want Liam picking some corporate drone who’d report back to him.
So, I asked River to join me at Palmer Capital before Liam chose someone else as my assistant.
“I figured you skipped breakfast.”
He’s right, of course. “I wasn’t hungry.”
He sets the container on my desk. Chicken salad. Extra avocado. He remembers things like that.
I really needed this small comfort today.
I exhale, and my shoulders immediately relax. “Thanks.”
River hovers near the door. “Are you okay?”
“Yep. I’m just busy.”
He watches me, unconvinced.
“Your office is right next door,” I tell him. “Get settled. HR will be in within the hour to get you anything you need. You already have access to my calendar, and there are briefs on all the projects I’m working on.”
“Got it.” He pauses. “Thanks for bringing me here.”
“You’re good at your job.” I turn back to my screen. “I’m really glad you’re here. I need good people.”
River nods and leaves. One less thing to manage. He’s competent enough to figure everything out.
I eat three bites of the salad before my mind drifts to Axel’s mouth on mine. I push the container aside. Then I pull up the media kit and work until the words make sense again.
Control returns in increments.
This is manageable. Axel is a distraction. The kiss was an anomaly. We’re professionals who made a mistake, and now we can move forward.
It meant nothing to him. And it meant nothing to me.
Simple.
It’s three o’clock when footsteps approach my office.
Wrong rhythm to be Axel.
Too measured. Too controlled.
Liam.
He appears in my doorway. His suit jacket is still on, tie immaculate, and every button fastened.
Most men would have loosened up by this point in the day, but Liam looks ready for another investor meeting.
There’s a file tucked under one arm, and his tailored suit fits him in ways I shouldn’t be noticing.
Not only is he my boss, but I also kissed his brother.
I really messed up.
“Is the media kit ready?”
My fingers move across the keyboard. “Sending it now.”
He walks in and positions himself behind my shoulder to watch what I’m doing on the screen.
He’s close. Too close. I can smell his earthy cologne and feel the heat of him at my back.
The file uploads. I hit send.
“Done.”
Liam nods once and steps toward the door before he pauses. “I haven’t seen you at all today. You okay?”
“I’ve been working.”
It’s not a lie. Just incomplete. Going up to the executive floor means running into Axel, and running into Axel means testing my resolve not to make the same mistake twice.
“I needed to focus on the media kit,” I tell him. “I didn’t want to come up to the executive floor, because there are too many distractions.”
His expression shifts. Not quite a smile. “Distractions.”
“Work distractions,” I explain further.
“Right.” He taps the file against his palm. “Axel asked about you this morning.”
My throat tightens, and I can’t breathe. Did Axel tell him that I kissed him? “Did he need me for something?”
“No. I don’t think so.” He turns to leave, then stops one last time. “For what it’s worth, whatever happened between you two—it’s not my concern. Unless it affects your work.”
“Nothing happened.”
He nods and then walks out.
I release the breath I’ve been holding and press my palms flat against the desk.
Liam knows.
Maybe not the specifics. But he knows something happened, and he’s watching now.
I managed to get through Monday without seeing Axel, and now Tuesday is dragging.
I skip the morning meeting, because I’m not needed, and I don’t have any real updates. Nolan and Liam communicate with me through emails, but none of the brothers come to my office.
Lunch arrives via River again. This time I eat half of it.
At four o’clock, Nolan appears with the media kit that I gave to Liam on Monday. He sits in the empty chair at my desk and spreads the documents out like we have all afternoon.
“Walk me through the media kit,” he says. “I want to understand everything, in case I get questions from investors after we send it out.”
I do. Point by point. He asks clarifying questions that demonstrate he already understands the data perfectly well.
Fifteen minutes in, he closes the folder. “You’re distracted.”
“Excuse me?”
“Since Friday.” Nolan’s voice stays even. “You’re here physically, but your focus keeps slipping. That’s not like you.”
“I’m focused.”
His head tilts, questioning my words.
He’s right. I set my pen down carefully. “I’ve been managing multiple projects.”
“You have.” Nolan gathers the documents with deliberate slowness. Not rushing. This man never rushes anything. “But that’s not why you’re distracted.”
Heat crawls up my neck. “Say what you mean, Nolan.”
“Axel mentioned you’ve been avoiding the executive floor.” He leans forward. His posture is open, unthreatening, and it almost makes me want to confide in him.
My stomach tightens. “Axel talks too much.”
“He does.” Nolan smiles. “But he’s not wrong.”
“The media kit was a lot of work, and it took concentration.”
“And being around Axel breaks that concentration.” It’s not a question. Just an observation delivered without judgment.
I regret asking him to be direct. My mistake.
I don’t answer.
Nolan watches me for another moment. His gaze isn’t sharp like Liam’s or challenging like Axel’s. It’s steady. Patient. Like he has all the time in the world to wait for the truth, and he won’t punish me when I give it to him.
That patience weakens my resolve in ways force never could.
But still, I keep my thoughts to myself.
He gathers the media kit and moves toward the door before stopping with his hand on the frame.
“Addison.”
I look at him despite myself.
He pauses, choosing his words with the same care he uses for everything. “You don’t owe anyone an explanation about what happened between you and Axel. But you can’t hide from him forever. This building isn’t that big.”
I stare at him, my mouth agape. But nothing comes out.
He leaves.
Liam knows. Nolan knows.
I am going to have to face the consequences of kissing Axel sooner or later.
I fold my arms on the desk and let my head drop.
On Wednesday morning, my printer runs out of paper.
Most people order materials through procurement and have them delivered to their desks. But I don’t have that kind of time. I could ask River to go and get it for me, but I need a break from staring at my screen.
I grab my keycard and head upstairs to the supply closet, which happens to be on the forty-third floor.
I need to face my fear of the executive floor at some point.
The supply closet is tucked at the end of the west hallway. I have to walk past Axel’s office, and I’m equally relieved and disappointed that he’s not there.
I open the supply closet door, and the fluorescent lights flicker on automatically.
Metal shelving covers both walls, packed with boxes of paper, toner cartridges, and office supplies arranged in obsessively neat rows.
I locate the paper I need on the top shelf, but it’s too high to reach.
There’s a step stool folded in the corner. I drag it over, climb up, and stretch for the box.
The door closes behind me.
I spin.
Axel stands there with his arms crossed. That infuriating half-smile playing at his mouth.
“You’ve been avoiding me.”
My pulse spikes. “I’ve been working.”
“For three days. In your office. Never coming up here.” He moves closer to me. “Why is that?”
“Both of your brothers have already asked me the same question.”
“Yeah?” He stops three feet away. “What’d you tell them?”
“That my work needed focus.”
“Bullshit.”
I climb down from the step stool and plant my feet on the ground. “Get out of my way.”
“No.”
“Move, Axel”
“You kissed me.” He moves closer. “Then you ran.”
“I didn’t run.”
He uncrosses his arms. “You disappeared. You won’t even talk to me.”
“There’s nothing to discuss.”
“I disagree.” He’s too close now. “We need to talk about what happened.”
I feel like I can’t breathe. “It was a mistake.”
“That kiss didn’t feel like a mistake.”
Heat floods my face. “It meant nothing.”
“You sure about that?” He speaks more softly. “Because you’ve been thinking about it.”
I take a step back. “You’re wrong.”
“Am I?” Axel reaches past me and grabs the box of paper from the shelf, and sets it on the nearest surface. “Then why are you breathing so fast?”
“I’m not.”