Chapter 9
Nolan
I’ve been watching Addison more carefully than my brothers realize.
Liam thinks he’s being subtle when he brings her coffee or stays late on the nights she’s still working. The way his eyes track her movements when she leaves a room isn’t as discreet as he believes it is.
Axel isn’t even trying to hide it anymore.
He provokes her in every meeting, and she rises to the bait every single time.
The tension between them is so palpable that it makes everyone else uncomfortable.
Two days ago, when I came back to grab files I’d forgotten, I saw them slip out of the supply closet on the forty-third floor—her blouse wrinkled, his collar askew, and both of them pretending nothing had happened.
But I see what my brothers don’t seem to notice.
The way she hesitates outside Liam’s office before she knocks, like she’s bracing herself.
How her breathing changes when Axel leans in close during arguments.
The nights she stays late, even though her work is clearly finished, like she’s avoiding an empty apartment where she’d have too much time to think.
She’s unraveling, and my brothers are too focused on their own feelings to see it.
When I stopped by her office last week, she let her guard slip.
She admitted the job was unbearable and accepted my compliment without immediately deflecting or arguing.
She doesn’t do that with them. And when I touched her shoulder before I left, just a brief reassuring gesture, she leaned into it for half a second before catching herself.
She wants all three of us. I’m certain of it. And that absolutely terrifies her.
Liam must have figured out what happened with Axel because he pulled her into his office right after the supply closet incident. When he emerged, he looked territorial in a way I haven’t seen since we were competing for the same girl in high school.
Now she’s avoiding all of us. Not because she doesn’t want this. Because she does.
On Friday afternoon, I finish up my initial evaluation on the tech startup we’ve been considering for potential acquisition.
The company focuses on clean energy solutions with a strong ethical framework.
It’s exactly the kind of company that would align with the sustainability initiatives Addison’s been developing.
I’ve already done the financial analysis. The numbers work. But I want her perspective on whether their public messaging matches their actual practices, and whether partnering with them would strengthen our credibility or create new vulnerabilities.
I also want an excuse to talk to her when my brothers aren’t circling.
I gather the company prospectus and head down to the fortieth floor.
Her office door is open. She’s at her desk with her hair pulled up in a bun that’s starting to come loose, and there are four different documents spread across her workspace in a pattern that suggests she’s cross-referencing data.
I knock twice on the doorframe.
She glances up. “Nolan.”
“Do you have a minute?” I ask.
“Of course.”
I step into her office and set the prospectus on her desk. “I’m evaluating a potential acquisition. I want your perspective on their public positioning before we move forward.”
She stares at the document, then at me. Suspicion radiates from every line of her posture. “You want my opinion?”
“Yes.”
She picks up the prospectus and flips through the first few pages. I watch her scan the executive summary, the mission statement, and the sustainability commitments.
“Clean energy, strong ethics framework.” She sets it down. “You want me to vet their public positioning before you invest.”
“Yes. See if their messaging matches their actual practices.”
She nods once. “I can have an analysis for you by the end of the week.”
“Good.” I should leave. That’s the professional thing to do. Ask for the work, get the answer, walk away.
I don’t.
“You’ve been working a lot of late nights.”
Her expression shifts. Not toward me. Away. “The deadlines are aggressive.”
“They are.” I gesture to the unopened lunch container on the corner of her desk. “River brought that three hours ago.”
She glances at it, then back at me. Wariness replacing the professional mask she wore a moment before. “Are you monitoring my eating habits?”
“I’m noticing you’re not taking care of yourself.”
“That’s not your concern.”
“Isn’t it?” I keep my tone even. “You’re working for Palmer Capital. If you burn out, that affects our work.”
She crosses her arms. “Is that what this is? You checking on company assets?”
“No.” I sit in the empty chair. “You’re not an asset. You’re someone who’s had a rough month, and I wanted to see if you’re okay.”
She considers this, and I can see her trying to figure out what I want. What my angle is.
“Why?” The word comes out guarded.
“Because no one has bothered to ask.”
“And you’re different from your brothers.” It’s not a question. It’s skepticism.
“I’m trying to be.”
She leans forward, elbows on her desk. “What do you want, Nolan?”
The question is direct, and she deserves a direct answer.
“To understand you.”
She blinks. Whatever response she was expecting, it wasn’t that.
“Why?”
“Because you’re brilliant, and you’re drowning, and everyone around you is so focused on what they want from you that they haven’t bothered to ask what you need.”
The words come out more honest than I intended, and I see her process them. Her expression shifts through several emotions too quickly for me to identify them all, but suspicion gradually gives way to something that might be cautious curiosity.
Her expression softens. “You’re not what I expected.”
“What did you expect?”
“Another version of your brothers.” She picks up the research brief again, fingers tracing the edge of the cover page. “Someone who wants something from me.”
“Everyone wants something. The question is whether they’re willing to admit it.”
“And what do you want?” She’s testing me now, waiting to see if my answer will change.
It won’t.
“To help you succeed at something my brothers made unreasonably difficult.” I gesture to the space between us. “And maybe to have a conversation where you don’t spend the entire time waiting for me to manipulate you.”
Her mouth quirks. Not quite a smile, but close enough that I count it as progress. “That’s going to take time.”
“I have time.”
She studies me for a long moment. I don’t fill the silence or push for a response. I just wait.
“Thank you.” The words sound hesitant, like she’s not entirely sure she should be saying them. “For checking on me.”
“You’re welcome.”
I stand to leave, because pushing for more right now would undo everything I’ve just built.
At the door, I pause. “Addison?”
“Yes?”
“You don’t have to trust me yet. But when you’re ready, I’ll be here.”
I walk out before she can respond.
That night, I’m reviewing an acquisition file in my office when Axel appears in my doorway.
“You went to see her.” It sounds like an accusation.
“I brought her the research on the new company we want to invest in.”
“Right.” He moves into my office uninvited and sits across from my desk. “Just being helpful.”
“Yes.”
“Bullshit.” His eyes narrow. “You want her, too.”
There’s no point denying it. Axel would see through the lie, and I’ve never been good at deception, anyway.
“What I want is irrelevant. She’s barely holding it together, and you and Liam keep making it worse.”
“How?”
“By making her job more difficult than it needs to be.” I close the acquisition file and give him my full attention. “She’s a person, Axel. She’s not a game.”
“I know that.”
“Do you? Because whatever happened in that supply closet left her avoiding this entire floor. Again.”
“She initiated it.” His certainty would be impressive if it weren’t so shortsighted. “You should’ve seen her—”
“I don’t need the details.” I cut him off. “What I need is for you to consider that maybe what she wants physically and what she can handle emotionally right now are two different things.”
He’s quiet for a moment, studying me with an intensity that reminds me we’re triplets for a reason. We see things in each other that outsiders miss.
“You don’t just want her,” he says finally. “But you actually like her.”
“Yes.”
“And you think your patient approach is going to work better than what I’m doing.”
“I think your approach is overwhelming her.” I hold his stare. “Whatever happened between the two of you clearly affected her. Every time she interacts with you, she ends up avoiding the executive floor. That’s not someone who’s ready for more.”
He moves forward in his chair. “So what, I’m supposed to back off and let you have her?”
“I’m asking you to give her room to breathe.”
Axel processes this. I can see him working through whether he believes me, or if he thinks I’m just trying to eliminate competition.
“You really think she needs space?”
“I think she needs someone who isn’t making her life harder.” I lean forward. “And right now, that’s not you.”
He stands. “You’re probably right.”
The admission surprises me.
“That doesn’t mean I’m backing off completely,” he adds. “It just means I’ll give her time to catch up.”
“That’s all I’m asking.”
Axel heads for the door, then stops. “For what it’s worth, you’re right. She needs someone who is paying attention.”
“We all need to pay attention.”
He leaves, and I return to the acquisition files.
But my mind stays on Addison, on the way her guard dropped when I told her I wanted to understand her.
It’s a start.