The Unseen

Chapter Twenty

Austin

T he temperature of Alfie’s office is a cool sixty-eight degrees.

We sit in our usual spots: him with his notepad resting on his knee and me sitting on his comfortable, but not too comfortable, couch.

His office is neutral, inviting, and warm.

Despite his direct approach to therapy, I’ve learned that he wants our environment to be a comfort.

I think of my own apartment and how clinical it is with its sharp lines and right-angled edges. Even Alfie’s office looks more homely than there.

And I haven’t been back in weeks, at least not to sleep. Olivia and I have fallen into somewhat of a routine together, working, playing, fucking. And then she curls up against my chest, and I fall asleep holding her, breathing in the scent of her shampoo as she tucks herself under my chin.

It took me all my strength to pull myself away this morning.

She has a slow start on Fridays, her day truly starting when she enters Squeeze the Day for her fluorescent green smoothie.

This morning, we'd sat in amicable silence, reading our respective books. She’d inched the toe of her sneaker up my calf when she thought no one was looking; I welcomed the distraction.

It seems I’m incapable of not touching her when she’s in my vicinity.

I relax back on the couch, pulling my right foot over my left knee and smiling. Alfie usually lets me start the conversation so I can steer the ship, as it were. But today, I’m content. I’m not sure I really need this session.

He smiles at me, which would be unnerving if it weren't so genuine.

“You seem well, Austin.”

“I am. I feel good,” I reply.

“Business going well?” he asks, although I know what he really wants to ask. He’s getting all the boring bits out in the open first.

“We’re still growing. The experiments are going well. The staff are happy. Pizza Friday is a hit.”

His lips tilt up again and he jots something down in his notepad. I lift my head slightly, but the fucker always angles it so I can’t see anything.

“We’ll have to get you back in time for that, then,” he says, nodding toward the clock.

Truthfully, I don’t give a shit about going back to the office right now. Sure, I love my work, and who doesn’t love pizza? But all I can think about now is getting home to Olivia and slipping into her as she practices her downward dog.

I curb my thoughts; no need for me to get an erection during therapy. Alfie won’t be too happy about that.

“And how is Olivia?” His voice is smooth and relaxed. But this is what has caused the most change, and he knows it.

Without hesitation, I say, “I’m in love with her.”

He pauses for a moment and jots down another note. It used to irritate me the way he would let my words linger in the air like that, but over time, I've grown used to it. Alfie never responds without thought.

“You’ve had a very intense few weeks, and that would definitely bring some heightened emotions out of you,” he replies cautiously.

He places the notepad down on the coffee table between us.

Lifting his ankle over his thigh, he mirrors my position—another Dr. Angel tactic.

When something gets interesting, he’s all ears.

“It’s not that.” I shrug. “She’s the one. ”

“Austin, you don’t have to analyze these emotions so quickly. Give it time to marinate.”

“I’m not trying to convince you that I love her, doc. I’m just letting you know that’s where I’m at,” I reply, moving my ankle back down to the floor. I watch him copy, and I almost want to laugh.

He observes me for a moment before nodding, picking up his notepad, and resuming his usual position.

“Have you told her?”

“Not yet. I’ve listened to your advice, and I’m taking it slow.

” As much as I know my emotions, I know I run hot.

Olivia still has some catching up to do to meet me where I’m at.

I’d love to go all in, let her know I’m in this with her, forever, if she’ll have me, but my girl is skittish, and I have a long way to go to prove to her I’m worthy.

We sit quietly for a moment until I say, “I showed her the business.”

“Really?” his eyebrows raise, and I get a little kick in surprising him.

“Yeah, she loved it.”

“So, she knows you’re not working with your father anymore?”

“Yeah. She knows a little bit about what happened. Not everything; I don’t want to scare her. But I told her why I left. And then I told her what made me stay gone. I showed her around the warehouse and then...” I cough. “I showed her my office as well. Just, you know, giving her the tour.”

I try not to smirk nearly as much as I try not to let my pants tent.

Images of Olivia splayed before me as I fucked her over my desk mean I haven’t been able to work in my office for a week.

Every time I sit in there, it takes me two seconds, at best, to have my dick in my hand or, at worst, turn right back around to Olivia's house, where I take her all over again.

“You need to be careful, Austin.”

I wave him away. “It’s fine. I took care of the cameras, and her brother was out on a job with Luca. I made sure we wouldn’t be caught.”

He shakes his head. “I’m not worried about her brother finding out, Austin. I’m worried about your father.”

My father. Fuck. With all my fucking feelings, the old gremlin has fallen out of my thoughts completely.

I know my security is tight. Luca and Danny are aware of the situation. Aware of what it could cost if my father dug his way in. Danny isn’t aware of Olivia of course, but still, they both know for their own safety, and mine, they need to be vigilant.

“I have procedures in place.” Procedures might be a slight understatement. Despite my legal business, I still have some of the boys on the books to inform me of any strange behavior when it comes to my father. I don’t trust him or my brother, as far as I can throw them.

A small chime indicates that our session is up. I slap my hands down on my thighs and go to move.

“Be careful, Austin. You’ve come a long way, which is fantastic. I’m very happy for you. But you still don’t know the lengths your father will go to. He’s always thought you’d come back into the fold. You being with Olivia will change that reality for him.”

I ruminate over the doctor’s words as I wave goodbye to Mia.

My father would have made a move by now if he knew about Olivia.

He’s not a patient man. We don’t go out much, certainly not in the city.

If anything, I’ve been overly cautious with her.

Hell, even her brother doesn’t know. The only person who does is Luca, and I trust him with my life.

Pulling out of the parking lot, I cruise back to the office so I can participate in the team bonding that is Pizza Friday.

Once the boxes are empty and the biodegradable plates are placed into our compost, I call Luca into my office. My conversation with Alfie is niggling at me and I want to take some steps to ease some of that anxiety.

“Any news on my father?”

“No, boss. Nothing to report. ”

His speedy response calms me slightly but does nothing to quell the ache Dr. Alfie has left with me. The fucking bastard.

I know I’ve been lax recently, but isn’t this the whole point? To not have to look over my shoulder all the time? I wanted my life to be free from that kind of bullshit, and it’s been working. But now his words sit with me, and honestly, it’s unsettling.

Luca grabs a couple of glasses and pours us both a generous serving of scotch. Then he takes a seat and leans back, just like Alfie fucking Adams did not two hours ago.

“Spit it out, Luca.”

“Did you at least return her crop top? Or was it a souvenir?” He smirks, taking a sip and hissing slightly.

“I’m not going to talk about Olivia. But thank you for covering for us.”

“I’ll do a follow-up report; send out a few more feelers regarding your father.” He stands in preparation to leave the room.

I thank him again. Luca has always known what I need without me having to ask. I’m sure the doubt in my mind is only worrying over having something— someone —so precious in my life. But Alfie was right to caution me.

I lean back in my chair and look around at all I’ve built.

I open up the blinds and look down at the warehouse floor through the window behind my desk.

Rows and rows of growth, each plant meant to be consumed.

I’ve done the right thing. I’ve made steps to become a better man.

I know this, and I desperately want the latter to be true.

◆◆◆

Spending Friday afternoon seeking out my brother is not at the top of my list of things to do, but I have to. And being a better person includes being a better brother.

He doesn’t greet me at the door this time, and I’m not entirely surprised.

August is, despite what my father thinks, a quick learner.

His doorman greets me pleasantly, his wrinkled face giving me a polite smile as he takes my jacket.

He guides me down the same corridor as before, enunciating that my brother is in his office in the west wing .

I thank him, slapping him on the shoulder and squeezing gently.

The poor man scuttles away before I can open the door.

And because I’m polite and a good boy, I give the door a knock before I enter.

And that’s a lesson I’ve learned after visiting dear old daddy the last time. I’m a quick learner, too.

“Come in,” my brother calls out.

I step into the office. Everything is very much the same as last time, except my brother.

Holy shit. He’s wearing jeans.

I try to contain my smile, failing desperately. Have I become an influencer? Our father would have a conniption if he could see the two of us now. Maybe I could convince August to become a farmer like me. I’m sure he’d like the harsh lighting and lack of weather in my operation.

“Brother, how are you? Good week?”

“I’ve had better. How about yours?”

Still painfully polite, I see.

“Drink?” I ask, inviting myself for one while I’m at it.

He checks his Rolex and tuts. “Might as well.”

I pour out the same amber liquid as last time. Either my brother fills his decanter up regularly, or he doesn’t drink at all. I’d guess the latter. He really hates being out of control.

“My week has been good,” I say, handing him his glass. He takes it and sips it delicately. “So, come on, tell me what was so terrible about your week.”

“Should I expect regular heart-to-hearts now that you’re in love?” He snickers.

I roll my eyes, even though a twinge of satisfaction runs through my body. Even August has noted a change in me.

I lean back, taking in the artwork I saw last time, the waves crashing into some famous ship of some famous explorer. It surprises me that August seems interested in this kind of work. But then, I don’t know my brother very well.

He finally responds to my question. “Father called me and told me I was fired. I’ve ignored him, of course, carried on as usual, but it does make things rather difficult when the head of The Organization has been sending rage-fueled emails for the past week.”

“Hmm . . . can’t imagine what would have caused that.” I wink.

“Austin.”

“August.”

He throws a look my way that only an older brother can. It hits me with guilt. What would Alfie suggest?

“I should have called sooner and warned you. I apologize. It’s not in my instinct to give you a heads-up, but I should have.”

He nods, adjusting his t-shirt. He’s only thirty-four but the way he carries himself, you’d think he was significantly older. The man just can’t relax. Even in jeans and a t-shirt, he looks painfully uncomfortable.

“What are you going to do?” I ask.

“Hope that it blows over, and he’ll need me for something soon, forgetting this whole debacle.” He flourishes his hand in my direction.

“Well, I appreciate you not blaming me for this.”

I hear him mutter, “Fuck,” under his breath, and he sighs heavily. I want to laugh; surely he’s not that annoyed? This is classic Dad.

“Dad fed information to those trolls of Olivia’s. He forced them to close down their accounts. Threatened them. I believe he destroyed their equipment.”

No. That’s not right. I instructed Luca to take care of Millie and Travis. Why would my father be taking credit for that? And how the fuck does he know about Olivia? My heart rate spikes, and I can feel the slosh of whiskey in my stomach, begging to come back up.

“Why would he do that? That only helped Olivia.”

My brother shrugs. “Maybe he thought it would encourage her to dump you, and your inevitable heartache would lead you back to The Organization.”

I keep my mouth shut. That means my father and brother don’t know about the basement. They must think we’ve just spent the week inside her house.

“Well, he did her a favor. I’ll have to thank him,” I mutter.

Why the fuck would he do that? Surely he can’t think that would work? My father might actually be losing it. Even this is out of his realm.

“He won’t stop. If he thinks that didn’t work, he’ll go bigger. You know this. You did this.”

I understand his insinuation, and it grates like nails on a chalkboard.

“Yes, alright, August. I don’t need a fucking reminder. I know what I’ve done.”

He holds his hands up in surrender before picking up and draining the remainder of his drink. That’s my cue to leave.

“I’ll keep my ear to the ground,” he snides because he just can’t help himself. “Which might be fucking difficult now that I’m fired because you won’t fall into line. You better hope this doesn’t have any bounce back on me.”

Always the big fucking brother, trying to act like he’s doing his bit for the family all the time, when really, he’s just looking out for himself.

My jaw aches from my clenched teeth. I fucking hate that I’ve come here to make amends, and now I’m only just hearing about shit to do with my girl.

Luca clearly isn’t hearing shit from my father’s team now.

With clenched fists, I rest my knuckles on his desk, tilting into his space, forcing him to lift his chin and look up at me.

“Stay the fuck away from Olivia. If anything happens to her, I’ll burn the whole organization to the ground.” I point my finger right in his face. “You can take that straight to Dad.”

I storm out, grab my jacket from the doorman, and wheelspin out of his embarrassingly ostentatious driveway.

It occurs to me that out of the two of them, only my brother has mentioned Olivia.

My father wouldn’t be able to resist shoving that in my face.

How can I be sure it was Dad and not August who trashed Millie and Travis’s equipment?

And what the fuck is going on with Luca?

He knows fuck all about anything, and now apparently, my Dad’s the one that got to Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dipshit.