AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I rubbed at my chest. I guessed I was still new in the world of anxiety.
I wasn’t a fan.
The worry that built up—I couldn’t fucking control it.
Deep breaths.
Deep, slow breaths.
“Are you okay?” Noa asked worriedly.
I’m fine.
I’m not fine.
I’m fucking drowning.
I exhaled and scrubbed my hands over my face.
“Don’t say you’re fine,” he pleaded.
I shook my head. “I’m not fine—but I will be.” I swallowed dryly and took another breath. Okay, time to get my shit in order. We had to get out of here, and I had to call my regular doctor. “Is Cam at the condo?” I assumed that was the case.
It hurt. We’d initially decided to rent, but then we’d found a small two-bedroom for sale in town, very close to where Noa and I worked. Not far from where Cam and KC worked as well. And we’d gone all in. Despite that we had a perfectly nice house half an hour away, we’d bought a small place to ensure we’d always be close. If any of us had to work late in town, we could stay there.
It also gave us moments of solitude as two couples, even though we usually preferred to stay together, all four of us.
And now…it was Cam’s escape. From me.
I flicked Noa a glance when he didn’t respond, and he was finding it much more interesting to bite his thumbnail and avoid eye contact.
“Noa?”
“Oh, poop chute,” he whispered. Then he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “He’s with Archie and his gang. He wanted another slave to talk to.”
What the?—
I felt my eyes widen for a second. Archie—and Greer’s family—out in goddamn Winchester?
He wanted another slave to talk to.
“You took him to Winchester last night?”
He nodded hesitantly.
That was some…escape.
Fuck me, I had my work cut out for me. The whole goddamn reason I wanted less time at the office was because of these three men. I wanted, and could afford, more time with those who mattered the most. But in order to quit… I’d agreed to too much at work. I’d let my boss and fellow advisers tell me they couldn’t handle the transition without me, when, in reality, they were just putting clients’ needs ahead of everyone else. And that was the way of the finance world. But it didn’t have to be the way of mine.
What was even worse…I’d seen myself as more important. I’d taken some sick pleasure in having to be the one who trained the man taking over my clients. In a way, I wasn’t wrong; those clients had depended on me and my advice for years, and that was how they preferred it. If the firm intended to keep my clients around, Kevin would need to be the new me.
The question was why the fuck I cared.
My God, what if I was too late? What if the trust was broken for good?
I’d pushed my bullshit lies for weeks—if not months. I’d dismissed KC’s and Cam’s worries, all while I’d started making their fears come true.
KC came back into the room, and we locked eyes.
