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“So, did they agree?”
“Yes, but they increased their rate.”
Once they knew business was even better, they wanted a bigger piece of the pie. It was a reasonable request, but it was annoying, nonetheless. For us to make the same amount, we’d have to increase the price to customers, which we’d already recently done. We couldn’t add another price increase so soon, so we’d have to eat the cost. “How much?”
“Ten percent.”
“What?”
“I know.”
“And you agreed?”
He nodded.
“Five percent is more reasonable.”
“Well, they weren’t in the mood to negotiate.”
“Do Axel and Theo know this?”
“Not yet.”
Axel would be pissed. “They won’t take that well.”
“They know it comes with the territory.”
I picked up my sandwich again to take one more bite, even though I was full. Their sandwiches were just so good. “When are you going to tell them?”
He shrugged. “Whenever I see them next. What do you see in the books?”
“Money is good, really good.”
“At least there’s that.”
“Axel offered to split his earnings with me.” I wasn’t sure what prompted me to blurt that out. Wasn’t sure if my father would be pleased or annoyed by that information.
I didn’t get an answer—because all he did was stare.
“I told him twenty-five percent was more reasonable.”
“It’s your business.” He wasn’t warm anymore, cold like the gray clouds above our heads. “You should take it all.”
“I thought fifty percent was pretty generous.”
“The business means nothing to him. It’s just a way to get back at me.”
I shouldn’t have said anything.
“He’s involved in other things. The business isn’t his priority, just another hustle. And he wants me to know that.”
“I think he just wants to share it with me.” I couldn’t stop myself from saying the words, from saying something that would definitely offend my father.
My father’s stare was far colder than the winter air. “He’s manipulating you, sweetheart.”
“Manipulating me, how?”
“To turn against me,” he said. “That’s the final part of his plan, to take you away. It seems to be working.”
“Dad, I already said we don’t talk about you,” I said. “I know you don’t like him, but I don’t think he’s as bad as you think he is. When he offered me half his share, I don’t think he had an ulterior motive.”
He looked away, his hard jaw clenched. “You’re quick to forget he served two years in prison for rape and assault. But no, he’s not capable of manipulation?”
“I think he’s innocent.”
He inhaled a deep breath like he wanted to scream, but he let the pressure hurt his lungs instead. “You’re too smart for this, sweetheart. You sat across from me at the table and told me about your relationship with Axel, and he walked in the door with another woman. But you think he’s innocent?” His eyes flicked back to me.
A fist punched me right in the heart. “Those two incidents aren’t comparable?—”
“They still show his character. They show he’s a liar and a cheater.”
It took all my strength to keep a straight face, to block out the hurt that wanted to bury itself in my heart.
“He’s manipulating you, sweetheart.”
I trusted my father above everyone else. He was an extraordinary judge of character. He always put me first, even at the expense of his own happiness. But despite all of that, I couldn’t agree.
Because I still believed Axel was more than that.
Axel would see right through my façade, so I wanted to avoid him—but there was no avoiding that man. There was nowhere I could run where he wouldn’t find me. There was no smile I could fake to deceive him.
I was on the couch when he walked inside, in nothing but workout shorts, the skin over his bulging muscles tinted red from all the blood pumping. His body glistened with sweat, and his hair was slick against his head because it was soaked. He finished off his protein shake when he walked inside and left the empty container on the table.
I was quiet, just staring at him, six foot four of muscle and masculinity.
His arms hung by his sides as he looked at me, covered in rivers of plump veins. “How was your day?”
The sight of him was practically pornographic. His arms alone…
He continued to stare at me. “Baby?”
“Hmm?”
“I asked how your day was.”
“Oh…fine.” I didn’t ask how his was. My throat was so dry, it was like sandpaper.
That arrogant but charming smirk moved over his handsome face. “I’m going to hit the shower. You’re welcome to join me.” He left my sight and entered the bedroom.
It only took me a couple seconds to follow him, but instead of joining him in the shower, I turned on the faucet in the tub to fill it. After I squirted some bubble bath, the liquid mixed with the water, and the smell of rose hips filled the air.
Axel’s back was to me, and he dipped his head to let the water soak his hair. His back was muscular and tight, all the lines that separated the muscles on either side of his spine distinct and pronounced.
