Page 56 of Shattered

“The data was fine. You’re being unreasonable.” He walked in and sat down without being invited. “Just because you’re having love-life problems doesn’t mean the entire company has to suffer with you.”

That made me look up. “Who says it’s a love problem?”

“Isn’t this about the woman you were staying with?” Mark adjusted his glasses in that way he did when he was about to say something I wouldn’t like. “You’ve been here every night this week. You leave for the gym at six AM. You come back at seven.You stay until midnight. Yes, Axel, only a relationship problem makes a man act like this.”

“I don’t have relationship problems. I don’t have a relationship.”

“Exactly my point.”

I went back to my laptop. “The projections need another review.”

“No, they don’t. What you need is to go home, sleep, and stop punishing the entire acquisitions team because you’re in a mood.”

“I’m not in a mood.”

“You made Jennifer cry yesterday, Axel.”

“She presented incomplete data.”

“She presented perfectly acceptable data, and you told her it looked like a middle-school science project.”

I had said that. In my defense, the formatting had been terrible. “She’ll recover.”

“That’s not the point.” Mark leaned forward. “Look, I don’t know what happened with Delia… I don’t know if you told her how you feel or if you’re still doing that thing where you suffer in silence like some tragic Victorian novel character. But whatever this is, you need to deal with it. Because making everyone work overtime isn’t helping anyone.”

“I’m not making anyone work overtime.”

“You literally just asked me to have the team redo projections that are fine.” He stood up. “Go home. Sleep. Stop using work as an excuse to avoid your feelings.”

“I don’t avoid my feelings.”

“You’re the most emotionally constipated person I’ve ever met, and that’s saying something.”

“That’s inappropriate workplace conversation.”

“So is making your entire staff miserable because you can’t tell a woman you like her.”

My phone rang before I could respond. Unknown number. I almost didn’t answer. Then something made me pick up.

“Hello?”

“Axel? It’s Maria. Elena’s sister.”

I straightened instantly. “Is everything okay?”

“Not really. Elena’s having a bad day. She keeps asking for Delia. I’ve been trying to reach Daniel but his phone goes straight to voicemail.” Her voice was strained. Worried. “She’s really agitated. Keeps saying she needs to tell Delia something important. About Jake. Says it’s urgent, that Delia needs to know before it’s too late.”

My chest went tight. “I’ll reach Delia.”

“Thank you. I’m sorry to bother you, but?—”

“It’s not a bother. I’ll have her there soon.”

I hung up and was already grabbing my coat.

Mark watched me from the doorway. “Emergency?”

“Yes.”