Page 13 of King of Ruin

"If she's as devoted as you're all making her out to be..." he said evenly, "...then she probably wants something."

His gaze swept lazily around the room.

"I just don't know what that is yet."

The words were met with complete silence.

Cassian stared at him for several long seconds before letting out a disbelieving laugh. He rubbed a hand over his face, looking toward Elias as if asking whether he'd heard the same thing.

"Did you hear that?"

Elias simply shook his head, already laughing under his breath.

Cassian leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees.

"No one does all of that because they 'want something,' Xavier."

He raised his hand, counting each point off on his fingers as he spoke.

"She took the blame for your mistake during the Henderson negotiations."

"She walked into a room full of executives and saved a deal that was about to collapse."

"She stayed behind fixing documents until the middle of the night because she didn't want your company taking the loss."

His hand dropped back onto his knee.

"And every single time we've seen her, she's been worrying about you instead of herself."

He looked at Xavier in genuine disbelief.

"So explain something to me."

His brows lifted.

"How have you convinced yourself that it's just part of some family arrangement?"

Across from him, Elias nodded in agreement.

"I've been wondering the same thing."

He leaned back into the sofa, absently turning his whiskey glass between his fingers.

"You keep saying you're not dating her, but you've been living under the same roof for a year. She works beside you every day, follows you to business parties, knows exactly what you needbefore you ask for it, and your family already treats her like she's part of the household."

A slow grin spread across his face.

"So when exactly does this stop being an arrangement and become a relationship?"

Cassian chuckled.

"That's exactly what I was thinking."

Xavier looked from one man to the next, his expression growing increasingly impatient.

"You people are reading too much into it."

"No," Elias replied with a laugh. "You're the one who isn't reading enough into it."