Page 94 of The Truth of Us

“Elliot, are you paying attention?”

My head snapped up at the sound of Julian’s voice. His cheerful voice. The fucking audacity.

“Yes. Of course.”

No one believed me. Not Julian, Rowan, or Caleb. Not the staff who were crowded into the boardroom, and definitely not Theo, who was sitting two chairs down, eating a powdered donut like he had any right to be in the room.

I stared at him. “What are you doing here?”

Theo looked up, mouth full. “I was invited.”

“You don’t work here.”

He shrugged. “I was in the neighbourhood.”

“With donuts?” I asked.

“Yes.”

I leaned toward the admin beside me and whispered, “Does he work here?”

She looked panicked, and Theo grinned. He held up the box. “Donut?”

“No.”

“Grief burns calories.” He quipped.

“Fuck off.”

“Worth a shot.” Theo shrugged with a smile.

Rowan looked annoyed, which was more emotion than most people got from him lately. He had been worse than usual lately. Sofia hadn’t been around the office, and every time someone said her name, Rowan looked like he might start removing limbs. So naturally, because I apparently had a death wish, I kept pushing.

Rowan leaned forward, hands clasped on the table. “For fuck’s sake, Elliot. We get it. You screwed up and lost your favourite toy. But you still have a job to do, and you'd better start doing it.”

My hand slammed down on the boardroom table. The sound cracked through the room.

“What the fuck did you call her?”

Rowan leaned back in his seat and looked me directly in the eye. “I called the woman you cheated on and are currently having a tantrum over your favourite toy.”

Each word hit harder than the last. Your. Favorite. Toy.

Rage tore through me so sharply I almost didn’t recognize it. The thought of anyone believing Harper was nothing more than that to me made something violent wake up in my chest.

“She was not a toy.” I ground out.

“No?” Rowan’s voice stayed calm. “You sure as hell treated her like one.”

I stood, and my chair scraped back.

Julian muttered, “Jesus.”

I pointed at Rowan. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know enough,” he replied, still calm.

“You don’t know a fucking thing.”