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“We just have to talk to each other and try, like adults,” Harrison said. “It’s not that hard.”
“But it’s not easy, either.” I looked at Ethan, whose expression was completely neutral. “Do you agree with me, Ethan?”
“I’m not going to pick sides, because at the end of the day, I can’t force Harrison to do anything,” Ethan said. “But I will say that we should turn our focus to the business side of this and some of the information I’ve dug up. We work for Taylor. We can’t forget that.”
“What’d you find?” I asked, ignoring the weight of Harrison’s glare. He was never pissed off like this, ever, and I hated it. I wasn’t a fan of what he was doing, but he was still one of my best friends.
“It’s about Neil,” Ethan said, turning his laptop around. “Remember how he came up clean? I dug deeper because he rubs me the wrong way. He’s not as clean as we thought.”
“Then how did he get past our investigation?” I asked, getting closer. Harrison moved closer, too, resting his elbows on the table and leaning forward.
“Because he’s using shell corporations to do a lot of his business. A lot of people do that, but his have a few red flags. He’s moving too much money around at once.” Ethan leaned over and scrolled up the document he had open. “I’m trying to track down more information on what these businesses could be, but I have the feeling that it’s not above the board.”
“Do you think he’s trying to take advantage of Taylor’s money?” Harrison asked.
“I don’t know.” Ethan shrugged. “I’ll send both of you the information I have so we can put our heads together on it.”
“I wouldn’t put it past him to try to take advantage of her. He’s a creep,” Harrison said.
“He is. Every time he hugs Taylor for just a little too long, I get uneasy.” I ran my fingers through my hair. It had gotten long enough to pull back, but I didn’t have anything to tie it with.
“Sounds like some shit a boyfriend would say.” Harrison shrugged his massive shoulders.
“Or any guy who’s concerned about a woman he cares about,” I shot back. I tried to brush his words off, but he’d gotten under my skin.
I cared deeply about Taylor. Honestly, I was in love with her. But I still couldn’t get past the fear of losing her. This arrangement was uncomfortable, but keeping our distance was the right thing to do. Harrison was going to understand that sooner or later, and it was going to hurt when he did.
CHAPTER30
Harrison
Iwoke up again to an empty bed. Taylor had been waking up earlier and earlier lately, heading into her office. I brought her coffee, and she barely said anything besides thank you before diving back into her work.
What was she up to?
Her sudden reclusiveness was making the tense shift in the atmosphere between us even worse. I wanted to know that she was okay. That we were okay. But she was starting to push me away more and more, except for when it came to us being in bed. Things there were still good.
I poured some oat milk into her coffee, trying to ignore the hollowness in my gut. It was fine. It was all fine.
Cody’s ludicrous suggestion came back to me, as much as I tried to banish it from my head. He was right, at least so far. Everything was getting worse between all of us. More awkward, more tense. The more I tried to be affectionate with Taylor, the more Harrison and Cody were annoyed with me for pressing on and being “too optimistic.”
Something in my gut was telling me that Cody was right.
I poured my own coffee and took both mugs to Taylor’s office. I knocked, and the door opened. That had to be a good sign, right? She hadn’t locked it.
“Morning,” I said. “I saw you didn’t make any coffee. You want some?”
She turned around, her eyes large behind her eyestrain reducing glasses. “Sure, thank you.”
I put the mug down on her desk and kissed her temple, stealing a glance at her screen. She had all of her documents minimized, but the folder she was looking at was filled with thumbnails.
“Busy morning?” I asked.
“Yeah. Just working on a few things that Neil and the board sent me for the Bailey Foundation gala coming up.” She sipped her coffee and cupped her mug. The serious look in her eyes started to build up the knot of dread in my stomach. “I actually want to talk to you.”
“Sure, what’s up?” I sat down in the chair next to her desk. I used to sit here and talk with her as she edited videos, but I hadn’t been there in over a week.
“I think…” She paused, swallowing. Her eyes were glistening with tears. “I think we got pretty serious pretty fast. Now it’s all a mess between the four of us, and I’m really stressed out. I think we should end it, and go back to a professional relationship.”
