Page 22 of Basil

Iwatched the video twice. Then a third time, because apparently, I had a masochistic streak I didn’t know about.

The first time, I felt defensive. A knee-jerk reaction.

The second time, I felt bad.

By the third, I was ready to hurl.

Summer’s friends weren’t trashing me or tearing me apart. I’d dismissed them as less than, but they weren’t smug about our breakup. They were disappointed in me and for Summer.

This conversation was completely different from the one I’d had with my friends where they’d basically called Summer a gold digger and decided I was better off without her. One so-called friend had even hit on me right after—and let’s not forget had done what she could to break Summer and me up.

My fingers flexed around my phone as I stared at the last frame where Ocean shook his head as if he felt bad for me. I let out a slow, shaky breath and tossed my phone onto the nightstand.

I spent years thinking my friends were great, believing their bullshit was just part of the culture we lived in—relentless ambition, hard edges, a dog-eat-dog world where no one had time for sensitivity. I told myself Summer just didn’t get it, that she was too judgmental.

I didn’t see then what I saw now with clear eyesaftermy woman left me.

Now I knew how Felix spoke to her, how Drew treated her, and how my so-called friends laughed behind her back, belittling the woman I claimed to love while I stood there, oblivious, soaking in their approval like it meant something. I’d let it happen. And worse, I’d been a part of it.

Summer must have loved me a whole hell of a lot to put up with this abuse for two years. Two whole years while I was happy as a clam, thinking about marriage and kids—while she was probably waiting for me to finally pull my head out of my ass.

I put my elbows on my knees and pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes.

I slept like shit—but then I’d been sleeping like shit since my woman left my bed and me. I missed Summer. I missed the way she snuggled up to me. I missed the way she woke me up some mornings, her mouth sucking me off, the way I woke her up some mornings, sliding into her warmth. I missed having breakfast with her. I missed taking a shower with her. I missed lazy Sunday mornings when she opened the store at eleven.

Since I wasn’t getting much sleep anyway, I began to formulate a future strategy for Stratos—not just product development but cultural progression. If people in the company thought there was nepotism, the best of the best wouldn’t work at Stratos, and I wouldn’t be able to retain my existing top performers.

By the time I walked into work, I was wide awake, wired (after four cups of coffee), and ready with a plan.

My assistant barely had time to greet me before I requested her to get our company counsel into my office. Fifteen minutes later, Thomas Greer sat across from me, laptop and coffee cup in hand.

“So, where’s the fire since your assistant made me move a deposition,” he asked curiously.

“I need help with employment law.”

“Don’t we all.”

I chuckled. “What if I, hypothetically, need to exit two senior executives.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Hypothetically, who and why?”

I exhaled, gripping the arms of my chair for a moment and released. I turned my laptop toward him. “I want you to watch some videos. I’ll leave you to freshen my coffee. You want some?”

“Sure.”

I took my time, chatted with my assistant about moving some meetings around, and by the time I came back in, Greer was sitting with his fingers steepled and eyes furrowed.

I set his coffee in front of him and took my seat.

“That was a shitshow,” he stated.

“Yes.”

His mouth pressed into a thin line. Then he let out a slow breath and picked up the fresh coffee I got for him. He drank some and then set the cup on my desk.

“It’s bad. Unprofessional, inappropriate, and frankly, embarrassing for the company. If this had reached the wider Stratos audience or the public at large, we’d be in damage-control mode.”

My jaw ticked. “Jessie made sure anything unprofessional was removed before the photos and videos were shared.”

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