Page 62 of Bossy Trouble

I meant something to him, I realized. I wasn’t sure what it was. It probably wasn’t love. But there was something about me that he deeply cared about. And I didn’t even think he noticed.

Or was it just wishful thinking? Was all this just a tactic to throw me off his scent, making me think he cared about me so he could throw me to the sharks once again?

I didn’t know which it was, and therein lay the conundrum.

Because however Donovan might feel about me, and however I felt about him, the truth was that I didn’t trust him.

And I didn’t know if I could ever trust him again.

* * *

“Sorry, I’m late,”I said as I entered the restaurant where Alexander and I had met the last time. Alexander was sitting at his usual spot with untouched food in front of him. The sight of it irritated me for some reason. Why on earth did he insist on ordering food he had no intention of eating?

“I’ve been here for fifteen minutes,” he said sharply.

“I know. I’m sorry. I couldn’t get away from Kenny.”

“Kenny?”

“Yeah, Donovan’s driver,” I said, slipping into the seat in front of him and waving my hand. “It’s a long story.”

I thought I lucked out when Donovan said he was working late today because it made it easier for me to slip out to see Alexander. But that was when he pulled the Uno reverse card on me and ordered Kenny to drive me home and stay with me in case I needed something else. When I asked Donovan how he would get home since we rode to work together, he’d said, “Uber.”

I’d raised both eyebrows at that. “You’re going to Uber somewhere?”

“Yeah,” he said in a somewhat dismissive tone. “You Uber all the time, right? How hard could it be?”

The thought of Donovan sitting in a small Chrysler somehow seemed ridiculous to me. But despite my protests, Donovan insisted on Kenny taking me home. I had to quickly figure something out, making him stop across the road from here and using the excuse that I was getting food for Avery.

“I don’t have a lot of time,” I said to Alexander now. God only knew when Kenny would come looking for me under his boss’ directive.

“Neither do I. So I’ll get to the point.”

“I haven’t found anything yet,” I told him. I’d already decided early on not to mention the strange man’s visit to Alexander, even before Donovan reacted the way he did today. The truth was that I didn’t know what was going on, but Donovan did not seem like a willing participant. And despite our differences, I didn’t want to throw him to the sharks too. “I don’t think anything is going on, Alexander. At least not anything illegal. Donovan gave me access to all his documents, and I’ve met a majority of his clients. I can provide you with their names, but you won’t get much from it. While Donovan might be an asshole, I think he’s just your typical businessman.”

Alexander watched me closely for a few seconds before leaning forward at his desk, elbows on the table. “Just how stupid do you think I am?”

I blinked at him. “Excuse me?”

“I know you’re fucking him,” he said easily. “But I thought you could do that and still get the work done. It appears I was wrong.”

“I’m not….” I couldn’t complete the sentence, and from the sardonic look in his eye, he wouldn’t believe me anyway. The hickey had been too damn obvious, and Alexander was too observant of a man. “Okay, fine, I am, but it doesn’t mean what I’m saying is a lie.”

“No, but you are incredibly naïve. Especially if you think Donovan isn’t using you the same way he uses everyone else.”

“It’s not like that.”

“I’m sure you think so,” he said. “But you would also be interested to know that he went to see Sasha last night.”

The news struck me right in the chest, knocking me senseless. A pit of doom appeared in my stomach. “You’re lying.”

Rather than defend himself, Alexander simply pulled out his cell phone and clicked a button before scrolling. Then he handed it to me.

The picture was clear on his screen.

It was a picture taken of Sasha and Donovan outside. They were hugging, and Donovan had a smile on his face. Sasha certainly didn’t look like someone that had been broken up with.

It was timestamped yesterday too, and he was wearing the same clothes he left my house in. The same clothes he kissed me in.

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