Chapter 28: Chapter Twenty-Eight

LOGAN

The next four days are a roller coaster. The ups are every second with Rae (I hate how whipped I sound, but I honestly am). The downs are…everything else. Dad, especially.

“He hasn’t talked to my mom since the weekend,” I sigh to Rae as we lounge in my bed Friday morning.

She combs through my hair with her fingers. All of her touches are gentle. Sensitive, in a way. “Do you think he’s worried about what her reaction will be?”

I think all the shit she’s been through has given her an understanding of how people’s brains work. How they cope.

She could hang up a psychology degree next to her photography diploma and I’d believe it. She hits the nail on the head every time she theorizes about Dad’s behavior and intentions.

“Probably,” I sigh. “He rented out a house so he could get his shit in order in the quiet. It doesn’t make any sense, though, because my mom is the quietest person. She pretty much whispers everything she says.”

“Maybe he doesn’t want her to see his reactions either. That can’t be easy, calling lawyers and accountants and arranging all that.”

“Did you know—” I kiss her softly, and she giggles “—that you’re a genius?”

She raises her brows. “Excuse me, Mr. CEO. I think you’re the genius in this relationship.”

I check my phone and sigh. “We’ll have to agree to disagree. I really should get to the office. You ready to head out?”

She pouts as she slips on her shoes and jacket. I love that pout. She sticks out her bottom lip and shoots me these pleading eyes. I have to summon all my inner strength not to pull her back into my bed.

Rae hasn’t seemed anxious in my car since we became official. She hasn’t really been that anxious at all, actually.

I mean, she gets stressed out over work and beats herself up for saying the wrong thing to other people, but she isn’t second-guessing everything she does around me anymore.

I never would have pegged her as a talker, but she always has a million thoughts bouncing through her head, and she’s finally comfortable enough to share them.

She’s telling me about her brother’s bitchy wife when I pull up in front of her apartment. “I haven’t even gotten to the Thanksgiving incident yet,” she groans. “Remind me to tell you about that later.”

“How am I supposed to focus on anything at work now?” I tease. “I’m dying to hear this.”

Her response is to wink. God, I fucking lo— ~Get your shit together, Logan. You’ve been together a week.~ I kiss her goodbye before I say anything stupid.

“Now I don’t want to go to work,” she mutters, frowning.

I imitate her pout, earning myself another bout of giggles. “I’ll text you,” I promise.

“Not the same, but alright.” She grins. “Bye, Logan.” She flounces out the door, straight into Michael. The intensity of the fear in her eyes matches the storm brewing in his.

“Are you fucking kidding?” he shouts, his voice carrying through the closed window. “Are you kidding me, Rae? You’re with ~him~? What is he, your third man this month?”

She stumbles backward, nearly toppling over a bench. Her eyes flit to me as I swing open the door, glowering at Michael. “Leave her alone,” I demand.

He doesn’t even raise his eyes from where Rae quivers on the bench. “Fuck off, Quincy. This doesn’t concern you,” he snarls.

“Yes, it fucking does.” I’m not trying to go into the office with a black eye and bruised knuckles the first month into my tenure as CEO, but I will. I will for Rae. She’s silently crying now.

“Go on inside, Rae,” I say softly. “I’ll take care of this.”

She shakes her head. “I’m not leaving you,” she mumbles.

That sets Michael off. “You’re a fucking whore, you know that, Rae? You fucking know that? You disgust me. You’re a wolf in sheep’s clothing, pretending to be this innocent little girl when—”

I’m winding up to punch Michael in the jaw when Rae stands. She’s tiny, her head barely making it to shoulder-level, but she tilts her chin toward the sky and glares up at Michael, not avoiding his eyes.

“Leave me alone.” Her voice is soft and a little shaky, but her words are clear. She spins on her heel and walks slowly toward the door. She’s holding it open when she turns and calls over her shoulder, “Talk to you later, Logan.”

The door swings shut, and she’s gone.

It’s just Michael and me now.

“You know I fucked that last week, right?” he says, almost sounding amused.

I’m fucking fuming. “Did you just call Rae ~that~?”

He shrugs. “She’s basically a sex doll, not talking, just fucking, so yeah. It fits.”

My fists twitch, ready to wipe the smug expression off his face.

The board would really hate if their CEO knocked out his chief information officer. “You’re sick,” I say instead.

I almost expect him to take a swing at me when my back turns and I walk to my car, but he stands there, looking bored, dicking around on his phone.

I nearly blow through four red lights on the way to the office, dead-set on talking to Rae as soon as possible, but when I finally pull up, I’m stuck with my fingers hovering over the keyboard.

For the first time since fucking high school, I stare at my phone, unsure what to type.

If I ask how she’s doing, she might break down into tears, and she has to be at work in less than an hour.

Part of me wants to apologize for putting her in that situation, but she’ll just tell me it’s not my fault, and then she’ll ask how I’m doing. She’ll be worried about me, and that’s the last thing I want right now.

I go the flattery route, partly in an attempt to quell her anxiety, but mostly because I’m really fucking impressed. She stood up for herself when Michael screamed degrading, fucked-up, untrue shit into her face.

He’s a big dude, but she didn’t back down.

I really think I’m falling in love with this woman.

Logan

Remind me never to get on your bad side. You took on Michael like a champ.

Rae

Okay, here’s your reminder: Don’t slut-shame me in front of my apartment building and you’ll stay on my good side.

I snort.

Rae

Don’t worry about me. I’m not taking any of what he said to heart.

Logan

Good. He’s a moron. You should see him in meetings.

Rae

We can’t all be as brilliant as you, Mr. Genius CEO.

I’m grinning to myself when Ellen steps in my path. “Good morning,” I exclaim, startled.

“You’ve got a visitor,” she replies in her gruff morning voice. “I tried to keep him out, but he insisted.”

~For fuck’s sake~. “Don’t worry about it,” I grumble.

Thank God she warned me because if I saw Michael leaned up against my desk after the shit he pulled this morning, I would have decked him.

“Morning, Logan.” He’s glaring at me. Clearly, he gave up on that false indifference he was trying for outside his apartment.

“Can you make an appointment with Ellen? I’ve got a lot going on this morning.”

“I’ll be quick.”

I don’t like the look of his smirk. I’m not easily intimidated, but the way his face is contorted, so satisfied, makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. ~Damn~.

Rae was really fucking brave to get in his face this morning. “What’s up, Michael? If this is about Rae, you need to stay the fuck away from my girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend already, huh?” He chuckles. “Interesting.”

Fuck the board. I’m going to break his nose.

“I had a meeting with my fellow CIO last night,” he starts. Michael is the chief information officer. His sister-in-law, Beatrice, is Quincy’s chief investment officer. She’s also the only reason he has a job.

“She was concerned about some of the plans your dad put into place before he left. One of Serena’s investigators found ties between all five of the startups and a healthcare company based in China.”

Serena is Quincy Ventures’ chief compliance officer, heading our (probably too small) compliance department.

They investigate companies and funds we want to invest in and ensure we’re following laws and regulations. It’s a shit-ton of paperwork and really fucking boring, but they do a good job.

I don’t even know how they can find connections between startups and foreign companies, let alone comprehend why ties to a Chinese healthcare company are a concern.

There’s probably some law about it. I’ll have to ask Serena.

“Except,” Michael continues, “they aren’t ~really~ into healthcare. Well, depends on your definition of healthcare.” His smirk grows. “Let’s just say they’re real pioneers in the transplant and experimental treatment realms.”

“What are you talking about, Michael?”

“Wow, you’re really slow today. Did Rae fuck your brains out?” He pretends to laugh at his own joke, slapping his knee like it’s the cleverest thing he’s ever heard.

“Spit it out or fuck off,” I growl.

“Organ farming and human experimentation. I did some of my own research, and interestingly, they’re working on a glioblastoma treatment at the moment. It’s a noble endeavor.

There isn’t usually much money in drugs targeting late-stage glioblastoma. Patients don’t last long enough to make a profit.”

I clench my fists. “Get out.”

“One last thing. You’ll want to read these.” He drops a stack of papers on my desk.

“Dylan and I did some deep-diving. Did you know I can read your emails? Don’t worry, we were only looking at your dad’s. Looks like he arranged those investments for a reason.

“He secured himself a spot in their upcoming trial with a little help from Bea and me. It starts next week. There’s not much time to waste for him, is there? I sympathize.

“He wants to keep living. We all want things we can’t have.”

I know where he’s going with this. A tsunami of rage is building up in my chest. I step forward as Michael’s lips twist into a sick smile.

“For example, I want Rae. Break it off, and Beatrice will tell Serena to forget what she found.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“I’m heartbroken, just like poor Lorraine. Her husband might just have a chance if he keeps CX Health happy.”

“You’re out of your goddamn mind,” I snarl.

He shrugs. “Maybe. Doesn’t matter when Mr. Eric Quincy’s life is in my hands, does it? Dump Rae and make Taylor hire her back from Jade Agency. The new photographer isn’t fuckable. It’s a shame.

“Let me know by nine. Beatrice and I are meeting with Serena.”

He shuts the door softly, leaving me with twenty minutes to make the hardest decision of my life.