Page 106 of Negotiating Tactics

Twenty-Six

Alex

“You want to grab a bite after work?” Birdie asked.

“No. Noah and—” I said, twisting in my office chair.

I’d been planning to say something else but cut off quickly when heard Birdie’s soft chuckle.

“I can’t even see you, but I know you’re wearing a guilty face. There’s no reason to feel guilty, Alex. Noah is the father of your child and the man that you love. You should spend time with him,” Birdie said.

“I don’t—” I cut off again, knowing I couldn’t deny what she said.

I leaned back into the chair and sighed.

“I…”

I trailed off, trying to process what to say, to figure out what I was feeling.

“Go ahead and tell me, Alex,” Birdie said, encouraging.

“I just…he’s been so great these last weeks,” I said.

And that was an understatement.

Noah checked on me, had come to my appointment, had made sure that the chef prepared my meals.

All amazing, but that wasn’t really it.

Whether he was doing those things or not, I couldn’t shake that other feeling, the one that was far too dangerous.

Even after what he had done with my father, I felt like I could rely on him.

And even worse, I wanted to.

“Alex?” Birdie said.

“What he did was so wrong,” I said.

“I’m not arguing,” Birdie said.

“But…”

“Go ahead, Alex. You know I’m always here to listen,” she said.

“I want to trust him, Birdie. And even though he did that, I think that I do,” I whispered.

“Why do you sound sad about that?” she asked.

“Because I shouldn’t. He went behind my back and…”

“Can I give this a try?” she interjected.

“Sure,” I said glumly. “I know if the shoe was on the other foot, I wouldn’t even ask before I opened my big mouth, so you go ahead,” I said.

She laughed, but I heard the moment when she turned serious. “Alex, you don’t have to like what Noah did, but you can’t question his motives.

“You know that you can trust him. That doesn’t mean he’s going to be perfect, but he’s not going to hurt you intentionally,” she said.

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