Page 76 of Rivals Next Door

I silently derided myself. Alex, you fool.

28

ALEX

My friends stared at me with expressions ranging from curiosity to disbelief and outright shock. We were gathered in Michael’s penthouse suite, indulging in drinks and friendly chatter. We decided on hanging out at his hotel suite because he had Poppy with him, so he couldn’t meet us in town.

It was our usual thing to get together whenever we found ourselves in the same city. The only change was that there was a new member of the gang, Charlotte. She was the only one not looking at me as if I’d grown another head after the update I had just given about the latest happenings in my life. Unlike the others, she looked at me with concern.

“Okay, let me get this straight,” Charlotte said as she peered at me. “You’re no longer interested in buying out your ex-girlfriend’s company?”

“I never said that,” I corrected, holding up a finger. “I said I put that particular endeavor on pause.”

“To work with her…?” She tilted her head and frowned.

“Yes.”

“On what exactly?” Jamie asked. “You weren’t specific.”

Tapping my finger on the arm of my chair, I shrugged. “I’ll share the finer details when our project is complete.” I trusted every person in the room, but I didn’t want them involved in the mess Olivia and I were wading through.

Jamie leaned back on the sofa he shared with Charlotte and folded his arms over his chest. “You’ve lost your mind.”

“He lost it a long time ago, Jamie,” Michael chimed in. “And he gets more unhinged with each passing year.”

I glowered at him while Jamie and Charlotte chuckled.

“You only think I’m unhinged because you’re boring, Ebenezer.”

I was hit with Michael’s typical severe scowl—hence the name Ebenezer.

“Easy there, Tadpole,” he drawled.

That sent Charlotte into a fit of giggles. “Tadpole?”

The tiniest smile lifted a corner of Michael’s lips. “I’ve called him that since college. He was a wee little lad of seventeen when he started Harvard, and he was so scrawny…”

The Irish accent—his mother was Irish—that he put on made Charlotte laugh harder. On occasion, the grump showed his humorous side, but he had to be very comfortable around you to show more than his scowl.

“I love hanging out with your friends,” Charlotte said, smiling at Jamie. “You guys are very entertaining.”

Jamie beamed at her, his eyes practically forming hearts. He was so whipped. “I’m glad. They love you too. How could they not?”

I rolled my eyes as they smooched.

Michael lifted his glass. “We do love you, Charlotte. Welcome to the family. I’m glad we have one more person to help rein that one in.” He lifted his glass toward me. “He’s working with his ex-girlfriend whom he set out to destroy. He can lie about his motive all he wants, but we know he’s driven by his need for revenge.”

I huffed and reached for the bottle of scotch on the coffee table. “Can I go wake Poppy? I’d much rather hang out with her than you guys,” I grumbled.

Michael ignored me and continued his rant. “Now, he’s taken a break from targeting her company to save it, but he won’t tell us exactly from what or who. Then, he’ll resume his mission to swipe the company from her later.” Michael scoffed and shook his head. “Plus, he’s living a few feet away from her. No one can tell me he isn’t unhinged.”

Charlotte blew out a breath. “I’m afraid I have to agree with you, Michael. That’s crazy behavior.”

“Char.” I clutched my chest and gave her a look of utter disappointment and betrayal.

She gave me a sheepish look and shrugged.

Okay, so they weren’t wrong. Since Olivia came back into my life—or rather, since I bulldozed my way back into hers—I had blurred every line between us, and I was behaving more recklessly than usual. It was a good thing I didn’t mention that I was also sleeping with my ex. Well, we didn’t do much sleeping when we fell into each other’s beds. Olivia and I fucked like rabbits every chance we got. Maybe she was just as crazy as I was…

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