Page 90 of (Un)Expected

“That’s bullshit,” I hissed, jumping to my feet.

“Hey,” Cole said quietly, taking my hand and bringing me back down to the couch beside him. “It’s okay. I knew this was a risk yesterday.”

“It’s not fair.” My voice cracked, hating that Nate was getting the upper hand.Again. If he wanted to come for me, fine. I survived him once, and I could probably do it again, but to punish those I love for defending me? That was a new low, even for Nate.

Cole reached up, brushing away my falling tears with his thumbs. “He is not going to hurt you, Alex. I don’t give a fuck what I have to do. He’s never going to hurt you again.”

“And that’s not all,” Theo sighed, continuing to rub the bridge of his nose. He motioned between the two of us. “There’s something else we have to deal with.” He grabbed his tablet, finding something and then turning it toward us.

The grainy footage seemed like nothing at first, some kind of surveillance footage. It took me a minute to realize that it was from the hotel elevator.Oh shit. I knew where this was going before we even entered the frame. As my stomach started to twist, Cole and I entered the elevator, immediately locking lips in a passionate embrace.Fuck.Such a stupid move. I knew there were cameras; Theo had warned me to watch my actions, especially outside of the room. The moment Cole’s lips touched mine, I didn’t give Theo’s words a single thought, too focused on him to even think about the consequences.

Cole leaned forward, slamming the tablet down. “Delete that. Now.”

“Already done,” Theo answered, taking the tablet and deleting the reel. “Don’t worry, I paid off the security office, so this wouldn’tmake any headlines. We’ve got enough of a shit storm to deal with already.” He stared at me. “You know that this voids your contract, right? You were explicitly told that you could not be caught with anyone else while you were with Adam, and now this?” He turned to Cole. “What the fuck were you thinking? Out of all the goddamn girls in the world.”

“Enough.”

Adam’s quiet command broke the tension in the room, all of us turning to face him. “Theo, enough. I already knew about Alex and Cole. They told me a week ago. We were waiting until after the event last night to break things off.”

I smiled at Adam, grateful that he smudged the timeline to make us look better. When Theo sat back on the couch, Adam winked at me, and all my nerves about him harboring resentment toward us faded away.

Theo nodded. “Fine. I’ll draft a new agreement saying that the contract has been terminated and none of the parties are to blame.” He leaned forward, fixing me with his favorite stern stare. “However, this does not affect the NDA, Ms. Green. If you speak about Adam and the nature of your relationship to the press, I will not hesitate to file suit against you.”

Cole tensed at my side, and I placed my hand on his knee, a quiet gesture to show I was okay with his terms. “Of course, Theo.” I smirked at him. “I’d expect nothing less.”

“I swear, dealing with the three of you is making me go prematurely gray.” He shifted, gathering his belongings from the coffee table. “Oh, and this will also affect your payment, Ms. Green. Since you did not fulfill the terms of the contract, your payment will be prorated for your time.”

“That’s fair,” I said. My stomach churned, hating that I would have to borrow my funds if I wanted to get the hotel up to my standards. Even with Cole offering to help out, it was going to be a substantial investment.

“Actually,” Adam said, clearing his throat. “I’d like to help withthat. Cole’s told me all about your project, and I would love to help finance it.”

“You did?” I turned to Cole.

“Of course I did,” he smiled. “I’m so fucking proud of you, baby. I want everyone to know what a badass you are.”

“Thank you,” I said, leaning forward to kiss his shoulder. “But I can’t accept your money, Adam. We’re friends. I don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage of you.”

“You’re not,” Adam said, taking the seat across from me. “I’maskingto invest. If it makes you more comfortable, we can arrange a repayment plan.” He holds up a finger to stop me from refusing again. “Only after you turn a profit.”

“That could be years.”

“Then it’ll be years.” Adam shrugged. “In case you haven’t noticed, Alex, I’m doing pretty damn well for myself. I’m not going to miss the money, and you need it. What’s stopping you from saying yes?”

I had no idea—some naive notion that if people helped me, it wouldn’t truly be mine? This was different than the board or the investor back at the Isadora. These were my people, ones who were willing to invest in me and my dreams. With their support, there was no way I could fail.

“Okay.”

Adam beamed back at me. “Yeah? You mean it?”

“Yes, Adam,” I said, standing to offer him my hand. “You can be an investor in the Fox Creek Property.”

He took my hand and pulled me around the coffee table to engulf me in a tight hug. “Thank you,” I whispered.

“Thankyou,” Adam said. “For everything you’ve done for me, for Cole.”

I grinned to myself as I pulled away, my tears turning from those of frustration to pure happiness. Unfortunately, they soured again when I thought of the elephant in the room. “As happy as I am about this development, what am I going to do about Nate?”

“What arewegoing to do,” Cole insisted. “This is my problem, Alex. You’re not going anywhere near it.”

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