Page 45 of The Fear of Falling
Yeah, he’sreallyan idiot. “Can I give you some advice?” I say, by some miracle not clenching my jaw as I speak.
“As my friend or as a consultant?”
Never mind. I lock my teeth together until my frustration ebbs. I would blame the heat for my increasingly bad mood, but Eric has been extra annoying this week, and I can’t help feeling he clipped Avery’s wings at some point so she can’t fly to her full potential. Based on some of the ideas she’s had this week, I’m pretty sure the main reason Avery had a shell to break out of in the first place was because of Eric.
I can only imagine what this company could be if he didn’t hold her back.
Taking a slow breath, I keep my tone neutral as I say, “Can’t I be both?”
Shrugging, he gets to his feet, as if he’s considering running away before I can tell him my thoughts. “I guess.”
“Don’t keep secrets. Not from her. Going after each other is the surest way to send your company spiraling, and you and Avery have a good thing here.”
He seems to consider that for a second, but he doesn’t have a reply before he pulls open the door.
Voices spill out from inside, full of happiness and laughter, and I frown. “Who’s here?”
“Hmm?” Eric glances back. “Oh, it’s Sadie Ashcombe, one of the editors we work with.”
And one of Avery’s cousins, I silently finish for him, remembering something Lynda said the other day when we were talking about the contractors working with R&Q. Curious, I hop to my feet and follow him inside, stopping outside Avery’s office, where the two women are chatting. Sadie is sitting at the edge of the desk I’ve been using, and Avery looks happy—happier than she’s been since I’ve been here in Utah. I don’t like the way my mind starts revisiting some of my favorite moments in Italy, when she shared that bright smile of hers with me.
A sense of challenge rises up in me as I think back to the woman I first met on the plane. The one muted by her ex/business partner. R&Q won’t thrive if Eric is knocking Avery down every time she tries to take a step, but I have to be careful about mentioning their dynamic if I don’t want him to think I’m sticking my nose where I shouldn’t.
This is the first time in a long time that I don’t have any ideas on how to fix an obvious issue, and I don’t like that.
“Avie,” Eric says, interrupting my thoughts by stepping in front of me and blocking my view. “You got a sec?”
“Oh.” Avery sounds disappointed. “Yeah, sure.”
“I should get going anyway,” Sadie says.
“Hey, are you going to be at Kaden’s thing?”
“Can’t.”
“Seriously?”
“Sorry, Ave, but I have a thing with Max. Besides, it’s Kaden.” Sadie skirts around Eric but pauses when she catches sight of me, her expression turning shrewd as she takes me in. “Hello, handsome. Who might you be?”
A bit of a blush brightens Avery’s cheeks as she looks from me to her cousin. “Uh, Sadie, this is Benson. He’s the—”
“I know exactly who he is.” Sadie’s lips twist up in a knowing smile, which doesn’t surprise me because she was part of my short-lived text conversation during Riccardo’s wedding. “You’re prettier than your picture.”
A laugh chokes out of me at the same time Eric scoffs. “Thanks,” I say, though I’m trying to figure out her intent behind the comment. She’s not flirting with me, like most women do when they meet me, and she still has that examining look. Based on the bite in her tone, I’m not sure she meant it as a compliment.
“Avery?” Eric nudges her into his office and closes the door behind him, leaving Sadie and me alone in the hallway.
I fold my arms. “So you’re—”
“Let’s get one thing straight,” Sadie says and steps into my space, looking up at me with narrowed eyes. “If you do anything to hurt Avery, you’re going to have the entire cousin group out for blood. Understand?”
Holding back a smile, I nod as seriously as I can. “I’m here to work. Not to date.”
“Then stop looking at my cousin like she’s the last bite of gelato.”
Desire sparks to life in my gut as memories of Italy surface again. I force it down, hoping it doesn’t show on my face. “I have every plan to keep a professional distance. You don’t have to worry.”
She looks me up and down one more time and doesn’t seem all that impressed with what she sees. “I have a guardian moose on my side, so you’d better watch out, Benson.”
