Page 43 of The Fake Dating Plan

“I can do that at my apartment.”

He crossed his arms and cocked his brow. I hate how he knew me. I wouldn’t stay at my place; I would definitely go back to work.

“I thought as much.” He gently nudged me back into the bedroom and because I was feeling a little weak, I went in.

“And I made you soup. You need it if you want to warm up and gain back your strength.”

“You made soup?” I stopped mid-tracks. If he made it, I didn’t want it. Unlike his best friend, Ax was the worst cook known to man.

“My chef made soup. Now, go back to bed and I’ll bring it up for you.”

He didn’t notice my surprise at his statement. He was the last person I expected to be this caring, let alone care for me. There must be some ulterior motive. He led me back to his bed and gently laid me down.

“What is it?” He asked as he put me back to bed.

“What’s your endgame?”

He chuckled. “You getting well.” He took my purse from me and as I reached for it, he held me back.

“I need my phone.”

“No. You need rest, remember?”

“I have to check on my friends. They're worried about me.”

“Only if you promise to use it for thirty minutes.”

“Sure.”

“Promise.”

I rolled my eyes, but he looked damned serious. Lord. I put my hand on my chest and said, “I swear to use it only for thirty minutes, good sir.”

He gave me my purse and for the next few minutes, I went through the messages, giving a cursory, “I’m fine thanks for worrying about me,” to most of them. Just as I was about to respond to Laura, she called. “I thought he had sent you to his dungeon and gotten you killed. I was about to call the police.” I could hardly make out the words from the factory noises that made her background.

“He has no dungeons, none that I can see anyway, but he’s been good to me so far.” It was the truth, but that didn’t mean I was comfortable. Far from it. Being in his home had overwhelmed my senses with his presence. I wanted to focus on something else that wasn’t Axel Reid. “How are the orders doing?”

“How are you doing? What did the doctor say? Did he take you to a hospital?”

“He called in one actually and she said it’s probably sleep deprivation and stress.”

“She’s right. You have been overworking, Em.”

“Is the factory okay?”

“Everything is fine. Take all the time you need; we’ll handle things over this side. Plus, after we fixed the site, everything else has been running smoothly.”

“So you don’t need me to—”

“Everything is fine. Take a few rest days, even going into the holidays if you have to.”

It was as if Laura and Ax were thinking in sync, something that never happened. “Did he put you up to this?”

“He said you needed to rest as well? He’s right.”

Laura gave me a few more updates on how the business was going and she seemed positive about the entire process, considering that a few days before, she was the one who had been hyperventilating along with me. I ended the call and as soon as I did, my attention was brought to the noise in the apartment.

Ax was talking to someone. A woman.

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