Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Cotter~

When I’d gotten Aelix’s text, I’d had to re-read it a thousand times before my brain had been able to finally process the words. She had actually called things off over a text, and it’d been to go out with that sonofabitch from lunch. If there’d been any question about my feelings for her, there wasn’t any now. The fuck if she was going to break up with me, even if we weren’t dating in the traditional sense.

Driving over to the offices of Walter & Kramer, Cutter’s words were resonating around inside my head, and the fuckface really was hard to live with when he was proven right.

‘Just wait until you fall in love. Let’s see what you’re willing to do then.’

Well, apparently, I was willing to drive to an office full of lawyers to cause a scene that was sure to go viral. Honestly, I still hadn’t decided if I wanted to storm her office to demand an explanation, or if I wanted to hunt that sonofabitch down to let him know that Aelix was off-limits. I was also completely aware that I had no right, but I didn’t give a fuck about that right now.

Logically, I knew that Aelix hadn’t done anything wrong. In fact, I shouldn’t even be surprised, considering that I’d already been wondering how much longer before she’d eventually want something serious. I couldn’t even really fault her for calling things off in a text, because that’s how we’d been communicating for the past two years. Truth be told, all of this shit was my fault. I’d always known that Aelix was special, but I hadn’t done anything about it because I’d been comfortable. However, that wasn’t how real relationships worked.

If I ever had to describe Phin’s marriage to Sheridan, I’d say that it was full of love, loyalty, and compromise. When Phin had still been competing, Sheridan had made lots of sacrifices, but they had also come up with a lot of compromises, so that neither of them had ever felt neglected or overwhelmed. Once Phin had retired, it’d been him making the sacrifices, so that Sheridan could still work while having children. My parents-and I did consider them my parents-had done their best to be respectable examples of what a healthy relationship should look like.

Well, in the past two years, I hadn’t had to sacrifice a goddamn thing or compromise on anything, and I was paying for that arrogance now. In fact, only an asshole slept with a woman for two years without ever asking her if she was still satisfied with the arrangement.

Luckily for my sanity, I had managed to find a parking spot in the visitor section of the law firm’s offices and property, and I wasted no time getting out, locking up my car, then heading for the front doors. I knew that this was a bad idea, but I couldn’t find it in me to care at the moment. I had enough money to bail me out of any trouble that I might cause, and if I didn’t, then I could borrow some from Cutter.

As soon as I entered the building, I was met by a receptionist, and with the way that her eyes flared, it was obvious that she knew who I was. Though it wasn’t anything that I thought about much, my family’s empire was always in the news, and I couldn’t remember a time when it hadn’t been. Even Phin’s snowboarding career had always been linked to Moore Industries.

“I’m here to see Aelix Palmer,” I told her, not asking permission.

“Oh…uhm, okay…” she stammered a bit. “Let me see if she’s available-”

“No need,” I practically snapped as I pulled my phone out of my pocket, then for the first time ever, actually called Aelix on the phone.

She answered almost immediately. “Cotter?”

“I’m in the lobby,” I informed her. “You should probably call the receptionist and let her know that you’ve been expecting me.”

“Cotter-”

“I’m not fucking around, Aelix,” I bit out, not caring about the receptionist’s wide-eyed gaze.

“Fine,” she snapped before hanging up on me.

Not two seconds later, the receptionist was picking up her phone, her blue gaze still staring up at me like I was about to burn the building to the ground with everyone inside it. Luckily for me, she was a professional and doing her best to handle the situation. Had she been one of those idiots that recorded everything with their phones, I would have lost it.

As soon as she hung up with Aelix, she said, “Uhm…Aelix’s office is located on the fourth floor. She…uhm…it’s the second office on your right as you exit the elevators.”

“Thank you,” I said as civilly as I could before making my way to the elevators. My only hope was that I didn’t run into Kent on my way to Aelix’s office. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to know how I’d react to seeing him right now.

Though the elevator ride hadn’t been a long one, when the doors opened, it’d felt like it’d been an eternity before it finally reached Aelix’s floor. Looking at the layout, it was clear to see that we’d have no privacy if I started yelling, so I was going to have to do my best to keep that in mind. Granted, my reaction depended on what Aelix had to say, but I could still do my best not to ruin her career.

When I came upon a door with her name on it, I didn’t even bother knocking. I turned the doorknob, then walked in like I owned the building, and if that made me a dick, then so be it. Never having been in this kind of position before, I was winging it with the full expectation of getting some of it wrong. Still, I didn’t give a fuck.

Aelix stood up from her chair as soon as she saw me. “Cotter.”

“A text, Aelix?” I bit out. “Really?”

Her chin lifted just a bit. “Since that’s how we’ve always communicated, I didn’t see anything wrong with sending a text.”

Ignoring that, I asked, “And you’re seriously telling me that you actually have feelings for that sonofabitch?”

“I…” Aelix licked her lips nervously. “I don’t know…I…he asked me to dinner, and I realized that dinner…dinner sounded like it might be a nice time.”

“Then why in the fuck didn’t you call me and tell me that you wanted to go to dinner?” I snapped unreasonably. “I would have made time to take you to fucking dinner, Aelix.”

Her beautiful amber eyes widened. “I didn’t call you because I made a deal, and I do my best to honor my word, Cotter,” she shot back. “A sexual relationship with complete transparency, remember that? No feelings, no drama, no false promises, no blindsiding, no anything.”

She was right, of course.

Nevertheless, I wasn’t going to let her use facts to dump me.

“You still could have said something,” I argued.

Aelix shook her head. “I didn’t feel like anything was missing until Kent asked me to dinner,” she replied before letting out a deep breath, obviously trying to remain calm. “And while I don’t have any real feelings for him right now, I saw nothing wrong with giving him a chance, Cotter. Sooner or later, I’m going to want a husband and children.”

I could feel my jaw clench at how badly I had fucked this up. “And I never crossed your mind.”

Credit to the woman for not being a liar, she said, “No. Not once.”

I gave her a terse nod since I deserved that. “And now?”

“Now what?”

That had me straightening to my full height. “You’re not going to dinner with that prick or any other man, Aelix,” I told her. “If you want to go to dinner, then you’re going with me.”

Her face softened, and that seemed worse than her fiery temper earlier. “Look, I get that you might be feeling upset that…that your toy is being taken away-”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I practically roared. “My toy? My fucking toy?”

“You know what I mean,” she bit out.

I stormed over to her desk, rounding it until I was in her face. “Let’s get something very clear, Aelix. You have never been my toy. I have never seen you as my toy. No matter our arrangement, I’ve always seen you as a strong, successful, confident, beautiful woman. Toys are discardable, and that’s the last thing that you are.”

Her eyes widened again. “Cotter-”

Cutting her off, I said, “I’ll be at your house this evening to discuss this further, and I swear to God, if I show up to find out that you’ve gone to dinner with that motherfucker, things will get ugly, Aelix.”

“You can’t do this, Cotter,” she argued. “Where do you get off? You’re not my boyfriend and never have been. You’re overstepping.”

“No, I’m not,” I snapped. “I’m finally recognizing our relationship for what it’s always been, and though I might have been too stupid to treat you better before, I’m fixing that now.”

Aelix let out another calming breath. “Cotter-”

“Cancel your fucking date, or so help me God, I’ll buy this firm and fire the sonofabitch,” I threatened, making her eyes widen in shock again. “Don’t test me on that either, baby.”

“Cotter, you can’t just-”

“I’ll be at your place at six, and you’d better fucking be there,” I said before storming out of her office, knowing that I wasn’t going to be able to keep things civil if I stayed any longer.