Page 104 of On His Terms

Since taking Chelsea to meet Evan C, Alex had been short-tempered. He was unfocused at meetings, and Gavin had pointed out that their employees were avoiding him.

And Gavin wasn’t having it.

Over a twelve-pack of beer, he’d spilled everything about Chelsea’s training, and his own complicated reactions to her—including the fact he’d never wanted to let her go.

They’d both passed out on the backyard patio furniture, and before leaving the next morning, Gavin had warned Alex to get his shit together.

Since he hadn’t, today was obviously Gavin’s second attempt at an intervention that Alex didn’t want or need. All he wanted was to be left the hell alone. Was that too much to ask?

Less than a minute later, Gavin was back, and he dropped into a chair on the far side of the desk.

“Part of the reason we do our weekly meetings at Monahan Capital is to look for potential pitfalls, and I’m telling you, you’ve got one.”

He might be halfway through a bottle of cheap whiskey, but that made no sense. “And?”

“Maybe if”—Gavin paused—“we had been paying more attention, we would have noticed details about the Bartholomew deal.”

Alex winced. What his brother meant to say was if Alex had been paying attention—instead of spending his time at the bottom of a bottle when his marriage fell apart—the outcome might have been different.

In salute, he raised his glass toward his brother.

“Even though you didn’t ask, I’ll enlighten you. I appreciate the way you put guardrails around the business and around your life, but answer me this. How are your choices making things better?”

“You’re talking about Chelsea.” His one obsession, no matter how he tried to drown her out of his system.

“I am.”

Alex answered honestly. “Better to be kicked in the balls now than later, right?”

“Not a metaphor I would have used. But if it fits…” Gavin leaned back, at ease, obviously not planning to go anywhere. “Are you intending to remain single the rest of your life? Never date? Never get married?”

He scowled.

“Never have kids?”

The fuck?

“That’s the only possible outcome from the way you’re behaving.”

“Don’t you have somewhere else you need to be?”

“Nah.”

“That was me politely telling you to leave.”

Instead, Gavin stretched out his legs. “Look… Maybe there were warning signs with Liz. Red flags that you didn’t see or didn’t want to see.”

There was more truth to that statement than Alex wanted to admit.

“Or maybe the truth is that Liz had some culpability. Did she manipulate you? Hide who she was?”

“Possible.”

“Maybe her needs changed, evolved, and that’s something no one predicted. Something no one could have predicted.”

Which was another damn reason to stay the hell away from Chelsea. She needed the space to evolve and grow as she experimented with submission.

“You want to tell me how Chelsea is the same?” Gavin had a point. Chelsea was dreadful at hiding her emotions and reactions, even when she tried. “It doesn’t matter, does it? Our agreement ended. End of discussion.”