Page 71 of Wild Thing
Greg chuckled to himself, like he could see right through me. He knew me better than I knew myself. “I was very impressed with her vision for Studio Pase. She’s a very talented young woman.”
“Yes, she is.”
“And very attractive,” Greg looked over to me for a reaction. “Remind me how you two know each other?”
I cleared my throat before I replied. “She’s an old friend.”
“Hmm hm. Just a friend?”
He wasn’t going to quit. I might as well just be honest. Besides, I didn’t like lying to the man who had done so much for me. Greg had always looked out for me, provided me with mentorship and connections in the industry that has made me a very wealthy man.
And, more importantly, I trusted him.
“Okay, she’s an ex,” I admitted. “From a long time ago.”
Greg sighed, uncrossing his arms. “Are you the love of her life that she left behind?”
I couldn’t lie to him. He seemed to have figured it out anyway. “Yeah.”
Greg looked at me concerned, before shaking his head. I could sense a lecture dancing on his lips. He was worried I was going to make a mistake, blow up my life.
I got it, the concern was coming from a loving place, but he wouldn’t understand. How could I expect him too? He actually married the love of his life, didn’t fuck it up like I did.
Greg stared at me intently. “Does she know about Ally?”
“Yeah.”
Well, kind of.
“It’s hard to believe, but I was a young man once,” Greg leaned back onto the side of the building, his leather jacket squeaking with his shift in posture. “I know what it’s like to be… tempted.”
I faced Greg, my frustration clear. “Greg–”
“You might think the grass is greener, but often it’s not. It’s fake turf, fooling you into thinking it’s a lush lawn…”
I chuckled, blowing out a breath. “That’s a fucking terrible metaphor…”
“Listen, Brax, I’ve known you a long time, and I’m not going to lie to you,” Greg continued. “I’m sure I don’t need to remind you of what’s at stake here. This is a very important, very expensive project with a lot of stakeholders. The last thing I need is my Project Manager having an affair with an interior designer…”
“I know Greg.”
“I understand things aren’t great with Ally, but just because something shiny and beautiful comes around, doesn’t mean you give up on what you’ve got.”
A pang of guilt struck me in the chest. I didn’t need reminding that I was an asshole two times over.
“Greg. I’m good. It’s all good.”
There was a beat before Greg pushed off the side of the building and clasped his hands together. “Can you handle this,Brax? Because if you can’t… I’ll have to take certain actions to protect the investment.”
“Like what?”
“I’ll remove the temptation. I’ll replace her on the development.”
My heart dropped to the floor.
Replace her?
Fuck, that would crush Dylan. This was the project of a lifetime for her. The job, the contacts… everything she had worked towards for her entire career could be taken away from her.
