Page 1 of His Surrender

CHAPTER ONE

DEAN

Idon’t make mistakes.

Not little ones and certainly not the kind that costs millions. And I definitely don’t have trouble focusing, like the last ten minutes in my board meeting, where I’m staring at the same slide without hearing a damn word anyone has said.

“Dean?”

My assistant, Brady’s, voice cuts through the fog.

I blink. “What?”

He doesn’t bother hiding the concern on his face. “Sawyer asked if you approved the revised numbers.”

Shit. I glance down at the packet in front of me, realizing I’m still sitting on page one. Across the conference table, Sawyer studies me over the rim of his coffee mug.

His eyebrows turn up with interest. “You’re somewhere else.”

I sit up tall. “I’m listening.”

“No,” he corrects me matter-of-factly, “you’re pretending to listen.”

I look around the table and notice a few executives suddenly become very interested in their laptops.

Normally, I’d have a sarcastic comeback ready, but today, I don’t. I don’t have the energy.

“I’ve had a rough week,” I reply, hoping that doesn’t invite more questions.

Sawyer’s forehead creases. “That’s the understatement of the century.”

I don’t press him on what that means. Have I dropped the ball on other things? I know I’ve been distracted, but I thought, up until now, I’d managed to fool everyone.

Of course Sawyer would be the one to notice. He’s my best friend—has been since freshman year of college sixteen years ago.

We grew our tech business from nothing our first year out of college after building a software platform our junior year.

I manage to get through the meeting without completely looking like an incompetent asshole. As soon as Sawyer closes it out, I grab my stuff and make a beeline for my office.

The sun illuminates my corner office as the view of Manhattan in the background beams with reflecting light along the buildings.

I shake out of my gray jacket and toss it on the back of a chair in the corner, then walk to my desk. I feel the cool brown leather of my chair as I take a seat.

Brady knocks on the door, though that doesn’t stop him from walking in anyway. “Do you want me to cancel my dinner plans tonight? I know those numbers that Sawyer wants approved may take some time.”

“I’ll take a look at them at my place tonight,” I reply.

“Oh, uh, sure. I’ll be around if you need me.”

“Thanks, Brady.”

As soon as he leaves my office, my body relaxes only for a moment. There’s only so long I can keep up this lie I’m living.

It’s not like I’m hiding something dark. I’m just not ready to share this part of my life with everybody yet. Not while I’m trying to figure it all out myself.

Before Sawyer can corner me and ask more questions, I dip out of the office at five.

I never leave at five. Not unless I’m going home to get ready for a business dinner.