Chapter 11
When the message pinged in, Brad was still drying his hair. He heard his phone go off and reached for it, but Ava was quicker–she snatched it up, grinning.
“I’ll check for you,” she teased, waving his phone with that
sugary smile of hers.
Brad just laughed and let her have her way. He’d set up Ava’s fingerprint on his phone ages ago, so she unlocked it like she’d done it a thousand times before and opened Christine’s chat. When she saw the message, her eyes flashed with a hint of contempt. Without a second thought, she deleted it.
Ava had known about Brad and Christine since the day she came back. To her, it was nothing more than Christine’s one–sided crush. Everyone knew Brad was crazy about Ava–he’d never fall for anyone else, not in a million years.
Once Christine’s message was gone, Ava spotted a bunch of work emails from business partners. She deleted those too. That’s when Brad, still smelling like his shower gel, came over and wrapped his arms around her.
“What was it?” he asked, leaning in.
Ava turned in his arms, casually setting the phone aside. “Just some spam. Ignore it. How about we pick up where we left off?“}
She smiled, her silk pajamas slipping just enough to catch Brad’s eye. He swallowed hard, his pulse racing, and said, “Alright.” The phone was forgotten as he scooped her up and took her back to bed.}
They spent the night tangled up together.
The next morning, Brad was still dead asleep when his phone started ringing nonstop: He tried to tune it out, but the ringtone wouldn’t quit. It was the weekend–he was sure he didn’t have anything work–related today.
He carefully slid out from under Ava’s arm, grabbed his phone, and answered in a low, irritated voice. “What’s up? It’s Saturday. I shouldn’t have anything scheduled.“}
His other assistant sounded frantic. “Mr. Tate, the business partners who emailed you yesterday–they’re here for the meeting! They’re all waiting!”
“What? When did this happen? I never got any email!“}
Brad was instantly wide awake. He shot out of bed, pulling on his clothes, brows drawn tight with worry.”
“Why didn’t Christine tell me about this? Where is she? If something goes wrong for the company, can she take responsibility? Get Christine to pick me up right now!“}
He was angry, assuming Christine was just being petty and ignoring her work. But his assistant hesitated, voice shaky.
“Mr. Tate… Ms. Sayles resigned yesterday.”}
The news hit him like a slap. Brad’s grip tightened on the phone.
“When did this happen? I didn’t approve her resignation! Tell her to come back! She can’t leave without my say–so!“>
He was practically shouting now, not even thinking about Ava, still asleep in bed.
How could Christine just quit–over something like this? He’d told her before: Ava was his everything, and whatever hurt Christine had gone through, he’d make it up to her. How could she just walk away without a word?}
The anger in his eyes was unmistakable, making his assistant on the other end go silent.
Just as he was about to lose his patience, a soft arm wrapped around his waist.
“What’s wrong, Brad?” Ava mumbled sleepily, blinking up at him.
Brad’s frustration faded a little at the sight of her. He kept his voice gentle. “Just work stuff, nothing you need to worry about. Go back to sleep.“%
He was ready to head to the office–no way could he afford to lose important partners. But Ava clung to him, pouting. “Stay with me a little longer. It’s still early. Don’t leave me, Brad. Please?“%
Her words softened him all over again, memories of last night still fresh. He pulled her close and lay back down. It was another half hour before she finally drifted off again. When he checked his phone, it was full of missed calls from his assistant.
Brad’s expression darkened as he texted back: Move the meeting to this afternoon.
The reply came fast Mr. Tate, they’ve already left… The deal fell through.
His chest tightened. But looking at Ava, fast asleep next to him, he almost convinced himself it was all worth it.
He forced a weak smile, but something kept bugging him. Something about what his assistant said didn’t sit night. Brad opened his email–nothing new. Then he remembered Ava had checked his phone last night. Dread creeping in, he opened the trash folder His blood ran cold as he stared at what he found, jaw clenched tight %
