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“Then I’m happy for you all,” she states proudly, like it’s just that easy. Her smile slips a little as she adds, “Though I don’t think my family will feel the same way, unfortunately.”

I let out a deep sigh as she confirms what I already knew. I’ve met the Santoros enough times to know Chloe is right. Though their opinion matters to Jake, I’m more concerned about the people who matter to me.

I turn to face my best friend, who has remained silent this whole time. He no longer looks furious with me, and I can finally breathe easier knowing that. In true Marcus style, he doesn’t give much away with his expression, so I give him the time to find the words.

After a few minutes of tense silence, he lets out a huff. “I’m not bothered who you date, as long as they make you happy. What worries me is whether you can keep doing this job, given your conflict of interests.”

My heart stutters at the thought of losing this job, my nerves sparking as fear puts me on edge. Although Courtney now lives with Maximus, I still see her as my responsibility, and I can’t afford to lose this job.

Not only that, I love my job… I can’t even think about doing anything else.

“I can do this job. Today was just a one-off, and it won’t happen again,” I rush out, talking quicker than normal.

Marcus shakes his head, his mouth in a tight line. “You don’t know that. You said it yourself, you acted on instinct. Protecting Jacob was your first thought, which I totally understand now that I know how you feel about him, but it doesn’t change the fact you left me unprotected.”

“I can’t lose this job. Please, don’t fire me, Marcus,” I tell him, hating how fucking desperate I sound.

Chloe lets go of my hand and turns to face Marcus, who looks almost pained. “Look, when word gets out that Miles is with Jacob, it may put a target on both of their backs. Why not make Miles’ role more managerial?

“Have him train the rest of your security staff, and assign someone else to be your main bodyguard. That way, Miles can keep his job as Head of Security, and you’ll have protection at all times.”

Marcus is silent for a minute, just looking at his girlfriend as he considers her suggestion. After what feels like fucking ages, his whole body seems to deflate as a small smiles crosses his face. “That’s not a bad idea.”

“What?” I ask, all my emotions making it difficult for me to keep up.

“It’s actually a great idea. If we make your role more managerial, you can come with me to important meetings, and you'll still be involved in the running of the business, but someone else will be my personal guard.

“This will give you more free time, and you won’t have to spend as much time over here, if you don’t want to,” Marcus states, his eyes softening now he’s made the hard decision.

“You can spend more time with Jake and Indie,” Chloe adds with a smile, throwing a suggestive wink my way at the end, which makes me chuckle.

My nerves bubble over, despite Chloe managing to draw a laugh out of me, and I can’t help but ask, “Is this a demotion?”

Marcus shakes his head, looking serious. “No, I still trust you to help me run this business. You’ll continue as my second in command. I just don’t want to be put in the position as today ever again, and I’m sure you don’t either. You shouldn’t ever have to choose between us, and if there’s someone there protecting me, you won’t have to.”

I replay his words over in my head, and it takes me longer than it should—I blame the fucking overwhelming emotions of the day—but eventually, I let out a sigh as I smile at my best friend. “Thank you. I agree, it is probably for the best.”

“Yey,” Chloe sings, letting out a happy chuckle as Marcus smiles at her enthusiasm.

I fix my gaze on Marcus, hoping he can see how much I need his honesty once my question is out there. “Are you really okay with me dating both Indie and Jacob?”

Marcus doesn’t hesitate, he nods his head as he takes a step towards me, clasping his hand on my shoulder. “As long as neither of them hurt you again, then I’m okay with it. You deserve to be happy. Though I think you’re a bit mad for dating two people…one is hard enough.”

“Hey,” Chloe whines, hitting him on the arm as he laughs, before wrapping his arms around her. Chloe then turns to me. “You better tell my brother he owes me a major explanation soon.”

I can hear the threat in her tone, and I wince on Jacob’s behalf. As she narrows her gaze, I can’t help but chuckle. She rolls her eyes before pulling me in for a hug, with Marcus wrapping his arms around us both.

I feel oddly lighter now that both Marcus and Chloe know, and they approve. It’s like a weight has been lifted, but I knew these two were nowhere near our harshest critics. Though itgives me hope that we have people on our side for the battle that inevitably is still to come.

When I walked into this room, I thought there was a good chance I was going to lose my best friend and the job I love, so I’m more than a little surprised that everything has worked out. Now I just need to go home and tell Indie and Jake that I told our secret… I just hope they understand.

After years of being friends with Marcus, I like to think I know him very well, which is why I’m absolutely positive he was in an arsey mood after our meeting—and not just because we were shot at.

I’m used to seeing his cold mask of indifference when we’re at work, but it’s very rare he maintains it when it’s just us.

During the car ride home, you could cut through the tension with a knife, and as soon as he insisted Miles go home with him, I knew something was wrong. I could see in Miles’ eyes that he felt the same, but it’s not like we had much chance to talk about it.

Luckily, Indie didn’t pick up on anything being amiss, given she was asleep for most of our journey, so once we got home, I focused on her instead of worrying about Miles and Marcus.