Page 35 of Double Standards

My eyes narrow. He reaches into his suit jacket and pulls out a thick brown envelope, extending it toward me.

“What the fuck is that?” I ask, my voice sharp.

He presses it into my hand and I let the ominous weight of it sit in my palm for a second. It’s too suspicious to be anything good.

“You have no idea what you’re getting into, Cassidy,” he warns, eyes serious now. “I’m here to help.”

“That better not be a threat,” I grind out, clenching the envelope so tightly the paper crinkles under my grip.

“It’s not. Just... advice.” His hand lands on my shoulder. I shrug him off with enough force to make my disgust clear.

“And you thinkyouknow what you’re dealing with?”

Daniels doesn’t answer. His silence is telling.

“Sir! You can’t go in there?—!”

The door bursts open before I can process the warning. I turn, heart lurching.

Axel stands in the doorway, dark eyes flicking between me, Daniels, and the envelope still in my hand. His expression hardens.

“Axel, what are you doing here?”

But he doesn’t answer. He’s already turning, stalking out of the office with barely restrained fury.

“Axel, come back!” I yell, shoving the envelope into Daniels’ chest, who now looks impossibly smugger than before.

I chase after Axel, but his strides are too much. “Axel! It’s not what it looks like!”

He reaches the elevator in long, furious strides, his back a wall of anger I can’t seem to break through. The doors slide open with a mechanical chime, and instinct kicks in—I lunge forward, fingers curling around the edge of his sleeve just before he steps inside.

“Axel, wait?—”

But he doesn’t. He doesn’t wait. Instead, he yanks me in with one swift motion, the force of it slamming me against the cold, unforgiving metal wall of the elevator. The breath whooshes from my lungs.

“Axel!” I gasp, my voice cracking with shock. I press a trembling hand to my head, trying to steady myself, my heart thundering against my ribs.

He doesn’t respond—not with words. His chest heaves, shoulders rising and falling with shallow, furious breaths. He starts to pace the small space like a caged animal, his fists clenched tight at his sides, jaw ticking with the kind of tension that promises an explosion. The silence between us is deafening, heavy with unsaid things and assumptions that are unraveling everything.

There’s a wildness in his eyes, something raw and wounded that unsettles me more than his anger. This isn’t just rage. It’s betrayal. Disappointment. Something deeply personal that cuts deeper than any insult ever could.

“I can’t believe this shit,” he mutters.

“What?”

“I came here to apologize!” he explodes, waving his hands. “Like a fucking idiot.”

“Apologize?” I grab his arm and pull him to face me. He lets me, but barely.

“I asked if I could trust you!” he snaps, his voice raw and ragged.

“Youcan!” I hate how small I sound, but the look on his face is worse than any threat he’s ever made.

He plants his arm beside my head, looming over me, every inch of him vibrating with rage. “No. Ican’t.”

“Axel, please, just let me explain. It’s not what it looked like?—”

“I don’t give a shit,” he growls, his back to me. The elevator dings and the doors open. He pulls back, his cold, impenetrable stare returning.