Page 396 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 1

I went into the closet and quickly got dressed. We needed to talk, but I couldn't do it right now. I needed to calm down. Because right now, I hated him. I hated how content he looked sleeping. Was he thinking of that slut from this weekend? Or Rachel or Isabella?

The lump in my throat wouldn't seem to go away. My heartbeat wouldn't seem to slow down. And I hated that the only place I could escape to was work. He had imprinted himself on every part of my life. I couldn't get away from him, and I felt pathetic for not even really wanting to escape. He wasn't the addict, I was. And I couldn't breathe without him.

***

It was easier to believe that I could forgive him when I wasn't looking directly at him. The idea of moving past it together andmaking us a stronger couple seemed logical when I was sitting at my desk.

"I'm usually the first one to get here," Zach said and sat down at his desk.

I jumped when I heard his voice. The office had been completely empty when I had come in an hour ago. "Oh, hey, Zach. Did you have a good weekend?"

"Better than yours, I'm assuming."

"Why would you say that?"

"Your eyes are so red that it looks like you've been here crying all morning. And ice cream for breakfast is usually a sign of depression."

I laughed awkwardly. "This was almost empty." I picked up the pint of Ben and Jerry's that had been completely full earlier and tossed it in the trash. "And I have seasonal allergies."

"Right." He opened up a drawer in his desk and tossed me a small bottle of eye drops.

"Thanks." I tilted my head back and put in the eye drops. My eyes stung for a second, but I assumed they'd be less red in a few minutes. "So, why do you have these?"

"I'd make up a lame excuse about how my eyes get dry because of my contacts. But, honesty is a better policy right?"

"I guess so?"

"I smoke weed in the bathroom with the tech guys sometimes."

I laughed. "Seriously?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure those guys are always high. Don't tell Hunter that, though."

Telling James that his tech department was a bunch of druggies wasn't on the top of my list of conversational topics at the moment. "It's a stressful job. They probably need a release." I turned my attention back to my computer screen.

"Is that your reasoning with Hunter too?"

"What?"

"The way he treats you. You excuse him because it's a release?"

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"If he's..."

"Zach, I can't have this conversation with you right now. James isn't abusive. He's a good guy. He'd never hurt me." I seemed to choke on my own words.

"Emotional abuse is just as bad as physical..."

"He's not. It's not like that, Zach." Other people were starting to come into the office. I needed to get my shit together and not wear my emotions on my sleeve.

"He was really possessive with you when we got drinks the other night."

"That's because you were pretending to flirt with me."

"Does he always act like that? If you talk to other guys?"

"If you don't drop this, I'm going to tell James you smoke weed in the bathroom every day."