Page 76 of Just Business

Are you okay?

No. He wasn’t. But that had never stopped him from functioning before. He deleted Sam’s e-mail.

He rubbed the back of his neck, the tension rising up his spine. Sam needed him—that’s why he’d taken the job as CFO. But SamrequiredJustin—the man was bright and worked in lock-step with Sam. In a few years, they would be a formidable team, even with Justin’s penchant to wear eyeliner.

If Sam had to choose between Eli and Justin, he knew the decision Sam would make—and he didn’t agree. The better option would be to eliminate the need for Sam to choose.

He picked through the rest of the e-mails from the weekend, marking the ones he needed to handle first, and looked through his to-do list. He had a plate of work to empty before he could talk to Sam about finding another CFO.

***

At one o’clock, Sam walked into Eli’s office and closed the door, right on schedule. Eli rotated in his desk chair.

As he’d done so often, Sam leaned against Eli’s door, back pressed against the hard, wooden surface. “You didn’t answer my e-mail.”

It took effort to hold his temper in check and not lash out. He’d been like this all day, teetering wildly from wanting to punch the shit out of everything to wanting to walk home, curl up on the couch with Lavi, bury his face in that soft bundle of fur, and never see this office again.

Eli blinked a few times to clear the haze that marred his vision. “I thought the answer was blindly obvious.”

Sam pushed off the door. “E, please.”

Another breath, this one to clear the growing tightness in his throat. “I’m well enough, Sam. Leave me be.”

Sam took two steps forward and stopped, brows furrowed, tension written in his body.

Eli gripped the armrests of his chair.Please don’t ask.A silent plea.

Unheeded. “What happened between you and Justin?”

“Have you asked Justin?” Quiet words, because if Eli didn’t whisper them, he’d use them like a whip, and Sam was the last person he should be yelling at.

Sam straightened. “I did.”

“And?”

“He didn’t want to talk about it.”

Of course not. “Well, at least he’s consistent.”

“E, what the hell happened? On Friday, I thought you were going to set fire to the office. Now you two can’t even look at each other.”

Eli rubbed at his forehead. “I don’t know.”

“E—”

“I don’t know!” Eli’s voice cracked and it took all his effort to draw in a breath without releasing the sob that wanted to trail along. He would not fall apart in front of Sam and certainly not with Justin on the other side of that thin door.

Worry and something deeper passed over Sam’s face. “Can you— I mean, is this—” He shook his head. “You two work so well.”

There was the stake, the one that kept being driven through his heart. “Apparently, we don’t. And no, I don’t think it’s fixable, whatever the fuck it is.” His voice wavered because he was having trouble breathing.

Sam wilted. “Shit.”

Every wall in Eli crumpled in a sudden flood of pain. “You should find another CFO.” He hadn’t meant to say that, not yet, not until he had a plan in place, but he was done. Just... done. There weren’t any other options left. Time to crawl back home and lick his wounds.

“No,” Sam said. “You are not leaving.”

“Neither is Justin,” Eli said. “You’ll need him far more than me in the long run.” Brilliant, lovely, messy Justin. Should have left temptation alone all those months ago. Saved them all this trouble. His own pain he could handle—but Sam’s?Justin’s?He folded his arms and leveled a long look at Sam.