She looked like she was debating whether to answer, but I stood there, making it clear I wasn’t going anywhere until she did. I didn’t want to be possessive or controlling like him, but her safety meant more to me than anything else, and I needed to know what I was dealing with.
What type of insect I was about to crush into dust.
“The last couple of times we argued before he left, he got in my space until I backed down. Literally backed away from him.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “It felt like … like if I said the wrong thing, his hand would’ve just … flown up.”
I cracked my knuckles, the sound sharp in the quiet room.
“But I convinced myself I’d misread it. And for the record, he didn’t lay a hand on me,” she assured quickly. “I just … I need to do something big and final to make him go away. For good.”
“Announcing you were engaged didn’t do the trick?”
“Would we be having this conversation if it did?”
Fair point. “And he’s convinced we’re fake. Is there something specific that’s tipping him off?”
She considered this for a moment, biting her lip. “I think in his mind, there’s no way some other man can ‘win’ me,” she said, using air quotes. “The fact that I’m the one who ended it is incomprehensible to his ego.” She pressed a hand to her forehead. “Why do we look past red flags in relationships?”
I swallowed about a dozen things I wanted to say. I wanted to find Mathew right now and beat his face until he was unrecognizable.
I didn’t give a damn about my deal anymore.
What I cared about was her.
But she’d just come out of a relationship with a jealous, possessive asshole who never took her feelings into consideration. I needed her to feel like she had control.
“What do you propose?”
“Let’s be a little more over the top than we planned at the dinner. I think for him, we just have to act like we’re madly in love.”
That won’t be hard. The hard part will be not introducing my knee to his jaw until it cracks off.
“And, Axel?” she said, apparently reading my mind. “Whatever you do, please don’t get into a fight with him.”
“You just told me that a controlling, possessive, aggressive ex-boyfriend won’t let you go. You implied you’re afraid of him. If you think I won’t do something about that, you’re sorely mistaken.”
“Please.” Tears shimmered in her eyes, threatening to spill over. “Please do this for me.”
Shit. What do you do when two competing desires go head-to-head? On one hand, I’d give Dakota anything she ever asked for. Anything that made her life happier, easier. Especially if it meant so much that her eyes filled with tears.
But those tears were put there by that prick of an ex-boyfriend. And in my book, that deserved one hell of a beating.
I studied her face. Really looked at her. Beneath the pain, beneath the deflation, I could see something else.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I asked softly.
She bit her lip. “He threatened to call his bosses. Tell them our relationship is fake.”
Manipulative bastard. Now I understood. This wasn’t just about him not accepting rejection. This was about control. Power. He was holding our careers hostage to get what he wanted.
Mine, I no longer cared about. Hers, on the other hand …
I moved closer, close enough that she had to tilt her head back to look at me. “Dakota, I’d burn my entire deal to the ground before I’d let anyone hurt you.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “Axel?—”
“I’m serious.” I reached up, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Screw these investors. Screw the money. You’re more important.”
For a moment, something flickered in her eyes. Something that looked almost like hope. Like maybe she was starting to believe that someone might actually put her first for once.
