The elevator rises smoothly, floor numbers ticking upward. Julian rocks back on his heels beside me, outwardly relaxed though I know him well enough to see the tension in his jaw.
Alex is standing at the window when we enter his office, his back to us, shoulders rigid under his tailored jacket. He doesn't turn immediately, and the silence stretches just long enough to be deliberate. A power play. I've seen him do this with business rivals, never with us.
When he finally faces us, his expression is carved from stone, only the slight twitch in his jaw betraying any emotion. His eyes lock with mine first, then shift to Julian. No greeting, no pretense.
"Are you both seeing her?" The question cuts through the air like a blade, precise and sharp.
Julian drops into one of the leather chairs facing Alexander's desk, sprawling in that deliberately casual way of his. "Good morning to you too, Alex."
Alexander's eyes narrow. "Answer the question."
I remain standing, hands in my pockets, watching the tension build between my two oldest friends. "You're going to need to be more specific," I say, though we all know exactly who he's talking about.
"Camille." He says her name like it costs him something. "Are you both seeing her? Sleeping with her? Is that what's happening here?"
Julian tilts his head, studying Alex. "Why do you care? You walked away from her, mate."
Alex's fist comes down on his desk, the sudden violence startling in this sterile, controlled environment. "That's not an answer."
"Yes." The word leaves my mouth before I can reconsider. Both men turn to look at me, Julian with slight surprise, Alex with something darker. "Yes, we're both seeing her. We're both sleeping with her. We have an… arrangement."
Alex's face goes blank in that dangerous way it does when he's truly angry. "Since when? How long has this been going on?"
"A few weeks," Julian says, his casual tone at odds with the charged atmosphere. "Again, why do you care? You made it pretty clear you were done with her."
"And it never occurred to either of you that this might be something to discuss with me?"
I feel my own anger rising to match his. "We didn't realize we needed your permission. You left her. You ignored her messages."
Alexander's eye twitches. "What’s that got to do with anything?"
Julian leans forward now, his easy demeanor slipping just slightly. "You don't want her, but no one else can have her either? Is that it? Well, fuck that."
The silence that follows is palpable. Alexander's breathing has quickened, his control visibly fraying at the edges. I've rarely seen him like this—emotion overwhelming his carefully constructed facade.
"You're sharing her," he says finally, the words coming out like he can barely stand to form them. "My two closest friends are passing around a woman I—" He stops abruptly.
"A woman you what?" I challenge, stepping closer to his desk. "A woman you used and discarded? A woman who tried toreach out to you multiple times and got nothing but silence in return?"
Julian stands, moving to stand beside me, a united front. "You don't get to be angry about this, Alex. You gave up that right when you walked away."
"I didn't—" Alexander cuts himself off again, running a hand through his usually immaculate hair. "It's complicated."
"Well, it's about to get more complicated," Julian says, glancing at me with a look that says he's made a decision.
"Julian," I say, surprised at what he’s about to reveal.
He ignores me. "Camille is pregnant, Alex. And it's yours."
The color drains from Alex's face so completely I wonder if he might actually faint. He sinks into his chair, eyes wide, the anger replaced by something that looks like genuine shock. "What did you just say?"
"Camille is pregnant with your child," I confirm, watching him carefully. "She tried to tell you. Those texts you ignored? That's what they were about."
Alex stares at us, then down at his hands, then back up. The mask has slipped entirely now, revealing raw confusion, disbelief, perhaps even fear. "How long has she known?"
"A couple months," Julian says. "I went to the first doctor's appointments with her. Everything looked good."
A flash of something – hurt? betrayal? – crosses Alexander's face. "You've been to appointments? For my child?"
