“I still feel like I should apologize.”
“Really not necessary. And, just so this doesn’t become a habit, maybe stop doing things you need to apologize for,” I say with a shrug like it isn’t a big deal. I’m not fazed by him admitting his mistakes at all.
Carter bites his bottom lip, and the little glimpse of vulnerability does something to my heart, because I swear it stops beating for a second.
“Well, I’m sorry I said it was a done deal, us winning. I don’t actually believe that. I think we’re good, but you are too. The way I see it, it’s anyone’s game at this point.”
“I appreciate the sentiment, but you’ll excuse me if I don’t value what you say to me in private when I know you’d never say it in front of other people.”
His face flushes as his Adam’s apple bobs. At least he has the decency to look ashamed of his duplicity.
“Well, I better go get changed,” I say as I push to my feet, uninterested in continuing this conversation.
Carter’s hand closes over mine on the table between us, the warmth of his palm sinking into my skin, shooting up my arms and directly into my core.
We both stare at the connection between us for a moment before Carter says, “Wait.”
“Okay,” I practically whisper as I sit back down, shocked by my body’s reaction to our contact.
“Trent…”
I see the hesitation in Carter’s eyes and am about to leave again when he continues, “This contract is more important to Trent than any other before.”
“It’s important to all of us,” I say, yanking my hand out from under his to cross my arms.
“There is another contract on the line for us. And the musician has made it clear they’re only going with us if Jaxon does. And Trent’s made it clear I won’t have a job if we don’t win this, and Icannotlose my job right now. So, yeah, I’m doing and will continue to do everything in my power to make sure Mitchell Security comes out on top.”
Fucking Trent. Of course he threatened Carter’s job. Took that trick right out of his dad’s playbook. As annoyed as I am with Carter right now, I can say with complete confidence he is excellent at his job. And even though our work together before the concert made merealize Trent isn’t as big of an idiot as I always assumed he was, he has to be living under a rock if he thinks he could do this without Carter. Gosh, and with Carter’s mom sick, he really does need the job. That’s terrible, maybe I should let them— No! Nope. Never. No.
“Yeah, well, so am I,” I say, trying to keep my conflicted feelings off my face. “I’m sorry your brother’s a dick and is trying to motivate you with scare tactics, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to take it easy on you or give up on winning this work with Jaxon. I’ve worked hard to build my business to what it is, and I have employees I have to think about too. Ones I would never threaten like that, for the record.”
“I know you wouldn’t. I’ve seen the way you work with your team. You’re a great boss.” He offers me a tentative smile.
“Thank you,” I say. I’m not usually too affected by compliments—they tend to be more about the giver than the receiver—but Carter’s seems so genuine that I can’t help but feel a surge of pride.
“So…can we go back to being friends?” Carter asks, a pained smile on his face.
“Not if that”—I circle my finger in the direction of his grimace—“is how you feel about it.”
He runs his hand down his face. “I just wasn’t sure if you’d consider us friends.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.” The dichotomy between his uncertainty about my friendship and his certainty that I’m his friend melts the final holdout in my mind.
“Then we’re friends,” I say. “Friends who happen to be rivals.”
Chapter sixteen
Kelsey
“Thankyou,Stockholm!You’vebeen amazing!” Jaxon yells from the stage as he lifts his black cowboy hat into the air and bows. The other four musicians on stage join Jaxon, the group all bending at the waist in sync.
“Team Two in position for encore,” Weston’s voice comes across my earpiece.
“Go for encore,” Carter repeats after using his computer to connect with Kevin near the stage.
Kevin waits for the confirmation from the show’s logistics team and then nods, Jaxon picking up the signal. Since Jaxon refuses to let us talk to him through his in-ear monitor, we make do with physical signals.
