He smiled, and a tear slid down his cheek. I found myself untangling my fingers from his so I could wipe it away. He leaned his head into my hand and shuddered softly, like my touch was just as comforting to him as his was to me.
“I became a little obsessed with you,” he murmured. “I needed to meet you in person. Ineededit, Milo. You were all I could think about for weeks. I had to meet the man whose theories and ideas were so in line with my father’s. I didn’t expect to feel this way about you at first. I was just interested in working with you. But that first day, when that idiot clipped you, and you fell… It was like I’d seen a literalangelfall from the sky.
“Then, when I saw your first impression of me in that demonstration… It was over for me, Milo. I’ve wanted you ever since.”
“Jay… I don’t… I don’t know what to say,” I whispered, and he nodded, giving me a sad smile.
“I really fucked up, bringing you here. This place… It’s not what it used to be. Luke… Luke is taking the company in a direction my father would never have approved of. You’re worried about getting me in trouble, butMilo, they’ll never fire me. I don’t think they’d even allow me to quit.”
I frowned at that, a spike of fear rocking through me.
“What do you mean?” Jay was stroking the spot on his arm where his key pass had been injected, and I glanced down at the tiny lump beneath his skin. It was turning red with irritation as he continued to stroke it.
I reached out and took his hand, stopping him from unintentionally hurting himself.
“That’s not legal. They can’t keep you here as a prisoner, Jay.”
He gave me a sad smile. “They can do anything they want, Milo. They have more money and connections than even I can fathom.”
He met my gaze, and another tear slid down his cheek.
“And I brought you here. I brought you right to them… and I’mso sorry.”
I cupped his face and drew him in closer, hating the way his shoulders were shaking with anxiety and guilt. Pressing my forehead against him, I gave him a tiny kiss on the nose.
“I’m not sorry. If you didn’t, we never would have met, and I’m really glad I met you, Jay.”
“Yeah?” he asked, sounding unsure.
“Yeah.” I smiled.
“I just don’t want to be the reason something bad happens to you,” he whispered, and I frowned.
“Bad things always happen to me, I’m used to it.”
“Not like this. There’s so much you don’t know…”
“Well, what can I do to help?” I asked. If this company was doing something to hurt Jay, I wanted to do what I could to put a stop to it. I wasn’t an inherently brave person, but Jay made me feel like I could do anything if I put my mind to it.
“Nothing… Just… I don’t want to befriends, Milo. I know you’re scared about losing your job, but… We can be careful.”
My eyebrows rose in surprise at what he was asking me.
“You want… to?”
“Yeah. I want to. I want you so bad I can’t fucking stand it. But if you don’t want me back, I understand. If you tell me you don’t want to have a relationship with me, I’ll leave right now, and this all stops. Wecan just be friends or colleagues, if that’s what you want. I just want to make you happy. Having a little bit of you would be better than having nothing at all.”
He looked so broken sitting before me, spilling out all his secrets. My throat tightened as his Adam’s apple rolled over a painful swallow.
“I was so alone before you came here, Milo. I haven’t been okay since my dad was killed,” he choked.
I frowned at his wording.
Since my dad was killed.Notsince my dad died.
“Tell me you want me to leave, Milo. It’s now or never.”
We stared at each other for a long moment, gripping onto each other’s hands on the couch like we were both holding on for dear life.
