Over the Edge (Bridge #3)(73)

I pulled her to me, holding her tight through the sobs.

White rage flew through me. I’d be damned if my father’s cronies were going to get their hands on any of the money we earned. And Jia didn’t deserve this. I didn’t care how many finance guys she blew. No one deserved to watch their entire career get flushed this way.

“I’m going to fix this, okay?” I murmured, stroking down her back. I had no idea how, but I’d do what I had to.

She circled her arms around my torso, her breathing evening out. “Will, I need you.” She gazed up at me, her dark eyes wet and puffy from her tears. “Please, I need to feel something other than what I’m feeling right now. Just one night.”

I wiped away the wet streaks on her cheek. “I can’t, Jia. I’m with Olivia now. She’s it for me. The days of you and me getting together, they’re over. I’m sorry.”

A sad smile curved her lips. “Lucky her.”

“Will?” Before I’d even seen Olivia’s face, the confusion in her voice had my heart in my throat.

Jia pulled away quickly, wiping at her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’ll go.” She slipped past Olivia, leaving nothing but a lot of explaining to do.

“Maybe I should go too.” Olivia looked pale.

Fuck.

I came up to her quickly, shutting the door before she could leave. “No, it’s not what it looks like.”

“No? Are you sleeping with her?”

I winced. “Fuck, no, I’m not sleeping with her.”

She stared at me. “Have you slept with her?”

I shoved a hand through my hair and released an exasperated sigh. Today was turning out to be a real piece of shit day.

“Don’t tell me what you think I want to hear, Will. We promised each other honesty. Just tell me, damnit.” Her brows were knit together, and her fists were tight.

I remembered a time when I used to love riling her up, but now I just wanted to see her smile. I had a long way to go…

“Before I met you, yes, I had slept with her.”

Her jaw went tight. “How did I know? And now you see her and share an office with her every day. That’s great.”

“She’s a coworker, Olivia. Nothing more.”

She reached for the door handle, but I covered her hand with mine, halting her escape.

“Olivia, stop this.”

“You had your hands all over her. Let me guess. It was strictly professional.”

“She was upset. You saw her.”

She pulled away from my touch and avoided my eyes. She was thinking the worst of me, and the only way out of it was the truth. I dragged my hands over my face. Everything was so f*cked up right now.

“Listen, Reilly is blackmailing her to get cut in on what he gave up. He’s got video of her f*cking her old boss in his office. He’s threatening to leak it if she can’t figure out a way to line his pockets. I don’t know yet if Dermott is trying to get in on it too, but I’m going to find out.”

She blinked a few times and then softened a bit. “That’s horrible.”

I skimmed my hands up and down her arms, breathing out a sigh of relief. “Try not to think the worst of me, if you can help it.”

She closed her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too. It’s a f*cked-up situation, but we’re going to figure it out.”

She looked up at me. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to go to Dermott and get that f*cking video.”

“But you’re leaving in a few days.”

I cursed inwardly. This f*cking trip. I’d have to get a meeting with Dermott before I left. I couldn’t let the situation fester, and I didn’t trust Jia not to do anything stupid while I was gone. Her career was hanging in the balance.

The idea of leaving Olivia alone still burned me too. Thank God Jia wasn’t going with me on the trip. Olivia would lose her mind, no matter what I said. Then a thought struck me.

“I’ll figure this out with Dermott before I go. In the meantime, you’re going to start packing your bags. You’re coming with me to London.”

IAN



I walked through the door of my mother’s house after a twenty-four-hour shift. I felt like I was leaving one kind of chaos and entering another. Sunday meant another family dinner—or a house full of nosy women, loud cousins, and amazing food.

Ever since I’d started crashing at my mom’s after leaving Will’s place, my mother and sisters had been all in my shit, wondering what was going on that had brought me back home so suddenly. I had to find a new place soon.

My youngest sister, Mia, lifted her head, tearing her attention away from some garbage television show. “What’s up, loser?”

I dropped my bag by the couch and sank down beside her. “Not much, brat.”

She smirked. “How was work?”

I shrugged. “Same as usual.”

Two panic attacks, a cardiac arrest, and an overdose. Nothing that stood out from the norm. Nothing that could touch the pain I’d endured after leaving Liv.

“Bring anyone back to life?”

“Couple people, yeah. Where is everyone?”

“In the backyard.”

We shared a knowing look. Mia had just turned sixteen and wasn’t overly fond of family gatherings either. We were a generation apart, but somehow we were both equally committed to sulky antisocial behavior as of late.