Reckless (Irresistible 6)

I was busy being stunned myself.

Because it wasn’t an act.

Adam’s jaw was tight, his muscles tense and his eyes blazing as he stared Caspar down. But when I moved my hand to the back of his neck and repeated his name, he looked down at me.

“It’s okay,” I said, my voice coming out in a whisper and making me feel oddly sheepish, because I’d never touched or looked at Adam like this before, and I couldn’t tell if I was playing up my affection right now.

Or if it was real.

I couldn’t tell as he nodded and put his hand on top of mine if this part was an act, and it had my head all mixed up until Caspar’s seething voice brought me rudely back to earth.

“For fuck’s sake, AJ. You of all people know what’s going to happen here.”

Turning back around, I didn’t try to hide my irritation. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Caspar,” I said. He shook his head.

“I’m talking about how I should’ve never spent all that time being there for you after the shit that happened in college,” he said with a cruel sneer on his lips. “It was clearly a waste of time since you were just gonna go ahead and become the exact kind of dumb girl Schilling thought you were.”

My throat tightened suddenly as I felt Adam still behind me.

Because he recognized Schilling’s name.

Of course he did. Everyone in the sports world did.

Fucking asshole. It was my turn to shake my head at Caspar, amazed that he would bring that up the way he did. I felt so immediately rattled by his words.

Of course, I refused to show it.

“Listen, I get it, Caspar,” I said, my voice low, a sharp murmur. “You’re finally realizing that I am done with you, so you’re trying to go for the jugular, but let me just save you the time, because I know exactly who I am. I know exactly what I’ve accomplished entirely on my own, and nothing you say is going to make me insecure the way you are,” I informed him, and as mortified as I currently was, I meant every word of it. “So just give me the key so I can get my stuff and we can get out of—”

“We?” Caspar interrupted fast. “As in you and Maxwell?” he scoffed, looking at Adam and giving a bitter laugh that was way too long and performative. “AJ. People like him—with the power, the money—they know they can do whatever they want to you before kicking you to the curb. And that’s exactly what he’s going to do with you. The second he finds a better pussy to—”

“Watch it,” Adam cut in, making me instinctively reach for him as he stepped forward. But he didn’t go further, staying next to me and letting me hold onto his arm just to be safe as he spoke to Caspar in a heated mutter. “Look, I know I may be wasting my breath here since your particular brand of delusion is stronger than most,” he said, waiting a beat to let Caspar seethe over his words before he went on. “But the fact of the matter is that you don’t know shit about my relationship with AJ. You’re actually more clueless than I would’ve ever even imagined given you cheated on a woman you should’ve been thanking God every day you even had.”

My heart slammed in my chest, my eyes darting from Caspar to Adam as he spoke now with ease, his eyes on fire but his voice calm, relaxing with every word that left his lips.

“In case you forgot, I’ve been with AJ for five years too. But the difference is I’ve known her worth since the day she came into my life, and I never forget it for a second. I know exactly what she brings to the table. That there isn’t anyone else like her out there. I know I wouldn’t have made it anywhere close to this far without her, and that’s what sets my five years apart from yours. I know how fucking lucky I am. And I know to never do anything to screw that up.”

In the silence that followed, his words lingered in the air. And for several seconds, all I heard was my pulse slamming in my ears.

I didn’t know when it happened—I suspected it was me—but at some point, my hand had slid down from hugging his arm and entwined itself in his fingers. And not only had he let it happen, he’d held on tight, squeezing in a way that drew Caspar’s eyes.

He stared for a moment, as if the image of our locked fingers was the nail in the coffin. And when he looked at me again, I could tell he believed it now.

That we were real.

The bitterness in his eyes was so strong now that it was clear he was no longer trying to hide it.

“I’ll just tell everyone at Engelman that you two are fucking,” he said.

“Yeah, that’s where you’re wrong, jackass,” Adam said comfortably. “There’s no rule against this at the company, so it won’t hurt AJ’s career. But it’ll kill yours before it even starts, because we both know I have every connection you could possibly want. I know everyone worth knowing in this city—every last person you want to work with, to get funding from, and I promise you, if you do anything to try and make her life more difficult, I’ll make sure none of your work will ever see the light of day.”

Adam paused, letting his words sink in as a promise.

“Now do yourself a favor and hand over the key,” he finished.

It took several seconds and some scowling, but finally, Caspar dug into his pocket, lobbing over the key that Adam caught without taking his eyes off of him.

“Test it,” he said, handing it over to me.