Page 21 of Dichotomy

“I haven’t,” I said, pasting on a polite smile as I extended my hand. “Alexander Stone.”

“Nathaniel Drake,” he replied warmly, taking my hand in a firm, practiced shake. “A pleasure to finally meet you.” His smile was easy and unforced, the kind that put people at ease, but his gray eyes were sharp. Wealth like his didn’t come from luck alone.

“And you must be…” He turned to Evelyn, offering his hand with the same courteous attention and practiced smile.

“Evelyn Harper,” she said, returning the handshake briefly. “I work for Mr. Stone.”

“Lucky man,” Drake said lightly.

“Great speech,” I said. “I do have a question, though.”

Drake nodded at me. “Thank you. What can I answer for you?”

“Excuse me, gentlemen, lady.” Patrick stepped back. “I need to catch Councilwoman Clements before she leaves.”

He walked away, and I made a mental note to reach out to him tomorrow to check on Citadel’s case. I refocused on Drake. “I noticed in the photos you showed as well as in your proposal that you plan to have four apartment buildings in the area, and to make room for all of the buildings in the proposal, you will need to tear down approximately fifty homes in the area.” Drake nodded, and I continued. “I was wondering what your plan is for the people who will be displaced from their homes when the project starts. They aren’t going to be able to afford the rent in those buildings.”

Evelyn glanced at me, her eyebrows raised slightly before she turned to Drake for his answer. His smile never faltered as he clapped a hand on my shoulder like we were old friends. “Great question, and I can see how SDS has a reputation as a company that cares about its community. Two of those apartment buildings pictured will be rent-controlled. That should help, but ultimately, growth and change are going to displace some people.” He nodded at both of us. “I’m sorry to cut and run, but I have more people to catch before they leave. Have a wonderful evening.”

He walked off, smiling widely as he shook hands and chatted with people. I glanced down at Evelyn. She was studying him, her bottom lip between her teeth and her brow furrowed. Drake had provided a good answer, but something was still worrying her.

“What are you thinking about?”

She hummed, studying him a moment longer before looking up at me. “Nothing.”

I nodded, wanting to pull her closer but hesitating because of where we were. I looked around at the crowd. There was no one here I needed to speak with, and I would much rather get out of here. “How about we go get dinner?”

“Are you sure? We can stay if you need to talk to someone,” Evelyn said, scanning the crowd.

“The only person I want to talk to for the rest of the night is you,” I said, smiling when she blushed. “Let’s go. We’ve worked enough today. No more work talk for the rest of the night.”

Her eyes twinkled up at me as I guided her to the car. “Where to next?” she asked as I opened the door for her.

“Dinner and then let’s see where the night takes us.”

We didn’t have our FIA tail today, and I was determined to make the most of the evening. I had a feeling our days were about to get crazier, and I wanted to keep the smile on Evelyn’s face instead of the furrowed brow she got when she worried.

CHAPTER 12

EVELYN

Irolled over for what felt like the fiftieth time in the last hour. The bed was a cloud, but sleep escaped me. The alarm clock on the nightstand to my right taunted me. 1:06 a.m. Exactly three minutes had passed since I checked it last. Physically, I was exhausted. Mentally, I was exhausted, too, but I was also wired.

I had a lovely day with Alexander. The ribbon cutting had been hot in the midst of all that concrete and metal, but it had still been valuable for the information I had gathered. After hearing Nathaniel Drake speak, I understood why his proposal had been chosen for the area. He was a charismatic speaker, and the city had been wanting to revitalize that district for a while. His answer about rent-stabilized apartments had been the right one, but I still worried about the people living in that area. Housing and financial stress could bring out the worst in people, so I would have to get Izzy going on a plan for how to support that area. Maybe there were some nonprofits we could rope in to help us.

After the ribbon cutting, Alexander had taken me to a trendy little bistro downtown for dinner. We hadn’t talked about work at all and instead just learned more about each other. For a brieffew hours, I had forgotten about the outside world. With him, I wasn’t Evelyn Harper, the assistant, or Eve Harper, the leader of the Archers. I was just Evelyn, a woman on a date with a gorgeous man.

A gorgeous man who had been nothing but a gentleman all evening. Alexander was always so controlled, his reactions and actions so measured, and that had been on full display during our date. There were a few times when his eyes flared with heat when I brushed my legs against his under the table or when I bent down to get a napkin, but he had sat there like a perfect gentleman. His hands never wandered once, and the devilish part of me wanted to see what it would be like when he lost control.

I rolled over again. Alexander lay on his side facing me, his hands extended towards me even in sleep. When I started tossing and turning, I had shifted away from him, so I wouldn’t wake him. No need for both of us to be sleepless tonight. I studied him, taking the opportunity while his guard was down.

His dark hair was tousled against the pillow—so unlike his usual neatly combed appearance. The soft light that filtered through the curtains made the copper tones stand out against the silver sheets. His jaw was set even in sleep. His mouth was half-open, as if he might speak. His chest rose and fell under the soft gray T-shirt, slow and steady. I focused there for a few moments, thanking the universe that I had managed to keep him, all of them, alive the last few months.

Our lives would always be at risk in this line of work, and with this new threat, I couldn’t relax. The thought of losing him, losing any of them, created an ache in my chest that made it hard to breathe. I used to be able to keep a healthy distance between us, and that made the thought of losing them easier, or maybe I was just fooling myself that it would. But now, they were sodeeply integrated into my life and under my skin that I was never getting them out.

I held my breath as Alexander shifted. His arm stretched toward me, fingers almost touching my side. I lay still and watched. His heat was a warm glow on my skin. Last week with Sebastian had changed something inside me. I’d never really thought about sex before. I masturbated sometimes, but I wouldn’t have gone out looking to sleep with someone. I didn’t trust people that much. But with these men—first Sebastian, now Alexander—I trusted them enough for my body to respond.

It wasn’t about the physical attraction, although that was there in spades. It was about knowing I could let my guard down and trust them. There was nothing sexier than trust. Maybe that was why I was lying here awake. I had a man I trusted in my bed, and my body was making up for lost time now that it had gotten a taste of the pleasure these men could give me.