Page 49 of Balance

“You weren’t supposed to discuss the game with anyone. It was in the release you signed. Or did you not read it?” Jett’s voice was icy cold, and even the server, who’d been on the approach, turned and fled when he heard.

“Charlie is his best friend. Of course, he told him. You need to calm down.” Matthew tried to reason with him, but Jett was single-minded and over-protective of anything he deemed to be his. Which definitely included the company and often extended to include Matthew.

“Yeah, of course he told me,” Charlie piped up. “And of course I kept my mouth shut about it. But I figured it would be a safe topic to ask you about, seeing as how my boy Troye was getting super squirrely with everyone talking about him and how great he is.”

“Charlie,” I hissed, trying to get him to stop, but he just looked at me and rolled his eyes.

“Troye, you might be able to take a dick, but you can’t take a compliment. I know it, you know it, and Matthew knows it.”

“And now the whole restaurant knows it,” I muttered, wishing I could disappear.

Jett stood and cut Matthew a hard look. “A word,” he said, before storming away.

My stomach sank into my shoes. If my insides liquified anymore, I’d need to be carried home in a bucket.

“Go,” I told Matthew, who looked angry and sick and conflicted. Like he wanted to stay to comfort me but had to go after his volatile best friend. “Go, I promise it’s fine.”

Charlie scooted his chair closer and slung an arm around my shoulders. “I’ve got him.”

Matthew stole a kiss. “I’m sorry about him. I’ll fix it, I promise.”

Unable to speak, I nodded and watched Matthew speedwalk out of the restaurant.

“Well, that could’ve gone better,” Charlie deadpanned. “Seriously glad you’re dating Matthew and not his asshole of a best friend.”

“For now, anyway.” My hands shook, and I shoved them underneath me, sitting on them to stop them from trembling. “If his best friend hates me, what chance do I have with him? That’s his business partner. They’ve been through everything together.”

“And if he’s a real friend, he’ll find a way to get over himself. Seriously, I’ve never seen anyone so wound up in their own bullshit before. I bet he’s athletic as fuck from all the jumping to conclusions he does.”

“He’s just protective of the company.”

Charlie snorted. “He’s just an asshole with control issues. That’s all it is. He’s only worried that he won’t have total control over everything he lays his eyes on.”

“And you know all that from a two-minute meeting?”

Charlie scooted his chair even closer. “I know his type. Big and tough and angry at everyone else because it’s easier than being angry at yourself. I promise you that you and Matthew will be fine. Jett just needs an attitude adjustment. Actually, you know what… wait here.” Charlie kissed my cheek then got up and left. I watched him turn the same way Matthew and Jett had gone.

My head dropped into my hands and my heart into my stomach. In all my nightmares, none of them had gone this way, and I wasn’t sure I was prepared for that. It might have been seconds, or minutes, or hours for all I knew, when the server appeared. He carried with him a single slice of pie with a generous scoop of ice cream.

“Oh, I—we didn’t order yet. Sorry, my companions are⁠—”

“It’s on the house.” The server, Chase, according to his name tag, set the pie down in front of me.

None of my nightmares had pie either. Or nice servers with sympathetic smiles.

“Thank you, Chase,” I said, and he just nodded at me in return before leaving the table. With no one to stop me, I grabbed the fork and took a bite of the pie. Apple. It tasted like I imagined homemade apple pie would—I’d never had it—with thick, gooey filling and tender apples. It was warm and it made the ice cream melt, which turned out was pretty fucking fantastic.

If everything was going to go to shit, at least I had pie.

I held no illusions about my importance to Matthew. Jett was the other half of his company and his best and oldest friend. If Jett made him choose, I’d lose. Which was fine… I guessed. In the grand scheme of things, I barely knew Matthew. Sure, we talked for hours every day, and I’d started spending most of my time with him, but our relationship was still young. There was no way he should choose me. Hell, I wasn’t sure that I’d choose me.

My vision blurred, and I hurriedly dashed the tears away before anyone could see me crying. Nothing to see here, folks. Just a guy who’s about to be single, crying into his pie.

CHAPTER 26

MATTHEW

Jett was out front of the restaurant, his arms folded over his chest, his back straight as a pin. He towered over me, as he towered over a lot of people, but I’d never once been intimidated by him before, and I wasn’t about to start today.