Page 85 of The Broken Keys

My chest tightens until breathing becomes difficult. Shewants to explain. She wants me to understand how she feels. The honesty in those words cut through all of my last defenses.

I want to text her back immediately, tell her I’m leaving right now and driving straight to her. I want to say that everything I told her yesterday was fear disguised as protection, and I’m done being afraid because the only thing I’m truly terrified of is a life without her.

Quinn and Natalie’s eyes are both wide with barely concealed curiosity. They’re likely trying to read an expression I usually keep locked down tight.

I type one word because it’s all I can manage without my hands shaking.

Me:When?

Her response comes back within seconds.

Mon Trésor:What does your day look like? Can we meet sometime today?

Perfect. It’s exactly what I want. My heart pounds so hard I’m surprised they can’t hear it across the conference table.

Me:I’ll be in touch. I’ve got a lot I need to take care of.

I set the phone face down and force myself to gaze up at two women who are clearly dying to ask questions they’re too professional to voice.

“Is…everything all right?” Natalie gestures to my phone.

“Yes. Just something personal I need to handle later.” I point to the projection still frozen on the screen behind them. “Where were we on the renewable energy division?”

Quinn clears her throat. “Jaxon, if you need to reschedule this meeting, we can absolutely push everything to tomorrow.”

“That won’t be necessary. I’m fine. Please continue.”

I’m not fine. I’m mentally calculating how fast I can get through this agenda and the other issues I need to address today so I can leave and drive to Malibu. An image forms in my mind.

I imagine staring her in the eyes and telling her everythingI should’ve said before I boarded that plane to Malaysia, leaving her with nothing but legal documents that gave her the house and two pages of devotion she never received.

We push through the rest of the meeting. I make decisions based on instincts honed over years of high-stakes negotiations and calculated risks. My mind operates on autopilot while my soul has already left the building and started driving to Livianna.

I send her another message telling her I can meet her at the house at six. It can’t come soon enough.

An hour passes, and Quinn closes her laptop. “I think we’ve covered everything, unless there’s something else you want to review?”

“No. We’re done here.” I stand before they can transition into follow-up questions. “I’m leaving early today. If anything urgent comes up, call my cell.”

Natalie’s eyebrows shoot up. “You’re leaving early?”

“Once I finish a few things, yes.”

Quinn studies me. “You never leave early. I don’t think you’ve left before six in all the time I’ve worked for you.”

“Maybe, but that doesn’t matter. Today I’m leaving early to tend to something important.” I grab my phone and trek toward the door before either of them can respond.

After two conference calls I was required to be on, I’m in the back seat of my car. David pulls out of the underground garage within minutes. I text Livianna and tell her I’m on my way.

I’m leaving behind confusion and probably genuine worry about my state of mind. I don’t care anymore about maintaining the illusion that I’m not vulnerable.

Because I’m putting her first. I’m choosing us and a real life now instead of this empire I made to shield a past that can’t take away my future.

The drive to Malibu takes forty-five minutes because traffic is surprisingly light for a weekday afternoon. I spend thetime rehearsing different ways to tell her about Julian Everhart.

I practice explaining why I’ve kept so much hidden even as I fell in love with her. My thoughts jump around like they never have.

I hope she’ll understand that I was trying to protect her, even though I realize I was really just protecting myself from the exposure of being fully known.