Garrett

"You're going to have to unfire Ivy."

Parker's booming voice hit me like a battering ram. Keeping my arm slung over my eyes, I worked moisture into my dry mouth and replied, "How the fuck did you get into my apartment?"

"You gave me a key."

"Give it back."

"Maybe. Once you rehire Ivy Wilson."

Barely suppressing a groan, I sat up in my bed and glared at my business partner and friend. The asshole had the audacity to stand in my bedroom looking every bit the put together billionaire that he was. I didn't need a mirror to know my appearance was quite the opposite.

"You don't even know what happened."

Parker walked into the bathroom. Water gushed and gurgled. A cabinet door squeaked and slammed. He returned with a cup and four ibuprofen in hand. I took both gratefully.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he folded his arms and said, "I know that she demanded to speak to someone in HR today when she was informed the reason her swipe badge didn't work was because she'd been terminated. I also know she mentioned something about it being retaliation. Why don't you fill in the blanks for me?"

"Did Sandra not inform her she was fired for failing to adhere to the attendance policy?"

"She did. That's bullshit. Especially since she missed a week of work because she was busy screwing your brains out in the mountains."

A pill lodged in my throat, and I glared at Parker over the cup as I took another gulp of water. Setting it onto the bedside table with a clink, I climbed out of the bed, feeling like an old man as I reached for a t-shirt I'd discarded on the floor. The moment I pulled it over my head, my breath caught, and I yanked it off at once.

"What the hell?" Parker exclaimed when it struck him in the face.

"It's dirty."

And it smelled like Ivy. Her perfume permeated every fiber, and I hated how much I wanted to pick it back up and breathe it in. Was this was an addict felt like? Knowing it could destroy me, but willing to risk it for one more hit?

"Start talking right now." Parker followed me down the hall and into the kitchen. "I'm serious. We can discuss moving her to another department, but you cannot fire her just because things ended badly. Because that's what happened, isn't it?"

Nothing in the refrigerator appealed to me. I slammed the door so hard the contents rattled, and I spun around to face Parker. Not a single part of me wanted to have this conversation, but he was right. I had made a rash decision based on my hurt feelings. This was his business, too.

I didn't have to tell him everything. But when I opened my mouth, everything came pouring out.

"I told her I loved her." My friend paled and dropped onto a barstool. "I'm a fucking idiot."

"Do you, though?"

"What?"

"Love her?"

"Loving her requires a heart, and she broke it. She left work early yesterday. Sick." I made air quotes. "She left behind her things, and I noticed she had a copy of her sister's latest manuscript."

"Iris?"

"Yeah. Turns out Ivy has been feeding her information about our sex life, and she put it in her book."

"Fuck, man."

I sat on the stool next to him and propped my elbows on the counter. The white quartz was cold against my skin.

"It gets worse. I went to confront her and walked in on her with another man."

Parker jumped up, walked around the island, and opened the cabinet where I kept my liquor. He poured both of us a generous shot of whisky and slid the glass to me. We clinked our glasses together and knocked back the shot. Three shots later, and the pain was faded. But I knew it lurked just below the surface, ready to overwhelm me once the buzz faded.

"I have to admit..." Parker swirled the amber liquid in his cup. "I didn't think she was that kind of girl. I mean, I'd heard things, but I saw how she looked at you. She was really into you."

"She's just a talented actress," I said as someone pounded on the door.

"I've got it. Wouldn't want to shock someone with your grotesque body."

He gestured at my naked torso. Any other time, I would have rolled my eyes and told him he was jealous of my eight pack, but I didn't have it in me to tease.

"Out of my way!"

"Lexi?" I swiveled in my seat and gaped as the gorgeous blonde marched up to me. "What are you doing here?"

She jabbed a finger into my chest. "What did you do to her?"

Teeth grinding together, I spit out, "Don't you mean what did she do to me?"

"No. I meant precisely what I said. I just got off the phone with her, and she was hysterical. Said something about you calling her a man-eating whore."

"Really, Garrett?" Parker asked.

"I did not...not all the way, at least."

Lexi crossed her arms and tapped her long red nails on her elbows. "Listen, I know you, and you wouldn't have hurt her like this without reason. What happened?"

"He caught her fucking someone else."

Lexi's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. "There's no way."

"I did. She went home sick. I went to her apartment and walked in on her with another—"

"Ivy." Lexi cut me off and slapped her forehead.

"Exactly."

"No. I mean...You walked in on Ivy."

Parker and I made twin sounds of disgust. "I just said that..."

"Ivy isn't the one you've been sleeping with." She exhaled, looked at the ceiling, and muttered something that sounded a lot like 'forgive me.' Then she said, "For the past two weeks, the woman you were with wasn't Ivy. It was Iris."