Chapter 180

“You mean to tell me that you entered into this arrangement with Tina without a contract?” Dylan demanded the moment Logan stepped into his office. He’d already asked this question on the phone. Logan didn’t have a good answer then, and he didn’t now either.

“That’s correct,” Logan said.

Dylan had been so flabbergasted with Logan’s behavior that Logan detoured his route home to stop at Dylan’s office. The sooner they could take care of this Tina problem, the better, as far as Logan was concerned.

Sitting at his desk, Dylan typed away at his computer. “It’s a miracle that Hazel picked you over me.”

In that moment, Logan couldn’t argue. “I didn’t think having it all in writing was such a good idea…”

“Then you are a fool.” Dylan easily typed 100 wpm and that was clearly on display now, as his fingers flew over the keys.

Logan decided, unless he wanted more insults chucked his way, that he had better just sit down and keep his mouth closed.

“Call her and tell her to come here,” Dylan said.

“Hazel?”

Dylan stopped typing to stare at Logan.

“Tina,” Logan said, realizing.

“Tina,” Dylan said and returned to typing.

“I’m not sure she’ll go for it,” Logan said.

“Tell her this is the only way you’ll keep seeing her and she’ll be here. Trust me.”

Logan made the call.

Twenty minutes later, Dylan was printing the contract he had just finished typing and Tina walked through the door. Logan continued to sit quietly in the chair facing Dylan’s desk, consistently feeling like the fool Dylan had pegged him as.

If the shoe fits…

“This is an insult,” Tina said as she strode forward. “Do you have any idea how valuable my time is?”

“Yes, yes. We are all very impressed,” Dylan said, not looking at her. He glanced at Logan instead. “Of all the women you could have picked, this was the one?”

“She doesn’t need me,” Logan said. “I thought we’d be a clean break, when the time came.”

Dylan sighed loudly.

“I don’t have all day,” Tina said, sauntering toward them. “And I especially won’t stand for insults. Least of all from you, Dylan. You pariah.”

Dylan motioned toward the empty chair beside Logan. “Sit then.”

She turned up her nose but did as he asked, then she looked at Logan. “Darling, what is this all about? I thought we cleared up everything we needed to say at dinner?”

Logan cleared his throat. “With everything going on, I just thought it would be better for both of us if we were protected…”

“I do not trust this man to have my protection in mind,” Tina said to Logan, ignoring Dylan totally now.

Dylan seemed fine with that. He organized the papers and stabled them. Then he set them on the end of the desk near Tina. He placed a pen on top of them.

“It’s for our best interests,” Logan said.

Tina glanced at the contract. She snatched it off the desk so quickly that the pen fell down onto the ground but she made no effort to retrieve it.

For the next few minutes, Logan watched as Tina flipped through the pages. Now and then, she’d make a comment like, “Line 32, I do not agree to.”

“It’s non-negotiable,” Dylan said.

“Logan, tell your lapdog that Line 32 is out.”

Caught between a rock and a hard place, Logan had to say, “Dylan.”

Dylan cursed under his breath.

As she continued to read, Tina’s face grew more and more annoyed. That was, until she reached the end clause. Then her eyes went so wide, they practically had money symbols in them.

“When we officially break up…” she started. “You are going to pay me… how much?”

“50 million dollars,” Logan said. It was no small lump of change, not even for a woman who had everything she could ever want or need.

One thing Logan had learned about members of high society: as much money as they had, they were always greedy for more.

“I’m not a prostitute,” Tina said, though her voice wasn’t filled with the same passion as when she had given that line before.

“No one is suggesting you are,” Logan said. “This is more of a… thank you gift.”

Tina considered that for a long moment. When her face cleared with decision, she turned to Dylan. “Make those changes for me, and I’ll sign your little contract.”

Dylan glanced at Logan. Logan, immediately feeling a huge weight lift off his shoulders, nodded at Dylan, who then began to type again.

After the paperwork had been signed and Tina had seen herself out, Dylan opened a bottle of whiskey and poured Logan a glass.

“Cheers to whatever the hell this was,” Dylan said, lifting his glass.

“Cheers,” Logan agreed and downed it. Quickly, Dylan was back with the bottle, pouring him a fresh drink.

“You’re going to have to tell Hazel about this,” Dylan said.

“She wants me to break up with Tina,” Logan said. “Hopefully with the contract, she’ll see that we’re safe.”

Dylan hummed as he returned to the seat behind his desk. “I wouldn’t count on that.”

Logan had a nagging suspicion that Dylan was right. “She doesn’t have to like it. She just has to understand this is for the best.”

“I wouldn’t count on that either,” Dylan said.

Again, Logan suspected that he might be right.

Still…

Logan pulled his phone from his pocket and called Hazel.

My friends were furious when I left them at the one bar, but they hadn’t heard how Logan sounded on the phone. Nor did they understand how strange it was for him to invite me to Dylan’s office asap.

I couldn’t ignore it, not even to hang out with them. Though by the time he had called, we were winding down anyway.

They probably just didn’t want me to see Logan at all, since they were so pissed at him.

Regardless, I hopped into a cab and rode it to Dylan’s office. When I arrived, the front door was unlocked. I wandered inside, following the sound of Logan and Dylan’s voices. They were talking about the big game, nothing serious.

When I stepped into the lit office space, their voices immediately quieted.

“Evening, Hazel,” Dylan said.

“Dylan,” I replied, though my gaze was on Logan. “Logan.”

Logan stood from his chair. He grinned as he approached me. His eyes were hazy. He wasn’t drunk but he was on his way there. The half-empty bottle of whiskey on Dylan’s desk gave me a clue.

This annoyed me, because I’d left my friends for this.

“You invited me here for a reason, correct?” I asked.

Logan’s smile wavered somewhat. “Yes, I did. But I also wanted to see you.”

Oh. That melted some of my frostiness. “Here I am.”

“Here you are,” Logan stepped toward me and when he was close enough, lightly leaned in. He pressed his lips to mine in a feather-light kiss that ended as quickly as it began. Straightening, Logan continued, “I’ve done something that I think you will be pleased with.”

“You broke up with Tina?” I asked, though I had my suspicions that wasn’t the case.

“No,” Logan said. He walked back to the desk and picked up a stack of papers that had been neatly stapled. “I’ve entered into a contract with her.”

“What kind of contract?” I asked.

“A non-disclosure agreement, mostly,” Dylan said. “Though with a few additional caveats to ensure she complies. Also a huge payout if she makes it to a breakup of Logan’s choosing.”

“Are you pleased?” Logan asked. He likely already knew the answer, looking at my face.

No. No, I wasn’t pleased. I was the opposite.

“This will protect us, Hazel,” Logan said. “If I simply break up with her, we risk exposure.”

Maybe he was right, but I couldn’t see it that way right now.

I had wanted Logan to break up with Tina, not enter some kind of formal agreement!