Chapter 181

I was not happy with this arrangement – at all. It was taking everything inside of me to hold my tongue and not lash out further. I knew, in my heart, that Logan didn’t mean to hurt me and that he saw this as the best way forward for all of us.

Still, I worried. Soon, I would be leaving town and like this, Logan and Tina would still be seeing each other. I trusted Logan but I didn’t trust Tina. She’d be angling for a way to get closer to him, that much was clear. Logan seemed blind to that, or maybe he thought he could handle everything.

“I can keep an eye on Tina,” Dylan said.

“She’s going to try something,” I said to Dylan.

“On that, we can agree,” he replied.

“You are being paranoid,” Logan told us both. “She signed the paperwork. She agreed to this arrangement.”

“It’s just ink and paper,” I replied.

“It’s legally binding,” Logan said.

“She has so much money, she probably thinks herself above the law,” I said.

Logan seemed doubtful, but Dylan nodded along with my words. Logan was a born businessman. Legalese and contracts were like vows, they might as well have been written in blood. He wouldn’t break them.

With a mindset like that, it must have been difficult for him to see from others’ perspectives. Not everyone would treat a contract like a bond. In fact, very few people did – especially those with enough money to hire their own team of top lawyers in defense.

Dylan looked at me and held my gaze for a long moment. He didn’t say anything, but I felt with his expression that he was trying to convince me not to worry.

Dylan was someone I could trust. If he said he would keep an eye on Tina, I could believe him.

With my departure date quickly approaching, I didn’t have much choice either way.

I gave him a small, shaky smile in return, hoping to indicate that I was leaving it all in his hands. His face became sterner then, as if he was accepting the task.

“Hazel,” Logan said, reclaiming my attention. “I only wanted to help you feel more comfortable.”

I’d only feel more comfortable if Tina was out of the picture for good, but… seeing things from Logan’s perspective, I supposed I could appreciate what he was trying to do.

Besides, I trusted Logan. Or at least, I wanted to.

To trust him, I had to accept that he wouldn’t accept Tina even if she came onto him.

She was so beautiful, so rich – it was hard to believe that Logan would want to stay with me when he could have her.

Shaking away the thoughts, I clung onto my trust with both hands. I couldn’t let go.

“I know,” I said.

For the moment, at least, everyone seemed satisfied.

The following days passed far too quickly, and too soon, it was my final day working in the office as Logan’s assistant.

I moved a little sluggishly, not wanting to finish my work too quickly, as if falling behind would somehow allow me to stay here longer.

Logan certainly noticed – I was even late to our morning meeting – but he didn’t reprimand me at all. He simply bid me good morning and told me the day’s schedule.

My day’s projects all seemed like fluff work. I’d already introduced my clients to their new points of contact and trained my replacement, who was standing eagerly behind me, ready for his chance to shine.

Around lunchtime, Logan called me into his office alone so that we could have lunch together. We left the door open, so we didn’t have deep conversation as we ate at his desk. But it was nice all the same.

I looked into his eyes and studied his face, memorizing as much detail as I could.

Logically, I knew this wasn’t the final time I would see him, but nor would things be like this ever again. If we wanted to see each other now, we would have to make efforts to do so. One of us would have to travel. The other would have to make plans.

As we ate, I caught Logan staring at me too. Likely, he had the same thoughts and concerns.

“The office is planning a surprise party for you toward the end of the day,” Logan said toward the end of our meal.

“A surprise party is usually supposed to be a surprise,” I said, chuckling slightly. Honestly, I’d rather know about it in advance, but I won’t pass up the opportunity to tease him.

“I know,” he said. “Forgive me. But I wanted you to be ready since…” His voice trailed and he glanced away. “Tina found out about it and will likely be attending.”

Frowning, I sat in stunned silence for a few seconds. “How on earth…?”

“I have no idea,” Logan said. “She must have eyes in the office.”

I did not like the sound of that. “Be careful with her,” I said, imploring him.

“I know,” he said. “I will be.”

I made a mental note to speak with Maria about this too. She’d definitely agree to keep an eye out.

“Thank you for letting me know,” I said, doubly glad he told me about the party now.

He nodded and we finished the rest of our meal in uncomfortable quiet.

Dylan was surprised by Logan’s call, inviting him to Hazel’s farewell work party.

“Does this mean I’m back on retainer?” he asked, joking, with Logan on the phone.

“If that’s what it takes,” Logan said. “Hazel would want you there…”

With that drifted off sentence, Dylan immediately sensed Logan wasn’t telling him the full truth. They’d been friends for a long time. That, coupled with his trained abilities as a lawyer, he could sense when people were holding back.

“That’s nice,” Dylan said. “What’s the real reason?”

Logan sighed, likely embracing his dire fate. He wasn’t going to be able to pull one over on Dylan.

“Tina found out about the party, and she’s also going to attend,” Logan said.

“What the hell for?” Dylan asked.

“I can only imagine. As CEO, I’m going to be busy with other things. I can’t keep an eye on her to see what she’s up to.”

“So you want me on Tina watchguard duty?”

“It’s Hazel I’m worried about. Tina likes to stir the pot. If she is going to try to come between Hazel and me like Hazel suspects, I worry she’ll go after Hazel – not me. Tina will try to intimidate her or… I don’t know… buy her off or something.”

“You can’t think that would work?” Dylan scoffed.

“It was just an example,” Dylan said.

Curious how far things had come. Not that long ago, Dylan was furious at Logan for pushing Hazel away only to then want him for herself, when Dylan had finally gotten closer to her.

But, for whatever the reason, Hazel had chosen Logan over him, and he had to respect that.

He was still friends with both of them. Whatever problems they might have gone through in the past, he wasn’t about to let some high society influencer walk in and upset the entire balance of their precarious friendship.

For Logan to ask Dylan to keep an eye on Hazel was a show of trust. Their friendship was repairing.

Of course Dylan was going to come to the aid of his two friends.

“What time is the party?”