Playing the Bosses

Assurance

A/N: Like I hinted, today is a very short chapter. Just a heads up in case you want to wait until the next upload to read. I really wanted to have this part on its own, though. Explanation is in this week's tidbit at the bottom.

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Eva managed to keep her cool as best as she could in the taxi that she and Justin took from PMC Group's offices to her apartment. However, once they crossed into the building, her heart started racing. Walking through the lobby, the same concierge who Justin had spoken to the day prior was on shift and greeted them.

"Ah, so it was this Eva you were looking for!" he announced when he saw Eva and Justin before his eyes landed on her. "He seemed flustered when he was looking for you. Is everything alright, Ms. T—"

"I'm fine," Eva interrupted, her tone cold.

"No-fucking-thanks to you," Justin spat.

They walked over the elevators and once they borded one and were on their way up to her floor, Eva found herself growing even more tense. She drew her fingers into her palms and held her hands in tight fists while her eyes remained on the elevator doors. The image of her apartment flashed in her mind and she worried about the parts that she didn't see. She wanted to keep calm and play it cool, but she couldn't.

A large, warm hand wrapped around Eva's right fist and she tore her gaze from the elevator door to see Justin looking at her attentively.

"I'm here, Eva," he assured her with a nod and a squeeze of her hand before his fingers gently coaxed her to loosen and release her fist so that he could intertwine his fingers with hers. "Now, let me be here for you."

Eva broke eye contact, but did not pull her hand away as she looked everywhere in the elevator except back at Justin. The bell chimed when they arrived to her floor and keeping her hand in Justin's, the two of them slowly made their way to her apartment. Once they reached her door, Eva stopped in her tracks and Justin stood there beside her, analyzing her body language.

He'd never seen Eva like this before. She was uneasy. She was uncomfortable. She was afraid. She was undeniably shaken to her core.

"Hey." Justin rubbed Eva's thumb and squeezed her hand. "I'm right here. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

Eva swallowed and slowly nodded. She still hadn't made eye contact with Justin since they were in the elevator, her gaze now on her apartment door. After taking a deep breath, she stepped forward to push it open.

The sight was just as she remembered it. The shattered vase, flowers on the floor. Wine across the counter. She stepped forward into the apartment and Justin was right there with her, their hands still together.

Eva couldn't bring herself to look around as they walked from the doorway straight to her bedroom. She didn't want to see all the damage that had been done. Now that Eric had broken into her home and ruined it, she gave up on the place. And the more she saw his damage, the angrier she'd get.

Once she and Justin got into her bedroom, Eva choked up as soon as she set eyes on it. The space was in shambles — her clothes were strung all over the place, drawers pulled out and thrown on the floor, there was a hole in the wall next to her bed, and her vanity looked like someone took a bat to it.

Eva let out a shaky breath. "Fuck," she winced softly before her tone changed. "Fuck!" she shouted as she began pacing the room, her arms flailing with her rant. "I can't have shit! I just want to fucking exist. My home? My fucking home? And he ruined it! Fucking ruined it!"

Justin pulled her into his arms and wrapped her in a tight a hug. Without hesitation and without fighting back, Eva returned his embrace. Finally, she cracked, her body shaking against him as her tears wet his shirt. Eva's nails dug into his back as she held his shirt in a firm grip.

She was relieved it was Justin with her. She absolutely could not imagine Caleb seeing her in that state and while she trusted Adrian, she was still grappling with the way he made her feel and she didn't need that added confusion in that moment. However, Justin was her balance. While Eva had been hiding her true identity from him, she had otherwise been honest with Justin, open with him. They'd both confided in each other about growing up with distant parents and always feeling out of place in their families. Of the three men she'd grown to spend most of her time with, Justin was the only on she wanted there in that moment. The only one who she felt she could sob in front of without him seeing her as weak, or being overprotective... Justin was exactly who she needed.

Eva took a sharp breath and turned her head to the side as she rested it against Justin's chest. "Thanks for coming with me, Justin," she said softly. "Thank you for being here with me."

Justin caressed her back with his fingertips and rested his head on top of hers. "Always, Eva," he assured her. "You're one of my best friends. I'm here for you. Whatever you need."

They stood there as Eva took deep breaths and Justin continued to soothe her. Regardless of the disaster of her desecrated home that surrounded them, Eva felt safe in Justin's arms. She found true comfort in his embrace.

Several minutes passed before she finally eased the grip on his shirt and let go of Justin to start packing with his help. He sat on the bed between two large suitcases and packed them with whatever Eva threw his way. In no time, both of the bags were filled and Eva disappeared into her closet after warning Justin not to follow her. The packing was an effective distraction from the uneasiness brought on by the state of Eva's apartment and she was feeling a little better than she did before she and Justin shared their moment.

Eva soon came back out with another large suitcase that Justin looked at curiously.

"You've already got two large bags filled with clothes, Eva, what's in there?"

A smirk came to Eva's face, the first time Justin had seen her smile that day.

"Activities for the four of us, of course."

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A/N: Thanks for reading! I was v intentional about that shift at the end of this chapter. It'll set the tone for what's coming after. 😉

Tidbit: I wanted to make Eva and Justin close friends because their backstories are similar. They both come from rich families with high expectations. While Eva's parents weren't as direct with her as Justin's were with him, she still grew up as a Thompson and anyone who knew it expected her to live up to it. They both also kind of feel like the black sheep of their families. Eva with her lack of ambition and it's similar for Justin too. However, Justin continued trying to meet expectations, while Eva for the most part was like fuck it.