Obsessed: Part Two by Deborah Bladon Page B

keys. My hands are trembling. This push and pull between Jax and Mark is wearing and I just want the feud to be over. I'm tired of being caught in the middle of it.
    "What the hell is going on?" he demands after stepping into the apartment. "What are all these boxes for?"
    "I'm moving," I announce nonchalantly. "I'm leaving this afternoon."
    "You're not moving in with him? Ivy, tell me that's not it." He's pleading with me now.
    I turn to face him. He's still looking as tired as ever. The peach colored polo he's wearing doesn't help his pale complexion. His jeans hang on his hips loosely. His world is crumbling and his outward appearance isn't masking that at all. "My air conditioning broke. I need a place to stay so for the time being I'm moving in with Jax."
    "Don't do that." His voice is impassioned. "I know I'm not someone who can tell you what to do but this is a huge mistake."
    "Why? Why Mark?" I spit the words with disdain at him. "You don’t get to have an opinion on this. You made that choice when you decided to fuck my best friend."
    "Grow up." His eyes glaze over with anger. "Wake up. Can't you see what's going on?"
    "You're talking about the company, aren't you?" I push the words towards him with a hint of entitlement. "You hate that I'm handing control of your precious company to Jax."
    "I could care less about that at this point." He runs his hand through his greying hair. "Do what you want with those shares. I don't give a fuck."
    I twirl around to face him directly now. "You're kidding, right?" I chuckle. "That company is what you live for. Well that and bedding as many women as possible."
    "Shut up," he snaps. "Just shut the hell up and listen to me."
    "No." I march towards the door and fling it wide open. "Get out. You shouldn't have come here."
    "I'm not leaving until you hear me out." He stomps his foot as though that will intimidate me enough that I'll slam the door and sit down to listen to him.
    "Ivy, what's going on?" Mrs. Adams weak voice calls to me from her doorway.
    "It's nothing. Go back inside." I call back to her. The last thing I need right now is Mark getting into a shouting match with her.
    "I'm going to call the police." She yells back towards me. "They'll come take him away."
    "Don't you dare do that." Mark lunges past me and down the hallway.
    She quickly slams her door and he turns again to look at me before pressing the elevator call button.
    "Don’t bother me again." I start to close the door.
    "Ask him about Brooke."
    "Who?" I feel my pulse quicken at the mention of a woman's name in relation to Jax.
    "Brooke." His mouth curves into a tainted smile. "Ask him."
    "Wait." I march forward to press the call button holding the car on my floor. "Just tell me, Mark. Who is Brooke?"
    "I'm not hanging around here." He reaches outside the car to push my hand from its place. "Apparently the police are on their way and you're not worth the trouble."
    "Whatever," I spit back as I take a step away from the closing doors.
    His hand bolts to hold the doors open. "Oh, and sweetheart, keep those keys. You'll be back here soon enough."
     
    ***
     
    "I emptied the top two drawers in my dresser so you can put your unmentionables in there," he teases.
    "Unmentionables? Like my dildos?" I twist my lips together and roll my eyes.
    Jax blushes. I've never seen that happen and I'm smitten with how genuinely embarrassed he looks. "I meant your lingerie, but I guess if you brought…" his voice trails as I reach up to kiss him softly.
    "I didn't bring anything unmentionable with me." I walk over to where he's placed my suitcase on the bed. "Just these panties and things." I hold them up and he takes them, tucking them neatly away in the top drawer.
    My confrontation with Mark keeps ringing through my ears but after he left I spent time saying goodbye to Mrs. Adams. She had convinced me that Mark was just being petty and throwing random names at me to try to jar me into distrusting Jax. She pointed out that Mark