"Here," Logan leaned closer to Earl before telling him his address. He punched in the address with ease on the touch screen. Even the audio system for the car was fancier than Logan had ever owned. His car now was on the older side, requiring buttons instead of a touch screen. The Bluetooth capabilities weren't the best either, and it would often disconnect on his way home from work. "Thanks again for the ride. It's not that far, but I can pay for gas."

This time, it was Earl who scoffed. "It's no trouble at all. Mr. Dawson is too kind to me and pays me far too handsomely to drive him around. Plus, this beaut has surprisingly good mileage. Don't you worry about it."

Logan retreated and leaned against his seat defeatedly, rolling his eyes at Callum's smirk. "At this rate, I will owe you an entire paycheck."

"Nobody's counting. And I wouldn't withhold a check; that's pretty illegal."

Callum leaned his head against the window, watching the marketing lead from the corner of his eyes. He was sure the only reason Logan was being this talkative thus far was from the drinks he must've had with his coworkers. Now that Callum thought about it, it should have had the opposite effect. Although no longer hunched forward, Logan fiddled with his hands and phone like he was headed to an interview. His phone vibrated a few times along the drive, but he had flipped his phone over to avoid looking at it.

After a couple of red lights, Callum shut his eyes momentarily, accepting that despite Logan's willingness to get a ride home or approach him at the bar, being around him still blatantly made him nervous, sober or not. He tried not to take it too personally; after all, he had just told Logan that he overreacted.

By the time Earl had pulled off the main road and slowed to an apartment complex, Logan had nearly jumped out of his seat, lunging forward as if in a car crash. Callum had almost gripped him back.

"Oh my god." Logan gripped the seat in front of him as he looked out into the parking lot. Callum craned his neck to look past Logan's head. There, pacing the premises on the first floor, was a man with crossed arms. Judging by the bag on his shoulder and the way he checked his phone every few seconds, and Logan's visceral reaction, Callum could deduce who the man was, yet he still voiced, "Is that him?"

Logan gulped before letting out a meek, "yes."

Callum narrowed his eyes, taking in the man's features. It was hard to make out his face, but the dim building light shone on his dark hair, sweatpants, and shirt. Callum would've questioned why nobody had reported him yet if it wasn't this late at night. He spotted an overstuffed backpack against the stairs like Chris had stuffed whatever he could and caught the first flight out to California, which was a pretty reasonable deduction judging by the timeline.

Logan was shaking in the seat next to him, his breaths ragged and heavy as he held on to the front seat like a life preserver. He nearly jumped in his skin when his phone buzzed, and upon looking out the front window, they spotted Chris with his phone in hand. Logan cut the call before unceremoniously dropping his phone on the back seat.

"Wha—what should I do?" Logan mumbled under his breath. Callum wasn't sure if it was directed at him, but he patted Earl's shoulder.

"Kill the engine and lights." Earl followed Callum's directions before adjusting his posture to glance at the two of them.

"What would you like to do, sir?"

Callum glanced at Logan, but Logan was struggling to breathe properly. Callum sighed. "Maybe he'll leave on his own?"

Logan shook his head, finally managing to say, "no. He's not going to leave if he knows I live here."

"Shall I talk to him?"

"What? No," Logan sputtered. "No, no, no."

"I'll pretend that's my place. You can stay in the car, and I'll ask him to leave."

Logan scoffed. "Callum, no."

"Or, I could threaten him to leave."

"Absolutely not."

Callum crossed his arms. "That is your home, Logan. You can't just let him get away with trespassing or stalking or worse"

Logan peeked his head over the front seat again, seeing Chris pacing the premises. "I know, but we don't know his intentions or what he could do if either of us approached him."

"Are you saying he could be—" Callum stopped himself, but Logan looked at him expectantly. "Violent?"

The hesitation in Logan's face was all Callum needed in an answer. He had assumed the worst of his ex during the dinner and, judging by the plane ticket alone, gathered it wasn't that far off. "Not particularly so," Logan said slowly as if forcing the words to come out. He opened his mouth to say more to elaborate and correct himself, but Callum interrupted.

"You could crash at my place," Callum said. "Drop you off in the morning if he's gone."

"No, I couldn't do that." Logan shook his head. His body seemed to melt in the seat. "I'll rent a motel room or something down the road. Surely there's one around here, right?"

"Maybe a couple of miles from here. It's fine, I'll drive to my place, and we can think about what to do next. Surely, we should get the cops involved, yes?"

"What? No. No, we can't."

"He stalked you from across the country, Logan. This isn't something to take lightly. Especially if he knows your place of residence now, I'll call Charlotte and have her call some people to sort things out if you'd rather not talk to the police. Surely, the legal team will know a thing or two."

Logan shook his head fervently. "That's not necessary. Look, I'll figure something out later. We should get out of here before he spots me in the car."

Callum opened his mouth to say something but shut it. He gripped the middle console tighter and glanced at the belligerent man pacing outside the apartment complex. He didn't want to know how Logan had chosen to be with such a crazy person, but he couldn't say anything given his track record. "Right. You heard him, Earl. Start the car."

"Yes, sir." Earl swiftly pulled away from the curb, driving away from Logan's apartment complex. Logan didn't move from his slumped posture until they were well over a block away. He felt silly, almost pathetic, for the whole situation, from relying on his boss to avoid his ex to being scared of entering his own home. He shouldn't fear Chris at all, shouldn't have to ruin someone else's night for his convenience.

Aside from the soft sound of R&B music playing from the radio, Callum and Logan sat in silence. Callum wanted to say something, anything really but didn't want to worsen things. He mulled over what Logan said, what he witnessed at the apartment complex, and tried not to make too many assumptions.

At the fourth red light, Earl turned down his music. "Where to?"

Callum looked to Logan for a response, but his head was rested against the glass, his eyes fluttering close. Callum lightly tapped his arm. "Where would you like to go?"

"I guess your place?"

"Okay." Callum didn't say anything more, letting the ambient sounds of other cars and Earl's music fill the silence between them. Callum's apartment wasn't too far, and the traffic was fairly light for a Friday night, but he was fortunate he didn't have to spend too long sitting in silence with Logan. Earl pulled into the parking garage, parking in a designated spot next to the main lobby's side entrance.

"Thanks," Logan said. "Sorry about all that. And for letting me stay here."

"Don't mention it," Callum said, watching Logan fiddle with his hands. He seemed less tense than before, not even rushing to cower in the elevator corner, which must have been a good sign, Callum figured. "I'm just glad you're alright."

"Yeah." Logan sighed. "I'm glad I didn't go home alone. I don't know what would've happened."

Callum nodded slowly as the elevators reached the upper floors. "The fact that he found your apartment complex is alarming."

"Yeah. I'll probably look for a new place if he's that insistent."

"I could..." Callum faltered. "There's got to be a better way."

"I'll figure something out," Logan said before looking at Callum. "Can we not talk about it now, though? I don't want to think about him or the texts or anything."

"Yeah, of course."

"Good."

The elevators slowed as they reached Callum's floor. "Can you imagine if we got stuck in this elevator too?"

Logan rolled his eyes as the doors opened. He stepped out before glancing back at Callum with a cheeky half-smile. "With those odds, maybe we should go to Vegas."

Callum followed him down the hallway that led to his place. He fumbled through his wallet to find the key card.

"This is my first time being in a penthouse," Logan said, looking between the sleek tall door and back to Callum.

"You haven't? New York has plenty of those, I imagine."

Logan shrugged. "I've been invited to a penthouse party before for a bachelorette party. I wasn't allowed to go, though."

Callum frowned at his word choice, confident that it had been Chris who didn't allow Logan to attend. "Well, I'm not sure my place would offer as great a view as the ones in New York, but I'd say it's a pretty decent size. There's a small view of the ocean if the weather is clear enough."

Placing the card above the door handle, Callum swiftly walked in, holding the door open for Logan.

"Fun fact, in the time I've been here in Los Angeles, I haven't visited any of the beaches nearby," Logan walked in, taking in the sight of the apartment before looking at the dumbfounded Callum. "What?"

"You haven't done all the touristy things yet? Let me guess, not even the Hollywood sign?"

Logan laughed. "Nope."

"It's a must."

"Then, I guess you'd have to show me," Logan said with a smirk before turning back around and walking toward the kitchen island. Callum remained in his place, still holding the door, stunned by Logan's words. Logan chuckled. "You coming in?"

"Yeah," Callum rushed, promptly letting go of the door. It clicked into place before Callum could move his feet toward the kitchen and dining area.

Logan twirled around. "It's smaller than I imagined. Still way larger and fancier than my apartment, but I almost expected a whole penthouse suite."

"Believe it or not, they listed this as one. I do like the smaller place, though. Who needs like five or six bedrooms when you're all alone."

Logan nodded before glancing around the room once more. His fingers trailed over the marble countertops while his eyes spotted the collection of wine and champagne bottles above the modern cabinets. Next to the fridge, a couple of bottles were sitting next to the coffeemaker.

"For a lightweight, this is quite a collection."

"Most are gifts," Callum said, leaning against the kitchen island. "Limited editions, expensive brands, the lot."

Logan ran a finger along the gold-wrapped champagne, still sealed. "So, just for show?"

Callum laughed. "I do drink. Mostly at home by myself."

A look of confusion ran across Logan's face. "That sounds sad and lonely."

"Charlotte comes over now and then."

Logan rolled his eyes. "No other CEO friends to drink with?"

Callum shrugged. "None that I'm particularly close with. It's pretty hard to make friends out here."

"Oh, that's a load of bull. Aside from Charlotte, you don't have anyone else to drink with?"

Callum shook his head, watching as Logan scanned the different bottles within reach.

"I mean, if you're okay with it, I wouldn't mind a drink. Especially after a night like tonight," Logan drawled before drumming his fingers against the counter. He bit his lip nervously before jeering a thumb behind him. "With a cheaper bottle, preferably. These seem way too fancy for a casual drink."

Although Callum knew this was a terrible idea, drinking with a guy he liked of all things—yes, liked liked, he'd admit. The whole night had been a whirlwind from the morning hangover, to the team dinner, to seeing Logan's ex; what was one more night of drinking, anyway?

"I'll grab the glasses," Callum said, pushing off from the island and meeting Logan around the counter. "Feel free to grab whichever bottle you'd like."