6. Six
SIX
I was tired. My shift was three hours longer than normal, thanks to one of the other dealers falling ill.
I didn’t blame anybody for using their sick days.
Unfortunately, we were down several dealers at present, and everybody had to pitch in, whether they were exhausted or not.
All I wanted was to go home and sleep. A quick drink to decompress was up first.
I went into Hoops, one of the more low-key sports bars on the Stone Casino property. I wanted a beer, maybe to check the scores, and to chill out. Being observant for so long had taken it out of me.
My plan was to sit at the bar and zone out.
I could tune out a crowd like nobody’s business.
That didn’t happen, though, because the first people I saw when I walked into the bar were Zach and Rex.
They were at a reserved booth, seemingly deep in conversation, and they didn’t immediately look in my direction, which was a relief.
Then, as if he sensed me staring at them, Rex lifted his chin and made eye contact. He didn’t immediately smile, but he did say something to Zach, who snapped his eyes to me. They murmured something I couldn’t make out, and it gave me an uncomfortable feeling. What were they up to?
Zach and Rex had been upperclassmen when I was a freshman.
They were both athletes, as was I, but they took their jock personas to heart in a way that didn’t interest me.
Sure, I liked playing sports. I loved watching games.
I would watch almost anything except golf.
I never understood the appeal of hitting a ball with a stick.
I didn’t live and breathe any sport, however.
Not like Rex did football or Zach did basketball. They were both intense athletes.
I wasn’t close with either of them. That was what I was getting at.
They’d graduated at the end of my sophomore year, and that was the last I saw of them other than at events where a family presence was necessary.
Zach’s sisters were older, so he was rarely around the school following graduation, unless accompanying Rex, who’d always made sure to show up for his sister, Olivia.
Rex was, above all else, a very good brother.
He didn’t hide his love for his sister behind embarrassment. He put it on display.
When I’d heard about Zach and Olivia getting married—this was before I joined the staff at the Stone—I’d been surprised.
I hadn’t known Olivia well when we were in school together, although I always considered her friendly.
In truth, I’d considered Zach something of a jerk, which meant Olivia was too good for him, in my mind.
Turned out I was wrong. They were a good match and not because she was a secret jerk or anything.
Zach was a good guy. It seemed like his father had pushed him to be standoffish.
I had experience with fatherly pressure, so I felt for him.
I was also impressed at the way he’d stood up to his father.
Sure, Ryder was a special kind of obnoxious.
That didn’t change the fact that Zach had taken a leap when he went against his father’s wishes.
He ended up with everything he’d ever wanted in the process, which gave me hope that the same would be true for me, however different the situations were.
“Ronan,” Rex called out, crooking his fingers. “Join us.”
My heart plummeted to my stomach. I’d seen them out together before, drinking in various bars or just hanging out. They’d never once invited me to join them. This felt like a bad omen. I wasn’t a coward, however, so I let loose a sigh and nodded.
So, this was about to happen.
I plastered a smile on my face that didn’t feel natural and sidled over to the side of the table. “Hey, guys.” I hoped I sounded friendly and not nervous.
“Sit.” Rex patted the spot next to him and edged over. It wasn’t a request or even an invitation. It was an order.
I sat because it was expected. I should’ve gone straight home, I internally chastised myself. Why had I come here? It was a mistake. This was about to turn into a thing.
“So, how’s it going?” Rex asked when I was seated next to him.
I shrugged. “It’s going. How’s it going with you? How’s the baby?”
Rex relaxed, if only marginally. He loved little more than talking about his daughter. “She’s perfect, just like her mother. There has never been a more perfect mother-daughter duo.”
Zach scalded his best friend with a glare. “Do you have to be so schmaltzy? You’re grossing me out.”
“Because I think my daughter is perfect?”
“Because whenever you make that face, I picture you making it with my sister and I die a little inside.”
“You broke the sister rule before I did,” Rex replied ruthlessly. “I never would’ve allowed myself to look at your sister if you hadn’t looked at mine first. If you think about it, this is really on you.”
“Whatever.” Zach clearly wasn’t in the mood to have this argument. Perhaps he was weary of what looked like a regular argument. His eyes moved to me. “So… I heard you had a hand in tying my father up.”
Was that what this was about? Relief flooded me.
Of course he wanted to talk about the incident with Ryder.
“There were investors on the grounds. Close, actually. Ruby was giving them a tour.” I wasn’t sorry about what I’d done.
If Zach was upset, however, I would have to deal with the consequences.
“Oh, I don’t care about that.” Zach waved off my concern. “I’m sure he had whatever you did to him coming.”
“We wouldn’t care if you forgot he was in there and he died of starvation,” Rex said grimly.
Zach slid Rex an unreadable look. “That was dark, dude.”
“That’s the sort of mood your father puts me in.”
Zach didn’t consider it long. “He puts me in that mood too.” His eyes moved back to me. “That’s why I need to make you aware that you didn’t do anything wrong. I actually appreciate somebody who thinks on his feet. We need those investors for the new addition.” He hesitated a beat. “Thank you.”
His eyes scanned my face as if he was searching for something specific. I didn’t know what to make of it, so I opted to respond with the truth. “I just reacted on instinct. I was doing it before I could think better of it.”
“If you had it to do over again, would you do things differently?” Rex asked.
I lifted one shoulder. “Probably not. I might not have made Tallulah my partner in crime if I had it to do over again. She was energetic enough, but I could’ve used a little more weight to hold him down.
” I was going for levity. Zach and Rex smiled in return, but the amusement never made it to their eyes.
What is going on here? I couldn’t find solid footing.
“We were talking,” Rex said coyly. He might have thought he was being sly, but he was coming across as deranged. “We were having an argument about when we were in high school. You were a mathlete, right?”
Where were they going with this? Nowhere good. I thought about redirecting the conversation—I didn’t want to talk about high school anyway—but something occurred to me, and I realized exactly what they were up to.
“No.” I shook my head. “I wasn’t a mathlete.” I didn’t volunteer any other information. I waited to see what they would do next.
“Were you in the band?” Zach asked.
I had to hold back a smirk. “I believe I have negative rhythm, if that’s a thing.”
“So … no band.” Zach smiled. “I’m glad. Band geeks freak me out.”
I didn’t rise to the bait. I did wish for the beer that I hadn’t gotten. Otherwise, I remained immobile.
“Did you date my sister back then?” Rex asked. “I swear I know you from somewhere.”
How he’d nabbed the chief security gig was beyond me. Actually, it wasn’t. It was part nepotism and part hard work. Zach had gotten his best friend in through the front door, and then Rex had muscled his way up because he was good at what he did. Despite all that, he was a terrible liar.
“Why don’t I make this easy on everybody,” I suggested. “I’ll promise to answer your real question truthfully … as long as you get to your real question.”
Zach shot Rex an accusatory look that would’ve been amusing under different circumstances. “I told you to let me handle the questions,” he hissed. “You’re terrible at this.”
“I’m head of security,” Rex shot back. “I’m good at this by virtue of my position.”
“Just because you should be good at it doesn’t mean you are actually good at it,” Zach fired back.
“Oh, I can’t even talk to you when you get like this. You’ve gotten soft since marrying my sister. I hope you know that.” Rex’s serious eyes landed on me. “It’s come to our attention that you’re Norbert Hawthorne’s son.”
I waited for him to continue. When he didn’t, I merely nodded. “And?”
“And we want to know why you’re working here if you have a fancy casino of your own to work in.”
“A casino where you could have a better job than dealer,” Zach added pointedly.
I waited again. They didn’t add anything, so I considered my options. I could lie and hope to get away with it or tell the truth and pray they were as good of guys as they seemed. I opted for the latter. Following my instincts was always going to be my first choice.
“My father and I are … at an impasse,” I replied, choosing my words carefully. “There are a few things we don’t see eye to eye on.”
“What sort of things?” Zach asked.
I wasn’t surprised that he wanted the whole story. Would he understand, though? Maybe.
I sighed. “I don’t want to be in the family business.” It was a simple response, but it was the truth.
“You don’t want to run your family’s casino?” Zach’s forehead creased. “How come?” He didn’t look doubtful as much as curious.
I shrugged. “That’s never been my thing.”
Zach signaled a passing server. “We need another drink.” His eyes moved to me. “What will it be?”
“A beer,” I replied. “Whatever is on tap is fine.”
“We’ll have two more too.” Zach gestured toward his half-empty glass and Rex’s completely empty glass.