4. BECKETT
BECKETT
The whole table turns in response to my voice as I settle down in the only free seat between Zane and Quinn.
“Beck, just the person we were talking about,” Jace says, piquing my interest.
“You guys were talking about me?” I question, picking up a slice of toast from the basket in the middle of the table and taking a bite.
From the corner of my eye, I can see Quinn glaring at me, but it doesn’t faze me.
She probably thinks that I am going to say something that will expose her behavior from last night, but I’m not that petty.
It’s partly my fault anyway—I should have disposed of that pill as soon as I got it.
I don’t want to get in trouble with my siblings when they learn that I had drugs on me, so it’s in both our best interests if I keep my mouth shut.
“Yes,” Jace confirms.
“What about?”
Instead of answering me directly, he turns to Zane and Ella, who nod subtly as if giving him permission.
Now I’m worried. What is it that they were talking about that they need to confirm with each other before revealing to me?
I thought this was a business meeting, and since I’m not an administrator at Morgan Enterprises, I didn’t see the need for me to be here.
But I was getting bored, and they were taking too long.
Jace then turns to me with a resolved look. “I just asked Miss Atwood here to lend us her PR services to fix your reputation around Wrangler Creek.”
My neck snaps toward him so fast, an audible crack is heard. “You did what?!”
“It’s about time, Beck,” Zane speaks up as if I’m supposed to simply roll over and accept it.
Hell no! This is my personal business they are discussing in my absence, and I need them to butt out.
“I don’t need them to like me. I’m fine with my life as it is,” I assert.
“You might be fine with it, but we aren’t. Our brother is a social pariah, and that doesn’t sit right with us,” Ella piles on.
“Then fucking stand!” I shout, growing extremely frustrated that we even have to discuss this in the first place. “It’s been a decade. If they were going to forgive me, they would have already. Let things be—it doesn’t bother me, so it shouldn’t bother you.”
They do not look convinced.
“Beck, how long are you going to keep running from this? Isn’t making amends one of the steps in your recovery journey?” Jace prods.
“Do not fucking lecture me. I know better than anyone what needs to be done, but I am not budging on this. I have made amends where I need to. As for the rest, it’s out of my hands,” I defend.
“No, it’s not. You owe it to the people you offended to make things right,” Ella insists.
“And you think I haven’t tried?! What do you think led to my last stint at rehab?” I scream at her.
My loud tone attracts the attention of the tables around us, so I force myself to breathe and try to calm down.
“We see how hard you’re trying, Beck, and that’s why we want to help. That’s where Quinn comes in,” Jace adds.
I turn to Miss Atwood herself, who has been quiet through all this, and she is already looking at me. “You don’t really want this, do you?”
She doesn’t even like me, so why would she want to work so closely with me?
“Too much is at stake for me to flat-out refuse. Yes, I’m not your biggest fan, and this is going to be really hard, but I need the funding from your brother, and this is his only condition,” she explains.
Argh! Why is everyone ganging up on me? They’ve even managed to drag Quinn into their scheme.
I turn to Jace with a hard glare. “I’m not doing this.”
“And I’m sorry if I gave you the impression that I was giving you much of a choice.
It’s all on Miss Atwood now. If she agrees, you will have to work with her.
If not, then we will have to find someone else because this is happening whether you like it or not.
I just thought Miss Atwood would be best for the position since you are familiar with each other and she needs something from us.
It’s a win-win situation on both sides,” Jace explains as if he’s pitching me an amazing business idea when instead it feels like they are pawning me off.
Looking at my siblings, I recognize that they have all made up their minds about this and there is no convincing them otherwise. The only option I have left is convincing Quinn to opt out of this. I push my chair back and get to my feet.
“Beck, please sit. We’re not done discussing this,” Ella pleads.
“Yes, we are,” I grit out, then turn to Quinn. “You’re coming with me.”
I grab her arm and pull her out of her chair, dragging her away before anyone can stop me.
“Beck, let me go,” she demands, but I only tighten my grip.
She gives up resisting when she realizes that I’m not budging.
I slow down my steps when I notice she’s struggling to keep up with me.
Instead of heading back upstairs to my room, I bring her to one of the terraces in the hotel.
It’s neutral ground, untainted by my siblings or the memories of last night.
I let go of her arm, blocking her path when she attempts to get away. “We need to talk about this.”
“No, we do not. I need to discuss this with your siblings, not you,” she declines.
“It concerns me, so you are talking about it with me,” I decree.
She groans in frustration, crossing her arms over her chest when she realizes that I am not going to let her go.
“Fine, say what you have to so I can get back inside,” she orders.
I have no idea who the fuck she thinks she’s talking to like this, but this is a highly tense situation, so I decide to let it slide this time.
“You can’t say yes,” I start simply but assertively.
She rolls her eyes at me. “You think I want to? It’s not like I’m jumping at the opportunity to work with you, but I don’t have much of a choice. I need the funding that only your brother can give.”
“Find another way.”
“You don’t think I’ve tried?!” she shouts back.
Taking a deep breath, I reorganize my thoughts since all this back-and-forth is serving neither of us. “We cannot work together,” I say in a much calmer voice.
Her shoulders relax a bit. “I already know that.”
We fall silent for a moment, each of us trying to think of a way to get out of this. I now understand that Quinn needs a certain amount of money from my brother, but why does it have to be at the condition of us working together? She hates my guts, and it’s not like I’m her biggest fan either.
“I need time to think about this,” she says, rubbing her temples.
“There is nothing to think about. Just don’t say yes,” I insist.
“It’s not that simple, Beck. This is fifty million dollars on the line, so unless you can come up with that money on your own, I don’t have much of a choice,” she argues.
My eyes nearly bug out of their sockets when she mentions the amount. “Fifty million dollars? What do you need that kind of money for?”
“You’d know if you’d bothered to join us for the meeting. It’s not like I’m going on a shopping spree with it. It’s going back to the same community you hate so much,” she explains.
“Hey, the feeling is mutual. I hate them as much as they hate me.”
“And that is why your brother thinks you need me,” she retorts.
“I don’t need you. They can all go to hell for all I care and hate me till I die. I cannot be bothered to fix our relationship, let alone by working with you. We hate each other, can’t stand to be in the same room for more than five minutes, so working together will be difficult.”
“And you think I don’t know all that?” She scowls at me. “I need to think about this. Excuse me.”
She does not wait for me to respond as she brushes past me, leaving the terrace before I can stop her. I growl in frustration, wanting to chase after her but realizing that I’ve said all that needs to be said—the rest is up to her.
Deciding that I’m done with my family for the day, I wander off on my own until it’s time for us to go back.
The flight home is tense as fuck. No one really says much to me since they can tell I’m stewing.
Even Landon picks up on the edgy mood and sleeps the whole way home.
As far as I can tell, he has no idea what went down between Quinn and me last night, which is good.
I don’t need any more drama today, especially from him.
As we are disembarking, I grab Quinn’s arm just as she’s about to exit the jet. “Remember what we talked about.”
She glares at me, her feisty eyes challenging me. “Let go, Beck.”
“Please, for the love of God, leave things as they are. I don’t need anything fixed.”
“Let me go,” she grits out.
I release her hand and step back. She plasters on a smile as she says goodbye to my siblings. I bid Landon farewell before storming off to one of the waiting cars.
For both our sakes, especially mine, I hope Quinn finds another way of getting the money she needs that doesn’t require us to work together. It’s more than just about working with her—it’s about facing my past demons, something I’m not quite ready to do yet.
I just wish my siblings would understand that and leave things as they are. But they seem determined, so it’ll all come down to Quinn’s decision.