Chapter 3

Matt

"So my little brother here has started jogging." Damon patted my chest at lunch the next day, a big smile on his face as our father joined us across the table. The restaurant was far too fancy for my liking, but it was close to their downtown accounting firm and incredibly tasty.

"Did you really? Who are you jogging with? Sophia?" My father picked up the menu and perched his glasses on the tip of his nose.

"Yeah. She finally talked me into it. She's getting a promotion at the station and wants to be in better shape for some of the places they’re sending her."

"Such as?" Damon picked up his water and took a quick sip. The dark circles under his brown eyes let me know quickly that him and Bethany were still not speaking. He slept like a baby when life was good and suffered like crazy when it wasn't. He was exhausted. The tone of his voice was even off. It usually boomed with confidence and drive, but it was barely more than a strained whisper. I wanted so fucking bad to ask what was going on, but I knew better than to bring it up in front of Dad. Damon was forever private, even from me at times.

"Dubai in the spring. She wants me to go with her." I shrugged and turned my attention to my father as he glanced up from his menu and pulled his glasses back off.

"You can't go with her to Dubai. I thought you were seriously considering moving to Seattle. Was that just another passing thought for you? You're twenty-eight, son. You need to seriously sit down and figure out where your life is headed."

"Dad." Damon lifted his hand and leaned back in his chair. "I've been through hell lately with the Zarpeth nightmare in Seattle. Let's just have a good lunch together and talk about hot women and billion-dollar deals. Hell, we can even talk about Matt's painting and great places to go on vacation, just don't start in on the future or life-planning right now."

"All right. Fine, but it's a conversation that needs to happen sooner than later." My father glanced back down at his menu as concern stuck to his features. I knew he meant well, but I was glad for a mulligan from having to go over all the options he felt would be best for me. None of them resonated with me in a way that left me wanting to agree, which meant a fight was sure to follow. We loved each other, but whatever steps I took next had to be ones of my own choosing.

"Agreed." I picked up my menu and ordered a burger when the pretty waitress stopped beside me. After everyone ordered, I turned my attention back to Damon. "I'm going up to Seattle this weekend to meet with Jonathan."

"Did you meet with Erica the last time we were up there? I know you planned to, but did you actually follow through with it?" Damon's eyebrow raised sharply. The bastard already knew that I made an excuse and denied the pretty advertising executive my time. She was too much, and I wanted to know just how much of her I could handle. There was no way to have a professional relationship with her when she made my heart palpitate by just hearing her name. It would be a Bethany and Damon situation all over again, and from what I could tell, that shit didn't work.

The issue wasn't them being related, but that they worked together. Damon was her boss, and Erica would be mine. Nothing good could come of it.

"You know I didn't see her. Don't be a dick."

"Matt," my father glanced up from his phone, "you know she's got the best opportunity that you're going to get outside of working for us. She's a fruity artist just like you."

"Fruity artist?" I snorted and laughed. There was no reason to get upset about it. I was who I was, and crazy enough, I was comfortable with just being me. Whatever the fuck that meant.

"You know what he meant." Damon tapped the table. "She already filled the position she had open, but she'll open another one for you. You're going to see her while you're up there this weekend. I've already made arrangements for it. Just some time during the weekend. She's expecting your call."

"Fine. Whatever." I rolled my eyes and picked up my fork and knife to use them to beat out a rhythm on the table in front of me.

Damon chuckled as my father glanced up.

"This seat taken?" Bethany moved up beside me and smiled down at me, surprising me a little.

"Hey Sis. Your timing couldn't have been better. I was about to get tied up and thrown in a three-piece suit no doubt." I stood up and reached for her, pulling her into a tight hug. Her long brown hair was down over her shoulders and green eyes filled with worry. She was hurting too. Damn.

"By these two guys? No. They're harmless." Her eyes moved from me to Damon, and over to my father quickly. The tension in the room elevated, but it was a healthy response to their situation. They had to figure their shit out or move on. We were family and would be for as long as all of us pulled air into our lungs.

"Hey, Bethany. How is the new team? Damon tells me that you're doing a great job of pulling your own and then some." My father smiled over at Bethany and offered her a basket of bread.

I snatched a piece of it and noticed the way my brother watched the poor girl. She didn't have a chance if he finally got his head pulled out of his ass. He was the kind of guy that took what he wanted, and the fact that she wasn't trapped beside him was all by design. Either Damon was growing up, or Bethany was far stronger than I was giving her credit for.

"I'm doing my part. I love the environment. It's teaching me more about perseverance than I care to say." She took a piece of bread and turned to face me. "Tell me everything about your conversation with Jonathan. You're signing with his studio, right?"

"I need to get back up to the office. Excuse me, guys. I'll see you later." Damon stood up and bumped his leg on the table, causing the whole thing to jostle and the drinks to spill a little.

"Is it something I need to be involved in?" My father glanced up and pulled his attention from his phone.

"It's the Kissinger account. You might want to be on the call." Damon brushed his hands down the front of his shirt and gave me and Bethany a tight nod. "See you guys later."

"I'll pack up your lunch and run it up when we-" I tried to offer.

"No, just pay the bill and take it home. It's fish, but you should give it a try." He turned and walked away as my dad stood up.

"Well, damn. Never a moment of rest when you're ruling the world, right?"

Bethany smiled. "I guess not. I'm just going to eat whoever's order looks better."

"That would be mine." I smiled and waved at my dad as he said his goodbyes. "Wow. This turned out much better than I thought it would."

"Right?" She let out a long breath and sunk down into her chair before reaching up and pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Hey. You okay?" I reached over and ran my hand over the top of her back, rubbing softly.

"I think so. I don't know." She dropped her hands to her lap and turned to face me with tears in her eyes. "I think I'm leaving the firm. I need to get out of here. I'll just take a few semesters off and try and build up a savings account and then go back for my master’s. I can't work there with him anymore."

"Wait. Hold up." I lifted my hands in front of me. "Did something else happen beside you guys taking a break?"

"No. Yes. I don't know." She reached out and grabbed another roll and the small cup of butter sitting on the table.

"Bethany." I reached out and ran my hand down her arm as my heart constricted painfully in my chest. The poor girl had been so damn concerned about the aftermath of something going wrong, and here we were sitting in the future she envisioned when the relationship started. Maybe things had happened too fast. Maybe that was part of the problem. "Talk to me. I'm right here and you know I'll do anything I can to help."

"I know, but I'm not sure anyone can do anything at this point. He's completely cold toward me, and I get it. I gave the damn ring back and basically spit in his face where our future was concerned." She shrugged and tossed the empty butter container back onto the table. "But he shouldn't have let your father hire Christa's sister to come work as my fucking boss at the firm."

Christa. That was a name I'd love to never hear again. Damon and the blond bombshell witch had been a thing throughout most of their lives, stringing each other along and laughing as the other suffered. He'd finally gotten his wits about him a few years back, but she still seemed to be popping up in his life. I hadn't heard the full story on why my father thought it wise to bring Delilah, Christa's twin sister, to work at the firm. There had to be a good reason for it, but from the outside looking in, it didn't matter the reason. It was killing Damon's chances of keeping things on the up and up with Bethany.

"I agree, but it wasn't Damon that hired her, right?"

"I don't want to talk about this. I live this conversation in my own head all day and night. I need to think about something else before I go bat shit crazy. My friend Krista's trial is coming up soon, and if I'm not missing Damon, I'm thinking about how it's going to feel sitting in a courtroom and testifying against my best friend for attempted murder." She pressed her hands to her face as the waitress reappeared.

"We need a shot of jack. Two please." I gave a cheeky smile and was grateful to hear Bethany's sweet laughter slipping through her fingers. "It's going to work out. Let’s talk about something else that's fucked up."

"Like?" She brushed her hair back and took a deep breath.

"Like me having to see Erica this weekend."

"You're going back up to Seattle?"

"Yes, unfortunately." I rolled my eyes exaggeratedly and smiled. "You wanna come with me? Pretend to by my sister and my girl?"

She swatted me and laughed softly. "Asshole."

"Sorry. Too much? Too soon?"

"No. It's fine. I just love him, Matt. I need to get him back, but I can't bend this time. He has to grow up and understand that our relationship isn't a college fling where we screw all the time and don't talk outside of the bedroom. I'm not living that life. Not even for him."

"Okay, first, TMI, and second, I agree. Asshole." I pulled my napkin into my lap. "I'm going to see Erica this weekend and really consider her offer, I guess. What choice do I really have? Everybody is for me making this move."

"And what about you? Remind me what you're so afraid of." She lifted her hand as I started to go down the list. "And don't you dare tell me for a minute that you're scared of Erica being a man-eater. I know you're not Damon, but you're a Bryant. You're a strong man." She reached out and squeezed my hand, winning me over more than she already had. "A good man. She's a great woman. Give her a chance from a professional perspective at least."

"Maybe." I picked up my burger as they set it down in front of me and took a big bite before glancing over to see her eying the two fish dishes loaded with veggies. I finished eating the large bite in my mouth and cut my burger in half. "This is serious love here."

"I feel it. Give me that." She reached out and snatched it from me before taking a bite bigger than mine.

"I swear you're my sister from another mister."

She laughed and almost choked, which had me chuckling alongside her. I would go to Seattle and check things out one more time. After that... it was time to shit or get off the pot. Period.