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“Is that enough for you?”
“Yes.” He didn’t even need to think about that, which made me believe that was the truth.
“Okay. Good.” I let go of his hand and moved to watch the world passing by through the window, feeling pretty damn fine.
Epilogue
Those Saturday meetings were the worst. Well, maybe only second to the Sunday meetings. Melissa hated when it happened, but she was supportive as long as Chris made an effort to keep the meetings as short as possible.
Still, it sucked. But today it was exactly what he needed. Nothing did a better job at quieting his thoughts than diving headfirst into a hectic meeting. He first discovered the benefits of losing himself in work during his early college days, shortly after leaving the Mitchells. Not being physically close to them hadn’t been a magic cure. His brain was still their captive, still incapable of letting go of the hell they had forced upon him for over two years.
He shook his head.Nope. He wasn’t going to think about the Mitchells, not on such a positive day. Shockingly positive, in fact. At one point during last night, he was convinced he would end up dead, but having Ethan there provided a level of security that kept him from losing his shit during the whole ordeal.
Earlier, when it was time to say goodbye, he could read the insecurity on the others’ faces. It felt only right that he would be the one bringing up their next get-together. One thing he learned in life was not to leave room for chance. Lady Luck was a selfish bitch, and he had had enough of counting on her to change things around.
On his laptop, he opened the invite to the meeting and clicked on the link to the Zoom event. He would need to find an excuse for the bruise on his face since people like him didn’t go around with bruises. He would tell them he had fallen during a hike, which would align with his current location in the cabin. But those were top-of-the-line lawyers, and they might not buy it. Still, they would politely keep their suspicions to themselves—before talking about it behind his back.
Five people were invited to the call that Mickey had set up.Fucking Mickey. After the fiasco with Anthony and Mickey at the Gentlemen’s Club all those months ago, Chris wanted to resign, but that would have meant losing his shot at making partner. Lord knew how much he had sacrificed for that promotion. In the end, it had cost him Anthony, but maybe after this weekend, what was lost could be regained.
There were still a few minutes before the meeting was due to start, which gave Chris enough time to grab a quick cup of coffee. Looking through the big living room window with the warm cup in his hands, he enjoyed how peaceful the lake looked. Undisturbed even after last night’s storm. He turned around to head over to his laptop when the entrance door suddenly opened.
Jay took a step inside and closed the door behind him.
“Hey, did you forget something?” Chris asked and went to put his coffee on the table.
“Yep. You started that meeting of yours?”
“Was just about to.”
Jay stepped inside, a little coy smile peeking through his beard. Instead of going to one of the rooms to collect what he had forgotten, he walked over to Chris and stopped right in front of his face.
This is bad, Chris had a chance to think before Jay grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him back. The wall was there to meet his back, the impact sending sparks of pain down Chris’s spine. For a second, Jay wasn’t there, but Trevor was. Trevor with his slick smile and green eyes that almost never blinked. The vision was so vivid, Chris almost expected to see Andy there as well, standing next to his big brother in anticipation to join the sick fun.
Chris had to blink and shake his head to make Trevor disappear.
“Jay—”
“Shut your mouth.” He grabbed Chris’s face and pressed on the bruise, causing Chris to hiss in pain. “You thought you were off the hook?”
“I agreed to go along, but you’re the one who backed off.”
“My plan wasn’t for you to agree.”
“I don’t know what the fuck you want from me. I can’t turn back time.”
Jay nodded and let go of Chris’s face. “You can’t turn back time, but I’m still not done with you.”
And there was Lady Luck, giving him the finger, laughing at his face. He had been a fool not to see it coming.
“Hi, everyone. How’s it going?”
Chris froze.Shit.Both he and Jay turned to look at the laptop on the table, only a few feet away. The screen was showing five squares, four of which were showing the faces of his co-workers while one square remained black—his. But although the camera was turned off, he could see his microphone was on.
“Chris, you’re there?” Mickey asked.
“They can hear us,” Chris whispered to Jay. “Let me leave the call.”
Jay frowned at the laptop, then his lips stretched into a nasty smile. He looked into Chris’s eyes and whispered, “You’re not leaving that call.”
