AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Wonder where all the money comes from to splash around and look good. Maybe has something to do with the side hustle,” I hear her mumble across the table, and Forrest immediately tries to get her to shut her mouth.
“Ignore her, she is baiting you,” Victoria says under her breath to me.
“Seems to be a common theme of the night. First that dick from your work, now her. I’m starting to regret coming,” I mutter, staring down Jocelyn as she looks at me with that bit of viper in her. Oh, she is brewing for a fight, I can feel it.
“Whoa! Steady on there, I never regret coming.” Victoria’s little giggle pulls me back to her and once again averts me from wanting to chastise Jocelyn.
“No, I’m sure you don’t, but if you don’t behave yourself, you might regret it when I won’t let you come later.” Softly, I push her soft curls off her neck, then kiss it so tenderly.
“Don’t be cruel,” she moans on a whisper.
“Then behave.” Gripping her thigh so she knows I mean business, her cheeks flush up nicely, and I know we are going to be enjoying each other later tonight.
The speeches wrap up, and I make sure there haven’t been any more drinks served. We don’t need to put more fuel on this fire. I watch as Jocelyn takes her phone from her purse, answering a call as she stands and leaves the table, but she still hasn’t said a word to whoever it is yet.
“She just looks evil,” Lou declares her thoughts to the table.
“Definitely the Wicked Witch of the West,” Victoria says. “We can only hope one of the hotels lands on her and squishes her too, then I’ll happily steal her sparkly red shoes.” Victoria is off on a tangent again, but I’m starting to understand that’s just her.
“I don’t think she is that bad,” Forrest says. “Just a little misjudged at times, and maybe a spoilt child who is used to getting what she wants. So, when she doesn’t get her way, there are repercussions for us all.” He must see something in her that none of us manage to see.
I don’t know what, but he has never been on the same “let’s all hate Jocelyn” team as the rest of us.
“Well, maybe we should give her a set of her own blocks to play with and then she won’t want what everyone else has,” Victoria’s quick wit cuts in again.
“Not a chance, she’d just use them as weapons to throw at other people,” Lou says, snickering. “Some kids just don’t play well with others. Sounds like half the pretentious snotty kids in my class. The joy of teaching at a private school.” The girls laugh at the vision we all have of Jocelyn throwing a two-year-old tantrum, which is effectively what she did in the boardroom last week.
Lou whispers something into Victoria’s ear, and they both nod and reach for their handbags that are on the table. Already guessing where they are headed, I just grin at them as they excuse themselves from the table. The usual trip to the toilet where women have to take a friend always makes me laugh. The last thing I need is a friend to hold my hand when I need to pull my cock out.
“What do you think is going on with Jocelyn? She’s been quiet, then that comment out of nowhere. She looks more unstable than normal.” Flynn gives me a concerned look.
“Yeah, I’m worried she is about to let loose, and I don’t want it happening here. If she is going to finally throw her cards on the table, I want it to be in private.”
I sit in silence, just trying to settle my anger that is building. Why do I have to navigate all this shit? Plus, I’m dragging Victoria down into it too. I need some air. Standing quickly, I push my chair back, and both Flynn and Rem stand too. I wave them off; I just need space. The longer the night goes on, the more I feel like the world is closing in around me. First watching Victoria having to deal with Simona, then Theo who I wanted to punch his lights out for the way he spoke to her, then Jocelyn, and that’s on top of everything else that is happening. Drug accusations, attempts to be thrown out of my own company, and something is going on with my mother, but I have no idea what since she is so far away, and I can’t leave the frigging country to check on her.
I’ve never had a problem with feeling anxious, but all this is pushing me into a space I don’t like being in.
I walk back out the doors to the ballroom and down a corridor I don’t even know where it leads. Twisting and turning, I just want to be away from people, in silence, to breathe. Turning the corner, I’ve found myself in a small quiet hall that has a nice striped cloth-covered bench to sit on. Normally I would be up pacing, but this time I just want to sit.
My thoughts are racing. I might have all the support in the world, but what if I can’t prove those drugs aren’t mine? I can’t go to jail for something I didn’t do, but what if I do? I’ll lose everything. The business will crumble around me, the respect for the family name, and Victoria. If you had asked me when the police first arrived if that was the case, I would have said she wasn’t even on my radar, but now, it’s one of the biggest things that have my heart beating hard with concern for her. I feel like I’m being backed into a corner at the moment, and the hardest part is that I don’t know who’s doing it. It’s hard to fight an unknown adversary.
Resting my head in my hands and rubbing my face, I know I need to snap out of this. I’m stronger than that, and everyone is relying on me. It’s my job to protect them all, not sit back and let others protect me. The picture of my father that I have on my mantelpiece above the fireplace at the estate house comes into my vision. That was what he did. He chose to change his life to protect my mother, because he thought that she didn’t deserve to be pressured to fit into his world. It didn’t turn out the way he planned, but still, his intention was what I can feel flooding through my veins. The built-in need to protect the ones I love. And although I’m not ready to admit it to her or anyone, I know deep down I’ve already fallen in love with Victoria, and she doesn’t deserve a life like this, with drama hanging over her all the time.
I pull my phone from my pocket. I’m done waiting.
“Aren’t you supposed to be enjoying a lovely evening of food and music with your girlfriend?” Broderick’s voice comes through my phone.
“I wish! Instead, I’m sitting in some hallway trying to breathe before I lose all sensibility and do something stupid. I want answers, and I want them now. I don’t care what you have to do. I know I said don’t do anything illegal, but now I’m telling you to do whatever you need and just get it done!”
“When will you learn to trust me? I ignored everything you said about pussyfooting around this. I’m doing it my way, and you just sit fucking tight. I’m close, Nic, hold on and don’t blow it up before I can nail them.” There is no friendly tone to his voice, straight to the point, and it’s what makes me stop and listen.
“Them… so you think there is more than one person involved?” I stand because the wallowing I was doing a moment ago is long gone, and my pissed-off energy is back.
“I know there is. I just need to connect everything. Hold tight. I told you after that night in Sydney that your father was a friend of mine, and the moment I found you, I would protect you for him. I owed him that, and your grandfather too. They took me in when I needed someone to have my back. And I’ve been making sure I’ve had your family’s back ever since. Breathe, I’ve got you, son.” I can feel his voice seeping through my muscles and taking some of the anxiety with it.
Broderick is the closest thing to a father I have ever had, and a man I never knew I needed until I met him four years ago.
“Thanks for everything.” My words get stuck in my throat from the emotion of being able to let my guard down even for just a small moment.
