AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That knocked the anger right back into me. “It didn’t have to end if he didn’t find out about it,” I huffed out. “If he hadn’t come over there, it would have been just fine.”
“And I already told you I wasn’t responsible for that,” she said steadily. “And I don’t know if it was doomed to fail. I didn’t mean it like that.” She took a step away from me, letting go of my shoulder. “Maybe it’s something you can figure out after you’ve had some sleep?”
I nodded and turned toward her, the simmering anger still in my gut. I let her lead me to my bedroom, and I went directly to my bed. I fell into it without hesitation.
“We’ll pick up the pieces of this together,” Shay said from the doorway. “I got your back. You got mine, right?”
I nodded, keeping my face buried against my comforter. All I could think about was just what I was going to do to get back at Kyle for this. After I’d put him in his place, maybe I could salvage something with Cameron and Darius.
Chapter 4
Grace
Two days with little-to-no sleep probably didn’t have me in the best frame of mind. That was the reason I was dressed in my most professional outfit and walking toward the glass building at the center of the car lot. I had a couple of copies of my resume in a leather folder under my arm.
If you ignored the dark circles, I might look like I had my shit together. The jitters from drinking too much coffee might take away from that appearance, but as long as Dad didn’t look too hard at me, I should be fine.
The cool air of the building felt like relief to my fraying nerves. I approached the receptionist’s desk with a confidence I shouldn’t have. What was her name again? I plastered on a bright smile as I struggled to remember the older lady’s name. “Hey there,” I said, with a false sense of peppiness. “I’m Grace Blake. Is Mr. Blake in? I just need to see him for a minute.”
She blinked, putting a hand to her chest. “Yes, Ms. Blake. I remember you. Give me a moment to see if he’s available.” She picked up a phone and dialed a number as she eyed me warily. She murmured, stepping away from the desk so it would beharder to eavesdrop. The receptionist looked at me. “He’s in a meeting at the moment with the younger Mr. Blake.”
“Oh, that’s perfect!” I said without hesitation. I stepped away from the desk, remembering the hallways that Adam had led me down the first time I visited.
The receptionist gasped, but I didn’t give her a chance to stop me. I went directly to Kyle’s office and jerked the door open. I was ready to confront him, to tear him a new one. It was empty. It looked the same as it did the last time I’d been in here—a simple desk with metal chairs in front of it. No art on the walls.
I turned to go further down the hall to Dad’s bigger office. I didn’t knock, though if I was about to demand a job, I probably should have. I walked in and plastered a bright smile on my face. This was where I’d learn whether my brother had ratted me out to our parents.
“Hey,” Dad said, mirroring my expression. “Stacy got a warning to me just in time. Lucky, we had gotten business out of the way,” he said, gesturing to Kyle where he sat in a plush chair that was positioned in front of the broad desk. “As busy as we will be today, I wouldn’t turn down the chance for a visit. It’s nowhere near lunchtime, but if you don’t mind hanging out, I’ll be more than happy to order something for the three of us.”
The chair beside Kyle sat empty, and if I thought I could control myself, I would have sat next to my brother. But after yesterday, I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep myself from throttling him. I knew I could see his face. I should have been better prepared for sitting next to the asshole that ruined everything for me.
I wasn’t. Especially after Adam’s rejection. I gritted my teeth to keep from throwing the blame at my brother. Even when he glared at me. At least the hate was mutual.
“I don’t want to be in the way,” I said, trying to sound dismissive. “I heard you guys had an opening,” I said as I pulledmy leather folder out from under my arm. I pulled a résumé out of it and stepped forward to put it on his desk. “I thought I’d throw my hat in the ring to fill the vacant position.”
“Fuck off,” Kyle growled.
“Enough of that,” Dad cut him off immediately. He reached forward to pick up my resume, eyeing it with open curiosity. “It’s only fair to let her take up Adam’s old spot.”
“What happened to Adam?” I asked, like I didn’t already know.
“He quit,” Kyle interjected quickly. “He called in yesterday. And quit.” He waved a hand sharply, putting an end to the line of questioning.
Of course, it drew Dad’s attention to him. His brows were up. When he didn’t argue with Kyle, it was clear that he didn’t have a say in Adam being fired. “Yes, something that’s unfortunate. He was good about moving cars, and I’m sure if he gets on at another dealership, he’ll take the clients that dealt with him here with him.” He released a sigh as he looked at my resume. “If he needed a vacation, I wish he would’ve said something to me about it. I would have understood.”
“He said nothing about it to me,” Kyle lied, shooting me a warning glare. “He just sent me a text that said he quit.”
There was enough space between us that if I wanted to call him on it, I could probably had made it to the door if he decided to come at me. But if I said something, it would call into question about how I would know. It was already clear Dad didn’t know what had happened, and I didn’t want to tell him either.
“You’ve got a lot of experience in retail.” Dad hummed as he went over my resume. “You’re working at a bar now?” He looked up at me. “If I hire you, that means you’ll quit, right? You’d just work full time here?”
“How much do you pay your salesmen?” I asked, because I didn’t know. “Honestly, I was hoping for something part-time soI could keep my job at the bar. I make a decent amount of money in tips, so unless you’re paying good money, I don’t think I can let go of my job at the bar.”
“You can’t take your clothes off to sell cars,” Kyle said, disdain clear in his expression.
Dad looked like a deer caught in headlights. His gaze stayed fixed on the paper in front of him, but his mouth fell open. It was like he couldn’t decide whether he wanted to ask.
I rolled my eyes and put a hand on my hip. “It’s not that kind of bar. It’s just downtown, in the historic district.” I drew closer, putting a hand on the back of the open chair, shifting so it was between Kyle and I. “Despite what you might think, I’m not capable of working somewhere that involves taking off one’s clothes for money.”
