Greyson laid a hand on my shoulder and looked at me, “but you got to be exactly who you wanted. Do what you wanted. That has to mean something, doesn’t it?” he asked.
“Yeah, until I have to give it up.”
“You don’t have to, not if you don’t want to.”
The truth was that I’d been second-guessing graduate school the moment I started. I didn’t have anything in common with anyone, and my upbringing hadn’t prepared me for the snobbery of academia. I wasn’t ready for it, and I wasn’t sure I was ever going to be.
But I didn’t tell Greyson that.
“I guess we both feel trapped in different ways,” he admitted.
“At least we’re trapped together?” I said, trying to lighten the mood. It seemed to work because he bent down and kissed the top of my head. I didn’t understand how a man who was forceful, who could be so controlling, could also be so sweet sometimes.
But he was. Ever the mercurial one.
“I had no idea that our families would react this way, Joanna. I wanted to take you someplace nice. I didn’t think-“
“It’s not your fault,” I said. It was my uncle’s he was cruel, and he had been looking for a way to break the Fitzgeralds for years. Everyone knew that. This was entirely his doing. He didn’t care about me. Didn’t care about Greyson. He wanted information. He wanted to find the weak links in the chain so that he could break into it.
Or, if he couldn’t do that, he wanted to make them an ally so that he could render the competition moot.
“Why do you work for your father?”
“As if I have a choice.” He glanced around. “It’s not the same as your uncle’s establishment. He wouldn’t keep a man like me on if I didn’t do what I needed to to keep the business running. He wouldn’t just let me leave. This is my legacy. This is my family, and I need to step up and take it over.”
I nodded. There wasn’t anything else I could do even if I wanted to. He had a point, even if I wanted to argue it with him.
The moment was gone.
“Take me home? Please?” I asked, suddenly chilly. Ice cream heading into the fall seemed like such a good idea. I’d craved it. Now I was cold, and the influx of sweets was making me regret my decision.
“Yeah, of course,” he said, his eyes cold. Greyson had so many walls that I doubted I would ever breach any of them. I felt completely hopeless in the face of my emotions and his lack of feeling.
I was regretting everything.
Greyson
“We need to talk, Greyson,” Janson was on the other side of my condo’s door, his arms cross. Waiting.
“What is this about?” I asked.
“I don’t want to talk about this here,” he said again, more insistent this time.
“Just tell me what it’s about,” I said, refusing to let him in. Jo was sleeping in the next room.
“Well, for starters, we need to talk about your fiancée,” he hissed. He was not happy. “I warned you about her, and you went and saw her anyway.”
“I did, and she’s here. Sleeping.” I finally opened the damn door and let him in. “She’s been pretty tired lately.” It had been a few days since the dinner with my parents, and she seemed completely exhausted. It was a lot of changes, and I was busy with work. Janson had been away on business with his father over the last couple of days in D.C., and he was just got back this morning. I wasn't surprised he was on my back about this. It was just like him.
He wouldn't gloat, he never would, but that didn't mean he didn't want to.
“Here, in your apartment, you moved her in?” he asked, eying me.
“What other choice did I have? You think I want her in her own place unprotected? It was a f*ck
ing rat hole as it was, not to mention it had next to no security.”
He nodded, “this whole cluster f*ck
isn’t her fault. Might as well protect her.”
“What did you really come here to talk about?” I asked.
“David.”
“What the f*ck
is my brother up to this time?” I asked. My half-brother was a piece of shit that I should’ve offed a long time ago, but I didn’t like killing. I only did it when I was directly ordered to. My father had expected it. Had created a rival situation just so that I could kill him and take my place. Except for one small problem. He’d grown fond of David.
“You sure you wanna talk here?” Janson asked. I looked down the hallway to an open door. Joanna was sleeping inside.
“No, you’re right. McKenna’s?” I asked. It was the one pub we felt comfortable in. Most of the area was so built up, ritzy and overpriced that even someone like me felt uncomfortable.
“Yes. I’ve been wanting a good beer.” Janson rolled his eyes and turned towards the door. “Coming?”
I wanted to be anywhere else than somewhere she might hear.
“Naturally.”