Page 32 of Last Chance Seduction (Montgomery Ink Legacy #9)

Reece barked out a laugh, and I narrowed my gaze at the other man. “What she said. I realize that I’m not part of the leadership of the company, so I’m grateful I was invited to this meeting.”

“Excuse me, you have tons of experience, and one of the estates is pretty much going to be under your purview with the damage to it,” Brooklyn explained.

Reece tilted his head. “Again, I’m grateful to be part of this, and the Arnault estate was going to be a pain in the ass to work with anyway. You know they micromanage more than even you do.” He gestured toward me, and I held back a laugh.

“That is very true,” Brooklyn added.

I resisted the urge to flip them off because we were in an actual work meeting.

Reece gave me a look that told me he knew exactly what I was thinking. “And on that note, I have work to do, and we should leave Lexington alone to brood.”

“He’s really good at brooding,” Brooklyn said with a wink.

“Come on, kids,” Reece said, gesturing for the door.

“Not a kid,” Brooklyn sing-songed before she stomped out of the office, leaving a laughing Reece in her wake.

Dash just grinned at me, shaking his head. “This is good for us, you know. You did good.”

I winced. Perhaps, but it didn’t feel real. Nothing felt real until I figured out what the hell I was going to do when I got home. That was more important. “This was an accident. Everything I was working toward got fucked up.”

“So you say, but I think for once you should probably give yourself a break. And I don’t know, go see Mercy?”

“Dash.”

“No, no, I’ll go deal with real work. You mope in here, or brood, or whatever we want to call it.”

Dash held up both hands before walking out of my office backwards, nearly running into Jamie. Before I could even comment on that or wonder what the hell I was going to do next, my office was filled once again. I looked up, ready to growl, and froze.

“Mom? Dad? Silas? Why are you guys here?”

My younger brother closed the door behind him, leaving me alone with my immediate family.

“I think it’s time to talk, son,” Beckett Montgomery said, and I slid my hands in my pockets.

I frowned. “About what? I’m sorry I wasn’t around too often during these past couple of weeks. I’ll make it up to you.”

Mom shook her head. “That’s fine. We see you often. And I got to see my baby on the holidays. Everything’s okay. At least with us.” My mother moved forward, cupped my face, then said, “Well, what the fuck are you doing, Lexington Wilder Montgomery?”

Silas barked out a laugh, while I just stared at my mother. “Did you just curse at me?”

“Why are you acting as if I don’t curse as much as the Montgomerys? I’m a damn Wilder.”

“And I love you more with each passing day,” my dad said as I stared at my parents wondering what the hell was going on.

“I don’t understand why you guys are here.”

Mom took a step back and put her hands on her hips. “You put so much pressure on yourself, that you don’t see what’s right in front of you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” My parents always saw too much and frankly, I was a little afraid right now.

“Yes, you do,” my dad corrected. “I know how much work you put into that proposal. And I’m sorry it didn’t work out, but from what I hear, you’re kicking ass in everything else—other than your personal life.”

Heart racing, I held up both hands. “Stop it. Please. That’s none of your business.”

“I beg to disagree,” my little brother said.

I narrowed my gaze at him. “That’s enough out of you.”

Silas just shrugged and went to go sprawl on my couch.

Mom gripped my hand, pulling my gaze back to her. “You try to carry the world on your shoulders, Lex. Why can’t you see what’s right in front of you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I repeated the lie.

“You know exactly what we’re talking about,” my dad added. “You keep thinking you need to do more than we ever did. That you don’t want to stand in our shadow. But you couldn’t be further from the truth.”

I stood there, wondering how the hell I was so surprised that my family understood me. We were close for a reason. But I didn’t want to hear these words.

“Baby,” my mom continued, “we need you to be healthy. That’s it. And I want you to be happy.”

“I am happy,” I lied.

She gave me a look that spoke volumes. “You have already done so much for us. With everything that you do. But you put so much pressure on yourself for things that aren’t as important.”

“I…I’m fine. I’ve got this handled,” I said softly.

My mom let out a breath. “I know you wanted this contract. I know that Mercy worked with you on it, but there’s so much more out there. She’s out there.”

“Mom.”

“No, listen to me. Do not break the one thing that could be amazing for you, that could be everything, because you’re scared. And you hurt that girl, Lexington Montgomery. You hurt that girl, and you need to fix it.”

My mother, the one who would stand in front of a bear, a gun, or an angry mob for me, narrowed her gaze at me, and I stood there, confused as hell. And knowing I’d fucked up even more than I’d imagined.

My dad moved forward. “I hurt your mother once because I was scared too. I’m not going to ever do that again. But I don’t want you to do it either. Don’t follow in my footsteps there.”

I blinked at him. “What? I don’t know this story.”

My mom rolled her eyes. “Beckett, that was a long time ago. And I love you.” She turned to me.

“Frankly, your dad might have bruised my heart just a little bit, but we both healed each other in so many ways. And we put up walls around ourselves because we put so much pressure on each other. Before your dad, I married a man who, in the end, I couldn’t trust. Who broke his word and broke me.

But that was not your father. And you are so much like your dad that sometimes it surprises me that you don’t have our genes.

But baby, you are loved. You don’t need to lean on the image of what you think you need to be.

You need to realize who you are. You are brilliant, you are caring, and you were worth everything.

Now go stand up for what you could have with Mercy. ”

“How am I supposed to do that?” I asked.

“Grovel,” Silas said as he stared at his phone. “Say you’re sorry, do something about it so she knows you’re sorry, and fix it. You gave her time, you gave her space, according to Brooklyn. So now fix it.”

I stared at my younger brother, wondering how the hell he could think that would work, but my parents just tangled their fingers together as they leaned into one another.

Mom leaned forward and took my hands. “I don’t know why you thought pretending to be in a relationship would work, but from what I’ve seen, it was real. The timing at first might’ve been off, but it was real. Make sure she knows that,” my mom ordered.

“And go fix the best thing that could ever happen to you,” my dad added.

And just like that, I knew what I had to do. And I would hate myself later for it being my little brother’s idea.