Page 59 of Nothing to Beat

The tease was meant to ease the mood.Tripp was right, Bastian was a good guy.

“No girlfriend?”Tripp made a sound.“Put Robyn back on the market?”

“Yes, feel free to take a swing.”

“Oh, no thank you, man, I like my balls where they are.How’d that go down?”

“Mutually.We finished it.”

“Wow, that was overdue.”

Bastian laughed.“Thanks.”

“No offense, man, but she’s a praying mantis.”

“And I made it out alive, can’t ask for anything more.”He landed his gaze on her.“Seq, you have a minute to talk?”

Oh, this wouldn’t be good.Was the riot act by proxy heading her way?

“Sure.”

She hadn’t done anything reckless or dangerous.Okay, maybe swanning into Chicago without a SWAT team could be deemed reckless—depending on the onlooker’s perspective—but Roxie had security, that was enough.

They went into the master bedroom and Bastian actually closed the door.Oh, yeah, whatever was coming, she’d have to brace for impact.

“Breck didn’t mention you were coming into town.”

“He didn’t know.”Probably did now, because it was unlikely Bastian hadn’t called him.“You didn’t have to come all the way over here—”

“I was in the building already,” he said, concern etched on his brow.“Why wouldn’t you want me to visit?”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t want you to visit.I’m happy to see you, I just… was hoping to slip in quietly.”

“Because you’re here to do something Breck doesn’t approve of?”

“Have you heard…?”Of course he had.“Breck quit the company.”

“Yeah.Haven’t got to the bottom of it yet.”

Surrendering, she went to sit in one of the soft seats by the window.“He’s doing it for me—for us.”

He came to join her, taking the angled armchair beside hers.“You asked him to quit?”

“No!Why would I ask him to do that?I knew nothing about it.Not until after the fact.I had to hunt him down to learn what he’d done.”Yeah, on that note, she’d have to ask Breck exactly when he’d planned to tell her.“He says he’s doing it for us.”

“Because you were always worried your father would take advantage of the Breckenridge connection.So Breck severed it.”With an exhale, his concern relaxed.“Well that makes more sense of it.”

“No, it does not!”She stopped just short of punching the side of her fist against the chair’s arm.“It’s ridiculous.I never wanted him to walk away from Breckenridge.This whole damn mess is my fault.Why didn’t he talk to me about it first?Before doing something so crazy?”

“Probably because he knew he’d give in when you asked him to stay.He always gives in to you.”

“Not this time.This time he’s adamant he’s getting a minimum wage job.He’ll end up a smiling barista, small talking it up with the shiny, happy customers.”

He laughed.“Do you really see that?”

“No, but I… I don’t know how—he’ll never be happy in this life.Breckenridge is everything to him, the job, his family, it’s his identity.It’s who he is.He lives to be relied upon.Has huge pride in… The money isn’t what matters, it’s the belonging.He needs to belong.”

“You matter to him more than anything else.”