Font Size
Line Height

Page 21 of One Night in Glasgow (The Scottish Billionaires #15)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

SEAN

I let the office door click shut and collapsed into my chair.

Shit, what a day. The weight of indecision from the past five days felt heavy on my shoulders.

I’d been putting this off long enough, and now it was Friday.

I didn’t have long. I was meeting Danny soon for a beer, as we always did to celebrate the end of a workweek.

My mind immediately went to Beth, and the bitter memory of our last encounter in Glasgow.

“I’m not a project, Sean. I’m the mess you left behind,” she'd said.

Her words had been ringing in my ears since then.

I couldn't just let that be the end of our story. Dad’s words played in my mind: “No regrets.” Leaving things like that would be the biggest regret of all.

I scrolled to Kinna’s contact on my phone, the only link I had, however tenuous, to Beth.

I’d already tried her earlier today with no answer.

I busied myself cleaning up the office, shutting down the computer while I debated.

Should I try Kinna again? I glanced at my watch.

Danny would be waiting soon. I pursed my lips, eyeing my phone on the desk.

What the hell. Why not? It was my only shot. I gave Kinna’s number another try, crossing my fingers and hoping like hell she’d pick up. This time, she answered. Her tone was icy, making it clear she wasn’t happy to hear from me.

“What do you want, Sean?” Kinna’s voice dripped with disdain.

I cleared my throat, suddenly nervous. “Hey, Kinna. I, uh...I was hoping you could tell me how Beth is doing. I’m really worried about her.”

“Yeah, I saw you called earlier,” Kinna admitted. “I was avoiding you. And Beth’s fine. Or she will be, if people like you leave her alone.”

I winced at her honesty. “Look, I know I messed up. But the last time I saw Beth... Jesus, Kinna, she didn’t look good. I think she’d been drinking, and I can’t shake this feeling that something’s seriously wrong. I just need to know she’s safe.”

“It’s best if you stay away from Beth,” Kinna cut me off, her voice sharp. “You’ve caused enough trouble already.”

Her words stung, but I wasn’t about to back down. “I get it. But I genuinely care about her, Kinna. More than I probably should. If she’s in a bad way, I want to help. I never meant for this to happen.”

There was silence on the other end, and for a moment, I thought Kinna had hung up. “Kinna?”

I heard her sigh heavily, a long, drawn-out sound that seemed to carry the weight of Beth’s entire dramatic history.

“Sean, I get that you’re concerned. But Beth’s trying to make a fresh start.

She’s… she’s taken on a new foundation project, thrown herself into it.

She’s in New York, trying to get away from all the drama here.

The last thing she needs is you sh owing up and derailing that.

She needs peace, to figure things out on her own, without you complicating things further. Can you understand that?”

My adrenaline spiked. New York? It was a concrete location, a place. Not just an abstract worry anymore. Kinna’s tone was still dismissive, a clear warning to stay away, but she’d given me the city. Was it an intentional slip, a test?

“If she’s really trying to start over, that’s…good. I just wanted to apologize, to let her know I’m here if she ever needs me.”

“Yeah, right,” Kinna scoffed, though it lacked some of its earlier venom. “She knows where to find me if she needs anything. Look, Sean, just leave it. Let her heal.”

The line went dead, leaving me feeling not hopeless, but wired. A jolt of pure adrenaline shot through me. New York. It wasn’t just a place; it was a target. It was a starting point.

My mind, which had been a chaotic mess of guilt and longing, suddenly kicked into a gear I knew well: problem-solving mode. Okay, McCrae, you preach about strategy and taking massive action. Time to practice what you preach.

I didn’t just grab my jacket. I pulled out my phone, my thumbs flying across the screen. I wasn’t just going to hope; I was going to move.

First text, to Danny:

Need to talk. Now. Meet at the usual spot.

Second text, to my long-suffering assistant, Maria:

Maria, I need you to clear my schedule for the next week. All of it. Call it a personal emergency. I’ll owe you one. A big one.

Third, I scrolled through my contacts, past business associates and casual friends, until I found the name I was looking for: Fury Gracen.

My cousin, who recently relocated to New York.

If anyone understood high-stakes situations and the crazy things a woman could make you do, it was him. I hit dial.

He answered on the third ring, his voice smooth and confident, with that undercurrent of playful arrogance that was pure Fury.

“Sean. What’s up, cuz? If you need bail money, my price has gone up since your twin’s last stunt in London.”

“It’s not for me,” I said, a small smile touching my lips despite the knot in my stomach. “But I do need your help. Or a favor, at least.”

“For you? Anything. What’s her name?” he asked, cutting straight to the chase.

I let out a breath. “Beth. I met her in Glasgow. It’s… complicated. Now she’s in New York, and I need to find her. I’m flying out tonight.”

“Say no more,” Fury said, his tone shifting from charming swagger to the sharp, focused intensity I knew well. “Family needs help, I’m there. I have people in New York, best in the business. Ghosts. You need eyes on the ground, someone found? Just give me a name.”

“I appreciate it, man. More than you know,” I said. “But I need to do this part myself first. I just… I needed to know I had backup if I hit a wall.”

“You’ve always got it,” Fury said, his voice firm with a loyalty that was absolute. “You go find your girl, Sean. But if you hit that wall, you call me. My people will be ready.”

“Thanks, Fury.”

“Anytime. Go get her.”

I ended the call, a new, more potent resolve settling over me. This wasn’t just a lovesick puppy chase anymore. This was a targeted operation with serious backup. I finally felt like myself again, but with a new, sharper focus .

I finally grabbed my jacket and headed out, the earlier frustration gone, replaced by the thrum of purpose.

Fifteen minutes later, I pushed through the door of The Bar Next Door, the familiar smell of beer and peanuts hitting me as I scouted the room. Ah, there he was, parked on a stool at the end of the bar, cradling a beer.

As I slid onto the stool next to him, he gave me a questioning look.

“We’re going to New York,” I announced without preamble, signaling the bartender.

Danny’s lips quirked into a smirk. “Is that so? And here I thought we were just grabbing a beer.” He took a slow sip.

With an eye roll, I chuckled. “Well. I called Kinna.”

“Jesus, Sean,” Danny groaned. “What happened to the ‘clean break’ you were supposedly making? You’re like a dog with a bone. I assume that went well?”

“Oh yeah, a real blast,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “She basically told me to get lost and never speak to Beth again. But she let something slip.”

“So… take her advice?—”

“She let slip that Beth’s in New York, Danny. Working with a charity.” I shook my head, frustration bubbling up inside me. “You didn’t really see her that last day in Glasgow. She was a mess. There’s something real between us, and I can’t just walk away from that.”

Danny downed the last of his beer and signaled for another round, his expression turning serious.

He was shifting from friend to agent. “Okay. Let’s pretend for one second you’re not having a complete psychotic break.

Let’s talk logistics. Your career? The one that pays for this beer? What about your schedule?”

“We’ll rearrange it,” I said dismissively .

“‘Rearrange it’?” Danny barked out a laugh. “Sean, you have the National Leadership Conference in Philadelphia in a week. The keynote. It’s a five-day event, booked a year in advance. The contract is iron clad. There is no ‘rearranging’ that.”

He had me there. That conference was a massive commitment. But as the panic started to rise, a new thought cut through it.

“Philadelphia?” I said, a slow grin spreading across my face. “That’s perfect.”

Danny stared at me like I’d just sprouted a second head. “Perfect? For what? A complete and total career implosion?”

“No, perfect timing,” I clarified, leaning in.

“The conference starts a week from now, right? That gives me a full week in New York to find her. Then I pop down to Philly, knock the speech out of the park, and I can go right back to New York afterwards. I’m already on the East Coast. It saves a flight. ”

Danny just stared at me, his mouth slightly agape. “You have completely lost your goddamn mind,” he said, a note of awe in his voice. “You’ve managed to turn a cross-country romantic obsession into a ‘convenient’ business trip. I am both terrified and deeply impressed.”

“So, you and Maria will handle the other gigs? The smaller stuff?”

He sighed, rubbing his temples. “You’re killing me. But yes, we’ll handle it. But you finding her in one week in New York City? That’s the real challenge. You can’t just show up and expect to run into her. What’s the actual plan, Romeo?”

I took a long pull from my beer, my mind already in overdrive.

“It’s not a Hollywood script, but it’s a start.

I have connections in the charity world, Danny.

Dozens of them. I’m a motivational speaker who works with non-profits.

I’ll call in every favor. I’ll start digging.

See who’s heard of a sharp, witty Scottish socialite suddenly working for a New York organization. ”

Danny groaned, but I could see the wheels turning in his head, shifting from protest to problem-solving. “It’s a goddamn needle in a haystack, Sean.”

“Maybe so,” I conceded, feeling the burden ease now that I had an actual strategy. “But I have to try. I owe it to Beth... and to myself.”

Danny studied me for a beat, then shook his head with a wry grin. “You’re gonna go after her no matter what I say, huh?”

I smiled, feeling a bit of the burden ease off my chest. “You know me too damn well, bro.”

“Alright, alright,” Danny conceded, raising his beer bottle in mock surrender.

He leaned forward, his expression turning serious again, all trace of humor gone.

“But I must ask. Is there something you’re not telling me?

Why are you so dead set on finding Beth?

I mean, I’ve seen you with women before, Sean.

This is different. Did you knock her up or something? ”

I let out a humorless chuckle. “No. Nothing like that.” I stared into my beer, the condensation cold against my palm. The noise of the bar began to fade, replaced by a different sound. The tinny, frantic sound of a phone call from years ago. A call I should have answered differently. If only.

“I never told you why I got into motivational speaking in the first place,” I said, my voice low and rough.

Danny’s joking demeanor vanished. He just nodded, waiting, giving me the space I needed.

“Her name was Olivia Clark.” The name felt like dragging a stone across my tongue. My vision blurred, and the bar disappeared .

I’m twenty years old again, standing in my dorm room.

It’s late. My friends are waiting for me at a party, I can hear the music thumping across the quad, and I’m annoyed because Olivia is on the phone, crying again.

For weeks, ever since she’d spoken out against that fraternity’s hazing practices, they had been systematically destroying her online.

Doctored photos. Vicious rumors. A relentless, 24/7 assault of public humiliation.

“I can’t take it anymore, Sean,” she sobbed into the phone, her voice thin and frayed. “They’re everywhere. I close my eyes and I see their words. I can’t escape it.”

“It’s just bullshit, Liv,” I’d said, impatience coloring my tone. I wanted to get to the party. I was a stupid kid who didn’t understand that the weapons had changed. “It’s just words on a screen. It’ll blow over. Just ignore them. They’ll get bored and move on.”

“You don’t get it,” she whispered. “It’s not just words. It’s my life.”

“We’ll go to the Dean tomorrow,” I promised, already reaching for my jacket. “We’ll figure it out. Just hang in there. I’ve gotta go, but I’ll call you in the morning.”

I hung up. I thought I’d fixed it. I went to the party.

The clatter of a glass being set down on the bar yanked me back to the present. I took a deep, shuddering breath, my hand trembling slightly as I lifted my beer.

“They found her the next morning,” I said, my voice hollow as I finally met Danny’s eyes. The pity there was almost unbearable. “She’d left a note. Said she couldn’t take the humiliation anymore.” My voice dropped to a whisper. “The last thing I ever said to her was ‘I’ve gotta go.’”

I could see the pieces clicking into place for Danny. The headlines about Beth. The social media frenzy. The way she was lashing out, pushing everyone away.

“When I see Beth doing that… shutting down, fighting ev eryone off… I see Olivia,” I said, the confession raw and agonizing.

“I see that same pain, that same isolation. I know where that road leads. Those tabloid vultures, the online trolls… they’re using the same weapons on her that those frat boys used on Olivia.

And I was fucking blind to it in Glasgow. ”

“But Beth isn’t Olivia,” Danny said quietly, his voice firm but kind.

“No, she’s not,” I agreed, my grip tightening on my glass. “But I’ve learned to recognize when someone is drowning, even if they’re smiling while they do it. I didn’t push hard enough for my friend because I didn’t understand the real danger. I won’t make that mistake again.”

Danny was quiet for a long moment, the weight of my story settling between us. “Just… be careful, man,” he said finally. “You can’t save someone who doesn’t want to be saved.”

“Maybe not,” I admitted. “But I have to try. I need to know I did everything I could this time. Because this time, I understand.”

The bar’s noise rushed back in as we sat in silence. At least now he understood.

“Alright, Romeo. You’ve got a crazy plan and a ticking clock. Let’s book some flights.”