Page 72 of The Dis-Graced

Oh, FUCK!

I click into the link and see a picture of myself next to a picture of Drake. We aren’t in the same shot, so there’s no clear evidence. Scrolling down the page, there’s another picture of me entering one of his buildings. The article itself has an ‘anonymous source,’ giving only vague details.

This is bad—very, very bad, and I can think of only one person that knows that I’m working for Drake outside of the select few he has told himself.

Grace:Steph, have you told anyone that I’m working with Drake?

I wait for several minutes, but her answer never comes. It doesn’t matter, as I’m no longer working with him, and they have no solid proof. It’s not like I was leaving on good terms with Drake anyway, so this will just be more water under the bridge, or rather, more water flooding it.

Why waste any more worries when you’ve done nothing wrong. Everyone wants to believe the worst about you, let them.

I go back to surfing the internet, waiting for my Uber to arrive.

Chapter 23

Drake

Five o’clock comes, and Devon enters my office in a suit, looking considerably better than he had just weeks ago. I try to push my worries from my mind, focusing my full attention on my brother, but the morning meeting weighs heavily on my mind.

“How are you feeling?” I ask.

“I’m-I’m better.”

“That’s great—”

“But still not good. I don’t know if I can stay here.”

I exhale through my sadness. When Devon first came to me, I was annoyed, but after weeks of working with him, I’ve developed a certain respect that my other brothers have never achieved. Devon is trying to overcome an obstacle we’ve never had to face, and by God, I want to see him win so badly. I’d give almost anything to see him succeed.

“That’s too bad, but we can’t give up. Not yet.”

“You’ve been so good to me. So has Dalton, even. Derek is…well, he’s supportive.”

“Yes, we all want to see you succeed.”

“And mother? Does mother want to see me succeed?”

“Well, she’ll be here soon, along with our brothers. We’re going to work something out.”

“The thing is, at the resort, I didn’t have to worry about all this. I was clean, I had to be. I had company. Everything was taken care of. There was even a girl…but that…well, I guess it’s over.”

“Why’d you leave if you liked it so much?”

“It makes no sense. Part of me wanted to leave because I wanted a normal life and to be able to prove that I could be functional, and partially because I wanted to use. I wanted to so badly, and I was going to, but something…something made me stop. I decided to come see you.”

“That’s amazing. You were about ready to throw away your sobriety, and you stopped yourself. You did the right thing!”

“But I can’t guarantee that I’ll do the right thing every time. And it’s not like I didn’t fail. I drank in your own apartment.”

“That’s behind us. It wasn’t your intention to come to my place to drink. There are no guarantees in life. Trust me, I learned that today.”

The door to my office opens, and my mom comes charging in flanked by my brothers.

“Ah, a family reunion!” I enthuse.

“Cut the shit,” mother says, casting a glare at Devon.

“All right, let’s get down to business,” I say.