Page 65 of Love In The Spotlight

“Are we good?” he asked. “Or is this where I get to see the real you?”

West smiled. “You’ve seen more of the real me than most do. We are trying to teach Nelson how to put his game face on.”

“Didn’t seem to be working when he threw you under the bus. Do I have to worry about that?”

“No,” West said. “He’ll be fine, but he’ll be watched. If you have any concerns let Laken or me know.”

“Laken said we should be good and I trust her.”

“As you should,” West said. “She’s the best at what she does. She can put people at ease at the same time demand their respect. She never wanted it because of who she worked for either. She goes above and beyond more than I think she should, but that could be why everyone loves her.”

“She does seem to enjoy her job.”

“Her career is her everything. I know that. I know Braylon felt the same way. I did too.”

“But you don’t anymore?” he asked.

“It’s not everything in my world but a big part of it. Everything I did was for my family. I’ve never made a secret about that. But then I realized it was time to do something for myself. Braylon is getting there too. Maybe we are slow as a family, but we always feel as if we’ve got something to prove. The sad part is, we always want to prove it to those we love that don’t need it.”

Jamie nodded his head. “I understand that more than I should. In my case though, the ones I want to prove it to will never want it or believe it. It will never be enough.”

“If you know that now then maybe it’s time to move on from it,” West said.

He hadn’t expected that kind of life lesson today, but maybe it was one he needed.

20

WANTING BETTER IN LIFE

“I’m going to kill you three,” Laken said when Jamie and Nelson walked into her office thirty minutes later.

“Me?” Jamie asked. “I didn’t do anything.”

“Not you,” she said. “But my three brothers who think they know everything.”

“How did you find out?” he asked.

“West must have fessed up,” Nelson said.

“He did,” she said. “He always does.”

Her brother tried to tell her it was to teach Nelson, but she didn’t buy it. No way. Not when she went rushing to Braylon’s office and he was laughing at his desk.

That particular brother was always somewhat laid back when it came to those things. West was just too serious about life and Nelson was trying too hard to be like West.

Everyone just had to be their own person.

“I can’t figure your family out,” he said.

“Neither can we half the time,” she said. “Come give me a kiss since they know.”

She wanted to see if he’d do it or not and shouldn’t have been surprised when he said, “Why don’t you come over here and give it to me so your brother doesn’t think you call all the shots.”

She frowned and walked over to put her hands on the arms of the chair he was sitting in and laid her lips to his quickly because she wanted to get a taste of him.

She missed him when they weren’t together and it felt like that was a lot lately.

“Now Nelson is going to think you are calling all the shots.”

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