Page 43 of Key Change

“No.” He wanted his freedom, and he couldn’t put a price on that. “I’m not right for the role. Good luck finding someone.” He hung up and closed his eyes. What the fuck had he done?

Who the fuck was he?

The old Anthony wouldn’t have said no. The old Anthony, who thought it was all a game, was why he was in this mess. Which meant he’d done the right thing.

He tossed his phone back onto the bed. What kind of idiot refused a job when they were stuck living in his sister’s spare room?

The temptation to call Farring back and take the job for a few months to put some cash in his bank account burned within him.But it was just once, and then again, and then every time until it was too late. He’d already made that mistake, and he didn’t need to make it again.

He ripped up the business card and tossed it in the trash.

Something else would come up. Someone else would give him a chance, the way Cillian had. He scrubbed his hand over his face. How long until Cillian was tired of his broke ass?

He picked up the watch from his bedside table. He’d bought it after scraping his first million. From the bedside table the pulled out the gold cufflinks his father had bought him when he graduated.

Was it going to look suspicious if he sold them?

Probably.

He texted Mick to let him know he was selling off his past so he could move forward.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-FOUR

Anthony’s sneakerhit the concrete path as he ran. He was fitter now than he’d been before. Than he’d been when he got out. His first time out, he’d needed to walk the last half. Now, he could run it all. The sun on his skin and the salt in the air were reminders that while he was free, he was still chained and unable to move forward.

Every time he ran, he made plans and tested out different scenarios to determine which might be the most effective and quickest road to success. The climb back to the top seemed so much further. He’d thought once he was out, the pieces would fall together so much quicker.

Turning down the job with Farring seemed like a step backward. But there were strings and shadows, and a cost that he once would’ve ignored.

So while that wasn’t an option, it had given him a couple of ideas. He had connections. He knew people from before and from inside. Some ran big businesses; some ran small ones. He needed to swallow his pride and start making calls, even though hearing no would sting.

A wave of humiliation swept through him at the idea of asking for help from the people he’d called friends before. He’dbeen the one people had turned to when they needed something, and now, it was him reaching out and asking for a favor. He was owed some, but he suspected many wouldn’t pay. The ones from before wouldn’t want their name sullied by being associated with him.

Anthony blew out a breath when all he wanted to do was sigh.

All he needed was a job.

And a car. He’d sold the watch and cufflinks yesterday and had the money. God, it felt good to see it in his bank account, even though he’d gotten a fraction of what they were worth. He wouldn’t rush the next step. He needed to research, and he didn’t want the running costs without a paycheck to back them.

All he needed was something small and cheap to run. He heard his brother’s mocking laughter echoing in his ears, drowning out the waves, and gritted his teeth.

Cillian wouldn’t laugh if he bought a cheap car. He’d be happy Anthony was finding his feet. It wasn’t as though Cillian drove anything expensive, or that new. The five-year-old blue hatchback was the epitome of easy to park in the city and cheap to run. It wasn’t the base model either. He’d put thought into, expecting to have it for a while… Had he bought with the money he’d won in the competition?

Anthony had done more digging and found more information on Cillian. It had been a substantial amount of money he’d won. He’d also won more than once since then. Anthony then fell down the rabbit hole of watching some videos of interviews and performances.

He was thankful that Margot had bought him a laptop and phone to look for work and that she wasn’t peering over his shoulder all the time. Anthony had applied for so many jobs and mostly heard nothing back—a few had replied to say he wasn’t being considered. He needed something to change. Losing Cillian would be a knife to the spleen that he didn’t need rightnow, as Cillian was the one bright spot in his life. Anthony wasn’t sure he’d have refused the Farring job if he hadn’t thought about Cillian’s reaction.

Which said nothing good about the strength of Anthony’s character. Was it wrong that he wanted something to be easy?

Probably.

But Cillian made him feel like he wasn’t used up and still had a chance to be someone new. Cillian was the angel on his shoulder, while Anthony’s need to rub Hayden’s face in his success was the devil whispering in his ear.

His gaze flicked ahead to where the path swept around the corner. Every time he passed the place Liam mentioned in his letter, his steps faltered.

Did he need to pause and stretch?

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