Page 97 of Bet On Me, Daddy

Disgust roiled in Beckett’s gut, but he kept his smile firmly in place. Thank god Ruby wasn’t with him. He couldn’t imagine exposing her to someone like Preston Kingsley.

Luckily, he was saved from having to comment by the arrival of the hors d'oeuvres and they spent the next few hours drinking and swapping stories about business and life. Preston shared a few stories about Holden that Beckett tucked away to torment his friend with later, and he shared his own anecdotes, though he was careful not to reveal too much about where they spent the majority of their time together.

But the more they ate and the more they drank, the more Preston’s public facade faded. Revealing a much uglier, more abhorrent version beneath.

When dinner was finished, Beckett rose from the table, an apologetic smile on his face. “Well, Preston, it was a pleasure making your acquaintance. Unfortunately, Jonas and I both need to get home as we have a meeting first thing in the morning. We’ll be in touch.”

Pushing to his feet, Preston held out a hand and Beckett had to force himself to accept. “I have a few other meetings down this way, but I’ll be sure to give you a call when I’ve made my decision. Stone Investments wasn’t at the top of my list, but after tonight, I can safely say you’ve moved up a few notches.”

And you’ve moved down to the bottom of our list.Keeping his polite smile in place, Beckett held out a hand and shook Preston’s again. He let out his first easy breath of the evening when the other man disappeared through the front door of the restaurant.

“What a fucking douchebag,” he said when he was certain they couldn’t be overheard.

“Oh, good. I thought it was just me.” Jonas let out a shaky laugh. “Something about him just seems… off.”

“Agreed. I believe I’ll be letting the board know tomorrow morning that we willnotbe accepting Preston Kingsley as a client.”

“They aren’t going to like that.”

“Yeah, well. It’s still my company.” Though he couldn’t deny the ripple of unease that passed through him. Even if he didn’t want to bring Preston on board, he could easily be overruled.

But he’d built Stone Investments brick by fucking brick, and he’d built it on a legacy of treating every person who walked through their door with the dignity they deserved.

And he was damn well going to keep that legacy alive and thriving if it was the last thing he did.

“We’ll figure it out.” Jonas clapped a hand to Beckett’s shoulder and squeezed. “We should get going. I’m sure you’re anxious to get home to the pretty barista whose name you were very careful not to mention during dinner.”

“There’s nothing to mention.” No point in bringing up a woman he was just having a casual… whatever it was they were having. It was definitely more than a fling, but not quite a relationship.

Was that what the internet called a ‘situationship’ these days?

God, he felt old.

“Uh-huh,” Jonas said, his tone dry and disbelieving. “So not worth mentioning that you were checking your phone every thirty seconds before dinner to see if she’d texted you?”

“First of all, we’re going to have to talk about how observant you are. It’s rude. Second of all, it’s not like that. She’s been sick and I’m worried about her.”

Concern passed over Jonas’s features. “Has she checked in yet?”

Pulling his phone from his pocket, Beckett frowned at the screen. An old, familiar fear churned in his gut as he scrolled through the notifications. “No. And she should have been done with work hours ago.”

“Then what the hell are you still doing standing here talking to me? Go check on your woman.”

Doing so certainly fell more into ‘Daddy’ territory, and outside their negotiated relationship. But he knew from experience he’d never forgive himself if he ignored his instincts and something happened to her.

“Yeah. Yeah, I think I’ll do that.”

Ruby

Stumblinginto her apartment well after the time she was supposed to be getting home, thanks to Nancy deciding at the last minute there was some task Ruby justhadto stay late to complete, Ruby bypassed her kitchen and went straight to her bedroom where she fell face down onto her bed.

Thank god she wasn’t scheduled at the club tonight. She wasn’t sure she would have survived it. The stuffy nose and headache she’d been fighting since Saturday seemed intent on hanging around, but the worst part was just how fucking exhausted she was.

Although, she was pretty sure the exhaustion was Nancy’s fault. Nobody could be around that woman for eight whole hours without feeling like they’d been put through the wringer, as far as Ruby was concerned. She hadn’t even had five minutes to herself to text Beckett back, which she had no doubt she’d be hearing about whenever she did find the time to talk to him.

Of course, that wasn’t entirely Nancy’s fault. Ever since she’d made that stupid bet with Cordelia, she was feeling much less sure of her role in their relationship than she had been.

Did Beckett love her? Was she just being oblivious?

---