Page 20 of Never the Best

“I said some terrible things about her afterward…about her weight. She overheard me.Andsince I had done thetellingin front of lots of other people, it ruined her reputation. She didn’t deserve any of it, and I can’t undo what I did. But I need her to know that I regret it. That I was wrong. I know I can’t make it right, but I just...I want her to hear it from me.”

Nina was silent for a moment, her sharp gaze never leaving mine. Finally, she crossed her legs with the grace of someone who could disarm an entire boardroom with a single glance.

“I appreciate your honesty.” She continued to study me, probably trying to measure the truth behind my words. After a moment, she gave a slight, deliberate nod as if she’d found what she was looking for. “I believe you when you say you regret your actions. But whatyouneed doesn’t appear to align with whatsheneeds—orwants. From where I’m sitting, it doesn’t look like Pearl is ready to have this conversation with you.”

“I just want her to know I’ve changed.” My voice washoarse as I tamped down my emotions, my need to shake Nina so she'd understand where I was coming from.

Nina tilted her head slightly. “Maybe you have changed. And maybe, one day, Pearl will be ready to hear that. But it has to be onherterms, notyours. You can’t bulldoze her into forgiving you, and you sure as hell can’t do it where she works.”

The server returned with our food, breaking the tension for a brief moment. I nodded politely as he set my salad in front of me, but I couldn’t bring myself to pick up my fork.

Nina, on the other hand, picked up her knife and began slicing into her toast with the same precision she brought to this conversation. She didn’t rush, didn’t push. She let the silence hang for a moment before speaking again.

“For what it’s worth”—she glanced up at me—“Rhett, I’ve always thought you were smart and driven, and more capable than your father gives you credit for. But that doesn’t mean I’ll stand by and let you hurt Pearl, even unintentionally.”

I’d expected Nina to be protective of Pearl, but I hadn’t expected her to handle me with such firm grace. She wasn’t angry, she was measured and controlled. And she was right.

“Understood,” I accepted quietly.

“Good.” She gave me a small, approving smile. “Now, let’s talk shop. So, how much is this upgrade going to cost me?”

I grinned. “Well, you know how they say that you have to spend money to make money?”

“That’s whattheysay?”

“Yes, they most certainly do. Let me break it down for you.” We talked shop, and Nina didn’t bring up Pearl throughout the rest of our conversation.

When I walked her back to Savannah Lace, I didn’t go inside the building as I wanted to—because Nina was right.

I had to respect Pearl’s need for space and time.

I also had to accept the possibility that she might never give me the chance to apologize—and that I’d have to live with my guilt forever.

CHAPTER 8

Pearl

One of the fantastic things about leaving Savannah was not having to attend the Beaumont family dinners. If you lived in Los Angeles, no one expected you to show up for family time at the Beaumont estate, which always felt like a performance, one I had no interest in participating in.

Like always, the long mahogany dining table gleamed under the soft glow of the chandelier, and the sterling silverware was arranged as though we were expecting royalty instead of having just another suffocating family gathering.

My mother sat at the head of the table, her back as straight as the chair she’d occupied for the past forty years. Cash was at the other end, leaning into his self-appointed role as patriarch with all the smugness of someone who thought he’d inherited a throne instead of a crumbling family legacy.

I was seated between Alice and Madeline—my savinggrace at family events since they were born. I adored my nieces, and the feeling was mutual. They were clever, quick-witted, and full of teenage rebellion that kept their parents perpetually exasperated. Tonight, they were trying not to laugh too loudly at whatever it was that Alice whispered under her breath about Cash, who had just launched into another long-winded lecture about the problem with the youth of today expecting handouts.

It went along the lines of,"In our day, we had to work for what we had…blah, blah, blah."

All bullshit because Cash had inherited the family fortune, including most of mine, which I'd happily given away—and he'd still managed to fuck it up. He thought I didn't know, but I did. I was a freaking finance director, and as a Beaumont, I still got the quarterly reports. Cash, despite his name, wasn't good with money, but God, did he pretend he was.

“Girls,” Caroline hissed, her pearl necklace catching the light as she shot us a withering glare, the same pearl necklace she'd be clutching any second now. “Stop tittering at the table. It’s unseemly.”

“Sorry, Mom." Alice did not sound remotely apologetic as she pressed her lips together to stifle a grin. Maddie elbowed me gently, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

“Honestly, Pearl,” Cash said, turning his disapproving gaze on me. "Do you always have to encourage them? They need a role model, not a bad influence.”

“I’m a bad influence?” I raised an eyebrow. “Pray, tell me,how?”

“Because you don’t take anything seriously,” he shot back, cutting into his steak with far more force than necessary. “And let’s not even get started on your so-called career.”

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