Page 132 of Beau and the Beast

After lunch, Beau tried his best to communicate all of that to Wolfram.

The man simply rolled his eyes and waved Beau off.

“You’re seeing me the way you want to,” Wolfram said. “That’s going to be a real flaw in your book if you keep going in that direction.”

Beau’s anger flared impotently at the suggestion that Wolfram understood better than he did how to write a profile.

“I’mnotignoring your flaws,” Beau said. “I hope you don’t think that the book so far is about how wonderful and kind you are. Your temper and moodiness make an appearance in the manuscript as often as they do in real life.”

Wolfram snorted and smiled. “I’m glad to hear it. But I still think you’re being naïve. Drumming up sympathy for an ex-Wall Street exec is going to be more difficult than you think.”

“I’m not being naïve,” Beau protested. “The book isn’t about getting you sympathy. It’s about showing the world that you’re a person just like anyone else.”

“A person who has done far more damage than the average person,” Wolfram cut in. “That alone is enough to separate me—to make me a villain.”

“Villains are always more complicated than they seem. So be a villain. Let people pick up the book thinking that you’re a villain. They’ll finish it knowing that you’re a good man.”

Wolfram looked up from his cup of tea as if the words had stung him.

“Do you really think at my core that I’m a good man?” he asked softly after a moment.

“There is no core,” Beau said quickly. “No one is all good or all bad—that’s not the way that life works.”

“There’s no badness in you. I know that much.”

Beau rolled his eyes. “Who’s being naïve now?”

Wolfram puffed a laugh through his nose. “I’m still waiting to see a flaw present itself in you. I’ll let you know if it ever happens.”

“If you think all I’ve ever done my whole life is be unselfish and understanding and perfect, you’re a moron. Everything that I am now is the result of trial and error and selfishness and stumbling—just like you.”

Wolfram seemed to consider that but had no rejoinder.

“There is no good person or bad person,” Beau continued. “All we are is a sum of what we do. And when I look at your life now, Wolf, you do immense good. You should be proud of the person you’ve become since these stupid articles were written.”

“Hm. That’s a novel thought.”

“You know that you’re allowed to love yourself, right? It’s not going to make the curse worse if you acknowledge that you’re not a reprehensible person.”

“You’re probably right,” Wolfram acknowledged. “You’re very good at getting your way, you know that?”

“So I’ve been told.”

“Sometimes lately I’ve almost found myselfbearable.”

Beau laughed at that, placing a hand on top of Wolfram’s. “Shocking. I really must be working some sort of magic.”

“That you are,” Wolfram agreed.

* * *

Noah didn’t wantto admit how much safer he felt inside of Lincoln’s apartment than he had back at home.

He’d always relied on Beau’s presence to make him feel safe, and in the weeks of his absence, his feeling of security had degraded more than he realized.

Just hearing Lincoln moving around elsewhere in the apartment felt good. Noah had stayed in Lincoln’s room since he’d arrived a day ago. He listened to Lincoln get up and get ready for work—but even after he was gone, Noah felt safe knowing that he wouldn’t be alone at the end of the day, that he could call Lincoln if he needed anything.

Lincoln had knocked on the door before he left, reminding Noah of his cell phone number, giving him a house key in case he needed to leave during the day, and saying that he’d be home a little after six.

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