Page 20 of Nothing to Beat

“Tell him to go to hell.Acre and Axon have—”

“I know.”Another snicker flavored her breath.“I know.I know.The Breckenridge family have been my life for years.Look, it’s all about appearances, it starts that way anyway.You don’t know how my father operates, how he weasels his way in.If I get married, he’ll be there.”

“He doesn’t have to be.Acre will keep him away.Z and I have contacts—”

“Don’t you see it doesn’t matter?Whether he gets an invite or not, he shows up.There’s a scene, a ruckus, scandal.”

“The press don’t have to be there either.Zairn and I can help with that; it’s our area of expertise.We get a lot of practice.”

“The press?I don’t care about the press.Yes, that would be embarrassing, and the news would get further faster, but the media doesn’t matter.What my father does is illegal, and he’s a master of manipulation.Tying my name to the Breckenridges is the same as tying his to them.The Breckenridges are wholesome, their name means something.It’s goodness, kindness, it’s the best of humanity.”

“You think your father would ask Breck for a favor?”

“More than one.Just standing next to each other would be enough to get the feds interested, and my father won’t care if the Breckenridge name is tarnished.Association is enough.And my father could do with some legitimacy right now.My father is the lowest of the low, he’d waste no time and use the Breckenridge name to get what he wanted.He’s not beyond blackmail or bribery.I’m in the muck, have been since I was born.I won’t do that to my child; I won’t do it to Breck.”

“This is conjecture, you don’t know for sure that your dad will—”

“I do.He’s in my whole life.Control gets him off.He needs to be a part of every little thing.When I refused to join the family firm, he systematically attempted to destroy every part of my life.My professors were marking down papers, and I couldn’t get an internship anywhere.I applied and applied, nothing.Until Breckenridge.Ben was so nice, the interview went great.It had been so long since anyone interacted with me without fear or anger.”

“You can see where his boys get it from.”

“He was so kind, so open.We were saying goodbye and stood up.I could’ve kept my mouth shut, maybe I should’ve.Who knows where I’d be now if I just walked out of there.”

“You told him about your dad.”

She nodded.“It didn’t feel right concealing something so important, not in the face of Ben’s kindness.He had to know if he took me on what they may face.Forewarned is forearmed, so I thought.”

“What did he say?”

“He sat us down and poured me a drink that I really shouldn’t have drunk in the middle of the day.”Roxie’s warm smile followed hers.“I told him everything.”Looking back it felt long ago, years had passed since then.Yet she’d never forget Ben’s patience, his generosity.“Took hours and he didn’t rush me, never once looked at his desk or answered his phone.After I started, I couldn’t stop.It all spilled out, I don’t know why he listened.”

“Because he’s Benedict Breckenridge, and, you know, Alice would’ve kicked his ass if she found out he’d turned you away.”

Damn straight.“I apologized for wasting his time, with the interview.No one else would even look at me, I appreciated him being patient.I should’ve been upfront the moment I walked in.I told him to expect a call from my father.That as soon as he got it…”

“Let me guess, Ben said he’d tell your dad to go to hell.”

She rested her hip on the vanity and took a deep breath.“He said my father had already called three times that week.Ben knew who I was from the second I walked in and he saw me anyway, listened anyway.”

Roxie’s incredulity matched what she felt that day too.“Wow, and he never said a word?”

“No,” she said, laughing at the memory.“He just let me go on and on.”

“Did he hire you on the spot?”

“He took me home for dinner first.”

“To Alice?”

Gosh, a million years ago.“To support not judgment.”

“That’s when you met Breck.”

“Not that night, but not long after.”

“Love at first sight?”

In a way, she couldn’t deny that.Except… “When are things ever that simple?”

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