Page 23 of Don't Make Me Beg
And even if he was…why the fuck would her douchebag ex go along with it?
When the thought of her safety comes to mind, it takes all my strength not to drive over there right now and handle this myself.
You don’t need another criminal charge, I remind myself.
So instead of acting on my impulses and doing something I’ll most likely regret, I take a huge gulp of my scalding hot coffee and remind myself that Scout’s problems are none of my business. Just because I saw a few text messages, it doesn’t mean anything. There are two sides to every story…
“Was it a long night or an early morning?” Guy’s question slices through the war zone in my mind. I glance down at my wrinkled shirt, realizing the buttons are all misaligned and the collar’s slightly twisted.
I huff out a grunt, working to re-button my shirt as Roman takes a seat across from me. He gives me an incredulous look, then looks to Guy, as if silently asking what he missed.
“You look like shit, dude,” Roman says after getting a better look at me.
“Jesus, I was in a rush, okay. I didn’t realize you two worked for the fashion police.”
Guy holds up his hands in mock surrender. “Hey, I wasn’t judging. Don’t worry, your sour mood tells me more than enough.” He places a palm on Roman’s shoulder and leans in. “If you want to talk about your sexual hardships, I’m sure Roman will be more than happy to commiserate with you.”
Roman slaps his hand away, looking offended. “What the fuck’s that supposed to mean?”
Guy levels him with a get-real look as he quirks a brow. “Do I really need to spell it out for you? Nobody who’s getting steady pussy is wound that tight?”
“I’m not wound tight.”
“You spent an entire afternoon last week arguing with the design team about fonts…”
“Fonts are important. Just because you don’t give a shit about your work doesn’t mean everyone else cares too much.” Roman fires back, flipping his yellow notepad to a new page with a little more force than necessary.
Guy’s eyes widen, but he just looks down at his own notepad, clearly feeling like he’s made his point.
I’m relieved for the interruption when Leo and Ivy’s faces pop up on the large screen on the wall.
Ivy’s face lights up the moment she sees us, her face splitting into a beaming smile. “Hey, guys! It’s so good to see you. Thank you for coming in early so we could do this today.”
Leo wraps an arm around her and smiles, looking so fucking proud to be the one sitting beside her right now. “Ivy’s been worried about what’s happening with the festival…no offense, Luka.”
“Leo, I told you to be nice,” Ivy hisses, slapping my brother on the chest.
He jerks back, looking confused. “What? That was nice. I saidno offense.”
Ivy just rolls her eyes and directs her attention back to us. “Anyway… I heard the news about Luka taking over the festival…and I just wanted to check in and see how things were going?” She pauses, her eyes narrowing. “Luka, is everything okay? Maybe it’s the lighting in there, but you look…a little more tired than usual…”
Guy offers me a smug smile and shrugs. “Now, who are you calling rude?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m great. Just had a long night last night—nothing too crazy is going on.” I try to sound casual, but I can feel their eyes on me.
“Uh huh,” Leo says.
“How are you feeling about leading the festival? I know you’re probably nervous, but I want you to know I’m here to help you in any way I can. I’ll send you all the vendor contacts from last year, and the template for the schedule I created, so all you have to do is fill in the blanks…”
I scribble down notes while she’s talking, trying my best to seem like I’m paying attention, but when her words trail off, the room goes quiet.
“You seem oddly…focused on this,” Leo cuts in. “What’s going on with you?”
I drop my pen and lean back in my chair. “Seriously? Now I’m acting like I care too much?” I look at Roman and Guy, who both just nod in agreement.
I catch the faintest hint of a smirk at the corner of Roman’s lips before he says, “Does this…” He gestures to me… “Have anything to do with Scout by chance?”
Ivy’s eyes grow wide as she looks at Leo and then back to us, and clears her throat. “Ahem, who is Scout?”
