Page 12 of Tempted By the Broken Cowboy
“Fine, say what you have to so I can get back inside,” she orders.
I have no idea who the fuck she thinks she’s talking to like this, but this is a highly tense situation, so I decide to let it slide this time.
“You can’t say yes,” I start simply but assertively.
She rolls her eyes at me. “You think I want to? It’s not like I’m jumping at the opportunity to work with you, but I don’t have much of a choice. I need the funding that only your brother can give.”
“Find another way.”
“You don’t think I’ve tried?!” she shouts back.
Taking a deep breath, I reorganize my thoughts since all this back-and-forth is serving neither of us. “We cannot work together,” I say in a much calmer voice.
Her shoulders relax a bit. “I already know that.”
We fall silent for a moment, each of us trying to think of a way to get out of this. I now understand that Quinn needs a certain amount of money from my brother, but why does it have to be at the condition of us working together? She hates my guts, and it’s not like I’m her biggest fan either.
“I need time to think about this,” she says, rubbing her temples.
“There is nothing to think about. Just don’t say yes,” I insist.
“It’s not that simple, Beck. This is fifty million dollars on the line, so unless you can come up with that money on your own, I don’t have much of a choice,” she argues.
My eyes nearly bug out of their sockets when she mentions the amount. “Fifty million dollars? What do you need that kind of money for?”
“You’d know if you’d bothered to join us for the meeting. It’s not like I’m going on a shopping spree with it. It’s going back to the same community you hate so much,” she explains.
“Hey, the feeling is mutual. I hate them as much as they hate me.”
“And that is why your brother thinks you need me,” she retorts.
“I don’t need you. They can all go to hell for all I care and hate me till I die. I cannot be bothered to fix our relationship, let alone by working with you. We hate each other, can’t stand to be in the same room for more than five minutes, so working together will be difficult.”
“And you think I don’t know all that?” She scowls at me. “I need to think about this. Excuse me.”
She does not wait for me to respond as she brushes past me, leaving the terrace before I can stop her. I growl in frustration, wanting to chase after her but realizing that I’ve said all that needs to be said—the rest is up to her.
Deciding that I’m done with my family for the day, I wander off on my own until it’s time for us to go back.
The flight home is tense as fuck. No one really says much to me since they can tell I’m stewing. Even Landon picks up onthe edgy mood and sleeps the whole way home. As far as I can tell, he has no idea what went down between Quinn and me last night, which is good. I don’t need any more drama today, especially from him.
As we are disembarking, I grab Quinn’s arm just as she’s about to exit the jet. “Remember what we talked about.”
She glares at me, her feisty eyes challenging me. “Let go, Beck.”
“Please, for the love of God, leave things as they are. I don’t need anything fixed.”
“Let me go,” she grits out.
I release her hand and step back. She plasters on a smile as she says goodbye to my siblings. I bid Landon farewell before storming off to one of the waiting cars.
For both our sakes, especially mine, I hope Quinn finds another way of getting the money she needs that doesn’t require us to work together. It’s more than just about working with her—it’s about facing my past demons, something I’m not quite ready to do yet.
I just wish my siblings would understand that and leave things as they are. But they seem determined, so it’ll all come down to Quinn’s decision.
5
QUINN
