Page 78 of Shattered

“You two don’t seem to get along,” she said cautiously, hoping to get more information out of Christian than she had out of Callum.

Christian took a deep breath and refused to meet her gaze. “No, we don’t. But whatever he has told you is probably a lie. You should stay far away from him.”

“Funny. He said the same about you.” She waited for him to elaborate, but he kept his mouth in a thin line as he looked around the shop. “Christian?” He peeked over toward her and she decided to just come out and ask. “What happened between you two?”

“If I tell you, you might not like it.”

“Just tell me,” Sam pleaded as she reached over and grabbed his hand.

“His sister and I were together for a short while a few years back. He took the big bad older brother role a little too seriously and beat the shit out of me. Normally I would have just taken him down, but I didn’t want to get in trouble and lose the scholarship. Jokes on me though, ‘cause I ended up losing it for grades anyway. Maybe I should have just given it back to him.”

“Oh my god. Christian. Why didn’t you ever tell me?” She squeezed his hand.

Christian shrugged. “It was years ago. It’s over now, and I want nothing to do with anyone in his family ever again.”

“Honestly, that surprises me. He can be very…protective at times. But I just don’t see him as the type of person who would do that.”

Christian blew away the steam that bellowed from his cup. “People aren’t always who they portray themselves to be. You are probably only seeing one side of him because he wants to get in your pants. He’s a prick.”

She tilted her head, a mask of confusion playing on her face.

“Stop.” She didn’t want to believe him, but then again he had no reason to lie to her either. And she had seen Callum practically throw Mr. Brimley to the ground the previous night.

“Stop what?” Christian looked at her with a hint of anger in his eyes.

She bristled. “Nothing. Just–” She looked back down at the bitter concoction in front of her. “I just don’t know that side of him. That’s all.”

Christian laughed and then shook his head. “Well that’s what you get for not listening to me in the first place. You always do this. If you would just listen and not try to be so damn independent all the time, you wouldn't end up in these situations you put yourself in.”

She seemed to cower at his words. She hated when he got like this. But in truth, he was just trying to protect her and she knew that. “I know.”

“Do me a favor?” Christian questioned.

“Anything.” Sam quickly nodded her head.

“I don’t want him to know I told you. That’s in the past, and I would rather not bring it up.”

“Of course. I won’t say a word.”

He squeezed her hand back. “Thanks. Now, let’s talk about what to say at your disciplinary meeting.”

Chapter 32 - Callum

Callum was standing at the staff coffee station way before Topline opened for the lunch crowd when he realized that for a restaurant as large as Topline, they had a good many staff perks, one of those being that they had free rein of the coffee bar the previous owner had installed. It especially helped when someone pulled a double and needed an extra kick to get through the last few hours. His eyes scanned over the selection.

Black forest roast.

Italian roast.

French roast.

Bold roast.

It all worked for his taste, and he downed at least one cup every time he was there. But there wasn’t a single thing that had any sweetness to it in the least. He wanted to slap himself.

He rushed out the door as soon as the main cooks started walking in.

“I’ll be back in a few!” he called out.

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