Page 72 of Erotic Behavior (Observant Behaviors)
He pulled me to him and placed a gentle kiss on my lips.“None of this is your fault.Not one bit of it.It doesn’t really matter, anyway.I decided I’m retiring from real estate.”
“What?”
“I don’t need it anymore.The club is more important to me, anyway.People count on The Pendulum for many reasons and I’d like to keep it open and protected.Real estate will always be there, but I do not need to live by the rules of a company that doesn’t even mean anything to me anymore.”
“But you love real estate.”
“No, I love buildings and architecture, and I can get that by simply buying and selling my own properties.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am, but Ash,” he said, turning his focus on his sister, “There are some things you will need to agree to before I do all this.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you.Just because I am leaving doesn’t mean you have to.I can sell my shares of the company to you and the business will remain in the family, or we can both walk away and you will need to agree to me supporting you and William.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Your options are, own part of the company or take a monthly stipend from me.”
“I have money, Beckett; as long as I stay at mom’s, I am fine.If I move, then I can find something within my price range until William is in school.Really, it’s okay.I can take care of us.”
Beckett shook his head in frustration, and the exhaustion of a day from hell was wearing on him.I reached my hand up to the side of his face and he leaned into it, closing his eyes slightly.
“Ashlee,” I said, turning back to her, “Why don’t you stay here with us?I mean, not forever, but until William gets a bit older.I’d love to have you guys here, especially while planning a wedding and maybe, if we are lucky, we will have a little one on the way soon.I could use the help and get some practice in with William.”
“I couldn’t intrude…”
“Not an intrusion, I’m asking because I genuinely miss having someone around I can confide in.I spent all my time with my best friend Talia, and since moving in with Beckett, I haven’t seen her much.Now she’s in a relationship that I think will take up most of her time and I’d give anything to have someone other than Beckett to talk to.”
“Hey.”
I laughed and kissed him on the cheek, “Not that I don’t adore talking to you, love, but there is something nice about having another girl around.”
“William can be a lot.We really are okay at mom’s.”
“No, you aren’t,” Beckett interjected.“Raven’s right, stay here with us.William isn’t any more work than she is.”
“Now it’s my turn to get offended,” I said, scrunching my face up in his direction.
“I’ll think about it,” Ashlee finally said.”Let’s talk about it in the morning.I’m going to head up to bed and I’m sure you two could use some sleep, too.”
We all stood, and I pulled Ashlee into my arms.“I’m serious.I would really love having you around.”
She gave a small nod, said goodnight to her brother and walked in the direction of the guest quarters where we had put William to sleep earlier in the night.
“Are you ready?”Beckett asked as he leaned down and picked up his suit coat.
“Yeah, I am.You look exhausted.Head to our room and I’ll go make us some plates.I made a couple of pizzas and a salad, nothing too fancy.”
“Sounds perfect.”
I reached up and gave him one last kiss before heading to the kitchen.As I loaded up the plates, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket and reached for it.There was one line of text from an unknown number and it made my blood boil the second I saw it.
You may think this is the end, but it’s only the beginning.Next time, I’ll show you who is really in charge.
Rage and Restraints