Page 56 of Rayne

"Can we talk soon?" I ask, breaking the silence.

Jett looks up first. "Sure. What did you want to talk about?"

I turn my attention to Hawk, who's still giving me somewhat of a cold shoulder. He doesn't look up from his food, just continues eating but I know he's listening.

"Everything," I answer quietly. "Though I'm not really sure where to start…"

"Just start with the first question that pops up and go from there," Jett says warmly. "But we get to ask questions back."

I frown. "It's not a game, Jett."

"Never said it was," he replies. "But I have questions too."

Again, I stare at Hawk, wondering if he does as well. Feeling my burning gaze, he sighs, putting his cutlery down. He slowly turns to look at me, annoyance on his face. "What?"

"Why are you doing all of this?" I blurt out. "Why did you come back?"

"That's two questions," Hawk points out, not answering either.

I put my own utensils down in frustration. "That's exactly what I mean. We're not playing twenty questions. I genuinely want to talk about this."

Jett interjects, waving his fork around to get my attention. "I believe we've already answered both of those."

"Yes, yes," I groan. "Doing it for me. Apparently I'm boring. Setting up permanent offices… yada yada yada. That doesn't answer anything."

"We never said you were boring," he says, amused. "Just stuck in routine… and a little overbearing if I'm being honest."

I scowl at him. "Could you try not to insult me during this conversation? I know it's hard, but try."

Jett grins. "I like overbearing. And like I said, we've answered those questions. My turn?"

I roll my eyes. "What's your question, pray tell?"

"Are you happy?" he asks immediately. "And don't give us that bullshit answer again. Really think about it—think about what you want out of life."

Freezing, I frown. "I'm doing everything I want," I answer honestly. "I've achieved what I wanted."

"Really?" Hawk scoffs. "You're thirty-one. There's nothing else you want from life?"

It's said with such venom that a shiver runs down me. I'm beyond confused, because truthfully, I have achieved what I wanted.

Finally, I shrug. "I'm not sure what you want me to say. I wanted to work in law and I'm doing that. I wanted to live alone and be independent—I'm doing that too. I've traveled and been overseas, I have money. Isn't that enough?"

"It's never enough," Hawk says, so quietly that my ears strain to hear him.

"Fine," I shoot back. "I'll… I'll go on vacation this year. Travel again."

He snorts. "Oh, wow. Really going for the wild card there."

"I don't know what you want me to say!" I repeat louder. "Just tell me. Stop playing games. I'm exhausted, Hawk!"

Hawk's hand hits the table, making me jump. "You want me to spell it out for you, Tempest? You're pathetic." My mouth falls open, pain shooting through me at his words. Jett looks like he's going to interject, but Hawk cuts him off. "You wanted to work in law? You're a paralegal. Dad was an attorney—a respected, powerful attorney. You could have easily gone to law school after college but you didn't. You settled for subpar. You took the easy route because you're afraid of failure."

"I…" I stammer over my words, hating the fact that tears swell in my eyes. "There's nothing wrong with being a paralegal."

"Of course not," he says in a serious tone. "Support staff are some of the most badass people around. No business would survive without them. But it's you. You were not created to sit behind a screen taking orders from assholes in suits. You could make a real impact and change lives. Don't you want to do good? After all, you're so fixated on that concept."

I fall silent, not sure how to respond. I just hang my head, unable to look at him.

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