Page 52 of Beautifully Broken Control

“You fall in love in the last few weeks? I’ve never seen you look at a woman that way in all my life.”

My jaw tightened, and that familiar clicking noise sounded in my ear. “She’s a friend.”

He let out a low whistle. “That’s one hell of a friend. Is she why you’re behind on the project?”

My gaze grew steely now. Jake was my VP. A vice president inmyprivately held company. He answered to me. “The speed with which I complete something is none of your concern.”

He held up his hands in mock-apology. “We have clients who are hungry for it, that’s all.”

My gaze narrowed further. “And why the hell do they even know about it? I told you not to mention it to anyone.”

Jake flushed. “We were losing people or on the verge of losing them, and I just wanted to make sure they had a reason to stick around. You might not believe this, Cain, but I care about Halo. I don’t want to see it go under.”

I knew Jake cared about Halo, he’d put almost as much sweat equity into the company as I had, and I would always be grateful. But the second one of my people didn’t follow orders, they became a liability. “I’m going to give you this warning only once. You disobey a direct order again, and you’re out.”

Jake’s jaw fell open, but I didn’t have time to hear what he had to say. I needed to find Kennedy.

19

Kennedy

I pushed openthe bathroom door, grateful to be free of the small space. The women inside had been awful. Analyzing what everyone had been wearing, who had dared to don something from last season, who’d gotten a new piece of jewelry from a husband who felt guilty for cheating. The whole thing made me feel nauseous. So many memories of similar functions flew through my mind. How had I lasted in that world for so long?

“Well, look who we have here.”

I blinked rapidly, trying to clear what had to be a mirage. But no matter how many times I opened and closed my eyes, the image before was the same. “Preston.” The single word came out as a hoarse whisper.

“Looks like my baby sister had the same idea as I did. Flee the east coast where our name means pariah and start somewhere new.” He looked me up and down. “I see you’ve found yourself someone to keep you in the lifestyle you’re accustomed to.”

The words stung, but it was the disgust in his eyes that killed, a pain that reached into my chest and clawed at my heart. When I didn’t have to face Preston, the daily reminder, I could live in my land of deluded hope. That the two years that had passed would’ve dulled his hatred.

I’d tried calling him about a month after the arrest. He’d never picked up. I kept it up, leaving messages, trying to explain why I’d done what I did, to tell him I loved him. Eventually, he changed his number. It was the straw that broke me. While I had alerts about my father, I never looked for Preston. It was too painful; the wound still too raw. Sometimes, I imagined he was looking for me, hoping to make amends, to forgive me. Apparently, that wasn’t the case. “What are you doing here, Pres?”

His jaw tightened at the familiar nickname. “I live in Seattle now. I’m here with some business associates.”

I wanted to ask about our mother, grandmother, even Father. They might hate me now, but there was always a part of me that would love them. I held my tongue. “I’m glad you made a fresh start.”

He let out a snort of derision. “You’re glad I made a fresh start. Why would you care? You had no problem ruining my life. I almost went to jail, Kennedy. All because you couldn’t give Dad a chance to fix his mistakes.”

As harsh as his words were, as deep as they cut, they also gave me peace. I’d been right not to share what I’d found with Preston. He was under my father’s spell too deeply and would’ve believed anything he said.

“I’m so sorry I hurt you, Pres. I was trying to do what was right. The only thing I could live with.” My eyes begged him to understand, to see things from my perspective. “I was so scared when the FBI showed me all their evidence. I knew my entire life had been a lie. Preston, we lived our charmed lives off others’ hard work. Don’t you see how wrong that was?”

A muscle in his cheek began to flutter. “Dad made a mistake. The market was sliding, and he didn’t want to let his clients down. That meant borrowing from some other accounts. And it also meant we had to live as if nothing was wrong. Why can’t you get that?”

Borrowing.How could it be borrowing when you never once paid back even a dime? How was it borrowing when it had been going on for years? Preston was living in denial. “It had been going on for too long for that to be true.”

“Must be nice to sit up there on your high horse. Newsflash, Twinkle Toes, people hate you just as much as the rest of us.”

That familiar burn lit my sternum. I knew they did. And they had a right to. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t known what was going on, I’d still stolen from them. And I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to forgive myself for that.

A hand gripped my shoulder. “Everything okay, Kenz?”

I jolted at the touch, and my vision began to tunnel. This was the beginning of the end. Soon, the fresh start I’d created for myself, my safe space, would crumble because everyone was going to learn the truth. Tears burned the backs of my eyes, and I couldn’t seem to get any words out.

Preston scoffed. “So, this is the guy you’ve conned into supporting you?”

Cain’s hand tightened on my shoulder as he pulled me closer to him and away from Preston.

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