Page 144 of Resting Beach Face
“Well, I didn’t have time to wait around!”
“Why not?” Cash asked.
Nate went silent.
“It was you then.” It was no longer a question. “You hired Bruce to vandalize the property and get me to change my mind.”
“I never said that.”
“Maybe not, but I’m not stupid,” I said. “I let you play me for too long. I thought you were actually my friend, or I might have put this together sooner.”
“I didn’t play you,” Nate said. “I proposed that deal because you were unhappy there. Iwasbeing your friend.”
“But something changed. When it came down to money or friendship, you chose money.”
The pause that followed was its own kind of confession.
“I think I better call my lawyer,” Nate said.
“Probably,” I agreed.
The line went as dead as our friendship. I sat there, mind reeling as I replayed every interaction we’d ever had through a new lens.
Nate stopping by my office to bring me a coffee and chat about my work. A chat that always led to market trends, current speculation, and my latest data analysis.
At the time, Nate had validated my work. But now I could see it for what it was.
Nate used me to get a competitive edge over other brokers. He cultivated a relationship with me, but it was always about work. Even when he’d reached out to me here over the years, it’d been to casually ask my take on the markets or to float the idea I might want to come back to the city.
Why didn’t I see him for what he was?
Cash rubbed my arm, interrupting my internal spiral. “Are you okay?”
“I feel so stupid.”
“Don’t do that,” Cash said. “Nate betrayed your trust. He’s the asshole here.”
“And I didn’t see it.”
“He’s good at pretending. That much was obvious to me, even in this phone call.”
“If I hadn’t closed myself off to everyone, if I wasn’t so isolated…”
Cash cupped my face. “Listen to me, Declan.”
I met his gaze with difficulty, eyes burning and throat tight.
“Nate was a piece of shit, but you’ve got real friends now. You’ve got me. You’ve got Hudson and Fisher, Brooks and Skylar, and Pop?—”
“I’ve got Hudson, but the rest are your friends.”
“Remember how you said Kat was part of loving me? That we were a package deal?”
“Yes.”
“Well, so are my friends. They’re all your friends too, Declan. And you’re not closed off and isolated. You’re warm and loving and worth so much more than someone like Nate will ever understand. We’veallgot your back.”
I didn’t doubt him. Not after the way Gray stepped up last night. Not when Skylar never once protested I was poaching one of his best employees.
