I flick my eyes to him. He’s grinning in my direction, still with one hand on the woman’s hip, the other on his phone.
Me
What?
Noah
Great idea. We’re off duty.
What are they going on about, and why am I suddenly roped into it?
Van
We’re never off duty, and we’re never not representing Vanstone.
Per usual, they ignore Van and his words of wisdom.
Beck
Tonight is your initiation, Rome. You’re in charge of Tessa.
Graham
Tessa is in charge of Tessa. If anything, maybe he should be in charge of you.
I move toward the bar and pick an open spot a few feet away from Tessa.
Beck
Tessa likes to take advantage of our distractibility on nights like tonight. She’ll likely sneak off into the dark with some guy, and one of us will have to interrupt before it gets out of hand.
Noah
Or some guy will follow her without her consent, and we’ll have to set him straight.
Where were they the night that Vinny did that?
Me
And if I don’t want to participate?
Oh, but you will, won’t you?
I grit my teeth with the thought.
Beck
Then I guess we still won’t trust that you have Vanstone’s best interest at heart and assume what Tessa assumes—that you’re either here to 1. Ruin Vanstone’s image or 2. Overtake the team completely before running back to your daddy.
They’re so damn oblivious to the truth, and for the first time since joining Vanstone, I want to tell them everything.
As if I trust them.
Me
Challenge accepted.
I glance over my shoulder at Beck, and he nods while grinning like a fool.
