“Briggs—” Thatch began, but I spoke over him.
“And why’s that?”
“Because every woman catches your eye,” Briggs said unapologetically. “And I have a company to protect from your fallout.”
“Briggs,” Rush warned on a low, disapproving murmur.
“I’m not saying anything we don’t already know,” Briggs defended. “Monroe included.”
“But I would never throw your past in your face like it was a reason yourmarriagewouldn’t work out,” I seethed before gesturing to Mallory and admitting, “And, you’re right. She does know every single thing about me, and that’s taken years awayfrom us. Butshe’sthe one who gets to decide if she can handle my past. You don’t get to use it against us the way you just did.
“As for your company...” I used the same hand to carelessly wave at Briggs. “Right now, I’m kind of wondering if I even wanna still work for you.”
Briggs studied me, his face cold and unreadable, before he gave a subtle dip of his chin.
“I wasn’t much better than Gray,” Thatch began, then straightened in his chair and cleared his throat. “You all knew that. I also have a lot of demons that, honestly, still terrify me for Chloe whenever I think about them too long. But you never once used any of that against me in my relationship and marriage with Chloe.” He glanced at Briggs. “You encouraged me.”
“I almost let you go because of the way you handled nearly every conversation with Chloe,” Briggs reminded him. “You kept making the happiest woman I’ve ever met cry. You kept going against every rule I laid out. It washurting my company.” The last words were said slowly, as if to drive home his original point.
“When that change happened for you?” Briggs went on. “When you went from viewing her like a threat to wanting to protect her?” He held up a hand before letting it fall again. “Yeah, I encouraged that—encouragedyou—because I knew she was it for you, just like I knew you wouldn’t hurt her.”
A bitter sound ripped from me, but Thatch held up a hand to keep me from responding as he firmly repeated, “But my past wasn’t much different than Gray’s, and you’re usingthatagainst him.”
“Because Chloe came into your life and changed who you were and what you wanted,” Briggs informed him, ignoring when Rush tried to get him to stop. “It was the same for me with Lainey. Monroe isn’t someone new who’s coming into Gray’s life to make him see that he wants something different.”
“That’s enough.” The words lashed from me, fueled by my anger and years of regret. Regret that surged when I looked across the table to see uncertainty and insecurity seeping through the cracks in Mallory’s armor, her blank stare on the table.
As if a few careless statements from Briggs were enough to undo everything from our earlier conversation.
“Briggs...” Rush began, his voice filled with that same disapproval from earlier. “Man, that was too far.”
Briggs tipped his head as if to saysomeone needed to say it.
Not that I should’ve expected anything less. Again, Briggs said whatever he was thinking. It didn’t matter who he potentially offended or hurt in the process.
“I did things I shouldn’t have,” I admitted through clenched teeth. Not that I owed them anything, but, like Briggs said, this was nothing they didn’t already know. “I know that. Monroe knows that. But she also knows it’salwaysbeen her for me, and that’s all that matters from here on out.”
A clear disagreement formed on Briggs’ expression, but just as his mouth opened, I snapped, “Don’t,” in warning. “For someone who just got on me, saying you expected our friendship and this job to mean more tome, what aboutyou?” I firmly pressed a hand to my chest. “Because I was confiding in you when you said that to me. Butyou? You’re risking twelve years of friendship—of family—all because youthinkyou know who I am. I promise you, you don’t. I promise you, you don’t have the first clue about what’s really been going on between Monroe and me all these years. And Ipromise you, if you keep putting your incorrect assumptions in her head, forcing a wall between us all over again, I’m walking out of Shadow and never coming back.”
Thatch nodded, the corner of his mouth lifting in approval.
Briggs studied me for a while before conceding, “I hear you, but understand where I’m coming from as the owner of this company, not just your friend.”
A tense laugh bled from me as I prepared to do exactly that—leave.
“After how strained these last months have been,” he went on, “after Monroe lost it on a detail, then told me she was leaving because it’s too hard to work with you?—”
“Because it’s always been him for me too,” Mallory said over him, even though her voice lacked strength or any kind of emotion. “I reacted emotionally and hurt your company.Idid that—not Gray. I also owned that. Fire me, or don’t. Accept that we’ve stopped pushing each other away, or don’t.” Finally shifting her lifeless stare from the table, she focused on Briggs. “But know that, even though I just said this is my home and my family, everything you said following that has me ready to leave if Gray does.”
Briggs took the monotonous threat stoically before eventually sitting back with a muted sigh. “These are valid concerns,” he defended with a shrug. “You can’t fault me for worrying about both of y’allandmy company when y’all have always been explosive at best. Whenyouhave always resorted to violence first, especially with Gray.” He directed the words at Mallory before narrowing his dark eyes on me. “Youhave always had a wandering eye. And y’all had, what, ten years to get together, and didn’t?”
“I can fault you for almost everything you said, actually,” I muttered coldly. “You know, there isn’t much about your past I know because you’ve always kept that locked up tight, but I’m pretty sure this guy knows.” I nodded in Rush’s direction. “Did he use any of that against you when it came to your relationship with Lainey? Did he hint that your marriage might not lastbecause of it? Better yet, didLaineyuse any of it against you when she found out?”
Briggs didn’t even glance in Rush’s direction, he just stared me down with a look that gave nothing away.
“Rush didn’t have to,” he finally said in low warning. “I hurt Lainey because of my past. Repeatedly. I also used other parts of my past and my current life to try to prevent us from happening. So, I’m not singling you and Monroe out.” He leaned forward to brace his arms on the table again. “I tried to prevent my own relationship and marriage. If Chloe hadn’t helped with Thatch’s past in obvious ways—if he hadn’t gone back to therapy—I would’ve had conversations with himlike this. And I’m sure I’ll have something to say whenever Rush and Evans find someone.”
He lifted a hand just a fraction off the table, but it was enough to stop me when I started letting him knowthisconversation had felt like more of an attack on my character than what he was talking about.
