Being Graves
Page 24
Matt and I are pretty sure that Anthony suffered some form of violence at some point in his life, but we hadn’t really had his confirmation on that. He has a large scar that runs just under his ribs down to his hipbone on his right side. Touching the scar is a hard limit for him. Everyone he scenes with at Irons knew they couldn’t touch it or even ask about it. I remember seeing that thing for the first time almost fifteen years ago. He had just finished a scene and was at the bar drinking water when I asked him how he got the scar. His only response was that he was “doing something stupid at the time”.
It’s bothered Matt for years. Matt is an emergency room physician and also has his own practice. He volunteers in the emergency room as a trauma counselor when needed. Matt’s tried pulling the scar info out of Anthony, but Anthony doesn’t budge.
Sydney was on my mind more than ever now. Anthony and I talked for a little bit longer, and then we headed downstairs to leave for lunch. I mentioned that I wanted to stop in reception to see how Sydney was doing but as we rode the elevator down, I decided against stopping by her desk. It would only serve as a reminder to an awkward morning that I’m sure she’d rather forget. As we walked past the front reception, I smiled at the ladies behind the huge counter and let my eyes wander trying to find Sydney. When I didn’t see her, concern started brewing in me again, and I had to push the urge away to ask one of the other girls where Sydney was.
We reached the parking garage and came up on the reserved spots for the executives. My BMW Alpina was parked next to Anthony’s car. I suddenly had no interest in driving.
“You drive. My head is swimming,” I told him. Even though we just had a hugely successful morning, I felt like shit.
I dropped down in Anthony's BMW M6 coupe and instantly brought up Sydney. I was worried about her and couldn’t get that marked up wrist out of my head.
“Col, calm down about the wrist. Maybe it’s a birth mark or an old scar.” I waived my hand in the air at his suggestion.
I tried not to let the thing with Sydney get me down or ruin lunch with Anthony. I always gave my company my full attention when we went out. Not only was Anthony my Chief Financial Officer, business partner, and my best friend but he was also like a brother to me.
My parents and twin brother died in a car accident when I was nine. I was the lone survivor in the car. Matt’s family was close with mine as our dad’s worked together and they took me in. I grew up knowing that life was very precious and that the person I have lunch with today could be taken away from me tomorrow or later in the afternoon.
Even though the food was good and I was one step closer to sealing a contract with a huge international hotel chain, I was still preoccupied with thoughts of Sydney. I couldn’t shake her or her wrist from my mind.
“You’re a Dom,” Anthony said as we started our drive back to work.
I gave him a “no shit” look and continued to gaze out the window. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that he was looking at me at the stoplight and heard him laugh.
“Look, you have a need to help others. You’re not satisfied until those around you are satisfied. You know better, and I think you should talk to her when we get back. Take her for a walk by the waterfall so she’s away from all those other women. You’d feel better, and you can’t let something like that hang over the weekend. Plus, we are leaving in an hour for tee time and might I remind you, I’m going to kick your ass today.”
He was probably right, at least about the talking to Sydney part. I never took his golf threats seriously. But he was right regarding the fact that I can’t let something linger like this over the weekend.
One of the things that drew Anthony and I to Sydney was her smile. She’s young, and I don’t think the weight of the world had been pushing down on her much, so she easily smiled. When I would see her smile, I could feel my dick twitch. It’s always been quite common for us to see Sydney smiling or talking to co-workers and laughing. I love her smile. After this morning though, that smile was nowhere in sight. Anthony and I decided to stop at the convenience store on our way back to work to pick up a bag of M&M’s. The candy would make her smile.
“I just want to make sure she’s okay and make sure she knows that she can talk to me. She’s so…” I wasn’t sure what adjective I was thinking of when Anthony started to rattle off several words that could describe Sydney.
“Fragile? Vulnerable? Nervous?”
“Yes, all of those.”
He laughed again and pulled into his spot next to my car. I don’t know if what he added to that list was supposed to be heard. But I heard.
“Sweet and cute. Our fragile kitten,” he chuckled quietly as we made our way back into the building.
We walked towards reception, and I let my eyes wander around looking for Sydney. When we reached the reception desk, we were greeted with a flurry of women eager to assist. They were often like this when Anthony or I approached alone, but now that it was both of us they were beside themselves. Anthony smiled and leaned on the counter and asked where Sydney was. Anthony’s charm had the women dropping what they were working on to lend him a hand.
Sydney was the youngest of the reception crew for Openin. She was very well liked and had made friends quickly. None of the women seemed catty, which I was very thankful for. They said she was at lunch, and all of them stood to look around the atrium to see if they could be the first to spot her on a bench or at a table.
“Does Sydney eat in the lunch area upstairs or out here?” I asked no one in particular and received a flurry of frantic bits of information.
“No, Mr. Everett, Sydney likes to eat outside or by the waterfall,” Katie offered.
Katie was probably the closest to Sydney in age, so I think they naturally gravitated towards one another. Anthony and I scanned the atrium for her. It was a nice October afternoon, so maybe she was outside.
Anthony and I stood outside and scanned the grounds for Sydney. Aside from the Cheng productivity, I was getting nothing else done today. Anthony looked at me and then pointed at his watch. It was 2:00 p.m. and we needed to leave in a half an hour to get to the golf course clubhouse in time to change and meet Matt by 3:00 p.m.
The courtyard had a lot of benches and huge trees to shade the area. While my eyes were skimming the courtyard, Anthony tugged on my arm. I followed his eyes and saw our fragile kitten submissive. Well, that last part hadn’t been confirmed, but I believed it with every fiber of my being. Just seeing her made me feel better. She looked better and was eating lunch. I headed towards her with Anthony and a bag of M&M’s in tow.
The complete Everett Gaming Series is available now
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Also by Drew Sera
The Everett Gaming Series
Fragile: Book 1
Belonging: Book 2
Us: Book 3
Alone: Book 4
Lost: Book 5
Ours: Book 6
The Inferno Series with Ashton Blackthorne
Descent: Book 1
The Club Irons Novels
Getting Rowdy: Book 1
Savings Graves: Book 2
Being Graves: Book 3
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