“Kind of?”
“But he reminds me of what you told me about when you were young and getting left on your own all of the time. That’s what he’s going through right now.”
Slowly, he nods. “Fuck. You’re right. I still want to kick his ass, but you made the right choice.”
I give him a smile.
“Though I wish you’d called me. I would have been here sooner to help.” He slides his arms around my waist, drawing me in for a hug. “Thank you for looking after my little brother.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Next time call me, okay? Let me handle my family’s fuckery.”
“Okay.”
“Sorry he vomited on you.”
“Not the first time it’s happened.” I shrug. “I’ll live. Are those flowers for me?”
“They sure are.”
“They’re beautiful. Thank you.”
“I had big plans for us,” he says. “Date night plans.”
“We can’t just up and leave him like everyone else.”
“No, we can’t.” He kisses my forehead, giving me a small smile. “You finish dressing. I’m going to make a couple of calls, find out what happened to his mom, et cetera.”
“Okay.”
By the time I finish fixing myself up and putting on a clean black T-shirt and Aquatalia knee-high boots (much more spew proof than flats), Beck is sitting on the couch staring off into the distance.
“How’d it go?” I ask, getting comfortable beside him.
“Giada is at a spa in Switzerland.”
“So she did just take off and leave her teenage son with the staff?”
“Yep.”
Her losing her husband is awful. But to dump her child at a time like this to go get a facial…that I don’t understand.
“They clearly can’t control him,” says Beck, slipping an arm around my shoulders. “He’s been off school for the past couple of weeks. Supposed to go back this weekend.”
“He attends boarding school?”
“Family tradition.” And he doesn’t sound particularly enthusiastic about this. “Guess I’ll try and talk to him. We used to be close, but he’s been pretty much giving me the silent treatment since I got back.”
“What if it was a cry for help, his coming here, causing a scene?”
“You’re sweet. But stunts like this aren’t exactly uncommon when it comes to Henry.” He does his usual thing, playing with my hair while he thinks. “One time when he was nine, Dad dumped him at Grandma’s while he and Giada went to Monaco. He put dishwashing detergent in the big fountain out front. There were bubbles going halfway down the drive. I’ve never seen Winston lose his shit like that. It was hilarious. On the other hand, last year at Thanksgiving he drank an eight-thousand-dollar bottle of wine through a straw and reversed a Ferrari into a tree. That was less funny. Little idiot could have been hurt. Or hurt someone.”
“Negative attention is still a form of attention,” I recite. “I may have done a class on Intro to Psychology.”
“Ah.”
“We can’t just leave him on his own, getting into who knows what trouble.”
He sighs. “No, we can’t.”
“It’s only for a few days. He’s your brother. It’s the right thing to do.”
“You’re awfully understanding for a girl who got thrown up on multiple times today.”
“Don’t get me wrong, he behaved like a total ass downstairs. But I feel sorry for him. Plus, it’s not really the first time I’ve been thrown up on by a drunk. Occupational hazard.”
The office door opens and Henry comes slouching out. “Oh. Hey.”
“Take a seat.” Beck waves at the couch opposite us. “Time for us to have a nice little chat.”
“Fuck that. I’m heading back to the mansion.” Not home, the mansion. And, boy, is that telling. I get the definite feeling he did not get enough hugs as a child. Which he still legally is. I’m not much of a hugger myself, being average in all things social (same goes for my mom so I guess that’s where I inherited it from). But knowing that you’re loved and wanted is still crucial. My parents always told my brother and me that we were gifts. Regardless of the various stupid shit we did and whether we were getting along with them at the time. Henry deserves nothing less than the same.
“Sit your ass down,” says Beck, voice hardening.
Henry just gives him the stink eye.
“One call to Ethan gets all access to your trust fund cut off. The moment he has evidence that you are not using that money in your own best interests, he is legally bound as a fiduciary to prevent you from accessing it. Your choice.”
His little brother glares back at him for a moment before slumping on the couch, doing the same rigid jaw thing Beck does when he’s angry. Also, the boy stinks of sweat and vomit. Ew.
“If Grandma heard about you drinking and causing a scene in public with your friends so soon after Dad’s funeral, she’d lose her mind. Probably pack you off to one of those hard ass rehab centers in Idaho. A nice high security school for naughty rich troubled kids. Out of sight, out of mind and all that.”
“Mom wouldn’t let her,” snaps Henry.
“You sure about that?”
Henry swallows, avoiding our eyes.
“And we already covered how Ethan would react.” Beck sets his ankle on his knee. “Of course, sooner or later, they’re both going to hear about the shit you pulled downstairs. So it’s not if, it’s when.”
“So?”
“I can deal with them for you. Keep them off your back. But, as is the way with everything in this family, it’s going to cost.”
Henry’s gaze narrows. “What do you want?”
“First up, you’ll apologize to Alice followed by Aaron and the staff downstairs. Secondly, you’ll stay here with us until it’s time to—”
“I’m not sleeping on a fucking rollaway in your office.”
“Sure you will,” says Beck, nice and calm. “It’ll be just like glamping and it’s only for a few days. Suck it up. Thirdly, when you do go back to school you’re going to be a model student. No more day drinking or any other bullshit. Am I understood?”
“You’re not giving me much of a choice,” he grumps.
“No. I’m not, Henry. Because in all honesty, I’m kind of upset with you right now.” Beck’s whole body vibrates with tension. “Let’s be honest, our dad was a pretty shitty parent, too busy to be bothered with us most of the time. But he’s gone now. Rules have changed. You come into my business, the place where I live and work, and you make this mess?”
Henry’s laughter is harsh. “It’s always about the business with you assholes.”
“If it was all about the business we wouldn’t even be talking. Your ass would already be on its way to Idaho or a nice fun military school, maybe.”
Silence.
“But you’re my brother and I love you. So here we are. You get one chance with me. Just the one,” says Beck. “You’re going to follow my three-step plan because you’re all out of options. There are no better alternatives for you than this. Do you understand?”