“I know.” Chloe softened her expression as she met her sister’s gaze. “This isn’t about anything you did.” Unfortunately she had a feeling she knew who’d actually been behind this meeting.
And if Beck wanted her to leave, all he’d had to do was ask. He hadn’t had to go behind her back to her brother, a man he didn’t even like, to push her away.
Hurt rose up inside her. “What did Beck say?” she asked Linc, talking over the painful lump in her throat.
Jordan stepped forward and nudged Linc out of the way. “Go. You’ve done enough damage,” she told him. “Chloe, look. All Beck said was that he was concerned that you’re feeling down, and he thought maybe you could use a talk with your family.”
Swallowing her sense of betrayal to deal with later, she nodded. “I appreciate that but nobody needs to worry about me. I have plans.” She sought to reassure them.
“Like coming back to work?” Linc asked, sounding hopeful.
“Linc, stop being so pushy. She knows you care but you’re going overboard.” Her mom glanced at Chloe and gave her a warm smile. “And what did you decide, honey?”
Chloe rubbed her hands up and down her arms. She sighed, knowing there wasn’t much she could do but confess, and turned to her oldest brother. “I haven’t been happy with my job for a while.”
“What? Since when?” Linc asked.
Chloe blinked, realizing how dense men could be. They didn’t pick up obvious signals. “You know I’ve asked to branch out into more eclectic design in our more modern buildings. To be able to use my talents more. And you always shoot me down.”
He frowned and didn’t reply right away, which meant at least he was thinking about her feelings because Linc loved her. They all did, and since Beck had instigated this get together, Chloe could understand their renewed concern.
“I just believe in sticking to what works,” he finally said.
Chloe sighed. “And I respect your business sense, but I need more to satisfy me.” Drawing a deep breath, she said, “I entered the Elevate Online Interior Design Professional’s Contest.” Putting herself out there wasn’t easy. Telling her family her intentions meant they would know if she failed and lost the contest. If so, she’d have to go crawling back to Linc with her tail between her legs, and that wasn’t an easy thing to face.
Surprise lit his gaze while the rest of the family remained silent. She assumed most of them had no idea what the contest was all about, but Linc did. She’d shown him past years’ winners only to have him shrug their designs off as not the Kingston way.
“What’s the contest about?” Aurora asked.
Chloe knew this was the moment where she took that leap of faith by revealing her hopes and dreams. “It’s a prominent interior design contest. This year the winner not only gets a contract with the company but they’re looking for someone to run the New York branch they plan to open next year.”
Linc stared in shock. “You’re planning to leave the family business?”
She straightened her shoulders. “If I win, then yes.”
Xander clapped his hands, supporting her. “Why not? I’m not part of Kingston Enterprises and neither is Dash.” After striding over, he put an arm around Chloe’s shoulders. “Neither is Aurora for that matter.”
“But she has that option if she wants it.” He shot a warm glance Aurora’s way. “And as for you two, you have talents that took you elsewhere,” he said about Xander and Dash.
“And I don’t?” Chloe asked, hurt by his innuendo.
He shook his head. “I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just that…”
Chloe waved her hand through the air, cutting him off. “I know your intentions are good but right now you’re not helping. You’re only making things worse.”
It was in Linc’s nature to take charge, and she loved him for being like a parent when her own father never had been. But Chloe had reached the point where she wanted to live her own life, and she desperately needed Linc to understand. Everyone else seemed to.
She swept her gaze around the room. “I love you all and thank you for worrying. I promise if I need you, I’ll call.” Pulling out her phone, she engaged the Uber app and requested a car.
Walking out of the room, she left them talking behind her.
She stepped into the spring air, and knowing she had time, she sat down on the front step. Tears welled in her eyes while she waited for her ride.
Linc wanted everyone happy but under his umbrella and terms, and for years, she’d made it easy for him to think his way was the right one. Now, though, she’d taken that first step toward independence and was petrified about what would happen if she stumbled.
She heard the sound of the front door opening but didn’t turn to see who was joining her.
“Hey.” Xander lowered himself beside her, stretching out his long legs on the steps leading to the bluestone path.
“Hi.” She rested her chin on her knees.
“You know Linc means well, right?” Xander asked.
She shot him a surprised glance. “You’re defending him?”
Xander groaned. “We both know he’s a little harsh in his delivery, but it’s just because he loves you. He loves all of us. And he’ll get used to you doing what’s best for you, even if it’s not what he wants. I promise.”
She managed a smile. “I know. And I’m not really mad at him or anyone in the family.” Beck was another story.
He pulled her into a brotherly hug. “Personally I think you’re going to kick ass in this contest, by the way.”
“Thanks. You’re a pretty decent big brother,” she said with a laugh, resting her head on his shoulder.
“Look, I don’t know this Beck Daniels, either, but I have that huge house in East Hampton or the usually empty apartment in the city. You can stay with me and have all the privacy you want or need.”
And if she moved out of Beck’s, she might take Xander up on his offer, something she’d decide after she had it out with her host. “Thanks. If I need you, I promise to let you know.”
Of everyone in her family, Xander understood needing time and space the best. He had mild PTSD from his time in the marines and preferred the uncluttered Hamptons to the bustle of New York City. Everyone gave him the space he needed. Why couldn’t they do the same for her?
They sat in silence until her car arrived and she headed home to deal with Beck.
* * *
Chloe had an hour-long ride back to the city to work up her anger and frustration with Beck. He should have come to her with his concern for her welfare or his desire to get rid of her as his roommate. She entered the apartment with the app he’d programmed on her phone and looked around the kitchen and the family room first, not finding the man she needed to talk to.
She stormed to her room, put down her purse, and kicked off her shoes, noticing on the way that Beck’s door was closed. With the long day she’d had and all the travel and traffic, she was exhausted. She’d even had the driver stop at a fast-food place so she could grab something for dinner on her way home from her mom’s. She’d figured she needed all the energy she could get for the confrontation to come. And she didn’t plan on waiting until morning to have it.