“I really wish you wouldn’t work there.” Lucas’s hands tightened around the steering wheel. I knew that me getting a job at Clermont Bay Country Club really bothered him.
I wanted to ask him again what the problem was with him and Beck, but he had already told me before. I just couldn’t imagine that the two of them hated each other that much over past conquests and competition in baseball.
That was what Lucas had told me, and I had no reason to question him.
But their hate was too strong, and I didn’t understand it.
He hated Beck as if he had done something to ruin his life. He hated him as if he was his enemy.
But the country club was the only place that I put an application in that called me back, and trust me when I tell you that I put in a lot of applications.
I didn’t want to work anywhere that was associated with Beck or his last name. But rich boys like him didn’t hang around their daddies’ businesses. He would be off doing things the same way Lucas was. Without a single thought of the future.
That was the thing about growing up with money. They didn’t fear what was to come. They didn’t fear what the future held for them. They had no reason to fear.
But I did.
I hadn’t relied on my father’s money my entire life.
And I wasn’t going to start now.
“It’s just a job, Lucas.” I rolled my eyes. “I think I’ll be fine.”
“But you’ll still be working for them.”
I pushed my hair out of my face and fidgeted in my seat. Lucas drove a car that was a thousand times nicer than anything I had ever been in. Anything other than my father’s. It only made the vast difference between us feel larger. “And I’m going to be a server. They won’t even know I’m there.”
No one would even look twice at me.
“I don’t think you understand how badly Beck hates me.”
“I will avoid Beck at all costs. Will that make you feel better?”
“Yes.” He nodded his head, but his eyes darkened and I knew he wanted to say something more. There was something on the tip of his tongue, but I knew he was holding himself back. Whatever happened between him and Beck had affected him. “Just tell me if he bothers you again.”
Technically, he hadn’t bothered me the first time. Not until he found out who I was.
And if I did see him again, when I saw him again, I would meet him with a cold indifference.
I had let myself get carried away on that damn beach when the world had felt too heavy, but I wouldn’t make that mistake again. Beck had made sure of that.
Whatever his intentions were, he had made sure to put me in my place. He had let me know exactly where I stood with him, and I wouldn’t soon forget it.
I would never forget the way his hate for me had taken over every part of him. It was as if the boy in front of me had morphed into someone else completely, and I didn’t like the one I saw.
The true Beck Clermont wasn’t a guy I wanted anything to do with.
I would never allow him to touch me again. I didn’t need Lucas or my father’s warnings about him.
He had made sure I knew who he was himself.
He had made sure that I regretted every moment of that night.
And I did. I regretted every look, every touch, every damn way he had made me feel.
“He’s not going to bother me.” I had a feeling I would never hear from him again. “And if he does, I’ll tell him to go to hell.”
Even if the very idea of seeing him again made my pulse race and my stomach tighten in anticipation.
I didn’t even know this guy, and he had me feeling like a mess.
I wouldn’t subject myself to any more of him.
Even if he intrigued me.
Even if he was the most gorgeous guy I had ever laid eyes on.
He was an asshole, and I would rather never see him again.
“But if he does, you’ll tell me.” It wasn’t a question. It was a demand. Lucas didn’t want me anywhere near Beck, and I couldn’t blame him.
“I promise.”
We pulled into the country club, and I tried to take everything in.
The massive building was made of stone that was far older than I was, and for some reason, it reminded me of a castle. I had no doubt that the men inside ruled over it as if it were.
As if they were kings.
From the limited research I had been able to do about the club, I knew that it was exclusive. So exclusive that finding out any information about it on the internet was practically impossible.
And I had tried.
Lucas had been about as knowledgeable as old Google and as tight-lipped. The only helpful information he gave me was that our father was a member, and Beck’s father owned the place.
Neither of those facts helped me.
I wasn’t prepared for this.
I had never had a job like this before. Back home, I had been working at a local cafe to help my mom with the bills, but it was nothing of this caliber. I worked long, hard days, but my boss was nice, and the customers were familiar.
This place was anything but.
“I don’t see his car.” I brought my attention back to Lucas as he pulled his car in front of the building.
“Beck’s?” I looked around, but I had no idea what he drove. I knew nothing about him outside of the fact that he tasted like wintergreen and he hated me.
“Yeah.” Lucas’s fingers tapped against the steering wheel. “He’s not here.”
“Okay.” I nodded, and I felt a small amount of relief at his words. Running into Beck today would be my biggest fear. I needed this job and the security the money I could make here would provide, and I couldn’t let some asshole take that away from me.
Climbing out of Lucas’s car, I ran my hands down my mom’s old black dress pants and tried to calm my racing heart.
These people were no better than I was.
“Good luck.” Lucas sounded insincere, but I smiled at him before waving goodbye.
Regardless of what he and my father wanted, I was going to do this.
I had to.
I walked inside, the loud hustle and bustle of a kitchen hitting me the moment I passed through the door, and it calmed me somehow. I shifted out of the way as a server carrying a tray of clean glasses passed me, and I wondered where I was supposed to go. I peeked into the kitchen, the staff clearly setting up for the day, before I wandered farther to find the dining room.
Two men stood at the bar, looking over some paperwork, and I prayed that one of them was the Jack Smelcer I was supposed to be meeting.
That was the name human resources had given me.
Neither of them looked up as I approached, clearly wrapped up in whatever they were discussing, and I hated interrupting them. “Excuse me.”
Both sets of eyes jumped to where I stood, and I felt a little relief when the much older one smiled at me. He had kind eyes, a mixture of brown and green and outlined with age, and even though I didn’t know a single thing about him, I hoped this man was going to be my boss.
“Can we help you?” the other man spoke, and I looked over to him.
“I’m Josie. I’m supposed to meet with Jack Smelcer this morning for my first day.”
“That would be me.” He flicked his pen in the air, and I suddenly felt disappointed. “Give me just a minute.”
I nodded and took a step back, but the other gentleman stuck his hand out in my direction.