I looked back to the table just as he walked up. Beck grinned as he pulled out a seat next to his sister, and he looked so relaxed. I felt anything but.
My hands began sweating and my pulse crashed against my skin. I should have listened to Lucas. I never should have taken a job here.
“That one there.” Allie grinned and fanned her face dramatically. “That’s Beck Clermont.”
My gaze swung to hers, and she giggled.
“Yeah,” she answered before I could even voice my question. “He and Frankie are siblings. He’s the heir to all of this.”
She thought I was impressed by his last name. She thought that I cared about him at all.
I looked back to where he now sat, and my breath caught when my eyes met his. My stomach tightened as Allie placed one of the water pitchers in my hand.
“They all run this damn town.”
I couldn’t pull my gaze away from his long enough to even spare a glance at the rest of them. I had no idea who the others were, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that he was here, and I had made a mistake.
She laughed before bumping into my shoulder. “You ready?”
I jerked my gaze back to her, and I tried to calm my racing heart. “I don’t think I can do this.”
Allie laughed, and I knew she probably thought I was being dramatic. These people were going to be my peers, and that was enough reason for me to fear going out there.
I didn’t have to tell her that Beck hated me.
I didn’t want to.
I didn’t want to give voice to the fact that I cared about him at all.
“Come on.”
I avoided his side of the table as I followed Allie’s lead. She had a large smile on her face that didn’t look one bit forced, but I knew I looked nothing like her. I chewed on my bottom lip as my hands shook around the pitcher.
“Good evening. Can we start you all off with some water?”
Someone grunted a noncommittal yes, but I didn’t dare look to see who. I kept my head down, and I grabbed the first glass off the table.
“You must be new here. I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”
I looked up at the one who Allie told me was Olly, and I was right. He was just as good-looking from the front as he was from the back. Especially when he was smiling at me like that.
“I am.” I nodded but didn’t volunteer any other information. I didn’t care if that made me rude. I didn’t need these people knowing anything about me.
I was sure Beck would tell them everything they needed to know. He would tell them everything he thought he knew about me.
“You look familiar though.” This time it was Frankie talking, and when I looked at her, I could have sworn there was something about her that didn’t make her anything like these other people. “What’s your name?”
“Josie.” I cleared my throat as I grabbed the next glass, and I stupidly let my gaze snap to Beck for only a moment. He was still staring at me, and he looked so damn angry.
He was motionless and eerily calm, and I hated that I felt like I was waiting for him to explode.
He was a bomb, and I would be the one to feel the effects of him. I would be the one he destroyed.
“Josie what?”
I didn’t want to tell her my last name.
“Josie Vos.” Beck’s voice was soft and rich as my name rolled from his lips, and I thought I was going to break the glass as I tried to calm my shaking hand around it.
The table was harshly quiet for a moment, and I knew that whatever Beck’s reason was for hating me was widely known among the rest of them.
“You’re Lucas Vos’s sister?” This time it was the girl with Carson that spoke.
I hated how she said his name. “Stepsister.”
“Holy shit.”
I had no idea who said that. I placed the glass back down on the table with a still trembling hand and grabbed another. The sooner I could get away from this table, the better. I could feel them all staring at me, even Allie, but it was him who finally made me look up again.
He was staring at me again, and I watched his Adam’s apple bob.
He picked up his glass, and I watched as he brought it to his full lips. Lips I had tasted before I knew who he was. It felt like everyone in the entire room was watching him, but he was still watching me.
He took a long drag from his glass, and his eyes didn’t leave mine as I watched the glass slip through his fingers. The loud crash of breaking glass pulled me out of whatever trance he seemed to put me in, and I rushed to Allie’s side as she bent to clean up the mess.
“Allie, I’d love another water.”
Allie stopped with a large piece of glass in her hand and stared at me as he spoke. Her eyes were round in shock, and I knew that she felt as confused as I did.
“Okay. Let me get this cleaned up, and I’ll get it right to you.”
He turned in his chair, looking down at us with pure venom in his voice. “I think the new girl can handle it.”
I could tell that Allie had no idea what to do. She looked from him to me, and I gave her a slight nod of my head. As much as I didn’t want to be left alone with him, there was no way that I would subject her to whatever he was going to do next. She hesitated before she stood, and I knew that she didn’t want to leave me here alone.
I collected the glass in my hand as fast as I could, eager to get away from
