Nate(21)

I stood.

No. I should be sitting.

I sat.

No. That was rude. I should be standing.

I stood again, just as we heard murmuring from the hallway.

Phillip’s secretary was getting their drink requests as she opened the door.

“Just water,” Logan said, leading the way. He was dressed in a three-piece suit and carrying a briefcase.

But my eyes were on Nate. I couldn’t pull them away.

He was also dressed in a suit, a coat over, and damn, he looked good. I couldn’t speak for a second. I could only stare at him, at the broad shoulders and jawline.

I was getting warm, but that was my nerves. Yes. My nerves. I was going with that, and I turned, tearing my gaze away.

Phillip coughed next to me, moving forward. “Mr. Kade.” They shook hands. He turned to Nate, who stepped inside the room. “Mr. Monson.”

Nate gave him a nod before his eyes drifted back to mine. “Where’s Nova?”

“She’s at the family estate with her nanny.”

Nate’s eyes flickered, and his mouth twitched, but he didn’t respond.

“Quince?” Phillip’s soft tone had me turning back to him.

I always liked Phillip. We dated briefly before finding out we were better suited as friends. We became study partners instead and spent most of our hang-out time in the school library. He was also not from my father’s legal team, which I was sure Logan and Nate had noted.

“Quince?” Logan repeated, leaning forward. His eyes sharpened. “Are we on a nickname basis all around? Can I call you Phil?”

Phillip groaned, but a small grin showed as he indicated for all of us to sit at the table in his office. He waited for Logan and Nate to take their seats. I was next to Phillip, and then he sat, saying, “I’ve known Quincey since college. We spent many days in the library. Hence the nickname.”

“When you went to Gammit?”

Phillip nodded. “Yes. You both went to Cain, correct?”

Logan nodded while Nate was staring at me.

Just staring at me.

He hadn’t stopped staring at me.

I felt the heat of his gaze, and my heart was pounding itself out of my chest, but I wouldn’t react. I wouldn’t show anything. Years of discipline had instilled that in me. I could stay in the same position for hours if needed.

Logan and Phillip were still conversing. I’m sure both were feeling the other out. Phillip was a genuinely good guy, so for all I knew, he might’ve just been chatting. I didn’t understand the ways of lawyers, only the way my father used his lawyers. They were sent out as sharks looking for blood, but that was not the point of this visit.

Nate cut through their conversation and abruptly sat forward, folding his hands together on the table. “What’s the point of this meeting?” He glanced at Phillip before looking back at me. “Why do you have your own lawyer, Quincey?”

“Nate.”

He ignored his friend, only studying me. “Cut the bullshit and tell us what’s going on.”

Phillip held a hand out. “Quince—”

Fuck it. I was showing my cards. I had to.

I leaned forward. “I can’t lose Nova.”

Nate’s mouth flattened. “Too late. She’s my daughter. The courts will be on my side, and you know that.”

Goddamn.

Anger spiked in me.

“I know,” I admitted quietly.

“Quincey!” Phillip said again.

I ignored him, and I ignored the keen look on Nate’s friend’s face.

He’d been nice to me at the hotel that night. But now he was a shark, and he was smelling blood. I recognized that look.

“I don’t know if you’re aware of my family dynamics—”

“We are.” Logan leaned forward. His eyes were hard. “We also talked to Graham ourselves.”

A sudden lump was in my throat, and I had a hard time swallowing around it. “You did?”

My voice came out raspy.

“We’ve known Graham since his college football team played against Mason’s years ago.”

Shit. I’d forgotten.

I glanced at Nate. “That’s the weekend you met Valerie. She went to support him. I was supposed to go but decided at the last minute to stay home and train. I had a solo in our production the following week.”

He gave me a stiff nod back. His whole face was shut down. I was getting a wall from him.

I added, “I figured you knew of Graham, not that you actually knew him knew him.”

It made sense now, though. Graham had NFL dreams, but a busted knee put him on a course to become a sports commentator instead. He would be in their world.

“I didn’t learn of Graham and Valerie’s relationship until later. She didn’t tell me who her brother was the night I met her.” Then, he asked softly, “What are we doing here?”

“How about—” Phillip stood. “Logan, can you accompany me to get everyone fresh coffee?”

“I don’t think—”

“I do, Kade. I have an aversion to going to the coffee room alone.” Phillip was lying out of his ass, but he was cheerful about it. “Hold my hand, so to speak?”

Logan stared before a grin broke out. He stood, starting to follow him out of the room. “You’re an odd lawyer, Crusoe.”