Billionaire Best Friend [Complete]

13. Sutton

I should've known that as soon as Gracie left, Breckin would be back in my office, badgering me.

"What's the big fucking deal?"

"I've told you already, but you have an issue with not hearing what's said to you."

Breckin walked up to my desk and sat in the chair in front of it. I already had enough of him for the day when he barged in on my lunch with Gracie. He was making it worse for himself with every extra second that he gave me shit. "Your reasoning is dumb as shit."

I settled in and pulled up my emails. When Gracie arrived, I saw that I had a new one from Benny. It might've taken a few extra days, but he'd gotten what I wanted. Information on Jason. Intel on whether or not he'd been screwing around on Gracie before the one time she caught him.

A myriad of photographic evidence of Jason with other women littered my screen, most of them from security footage of them coming and going at two different hotels in the city. Both were far enough from Queen Village, both of their places of work, and Gracie's apartment. I clicked through them with disgust swirling in my stomach. I vowed to myself right then and there that I'd never let Gracie find out about all the fucking around he did.

"Get out, Breckin."

"Not a chance in the fucking world."

"Fine. Then I'll ignore you."

He chuckled. "We both know you can't do that. I can see the irritation written all over your face. You want me out? Then tell me what's actually going on." I looked at him. "The real reason you're not jumping at the chance to have Gracie as your date for this stupid fucking thing."

A deep, aggravated groan left my lungs, and I snapped. "Because she's the one goddamn person I can rely on, Breckin. The one person I can trust won't screw me over or want to stick around for the wrong reasons. I already know what it's like to be with someone who doesn't want me but the money and the lavish fucking lifestyle, and the last thing I'm going to do to keep that person away is lose the one who's good to me. The one person I don't deserve."

His brow raised up as he rested his hands over his stomach. He leaned back, relaxed as ever. Like it was nothing to sit there and pester me with this fucking nonsense when we both had better things to do. "Who said anything about losing her? You just said it yourself. She's someone you can trust. So, take her to the goddamn Islands so we can win over the Montgomery's."

I ignored Benny's email and spat at my brother. "What exactly do you think is going to happen if I take her? If Gracie and I go and we pretend we're something that we're not?"

"You mean, like, you're actually together."

"Those situations always go up in flames. I'm not willing to risk that."

"Afraid you won't be able to find someone to take her place?"

I sent a glare as hot as the flames I'd just spoken about right at him.

He lifted his hands in surrender. "Chill. I'm kidding." He let out a loud breath. "Okay, so you're afraid you're going to lose your best friend. Whoopty-do."

I had no fucking idea why I was talking this over with him. Breckin wasn't who I usually went to with things, especially not when those things came to women. He was the last person who knew about Taryn, and the first person to try to push a stripper into my lap when all I wanted to do was work.

He was a ladies' man, through and through, and probably didn't fully grasp why it was so important for me to keep Gracie and I's relationship intact.

"Not whoopty-do," I ground out.

"What exactly do you think is going to happen between the two of you that she'd bail altogether? Jesus Christ, she's not Taryn, Sutton."

I tongued my cheek. "I don't know what Taryn will have up her sleeve once we're there, which means I'm not sure how convincing Gracie and I will need to be."

Breckin's mouth stretched into a knowing grin. "The great Sutton Barrett is worried about kissing a woman?"

Not just any woman. "She's my best friend."

"So, you've said thousands of times. If you end up kissing her," he shrugged as if it were no big deal for Gracie and me to lock lips. "Then you end up kissing her. If I were you, I'd be jumping at the opportunity for one chance with her—hell, any man would. I mean, did you fucking see her in that dress at 24k the other night?"

Dumb goddamn question. I always saw all of Gracie Waller. That wasn't my problem. The problem was controlling myself once we crossed the line because as decent of a man as I was, I could also be greedy and protective. Hell, I already was where she was concerned. All I had to do was take one look at Benny's email to confirm that.

But I'd been that way with Taryn and look how that turned out. She ended up in the arms and bed of another man. If Taryn couldn't handle me, and fled the first chance she got, would Gracie do the same? Even if it was just fake?

I ignored Breckin's drooling comments over her and skipped to the part I'd kept to myself since last night. The tidbit that Gracie wanted me to help her. She wanted a man to practice with, to see if she was desirable enough. All because of Jason fucking LaCroy.

"She wants to use me to figure out where things went wrong with Jason."

"Wait." Breckin scooted to the edge of his seat and curiosity like I'd never seen shined in his eyes. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"She thinks she's doing all the wrong things. Like that's the reason why Jason cheated on her."

"Jason cheated on her because he's a dumb fuck."

"That seems to be the general consensus."

"What I'm hearing is...she wants you to show her how a real man fucks."

"Stop."

"For fuck's sake, this is the best possible outcome. You both get something you want, and you won't feel like you're using her. Fucking take her for God's sake. Take her, spoil her like no tomorrow, and affirm everything about her that Jason couldn't. Seal the deal with the Montgomery's, tell Taryn to get bent, then come back home to us with a little more pep in your step."

Would it really be that simple? That easy? Could Gracie and I spend a week together crisscrossing all the lines then come back and straighten them out just as easily?

"If you're that scared, write down some ground rules. Make sure you both know your limits and that when you get back to Philly, everything will go back to the way it was." He stood then, and I was fucking thankful for it. He'd walk out of my office in the next minute and leave me to my business. And this fucking email.

"If she came right out and asked you for help, that means she values what she has with you, Sutton." I already knew that. "It means she likes you, wants you, and probably wouldn't mind letting you put your dick in her mouth."

"Do you have to say shit like that?"

"Like it or not, it's the truth. And you know what else is?" He waited a beat for me to answer. When I didn't reply, he had no problem continuing. "If she doesn't get the practice she wants from you, then she'll find someone else who's willing to go the mile, and I bet he won't have an issue with giving her all the pointers she needs." 

- 

Breckin is making all the points, but will Sutton cave? 

I hope you're enjoying reading so far! Engagment motivates me to post new chapters faster, so if you like what you're reading and NEED to know what happens next, hit that little start at the bottom left of the screen.

Xoxo, 
Sara