Page 122 of Love Decoded

What the fuck just happened.

I can’t believe she left even though I can make this right.

“Lucas…” Nico’s careful voice sounds from behind me. “Just calm down. We can figure this out.”

“I can’t calm down. My girlfriend just left me.”

“Okay,” Nico says gently. “But we can still figure this out.” I hear him pull in a deep breath. “Starting with: did you mean it when you said you’re going to quit? I’ve heard you say it twice now, but both times were under duress. Maybe you really do need to take a day to⁠—”

I brace my hands on the back of the couch and drop my head between my shoulders with an exhale. “I don’t need a day. I don’t even need a second. I’m sure of the decision.” And then, angrier, “I fucking hate my job.”

But just as quickly, all the fight goes out of me. I’m exhausted. From my fight with Charli, my resignation, last night, all of it.

I straighten, rubbing a hand down my face. “I got sucked into it a decade ago and never had the balls to get out. But that ends today.”

I shouldn’t be surprised when my brothers exchange another glance and then nod.

“Okay. How can we help?”

Which is the moment it hits me that I’m about to turn my life upside down. Maybe I should be scared, or worried that this is still the adrenaline talking, but instead, I realize this is when everything sharpens in clarity.

What’s my process here? What do I need to do?

“I need…” My brain steps into lawyer mode and starts to spiral through my tasks. “I have to close the case with Randall. The one Charli was working on.” I don’t think the buyer would retaliate with anything, seeing as he lost all his leverage once Charli unveiled his scheme, but I still need to have a conversation with him.

“Do you need me for anything?” Alexander asks.

I shake my head immediately. I don’t need to get my brothers involved any more than they already are. “No, I’m fine. I just need to talk to the VP. And then Randall.”

“And after that?” Nico asks. “What are you going to do about a job?”

I blow out a heavy breath. “Fuck if I know,” I admit. “I guess I just…start looking?”

I haven’t had to look for a job since I passed the bar a decade ago. I don’t even know where to start.

“I can see if there’s something I can offer at the gym,” Nico says. But he sounds guilty, and he winces before adding, “Although it probably won’t be much, to be honest.”

“Nah, I’ll get him something at my company,” Alexander offers. He works for a private security firm, and when he’s not working in the office, he’s providing security to people who need it. “I can fit him in.”

My chest warms with appreciation. Why did I think this would be the hardest decision in the world to make when I have a supportive family behind me?

“I appreciate both of you, but let’s treat that as Plan B,” I tell them with a huff of laughter.

It cracks the seriousness of the moment, and Nico sends me a crooked grin.

“Does this mean I have to offer you my couch now?”

I laugh again, this one louder and freer. When he retired from fighting a few months ago and essentially quit his job, I offered him my couch to crash on.

But he figured it out. I can figure it out, too.

“Fuck,” I rasp, the reality finally hitting me. “Okay, I’m really doing this.” Glancing at my watch, I realize it’s still far too early to go to the office.

Although it’s not too early that I can’t send an email to a certain VP in the meantime.

I clap my hands together and look at my brothers.

“Anyone up for breakfast at the diner?”