Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 300

Looking back at Quentin, I caught him checking out Erin, his gaze traveling up her body before settling on the keys she held. I couldn’t blame him for that either—Erin was a goddess in a 5’2” package.

Quentin stared at the keys for a long moment before finally turning his gaze back to me. “So… guess it’s true. You really did get it all from the old man. This place, too?”

There wasn’t any severe heat in his voice when he said it, and I couldn’t detect notes of jealousy, but still… something about how he said it made me feel a little defensive. After all, I’d spent plenty of time second-guessing myself; I didn’t need this guy helping me do something I’d already mastered.

“Yeah,” I said, trying to diffuse any possible tension. “I guess so, but don’t worry… I’m not here to kick you out or anything. You were here before I even knew I was a Gerrard.”

“Thanks,” Quentin said dryly.

When he said nothing else, I almost asked again for a quiet space, but then he looked around. “Yeah, it’s a little loud in here. Let’s go check out that study.” He clapped a hand on my shoulder and guided me away from the middle of the room, heading for a hallway. “I haven’t been in there in like… a year.”

Chloe took up a spot just behind me; a simple glance at her was all it took to see that she was a little uncomfortable with Quentin getting familiar with me so rapidly, but apparently, it wasn’t enough to make her intervene. She wasn’t letting me get far out of her reach, though.

As we headed down the hall, with Erin, Emily, and Natashya in tow, Quentin asked, “So, that must have been one hell of a thing, finding out about your dad—our dad.”

“Ehhh… you could say that,” I said. “It took me quite a while to figure out that it wasn’t some kind of elaborate joke or mistake.”

“You don’t think it’s either of those things, huh?” Quentin asked.

“Well,” I said, feeling defensive again. Nina seemed to think that’s precisely what it was. “It’s pretty iron-clad. Apparently, this is what our grandpa wanted.”

“Yeah… I guess so. Not gonna lie… I was shocked as hell to find out about you and that you got everything. Not as shocked as everyone else. There wasn’t any love lost between me and Gramps, so I didn’t expect to get much… maybe enough to get fucked up on for the rest of my life. Writing out every single member of his family except someone he’d never met, though? The old man had more ice in his veins than I realized!” Quentin chuckled.

Quentin stopped in front of a thick, dark wood paneled door and gestured to it. Chloe took the keys from Erin and opened the door, taking a few moments to peer inside.

“John,” she called out, and one of my other bodyguards slipped by us to join Chloe at the front. I hadn’t even realized he had been behind us. “You take right. I’ll take left. Just need to clear it.”

“What is it?” I asked, peering over Chloe’s shoulder. Erin did the same, looking around John and gasping at what we both saw.

“What’s wrong?” Emily asked from behind me.

The office looked like a tornado had crashed through it. Cabinet doors were haphazardly open, and their contents spilled on the floor. The desktop was completely bare, its contents scattered. Against one wall a torn painting with a broken frame leaned against the wall under an opened and empty safe. The office had been completely and utterly ransacked.

“Fuck,” I said and started to move into the office. An arm dropped on mine, though, as Erin halted me.

“Might want to let Chloe and John do their job first, boss.”

I was itching to move into the room and start searching. Still, Erin was right—I’d hired Chloe and her team to do a job, and not letting them perform their duty would have been foolish, so I stood by Erin and watched them cautiously move around the room, searching for any sign of danger. Making the most of waiting, I studied everything I could lay my eyes on in hopes of spotting something useful—mostly a flash drive.

Reaching the far window of the office, Chloe checked it out, looking for any signs of damage or entry while John studied the safe nearby.

“It’s clear,” Chloe said, turning away from the window. “You can come in.”

I stepped into the office and heard glass crunching under my feet. The sour taste of disappointment was thick in my throat. This wasn’t what I’d expected to find.

“Don’t touch anything,” Chloe said. “We need to dust for prints.”

“How?” I asked as I surveyed the wreck that was my grandfather’s office.

“No cameras,” Chloe said as her eyes scanned the corners of the room. “I don’t think there’s any surveillance security on the premises. Don’t think you’ll get that question answered.”

I felt slender fingers slip into mine and glanced up to see Erin standing supportively beside me. She squeezed my hand before letting go and carefully walking further into the room.

“You didn’t know about this?” I turned back toward the door to see Quentin leaning against the wooden frame, staring listlessly into the room. “How long have you been out here?”

Quentin shrugged. “About a week?”

“And you didn’t hear anything?” I asked.

“Nope,” he said, looking around the room. He didn’t look particularly disturbed, which I found strange. I don’t care what my relationship with my grandfather was like; if a room in my family home had been ransacked more than a week ago, I would have been highly disturbed.