"Now, I heard you tell Marv you wanted to talk to me about something, Little Bit," he gestured for me to take a seat in front of him. "What'sup?"
I sighed and sat down in front of him in one of his two plush chairs. Knix remained propped against his desk. "I talked to Bellamy earlier andum..."
He frowned when my words drifted off and I looked to the side, unsure how to continue. Knix was the most level headed of the guys and I knew he wouldn't react poorly, but he might still not be happy about Grayson contactingme.
"Harlow?" heprompted.
I huffed and rubbed the space between my eyebrows, feeling a headache starting to form. "I got a text message from Grayson earlier today, and I know Bellamy and Marv would be pissed, so I wanted to ask you aboutit."
"You talked to Bellamy about thisalready?"
"Not exactly..." I drifted. I sighed once more before coming back. "I got a text from Grayson and then I asked Bellamy why he didn't likehim."
"But you didn't ask him about the text message?" Knixclarified.
I shook my head. "I just asked about his um...why he doesn't likehim."
"And what did hesay?"
I shrugged. "He didn't exactly answer me. He said you all used to be acquaintances or something like that. He told me I should askyou."
"Is that what you want to talkabout?"
"Well, I'm curious, but I want to know if you would be okay if I met Grayson for lunch or something. He said he wanted to talk tome."
Knix stroked his stubbled chin as he debated for a moment. When he looked at me, his oceanic eyes pierced right through me. "Harlow, I'm not your father. I can't tell you what you can or can't do. I can make recommendations and suggestions, but you can always choose to ignore them. I'll admit that I'm wary of Grayson as well. He's not a good person through andthrough."
"What does that mean?" I asked. "He helped his brother when he needed him even though Josh didn't want hishelp."
"Hisbrother, that's someone he feels responsible for," Knix said. "He's not exactly the kind of person to walk an elderly lady across the street or help a cat out of atree."
I frowned. "Most people aren't like that," I pointedout.
"I know," he replied. "Grayson is just..." He grimaced and rubbed his hand down his entire face as if he was tired before dropping it to his desk to grip theedge.
"Grayson is?" Iasked.
"Grayson is Grayson," Knix finished, as if that summed up everything. I frowned. Before I could say anything, though, he continued. "Do you remember when you stopped that fight a month ago? When you were still inschool?"
"Yea?"
"And how you asked Grayson to do something, but hedidn't."
Inodded.
"That's the kind of person he is, Harlow. He's out for himself.Always."
"You don't want me to go see him," Isaid.
He shook his head. "He texted you for a reason. Marv and Bellamy don't like his interest in you. Texas tends to trust the group's instincts. I don't care for his interest either. So, no, I don't want you to go see him–notalone."
All the time, as he had been speaking, I had been gearing up for a fight, but at his last two words, I deflated like a torn balloon. "Oh." I debated. "I can't take Marv or Bellamy," Isaid.
"You won't have to," Knix said shifting away from his desk. He held out his hand to me and I took it, allowing him to help me up. "I'll take you to see him. I'm curious to know what he wants. He didn't give you any details?" I shook my head. "Hmmm, well, we can ask him when we see him." Knix placed his hand in the center of my lower back, the heat of his palm making me shiver. He led us toward the door and opened it. "Set up a meeting with him and let him know I'll becoming."
"He didn't want anyone coming with me," I said, recalling that tidbit. "Maybe you could sit away from us during lunch and just listenin?"
Knix shot me a disapproving look. "I'll be there, and I'll be very visible, Little Bit. There's no use in trying that. Grayson can be conniving and a tad irritating, but he's notstupid."