Chapter Eighteen #2
As the son of an influential politician, and knowing how sleazy he is, I’m not surprised that he’s here, but I hate that he recognized me.
I never understood why Noah was friends with such a prick, and now that he won’t stop advancing on me, I like him even less.
Still, I won’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he got to me.
“I’m disappointed,” Steven admits as we stumble out of the hallway and into the main part of the club. “I thought you’d put up more of a fight. It’s almost like you don’t want me to.”
“Screw you, Steven,” I snap. “You don’t know me.”
With a frown, I glance over the bar, but Miss Deveroux isn’t there.
No one on the main floor is paying attention to us, either.
No one is there to come to my defense.
“We can get to know each other really well,” Steven drawls, each word dripping with innuendo. “Trust me.”
I reach for the nearest weapon—a candlestick—and brandish it in front of me. “Don’t take another step.”
“I thought we’ve been over this.” Steven’s grin stretches from ear to ear. “I’ve got a room that I like to use, and you can even clean it after.”
“Listen, you son of a bitch—”
“Take one more fucking step, and you’re going to lose a leg.” Mason materializes out of nowhere, the first few buttons of his shirt undone and a look of deadly calm on his face. “You don’t strike me as the gambling man.”
“Man, back the hell off. I saw her first.”
Each of Mason’s steps toward us is slow and measured. “Apparently, you’re even dumber than you look.”
Steven’s eyes tighten in anger. “What the fuck? Who do you think you are?”
“Mason Payne,” Mason says evenly, “and I suggest you get the fuck out of my club before I give you something to cry about.”
Steven swallows and glances over at me. Then he looks back at Mason and fear flashes in his eyes. “I don’t want any trouble, man.”
Mason is in front of Steven in an instant and twisting his arm behind his back. “I am not your man, nor am I anything to you except your worst fucking nightmare. What are you still doing here?”
Steven shakes with fear, the color rapidly leaving his face. “I’m leaving. Just let go of my arm.”
Mason hauls him away and doesn’t look back at me.
I stare at them as they earn a few curious looks on the way past. When they’re halfway to the elevators, a few security guards materialize to yank Steven away. I stand there for a long moment, wondering what to do next.
When Mason spins and looks at me from across the room, the rest of the world disappears.
I turn away, forcing myself to place one foot in front of the other until I reach Miss Deveroux. I feel Mason’s eyes on me the entire time, but I refuse to look back, drained of the energy to keep doing the same old song and dance with him.
The rest of the day passes in a blur until my shift ends.
Mason is waiting outside the locker room when I come out.
I’ve had my phone on silent since the debacle with Steven, and I’m almost afraid to take it out now.
He’s probably already told Noah.
The fucking asshole.
“Do I need to remind you of the terms of your contract?”
I grip the straps of my bag and avoid his gaze. “Which terms would those be?”
Mason steps into my path, forcing me to look at him. “Don’t play dumb, London. You know what I’m talking about.”
I frown. “I can’t help it if someone recognizes me, and I definitely can’t do anything if the creep comes after me.”
Mason raises an eyebrow. “There are rules in place for that sort of thing.”
“I couldn’t find anyone to help me.”
Mason holds my gaze. “You and I both know you’re lying, so why don’t we try that again?”
I narrow my eyes and say nothing.
Mason’s expression changes. “He knows someone from your life, doesn’t he? Let me guess, your ex?”
“Noah isn’t my ex,” I reply tightly.
“You didn’t bother to deny it,” Mason continues as if he hasn’t heard me. “I knew he wasn’t worth your time, but being friends with someone like that? He’s an even bigger piece of shit than I thought he was.”
“Don’t talk like that about him,” I snap. “Noah is a good person.”
Mason snorts. “The kind of person who is friends with a creep.”
“It’s not like that.”
I can’t explain why Noah is friends with Steven, and I hate that Mason is right.
Mason’s eyes sweep over me. “It’s for the best. You were never going to be able to keep this from him.”
Without waiting for a response, he turns to walk away.
“Did you engineer this?”
Mason spares me a look over his shoulder. “I’ve got better things to do with my time.”
Frustration and exhaustion build within me. “You wanted me to come to you. The easiest way to get me to do that is to remove Noah from the equation.”
I don’t think Mason is above this kind of stunt.
He wheels around and gives me a withering stare that sends heat straight to my core. “I don’t need to resort to games to get you to come to me, London. Noah isn’t the reason you’re resisting, and you know that.”
I open my mouth and snap it shut again.
Mason offers me a slow and pointed look, then disappears, leaving me standing there, staring at the spot he occupied, and feeling like the world’s biggest idiot.
Why can’t he just be an insufferable prick?
Why does he have to be observant, too?
I head back to my room in a daze, step into the bathroom, strip out of my clothes, and wait for the shower water to heat up. Standing under the flow, I replay the scene with Steven in my head, ignoring the unease that has settled in.
Eventually, I step back into my room and take out my phone, and my heart drops into my stomach.
I stand there for a long time, debating whether to check the messages. Finally, I leave the phone on the dresser and let my towel fall to the floor. My hands are shaking as I change into my pajamas and rehearse what I’m going to say.
You can do this. Just don’t admit to anything. Discredit Steven. Do what you need to do.
Several messages from Noah wait for me as I brush my hair and pile it into a bun. They range from angry to disbelieving. After taking several deep breaths, I stand by the window and dial the number I know by heart.
Noah picks up on the second ring, and I can hear the fury in his voice. “What the fuck, London?”
I swallow. “I don’t know what Steven told you, but you shouldn’t listen to him.”
“So, he’s lying? He said he saw you working at a club, London. A fucking club, and he made it sound like you were dancing on a pole or something.”
I feel ill. “I’m not.”
“Which part?”
I press my lips together and count backward from five. “Look, Noah. I know this is going to be hard for you to understand, but I can’t tell you what I’m doing. I’m not pole dancing, but I am paying back my father’s debt.”
Noah makes a low, strangled sound. “So, you are working in a club? You lied to me? Tell me I’m not hearing this.”
The hurt in his voice is almost enough to break me, but I can’t let it.
I’m sorry, Noah. I’m so sorry. This isn’t how I wanted you to find out.
In an ideal world, Noah wouldn’t ever know.
“I didn’t want to lie to you.” I struggle to hear past the pounding in my ears. “It all happened so fast, but I am doing this to save my dad and the diner. Please believe me.”
Noah barks out a laugh. “Actually, I don’t. I don’t know what to believe anymore, London, but I do know that this is some messed up shit. I don’t even know who you are right now.”
I pull the phone away from my ear, ignore the stinging in my eyes, and bring it back again. “That’s fair. I know I hurt you, but I need you to understand the truth—”
“Truth? What truth is that, huh? You haven’t told me anything.”
“Because I can’t,” I reply. “Don’t you think I would if I could? Do you think I want to be in this situation? I did what I had to do, and I will not apologize for that.”
I know Noah has the right to be upset, but he doesn’t have the right to tear me down. Not when he knows damn well I wouldn’t have done this if I had another choice.
The contract isn’t the only reason I can’t confide in him. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.
How do I tell him what I’ve done while leaving out how magnetic Mason is?
How it feels like I can’t say no to him?
From the moment we locked eyes, Mason did something to me, and as much as I want to deny it, I know I can’t.
“I don’t know what kind of deal you made, or how they made you agree, but you need to come home.” My dad is on the line now, and he’s angrier than I’ve ever heard him. “We can figure this out together, but this needs to end right now.”
I clutch the phone tighter as tears fall on my cheeks. “I can’t. I signed a contract. I gave him my word.”
“Is your word more important than your dignity? Is your word more important than your integrity? I raised you better.”
I reel back as if I’ve been slapped. “I’m doing this for you, Dad. How can you not see that? How can you…” I trail off and hear the catch in my voice. Slowly, I release a deep breath. “This is how it has to be. I’m cleaning up your mess, and I—”
“Is there a problem?”
My heart sputters when I turn and see Mason in the doorway of my room, looking impeccably put-together in his pressed suit, the smell of his cologne doing strange things to my insides.
How much of our conversation did he hear?
Will he punish me for defending myself?
Have I said too much?
Mason’s face gives nothing away.
“Who is that?” my father rages. I hear Noah exclaiming in the background, and I’m almost reluctant to answer.
I don’t want them to know who Mason is.
They can’t.
“That’s… he’s my—”
“I’m her employer.” Mason crosses the room and snatches the phone from my hand. He turns on the speakerphone and raises an eyebrow. “Can I help you?”
“How could you do this to my daughter? I don’t know how you lured her there, or what kind of false promises you made—”
“I’m not in the business of false promises.” Mason’s voice is ice cold. “Your daughter is here of her own free will. No one made her, and she is being generously compensated.”