Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
ROWDY
S helley’s bizarre story and even stranger actions swirl in my head as I gain distance from Jameson & Cash’s headquarters. My eyes flicker to my rearview mirror, frowning at the string of paparazzi pursuing in their ratty cars. They better not test me. Using my hands-free device, I call Ned, ordering him to change the locks ASAP and keep Shelley off the property until further notice.
Red was right about her, after all. I should have listened. I overestimated Shelley’s professionalism while ignoring countless red flags. I sure as hell can’t overlook that weird, forced kiss or the convenience of the paparazzi presence, though. Kind of like the PR stunts Red and I discussed the other day. What Shelley’s ultimate goal is remains anyone’s guess. But the sinking feeling my stomach tells me it’s not good.
I have to tell Red everything before this spirals out of control. I should’ve never agreed to meet with Shelley in the first place. But how could I deny a general employee-wide appeal to address recent changes? Especially knowing full well I am in the wrong when it comes to communicating with the team over recent events.
Instead of leading, I’ve been obsessing over the lovely, talented, mouthwatering Lesley Cash. That woman is my Lex Luther and kryptonite rolled into one. Fortunately, she’s a whole lot sexier and naughtier than your average arch enemy.
Guilt washes over me in thick waves. I hope Red won’t think less of me for this infraction. She takes her business deadly seriously, and I’m afraid I just proved my incompetence to her. But she has to give me another chance because she’s my fucking world now.
My scarlet-haired lover greets me in the kitchen, wearing one of my fluffy white robes, and holding a sturdy, white ceramic mug of black coffee. Her hair is damp from the shower, and she smells like my spicy body wash. My eyes glance at the ring on her finger, and I incinerate from pure joy. Everything about Lesley screams mine. All mine.
She smiles radiantly, a look I’ve seen ever since we traded hating for loving, and I know that despite everything that happened this morning, Red remains my solace and my haven, the one person I can trust and count on in this world.
“Well, you’re the most beautiful sight I’ve seen all day,” I croon, my voice getting emotional as I sweep around the kitchen island to pull her tightly against me for a kiss. My rod instantly firms, recognizing his mistress.
“What’s wrong?” she asks, picking up on the raw nuances in my voice.
“Something weird just happened.”
She slides her hands down over my ass cheeks, squeezing me tightly against her and stoking the fire burning inside me. “I saw your note, cowboy. Does it have anything to do with that something weird?”
I nod.
She looks up at me, and then her green eyes flicker to my white Stetson. “What’d you do to your hat? It’s all wet and dirty.”
“Sit down, Lesley.” I motion towards the stools lining the kitchen bar. “We need to have a serious business-related conversation. One that can’t wait.” I furrow my brows, leveling my gaze on hers.
Her face remains open, but she presses her lips tightly together, moving to one of the stools. I take the one next to her, turning to face her, and she does the same. Rubbing my hand over my chest, I tell her everything, feeling like the dumbest idiot in the world on the retelling.
Her red eyebrows shoot sky-high when I get to the part about the kiss and the paparazzi. By the end, she looks down, her face flushed, and her fingers clutched tightly in her lap.
Silence.
My heart pounds in my chest, and the air feels so thick I can’t breathe. I’d take Red’s fiery anger any day over this odd quiet. The calm before the storm…
Suddenly, she bursts into a torrent of tears, and I’m off my stool, wrapping my arms around her and whispering soothing words in her ear. But she fights me off, standing up and pacing back and forth along the divide between the kitchen and the living room, her face stormy and wet like a hurricane. She looks up, stopping in her tracks and opening her mouth, only to burst into more tears and return to frenetically pacing. I had no idea she’d be this mad.
“Now, Lesley, I know you’re pissed at me and all. But for as bad as this looks, I never meant any harm. I’m sorry if I didn’t act as a business partner should, but I’m also their employer, the one who hired them. So, I felt I owed them an explanation. I had no idea Shelley would be there alone. I see the fault in my careless decision now, and I’m sorry…”
“God, you’re only making this worse!” she exclaims roughly, wrenching her hands and looking like a woman livid with grief.
“What is it then?”
“Shelley was telling you the truth.”
I choke on the air that tries to enter my lungs, my head reeling at her words. “What?”
Red stands in front of me, her cheeks splattered with tears, breathing hard between sobs. “She heard me talking to Raphael Pharrell on the phone. My biggest investor and head of Red’s board. He’s like the devil, Rowdy, and he owns me.”
“Owns you?” I manage, my throat still raw and tight from coughing on my own spit.
“He asked me to deliver photos of your new line along with the tech pack. Not for corporate espionage, but to allow him to evaluate whether he wanted to move forward with the plan…”
“The plan?” My voice has a new steeliness, and I cross my arms firmly over my chest, utterly gutted.
“Yes, the plan to force you to go public so that he can gobble up a majority share in your brand. He did the same thing to me…” She stops, rubbing her temples with her fingers and breathing hard.
“Well, shit,” I manage, my voice breaking at the end. My heart feels ripped clean from my chest. More than any of the details of what she says, what kills me is realizing the one person I want to count on most in this world betrayed me. Fuck.
After a tense moment, she levels her gaze on me, biting her bottom lip hard. “I don’t know if you’ve done your research, but The Red Brand is tanking. I’m a failure. Everything I’ve done is a disappointment, and I no longer have majority ownership in my company. It’s pathetic. I never, ever wanted to agree to Pharrell’s plan, but you and I both hated each other at the time. The day before, you had me escorted from the company in handcuffs. I was desperate to get Red back and also ready to get back at you. So, I entertained Pharrell’s request more thoroughly than I ever should have. Nevertheless, the hypocrisy of doing to you what was done to me proved too difficult to swallow.”
I clench my teeth so tightly, the enamel screams, and the muscles in my jaw strain. “So, you sent the photos to Pharrell?”
She shakes her head. “I couldn’t go through with it…even though I told myself I hated you, and even though you were a total jerk on day one. Still, as stupid as I thought you and my brother were for starting Jameson & Cash, I couldn’t double-cross you.”
My eyes narrow. “Why not?”
“Because I know better than anyone how it feels to be on the receiving end... Having Pharrell steal my company out from under me destroyed my creativity. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to rekindle it. And then once things started happening between us, and I realized how much you mean to me?—”
“Show me your phone right now. I want to see all of your texts with this Pharrell guy.”
She nods, sighing and disappearing into the back. Reappearing moments later, she hands her unlocked phone to me, and I swipe through their exchanges. God, has she said some nasty things in recent days, especially about me.
But I remind myself these comments came before we slept together…even before we kissed for the first time. I check the dates, verifying this. And to my relief, I don’t see any photos, although God knows there are a million other ways she could have delivered the images to him.
My mind swirls as I rise, declaring, “I need to go for a ride.” Without looking back at her, I grab my jacket and storm towards the front door, desperate for space to clear my head and sort out the tangle of emotions her confession inspired. Behind me, Red mutes her sobs, saying nothing.
Four hours later, I realize the stupidity of my last move as I enter the darkened kitchen. Red’s rental car is gone, and her clothes have disappeared along with all other signs of the woman I’ve loved for as long as I can remember. A scrap of white binder paper on the counter with my mom’s ring poised on top reads:
Ronald,
Please find a way to forgive me. I can’t live without you. But I have to fix what I started.
Lesley
P.S. You promised to never stop…