Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
NEO
“Fuck,” I hissed as the cold water streamed down my back.
One hand was braced against the tiles the other was wrapped around my hard cock. There was no way I was going to survive this fucking trip. First, the shorts that showcased that delectable ass, and now that skirt. Her curves were on full display, and all I wanted to do was throw her on the bed and finish what we had started in the elevator three years ago.
As I stroked myself, I recalled the way her pussy felt gripping my fingers. Her needy little moans. The way she couldn’t even hold a conversation because she was desperate to come.
My strokes came faster, and when I came, I wasn’t at all satisfied.
Rubbing one out didn’t help when, as soon as I walked out of the room, the place smelled like Lou. Her perfume was in the air, and my cock jumped to attention.
Lou, however, was nowhere to be seen.
“Lou…Lourdes?”
No answer.
Her stuff was still in the suite, so I knew she hadn’t taken the front desk up on their offer to stay somewhere else. I had gone years without letting myself know anything about her life. It was easier that way, and now I felt this desperation to go and find her.
As soon as I was changed, I did just that.
I cursed the place for being huge. I knew she wouldn’t be in the theater, nor the members’ lounge. If I had to guess, she was probably outside near the beach. When I saw the bar, a fond smile grazed my lips.
I should have known.
There she was, sitting down on a stool as she chatted up the bartender. He said something that made her throw her head back in laughter.
God, she was beautiful.
And seeing her right now, I felt like a piece of shit. I wanted a part of Lou, but I had never done anything to deserve it. I couldn’t even recall a single time I made her laugh.
I should turn around and let this all be about the business. I almost did just that but then she leaned forward, and she made the bartender laugh. I could see it in his face that even though he knew she was way out of his fucking league, he wanted her, and that made me see red.
She was mine.
She had always been mine.
The first time I noticed Lou at school, I had been mesmerized by her. She was different from everyone else. She walked by the halls, and she didn’t care about what people thought. She didn’t pay attention to their petty squabbles or none of that nonsense.
In a way, she was just like me. Someone who didn’t fit into the mold just trying to forge their own. When I found out she was a freshman, disappointment coursed through me. She had looked more mature, but she was still just a child, and I was on the cusp of eighteen. Whatever notions I had of approaching her disappeared instantly.
So, when I found her in that hallway, I knew I should have left, but she looked so damn sad, and I figured if I just sat by her, it wouldn’t be wrong. It wasn’t like I was leading her on or asking her out. I was just there to lend a shoulder to lean on. That’s all I did. I walked away and didn’t look at her again.
After high school, it was easy to forget about her. I had my own shit and problems to deal with.
Then my mother told me she was dating someone, and I was angry and hurt. But I pushed that down and pretended it didn’t faze me. Instead, I carried on with my studies, buried my head in the sand, and focused on my goals.
When it was time to meet Mother’s new beau, I couldn’t remember why his last name sounded familiar other than him being a Riviere.
Then I saw her coming down the stairs looking more radiant and beautiful than she had in school. I mentally started doing the math, trying to work out how old she was now, but then quickly dismissed the notion because Lourdes Riviere could never be mine. Not when she was set to become my new stepsister. I almost laughed at the unfairness of it all, but at that point, why was I even surprised? Nothing in my life ever worked out. So, in that instant, I dismissed her. Lourdes Riviere was supposed to be dead to me, but instead she became my stepsister, and I hated everything about it.
As if finally feeling my presence, Lou turned her head, and her gaze landed on mine. It was enough to snap me out of it, and instead of trying to be noble and turn back around, I decided that being selfish and calculating had served me well these past few years, so I might as well see where it would take me now.
But before I could approach her, Mr. Park found me.
“Neo, son, how are you doing?” He clasped his hand on my shoulder.
“Good, sir, and you?”
He looked around and offered me a smile. Tatum favored his mother, which was easier to handle when I first started this deal.
“Amazing. I brought the missus with me. All the company stuff bores her, but I figured we might as well get a preview of what’s to come with our new memberships.”
“Make the most of it while you can,” I replied honestly.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Lou said, not sounding sorry at all.
Mr. Park turned toward her, and he offered her his hand. “Miss Riviere, a pleasure.”
Lou kept a polite smile on her face.
“Likewise, sir, I’m excited?—”
Mr. Park began to wave his hands.
“Please, no talk about business until our dinner.” He looked down at his watch. “We have a few hours until then. Enjoy yourself. All work and no play isn’t good.”
He bid us goodbye and then walked away.
“That’s the asshole’s father?” Lou mumbled. “He seems so nice.”
And that was my first hurdle. I felt like a dick fucking over Mr. Park for Tatum’s mistake. I almost went a different route but then I sat back and thought about it logistically. If Tatum felt brave doing that shit to Lou, who was from an affluent family, what would he do with someone with less power? That’s when I hired a PI firm, and he found two instances in which Mr. Park had to intervene and offer monetary compensation.
So, in my eyes, Mr. Park deserved what was coming because he was just as guilty.
“Don’t let him fool you. He’ll turn into a shark when we negotiate.”
“Noted.”
And just like that, she was about to walk away, but I stopped her. She raised a brow, waiting for me to make my point.
“Want to go get a light lunch?”
She looked at me skeptically as this was all new to us, but ultimately, she agreed, and I felt relief.
After lunch, Lou decided to take a walk around the beach while I went back to the room to finish some work. When she returned, she went to the bathroom and began getting ready.
At some point, I fell asleep while she did that because the next thing I knew, I was being shaken awake by Lou. Her hair was the same, her face was more heavily made up, and her lips were red. The kind of red every man pictured wrapped around his cock.
“I had half a mind to leave you and go alone.”
This made me smile.
“If you wanted to get ahead, you should have done that.”
She smirked at me.
“You have fifteen minutes…” She waved at me and then walked out the door.
I should have been mad, but instead, I had a dopey grin on my face.
Dinner was now in full swing, and both teams had met in a show of good sportsmanship. A few details were ironed out, but these were mostly just formalities. All the heavy lifting for this was done behind closed doors.
Lourdes was born to do this despite how strict the board was with her and the lack of trust she had from her grandfather. She was smart, gracious, and funny, but all of that also worked against her because of who her mother was, and it was a fucking shame that people couldn’t see past their own prejudices.
Everything was going great until Mr. Park decided to make a toast.
“Thank you, everyone, for coming. You all have worked hard these past few weeks to make this deal happen. And a special thank-you to Mr. Riviere for including my son in this great venture. It’s not a secret that Tate has been forging his own way instead of following in my footsteps. So, when his best friend brought this idea to the table, he was all in. He even took the initiative and decided to use his own funds because he believed in this. He is paving his own way. May we have many more ventures together.”
My eyes met Lou’s across the table, and all I could see was hurt in them. My throat constricted, and the pit of my stomach felt hollow.
When Mrs. Park left, so did the few women who had come. Lou did the same, but I knew it grated on her nerves. This was another disadvantage in the game she was forced to play.
Lou politely said her goodbyes and didn’t even bother to give me a glance once she left. The look on her face slayed me, but I told myself to hold off a little longer. It would all be worth it soon.
Once the women left, the men became rowdier and more crass. Even though I grew up with my father, I was raised by a single mother, and because of that, my way of thinking may have been a little bit different from everyone else’s.
By the time I left, no one seemed to care, and even if they tried to stop me, it wouldn’t have worked because I was eager to get back to the room. When I got there, all the lights were off. The only source of light was the moon. Lou left part of the sliding door and blinds open so the night air could come in.
When I got to the middle of the room, I froze when I saw Lou lying on the bed. She was facing away from the front of the room, her back toward where I stood, and behind her, she had a wall of pillows signaling her side of the bed.
Cute .
Going to the other side, I took my shoes, pants, and shirt off and then just lay there wondering what would have happened if my mother had never fucked things up. The resentment on my part wasn’t new, but it was the first time in my life I admitted to it.