Chapter 7
7
J AMES
“The conference room is ready, sir. And Mr. Harrington’s plane just landed. He’ll make a quick stop home before coming here.”
“Thanks, Lynn,” I say, my eyes trained on my phone.
“Is there anything else?”
I raise my eyes.
“No.”
She nods and vanishes out the door.
Sprawled in my chair, I tip my eyes to my cell phone and check my messages.
I open a couple and send a reply before I pull up a message from an unknown number and scan it.
A short message and… pictures?
Sender: I thought you’d like to know about this.
I run my gaze over the snapshots. The quality of the pictures is not great.
The place is barely lit and grayish. Nothing catches my eye. Although, I do notice a man and a woman hugging.
Something doesn’t feel right, though, and my pulse starts racing for some reason.
I go over it again. He’s tall and wears a suit. She’s, um, blonde and looks like… Rain?
I jerk upright in my chair, slide my thumb across the screen, and check the next picture.
The angle seems to be slightly better in this one. It’s definitely Rain. She wears a short black dress and high heels.
She looks as if she's going out or returning home.
The man has blonde hair and looks like Lex, but I can’t quite see his face. Hastily, I run my eyes over the last photo, and I finally get a glimpse of his profile.
It is Lex.
Kissing her.
“Lynn!” I thunder, the partition wall vibrating from my voice.
I jump out of my chair, grab my car keys, and shove my phone into my pocket.
I almost collide with my secretary in the doorway.
“Cancel my meeting.”
“Sir?”
“I don’t have time to explain.”
I stride past her and take the elevator to the underground parking garage. Tense, I sprint to my ride, turn on the engine, rev it up, and jolt the car onto the road.
My blood is boiling.
With one foot on the gas, I go over every possible speed limit as I dash to Lex’s house.
Half an hour later, I zoom past the gate and enter his property. I bring the car to a screeching halt, jump out, and push through the main door.
“Lex?” I roar, my voice bouncing around the walls.
I leap up the stairs, turn right on the second floor, and burst into his bedroom.
He walks out of the closet, calmly buttoning up his shirt. Surprise rolls over his face.
“What the fuck are you doing here, man?” he asks.
His eyes darken as he gets a glimpse of my expression.
“Where the fuck were you?” I growl.
His eyebrows tilt up.
“Washington, DC. Why? What’s the fucking problem?” he asks, his hands gripping his hips.
“And then?” I ask, pretending that I didn’t hear him.
“I flew back.”
I yank the phone out of my pocket, swipe my phone screen with my thumb, and pull up his pictures.
“Was she in Washington, DC?” I ask, pushing it into his face.
The blood drains out of his face.
“Where’d you get those?”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“It’s not what you think.”
“It’s not what I think, Lex?? Of course, it’s not what I think. It’s what I fucking see. What the hell were you doing in New York? Did you hook up with her?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“So, what is this?”
“I did not hook up with her. I didn’t want to tell you I was planning to talk to her because you would’ve been against it,” he says.
A weight falls on my chest.
“You had no fucking business to talk to her,” I bark, barely reining in my fury.
“Maybe. Or maybe someone had to take care of your fucking business,” he retorts, unleashing his anger.
I’m seconds away from leaping at his throat.
Closing the space between us, I sink my gaze into his eyes.
Defiant, he doesn’t back away, and for the first time ever, I feel him against me.
“How many times have I fucking told you to stay away from her?”
“I did not go there to hook up with her,” he says again, his voice exploding with frustration.
I look at him, taken aback by his reaction, a bitter chuckle rolling off my lips.
“I don’t give a fuck what you tell yourself, Lex. I know what I see. Did you fuck her?” I ask, my voice hoarse.
We clash gazes in a standoff that is about to break the trust we’ve built for years.
He lets out a long exhale.
“No. I didn’t fuck her,” he says, regret lining his voice. “I told you I went there to talk to her about you.”
Shaking my head in disbelief, I step back, a twisted smile clinging to my lips, my fingers raking through my hair as I briefly tip my gaze down.
“Go fuck yourself, Lex,” I mutter gravelly. ”I didn’t ask you to go to her, so if you went there, you had your own fucking reasons.”
“Okay,” he admits in a softer voice. “You’re right. There was a personal reason, but it’s not what you think. I wanted to convince myself there was no chance she and I could be together. ”
I slash him with my glare.
“You wanted the truth,” he says.
“And?”
“And I got my answer. What you saw in that picture was me kissing her goodbye.”
“She was all dressed up.”
“She was. It was her birthday. Did you know that?”
“No. So she was going out?” I ask, my voice strained.
“Yes, she was having dinner with Eve Malone. That’s all. I don’t know who took those pictures. Whoever did it wanted to hurt Rain. Or perhaps you. Nothing happened, James. All we did was talk about you.”
I flick my hand up.
“I don’t want to hear this ‘talk about me’ shit again,” I say, patting my pants for my pack of cigarettes.
“Why’s that, James?”
I fish a cigarette from my pocket, slip it between my lips, and light it. A long drag fills my lungs before I push the smoke out forcefully.
His eyes don’t leave me.
“This story is getting old. And honestly, I no longer care what you and she have to talk about me at this point.”
“And yet, you put your ass in your car and rush to my house to bust my balls.”
“This is different. It has to do with you. I don’t want you to fuck her behind my back. That’s fucking all. I don’t want lies.”
“I’m not fucking her,” he says, exasperated. “I never did anything behind your back. I’ll be the first to admit I have feelings for her. I care for her, and you know that, but I can’t be with her. You know it, and she knows it too. No matter how much regret she and I share, it can’t happen for us. But you, on the other hand...” he says bitterly, looking at me––I can’t remember when was the last time I saw him so hurt and disappointed.
He slowly shakes his head.
“At least I went there and talked to her,” he continues. “Which is much more than you did,” he adds in an accusatory voice.
“What do you think I could’ve done and didn’t do?” I throw at him.
He takes a step in my direction, his hands tucked in his pockets.
“There’s something you could’ve done a long time ago, but you’ve never even considered it. You’re such a stubborn dick sometimes. And you know what pisses me off? Between the three of us, you were the only one who had a real shot at her.”
“I told you I’m not going through this shit again,” I push through locked teeth.
He pins his gaze on me, searching my eyes for a moment.
Holding his gaze, I blow the smoke out.
“Has it ever crossed your mind why she didn’t want your money?”
“Besides wanting to be ‘independent’?” I sneer.
He clenches his jaw.
“Does it fucking matter?” I ask, boiling with anger. “I know it was more than my money she had a problem with. So fucking what?”
“Yeah... Well, it fucking matters because it’s the key to your fucking riddle.”
I blow more smoke to the side, my eyes trained on him.
“Enlighten me.”
“There’s one thing you’ve never done. You didn't even take a stab at it. You’ve never tried to earn her trust. Her instinct told her she couldn’t trust you, and that’s exactly what she did. You gave her every reason not to trust you. And she didn’t need much experience to figure that one out. I can’t blame her. Can you? You crushed the little faith she had in you. You’ve made it so easy for her to distrust you. And you’ve never tried to patch things up. Make her believe in you again. You’ve never made her feel loved and safe. It doesn’t matter what you say to her or how good you fuck her if you can’t show her how much she means to you. Perhaps now, after what happened between all of us, you need to do this more than ever. If you do it and do it well, you may earn her trust. And then, she’ll accept your money and allow you back in her life.”
I ponder for a moment before I breathe out a cold chuckle.
“And how am I supposed to do that? I can’t even get close to her.”
“I’m sure you’ll find a way. And maybe this time, you’ll show her that you can be humble and more open with her.”
* * *
JAMES
New York
Before Summer Break
The car turns sharply and heads north, rolling onto the narrow streets of the Bronx.
After a few more turns, the driver pulls to a stop in front of a modest-looking building.
Trees line both sides of the street, the old brick building rising behind a curtain of leaves.
I tilt my eyes to my phone and check the address again before I step out of the car.
The temperature is mild, the humidity is low, and the air is surprisingly dry for this time of year. A breeze sweeps the sidewalks.
I look up at the second level, where her apartment must be. The windows are wide open, laughter rippling through the air.
Tangled female voices travel down the stairs inside the house as I make a beeline for the entrance.
The door slides open before I get the chance to press the buzz-in button, and two young women fill the doorway.
They freeze and gape at me, suddenly silent.
One is a short brunette. The other one is tall and brown-haired.
They both drag medium-sized travel bags after them.
Their eyes move over my face before smoothly sweeping my body, taking in my T-shirt-clad chest and my dark jeans.
Mouths open and eyes wide, they study me, musing over something.
“May I help you?” the brown-haired girl asks.
“I’m looking for Eve.”
“Eve?” the brunette says.
She cocks her head to the side, looking at me incredulously.
“You sure?” the other girl murmurs. “Eve as in...?”
“Eve,” I say, smiling. “I was told she lives here. I’m, um... an acquaintance.”
“What’s your name?” the short one asks.
“James... James Sexton.”
“Okay...” the tall girl murmurs. “Are you sure it’s only Eve you’re looking for?”
My grin makes her blush.
“For now, yes...” I say.
She gets lost in my eyes.
Eventually, she whips her head to the side, tips her chin up, and looks at the windows.
“Eve??”
Her voice is unexpectedly loud, considering how delicate and small her frame is. The echo rolls down the street.
“Yes?” Eve responds from inside.
The girl glances at me briefly before tilting her head up again.
“There’s a sex god down here, looking for you...” she says, glancing at me this time.
I bite my lip, stifling a grin.
“A what??” the answer comes promptly.
The girl fills her lungs with air, getting ready for an encore.
“A...”
I touch her arm.
She shifts her eyes back to me, voiceless.
“I think she got it.”
“What??”
Eve’s voice rings out above us.
We flick our eyes up before taking in the girl peering at us from above.
“James??”
Her voice is strangled with surprise.
“James...” the two girls murmur in unison.
“May I come in?” I ask.
Eve looks at me bewildered, nodding repeatedly.
“Yes, sure.”
The two girls step aside, motioning me to the door.
I enter the building, their stare burning my back all the way to the top of the stairs.
The apartment door is slightly open when I push it to the side and swagger in. Eve sweeps clothes off the chairs, dumping everything into a box.
“I’m sorry, we just, um... We’re getting ready to go back home,” she says, her face going through different shades of red, her voice shaky.
She shows me to a chair.
“I’m fine. I won’t be long,” I say.
Her eyes lock mine for a moment before she erases the space between us, her hand stretched out.
“I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced, although I’ve been to one of your parties,” she says. “Eve Malone.”
“Nice to meet you, Eve,” I say, burying her small hand in my palm.
A shudder goes through her.
She tears away from me and takes a seat at the table while I walk to the window, turn around to face her, and lean against the windowsill.
Suddenly, she pushes out of her chair.
“I’m sorry. I completely forgot my manners. Is there anything I can get for you? Something to drink, perhaps?”
“I’m good. Thank you,” I say.
She grabs a bottle of water from the fridge for herself and slides back into her chair.
“I imagine you are here because of Rain.”
“Yes. How is she?”
She gazes into my eyes, studying me for a moment.
“She’s good.”
“Doing...?” I start, unsure whether she knows what Rain does for a living.
She flashes a knowing smile.
“Doing the same thing... She’s also started an online business on the side,” she says after a brief pause.
“What kind of business?”
She shrugs.
“She didn’t tell me. A friend of hers is helping her,” she says.
“Friend?” I ask, a pang of tension spilling into my voice.
“Yes,” she says hesitantly, taken aback by my reaction.
She leans back in her chair and crosses her arms over her chest, suddenly in a defensive mood.
I jerk my hand up.
“Listen... I didn’t come here to create any problems. Not for you and not for her. Given the history between her and me, I understand your reservations.”
“So why are you here?” she asks, guarded this time.
“I need your help.”
Her eyebrows tilt up, a questioning look sliding over her face.
“I want to plead my case with her one more time, and for that to happen, I need to have access to her again.”
She observes me for another moment.
“You had plenty of chances,” she says in a softer voice. “Why would I do that?”
Our eyes stay locked for a few more seconds.
“There’s not one good reason I can think of,” I finally say. “Other than perhaps, I’ve never fully opened up to her. And I’ve never been completely truthful with her either. There’s no guarantee it would make a difference, but I want to exhaust every possibility before I move on.”
Quietly, she ponders.
“You owe her that much,” I say, sensing her on the fence. “If she blows me off, I’ll just forget about her, as I said before.”
“Okay,” she says.
“So, who’s helping her with her business?”
She looks at me, tight-lipped.
“You don’t have to tell me,” I say, breaking my gaze away from hers.
“David Moore,” she finally says, and my chest turns hollow.