Chapter 38
Dominic
“I don’t want to say it,” Andrew tells me as the bartender hands me a freshly cracked bottle of beer. The vapor rising like a ribbon of smoke into the air, promising a crisp first sip.
“Go ahead,” I say, taking a long pull from the bottle before he can get the words out. I’m going to let him have this one. Because he did tell me what he thought would happen. He did say that attempting to pull one over on my dad was a stupid idea.
“Nah, you don’t need me to rub it in your face any more than it’s already being rubbed,” he says, grabbing a beer for himself and pulling up a chair.
We are at a bar in the same building as his place.
His rooftop penthouse in a high-rise on Avenue of the Stars overlooks the city.
It’s not my style, but it’s nice, that’s for sure.
“How kind of you,” I say sarcastically.
“I try,” he says with a smile, then it softens to Andrew’s version of empathy. “So what exactly happened?” he asks.
“I told you. I was at the Cockpit watching Mila dance, and then my dad called and blew everything wide open. And I mean…wide,” I say, taking another sip of my beer.
“So he found out that your marriage arrangement was, for lack of better words, arranged,” Andrew starts and I nod. “And he knew that you intended to divorce her as soon as the funds hit your account,” he says.
“Annulled, not divorced, but yes,” I answer.
“And he wasn’t happy,” he says, and my eyes dart up to his in a less than amused expression.
“Let’s just say he lost his damn mind,” I say.
“I’m sure that was fun. So who’s the snitch?” he asks.
I lean back in my chair, shaking my head slowly. “I have no idea. I told you, and that’s it.”
“Did she tell anyone?” he asks.
“I wondered about that. If she did, I can’t imagine it was anyone other than her friend Lainey. I feel like her lips are sealed, considering she’s Mila’s best friend.”
“How sure are you about that?” he nods up at me.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Well think about it…maybe she’s loyal. But if she told someone, it could have looped back around to someone you wouldn’t want knowing,” he suggests, and I think about that.
“I mean there has been friction between them,” I note. “It’s because she’s been spending a lot more time with me than her. And when she’s not with me, she’s with Brynn and those girls.”
“The bitch squad, of course,” he nods, then looks back up at me. “You don’t think she’d talk to her, do you?” he asks.
“Brynn?” I ask. “No way. They’re not actually friends.”
“Hmm,” Andrew hums, nursing his bottle. “So, what are you two going to do?” he asks.
“Mila and I? Nothing,” I answer.
“If you get married anyways, get a lawyer and go after that money; he has to release it. Whether he likes it or not, it’s in the paperwork already. We may not get it in time to bid on Golden Rule, but still.”
“I’m not marrying her,” I say flat out.
“Really?” he asks.
“Really.”
“Why?”
“Because she lied,” I answer.
“About what?” Andrew prods.
I swallow back the bile in the throat that forms every time I think about it. “She’s pregnant.”
“No shit,” he answers with wide eyes.
“Yep,” I say.
“When did she tell you that?” Andrew asks.
“She didn’t. My dad did. That was part of his explosive call the other night. In fact, Mila doesn’t even know that I know,” I say.
“Jesus,” he lets out a low whistle. “Why would she keep that from you?”
My lips go slack in a sour frown, and I wave the bartender down for another beer. “No fucking clue? If I had to guess, she found out, realized babies are expensive and agreed to my proposal because she needed money.”
“Hold up,” Andrew cuts in. “You don’t think she was going to try and keep it a secret forever and use you just for the money?”
“I mean, she kept it from me for this long,” I say.
“But she loves you,” Andrew says with a small smile.
“Does she?” I ask, taking the bottle straight from the bartender’s hand before he can even set it in front of me.
“Come on, Dom. You guys have an unorthodox thing going, for sure. But everyone knows how you two feel about each other. Hell, the people who really know you, aka yours truly, saw it even before you guys did. I don’t think she would do that.”
“Then why wouldn’t she tell me she’s pregnant?” I snap.
Andrew keeps his cool. “Just a guess? She’s afraid. This whole thing is nuts. I bet she was just waiting for the right time.”
“When would that be?” I ask.
“Exactly. You know, I’m going to say something bold here,” he tells me.
“Of course you are. Change your mind about that I told you so?” I ask.
“Nope,” he answers. “I’m going out on a limb and recommend that you talk to her. Listen to what she has to say. Maybe she has a good reason.”
“A good reason for hiding the pregnancy from me?” I snarl.
“Maybe. She could be worried you’d talk to her like you’re talking to me right now,” he suggests. I bite my lip with an angry nod. “Dom. I’m your best friend, am I not?”
“It’s debatable right now,” I mutter stubbornly. As usual, Andrew ducks around my verbal assaults.
“I wouldn’t be saying this if I thought she was trying to use you. And trust me, I am skeptical of most women who fawn over you. They all wear rose-colored glasses and dollar signs in their eyes. But not Mila. Mila cares about you. More than that. She loves you. It’s obvious.”
“The only thing that’s obvious to me right now is that she didn’t tell me she is carrying my child, a minor detail that derailed my entire plan.”
“Still on the plan, I see,” he mumbles.
I’m about to rip into him when a hand claps my shoulder hard enough to push me forward on my stool. I whip around to find Rafe standing there, and my scowl deepens clear to my skull.
“Wolfe. Convenient running into you here,” he says.
“I forgot to mention Shaeffer recently became my neighbor,” Andrew says.
“Upstairs neighbor,” Rafe clarifies. “I bought the suite.”
“Is there a reason you are touching me right now?” I ask. “Or do I need to remove your hand myself?”
“Someone’s in a bad mood,” he chuckles. “I would be too in your situation.”
I shove myself off the stool and stand level with him.
“What are you referring to?” I ask.
“Your little wedding sham? The attempt to get daddy’s money to pay for your Golden Rule bid?” he says. I am about to rearrange his face. If we weren’t in a public place, I would.
“It’s not his money,” I snap. “It’s mine.”
“If you get married,” he says. “Smart idea considering the baby and everything.”
How the fuck…
My brain is running laps trying to connect dots, but Rafe’s voice blurs out the logic in my head. It’s hard to think clearly when you’re seeing red.
“Listen. I sympathize with your situation, Dom. I really do. And because of that, I’m going to make you a deal.”
“We aren’t making any deals with you, Shaeffer,” Andrew snaps at him.
“Cool it, buddy. Let the grown-ups talk, alright?” he says, and Andrew nearly leaps to his feet. I reach out, holding my hand in front of his chest.
“Say what you came over here to say and get lost, Shaeffer,” I say.
“Listen. I can see how fucked you are. So I’m going to throw you a bone,” he starts. I can feel the rage emanating from Andrew’s body. I’m not feeling any less hostile, but I’m better at hiding it. I’ve always prided myself on being level-headed. Outside the ring, anyways. I nod for Rafe to go on.
“Forget the bids,” he says, and my eyes narrow.
“What?” Andrew asks.
“I mean it. Listen. You and I are the only ones Golden Rule is interested in. Even the lowest bid one of us offers them will win the deal,” he says.
He’s not wrong. Even if one of us lowballed him, they’d still take a bid from one of us over anyone else.
It’s basically a dick-measuring contest between Rafe and me at this point.
“What are you suggesting?” I ask, and a snaky smirk crawls across his face.
After a moment of suspense, he answers. “We compete for it.”
“What?” I ask.
“In the ring.”
I blink to comprehend what this joker is alluding to. “You want to box for the Golden Rule deal?” I ask.
“Why not? I think it’s a fair approach, don’t you?” he shrugs casually.
“How is that gonna work exactly?” Andrew asks before me.
“We go head to head in the ring. Until TKO.”
Andrew spits out a disgusted laugh. “You gotta be kidding.”
“How do we make it legal?” I nod up at Rafe. “No offense, but I don’t trust a simple shake on it from you.”
“Your distrust hurts, Wolfe,” he says, pressing his hand to his chest. “I think at this point we are going to have to go with honor. If you think about it, we both have enough dirt on each other to throw each other under the bus,” he says.
Unfortunately, he’s not wrong. We’ve both pulled enough stunts in the industry to blackmail each other.
Andrew looks at me with raised eyebrows, hanging on my pensiveness as Rafe waits for an answer. After a moment, Rafe clicks his tongue.
“How about I let you think about it? You know where to find me,” he says before walking out.
I sit back down and spin my stool back around to face the bar again. Andrew joins me, his attention locked on me.
“Well?” he asks. “What are you going to do?”
“I think it’s obvious,” I answer. “I’m going to knock him the fuck out.”
With that, we sip our beer in silence.