Chapter 11 #2
The elevator opens, and Jack nods for commando to knock on the door to Denham’s suite.
It takes a couple of attempts for Denham to open up, and when he does, the color drains from his whole body.
His tan is not so prominent now. He holds the door wide open, and Jack takes Tara straight through to the guest bedroom.
We all follow closely behind, there’s a quiet panic and the air is so damn heavy that it feels hard to even breathe.
I’m nervous. I don’t know much about drugs.
I don’t know how Denham will handle this. I don’t know what I can do to help.
“What the fuck is going on, Jack?” Denham’s voice is tight, pained. And it’s clear that he’s trying to reign in the panic.
Jack lays her on the large bed in the center of the room, and tenderly pushes her mop of curls from her face, brushing the back of his hand over her cheek bone and sucking in a sharp breath.
Then he stops. It’s like he just remembered we’re all there watching him, and the tender way he treated Tara.
He tears himself away and stands formally in the doorway with commando.
“Fuck. Fuck. What has she done?” Denham rubs his face with both hands, and looks torn between wanting to go to her, needing to have just a moment to himself, and wanting some answers.
“I’ll get a cool cloth,” I say quietly, and make my way to the bathroom. I hear Denham firing questions at Jack. Jack tries to explain the best he can what he knows, but as the conversation goes on, their voices hush and all I can hear is strained whispers.
“I don’t know, man. We’ll have Dom check the footage out front and see if we can get a hook on the car that dumped her off. Other than that, there’s not much we can do until she comes around.”
“Just you fuckin’ wait, she’s gonna be grounded for an eternity,” Denham growls.
“You can’t ground her, Denham,” I say on a sigh when I reenter the room.
“She’s twenty-three years old. Let’s just wait and see what she has to say, shall we?
” I try to offer the voice of reason when I return to the bedroom, and I sit next to her on the edge of the bed, to wipe her streaked makeup with a washcloth.
Whether or not my opinion is welcome, is another matter.
But someone has to think logically here, and although whoever brought her here should have at least seen her in the door, at least they brought her back, as opposed to leaving her stranded somewhere on her own.
“I think she needs to be looked over by a doctor.”
Denham sighs. “No, she just needs to sleep it off.”
“Denham …”
“No, Arianna,” he snaps. “This isn’t the first time, okay? Trust me to know what I’m doing with my own sister.”
The tone of his voice tells me not to argue. I probably would have retorted had I not been stuck on his last comment that this isn’t the first time. Tara is rebellious, yes. But drugs? I wouldn’t have called it.
Denham feels her forehead for her temperature, then strokes her cheekbone gently before removing her shoes and pulling a sheet up over her. “You don’t tell anyone about this, okay?” He looks at me with a stern expression. “No one. Not Lottie, not Spike, and definitely not my mom.”
“O-Okay. I wouldn’t offer the information freely anyway.” I try to reassure Denham of my loyalty, his defensiveness of his family is fierce, and although I feel a little hurt that he would need reassurance from me, I remember that it’s still early days for us. “What shall I tell Beth?”
He glances at his watch. “Shit. You’re only ten minutes late. I’ll call her and sort it out, you just go.”
I stand and hand him the cloth, but when he reaches to take it, he takes hold of my hand instead and pulls me closer to him. “Thank you,” he whispers.
I smile and kiss his cheek. “Call me if you want me, okay?”
“We’ll be fine. Will you please come straight back from work? One of the boys will make sure you’re okay.”
“Yes, I’ll come straight back.”
The ride to work is quiet. Jack and commando sit up front, and although Jack knows Tara is in safe hands, the worry and restlessness coming from him is very evident.
He chews on the skin around his fingers and drives with one hand.
I can see in the rear view mirror that the deep frown line in the center of his forehead is still there.
Out of nowhere, a man steps off the curb and in front of the car, causing Jack to swerve and slam his foot on the brake.
His hand pummels the horn and it makes me jump so hard I drop my purse into the footwell.
When Jack starts to yell at the unsuspecting pedestrian, I feel my insides start to tighten.
This is all we need after what has happened already this morning.
Maybe I should have stayed in bed. It makes me nervous to see someone like Jack, who is usually the epitome of calm, start to lose their temper. Yelling makes me nervous.
“Hey, hey, big fella,” Commando interrupts Jack’s torrent of expletives, and pats him on the arm. “We’re good, man. No harm done. Let’s just get the lady to work, eh?” he suggests.
“Shit,” Jack hisses under his breath. “I’m sorry, Miss Fraser,” he offers, turning in his seat to look at me.
“I’m sorry,” he repeats on a whisper and my heart clenches for him.
Something about Tara’s state this morning has knocked him off kilter, and as much as I want to know what it is, there’s a selfish part of me that wants to take an ostrich approach and pretend it didn’t happen.
The outcome is going to be the same whether I know, or not.
I just nod and smile kindly, not knowing what else I can do.
I don’t want him to feel bad. The last couple of minutes of the journey is completed without drama or disaster, and I thank the lords.
I hold my breath as I push open the doors to the boutique not knowing what I’m going to be faced with and hoping that Denham remembered to call Beth and smooth things over with her.
I’m not entirely sure I’ll know what to say if she asks me why I’m late.
“Good morning, Beth. I’m so—”
“Morning, Arianna. Lots to do today. Here,” she says shoving a stack of papers under my nose.
“We have two meetings this morning. These are the designers. Read up. Get familiar. We need to be showing them why they should stock their garments with us, and not with that tart on Sahara Avenue.” She curls her lip to accentuate her distaste, and it’s the first thing since this morning to make me smile.
“What time are the meetings?” I ask nervously.
“Eleven and two thirty. On site. I’ll make coffee.”
Beth fiddles around with the coffee machine in our office, and I flick through the folders before opening the first one and getting lost. I don’t really have time to feel nervous about these meetings as they are imminent, and I’m using as much of my brain power as I can absorbing the words on these pages.
It’s times like this that a good memory comes in very useful, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t overwhelmed.
I’m so grateful for the distraction though, that I get stuck right in.
Luckily, I didn’t need to worry. The first meeting goes very smoothly.
Beth led them around the shop floor like the pro that she is.
She also let me hover in the wings, prompting me only when she knew I would be comfortable with the direction the conversation was taking.
I surprised myself at the amount of natural knowledge I have for the fashion industry, and they seemed impressed with my opinions, too.
By the time they leave, I’m buzzed. I have just completed my first official meeting, and it feels great.
“You were fabulous, darling,” Beth praises. “Go, call your man. Then I’m taking you to lunch before we need to turn on the charm for round two.”
“Okay, thanks.”
I delve into my purse and check my cell before calling Denham. Beth exits the room to give us some privacy, although I don’t expect her to as this is her office also, I’m grateful that I don’t have to speak in code.
“King,” he answers abruptly.
“Hi, it’s me,” I say, my voice is small as I’m a little taken aback by his tone, especially as my name should have come up on the screen.
“Ari, I’m sorry. My cell has been ringing off the hook and I didn’t even check who it was. Are you okay?” he asks concerned.
“I’m fine. How’s Tara? Has she woken up yet?”
“No, she’s out for the count. I’ve had a doctor out to her, and her vitals are fine, she just needs to sleep it off. I don’t know what she’s taken this time, but it’s knocked her out, much like I will when she’s back ’n’ bouncin’.”
“Are you okay?”
“No,” he answers quietly. “No, I’m not.”
My heart breaks at his admission. He didn’t even try to hide it. He’s not alright. I feel guilty. I should be there with him. I want to be there with him. For him.
“Do you want me to come back? I could tell Beth I’m not feeling well or something …”
“No. No, I don’t want that. I want you to tell me what you’ve been doing today. Tell me something normal.”
“Um … I had a meeting this morning with a potential supplier,” I say, picking up the enthusiasm in my voice.
“That’s great, Stunner. And how was it?” I hear the smile in his voice, and it makes me happy that I can do that.
“It was amazing. We talked autumn lines, colors, fabrics. Oh, Denham, you should see some of their garments, they’re to die for.” I know I’m rambling, but I can’t stop it. I’m pretty sure I could talk for hours like this.
“You’re a pro. I’m proud of you, Ari.”
He’s proud of me. He’s proud of me.
“Thanks.” I blush. My mom always told me how proud she was of me, but she’s my mom and that’s what moms do isn’t it. So a compliment coming from someone who pays it just because they feel it is amazing.
“I’m sorry, Stunner. I have a call coming on the other line, and they won’t seem to go away. And I need to check on T. Call me if you need me, okay?”
“Okay. Same goes for you …”
“Okay. I … I hope your afternoon is good.”