Chapter 40
FORTY
“DAMON THE DICKWAD.” Ah, trust Roxie to get right to the point. “You should kick his ass. No, I’m sending Ballard to kick his ass. That’s what he’s paid for, kicking ass.”
Working in Bastian’s house was easy. In anticipation of her needs, he’d had an office set up for her.
It wasn’t there in the morning and then just was when she got home on Tuesday afternoon.
Just like that. Poof. It materialized from nowhere in an invisible plume of imaginary smoke.
There was no telling the room had once been a bedroom.
In a few short hours, it had been completely transformed, decorated and everything, given renewed purpose.
If only it was that straightforward for humans.
Yes, it was Saturday, but she should be working. This was a quick break. A short one. Except… this was Roxie. Ignoring a call from Roxie just wasn’t possible. Neither was cutting any conversation short. That was okay, she’d go with it, they had some catching up to do.
“Thank you, but it’s okay. This week has been… It’s strangely invigorating to change everything about your routine.”
Roxie laughed. “Are you hyperventilating?”
“Only three or four times a day.”
“That’s an improvement.”
“It helps to hold onto a constant.” Which right then was Bastian. “How’s your sanity?”
“On a different continent. He’s fine, we make it work,” Roxie said. “No skipping the important stuff, what gave Dickwad Damon the right to kiss you?”
“He didn’t make contact.” Not for lack of trying. “He just threw himself on me.”
“Without finesse, like it was a done deal? Would that have made a difference?”
Her friend’s flat tone betrayed the obvious answer.
“No. God, no. How could he even think…? It’s just wrong. It’s disgusting. I feel violated and he didn’t even make contact.”
“Men like that believe they’re God’s gift. Guarantee he doesn’t even see what he did wrong. As soon as you uttered a word to him, he assumed all was forgiven and you wanted him again.”
That couldn’t be further from the truth.
“I don’t think my mom believes me.”
“That there was nothing going on between you and Damon?”
“My dad appeared in my office first thing Monday. He actually came to the ground floor to talk to me.”
“To check you were okay? That’s something. He cares.”
“To let me know it would be okay if me and Damon got back together.”
“What a treat.” Sarcasm alert. “Just what you needed, his blessing.”
“It gets better. He said it’s okay for me to get back with Damon, providing Bastian isn’t still an option. Bastian would be a good fit for the family and whatever I could do…”
“Oh, wow.”
“Right?”
“Did you tell your dad Bastian is an option?”
“No,” she said, pushing back in her plush leather chair, rocking side to side. “Bastian’s not an option. Not like that.”
“Please, the guy took care of you, towed you home, gave you safety. And he’s a good lay. You said he was a good lay.”
“Before,” she said, licking her lips. “Not now. It’s not like that this time. This time is purely platonic.”
“Are you sharing a room?”
“No.”
“Adjoining rooms?”
“No,” she said and had to laugh.
“You sleep…”
“In the next room.”
“The room next to his? So one night, you’re really tired, you accidentally wander into the wrong—”
“Roxie!” This woman was all kinds of crazy, each endearing in itself. “We’re not sleeping together. We’re friends.”
“Friends who live together.”
“Yes.”
“You’re working in his house too?”
“My father showing on Monday was bad enough. When Damon came to my office on the Tuesday, I couldn’t stand any more. I grabbed everything and came home.”
“To the office Bastian set up for you, like he knew.”
“That Damon wouldn’t stay away?” she asked. “Am I asking too much of Bastian? It is kind of rude. I’ve just moved into his life and taken over.”
“No! You’re friends, right? That’s what friends do for each other. I’d do the same. If you want to live somewhere else, work somewhere else, pick a city and I’ll make it happen. You don’t have to rely on him if you don’t want to.”
“Oh, God, I’m an awful friend.”
“What kind of friend would Bastian and I be if we left you in that mess? Have you talked to your sister?”
That dropped her shoulders a little. “I think she believes me. She said Charissa never will.”
“Oh no, whatever will you do?” Roxie droned with flat humor.
“I’m not losing any sleep over Charissa.”
“Adara is stuck in the middle. Not your fault.”
No, it wasn’t the fault of any Scott. Damon and Charissa’s affair kicked off this drama a year ago.
Adara was in the middle then too, but at least the couple were considerate enough to leave the continent for a while after the discovery of their indiscretion.
This time Damon caused the drama all on his own, yet she was a guilty party?
How was that fair? She’d done nothing wrong.
Except kiss Bastian in the stairwell. Yeah. They hadn’t talked about that yet. Yet? When would be a good time to bring it up? Uh… never was the most appealing option.
“They’re both still staying at the house, Adara will be hearing from them every day.” Which wasn’t fair. “And all she wants to talk about is wedding stuff, but…”
“This is taking precedence. She’ll want you involved, but want Charissa involved too.”
Right then, the two women couldn’t be in the same place at once.
What a mess.
Personally? She had no beef with Charissa.
The affair mess that ended her and Damon’s relationship last year barely flickered.
Harper was so over that. If anything, she should thank the woman for taking Dickwad Damon off her hands.
Unfortunately, just because she wouldn’t start fights didn’t mean there wouldn’t be any.
Somehow her presence incited them without her uttering a word.
Would this end well? There was just no way.
“I won’t make it difficult for her. She’s innocent in all of this.”
People brought drama to the Scott house. Boy, was she glad to be out of it. Yes, she wanted to help her sister, to embrace this happy time, but her and Charissa in the same place wouldn’t end happy.
“What did you say about Bastian?”
“To Adara? Nothing.”
“She didn’t ask where you were staying?”
“I said I was with a friend. He is a friend. He’s dating…” What was her name? “Audine.”
“He is not dating Audine. That wasn’t a thing.
It’s nothing. Guys like him get dates like that, it just happens.
It looks good. They’re networking, they don’t actually know each other.
Not like you and Bastian know each other.
Shit, Zairn is surrounded by women like her all the time and he’s married. ”
“They were on a date.”
Still, Roxie wasn’t buying it. “You’ve been there a week, have you seen her? Heard him talking to her? About her?”
“No, but the guy owns a million hotels, I don’t know where he is every minute.”
“So you think they’re having sex? Because sex is not love. Checked and verified by me, honey. Even if he’s screwing her—he’s not screwing her. I’ll find out.”
Panic came in a gasp. “What? No! Don’t do that.”
“I can be discreet. I’m discreet.” That wasn’t the first word that came to mind when considering Roxie’s qualities. “Tina will know.”
“Tina his—his assistant? No, who he has sex with is his business. It’s not my business.”
“I won’t find out for you. I want to know for me and if I happen to share that information with you…”
She exhaled. “This is complicated enough. Please. Let Bastian live his life his way.”
“Have you been spending time together?”
“We eat dinner. Talk about business. He’s having red tape issues with ambiguous regulations, and an even more ambiguous regulations officer.”
“Sounds about right. Red tape. Red tape. Do you just talk about his stuff?”
“No, he’s had some great ideas about a charity concert I’m organizing and wants me to use a Grand location for a team building thing I have coming up.”
They ate together, they laughed together, and every night they said good night between their bedroom doors. Sleeping wasn’t as easy this time as it had been before.
Beyond anything else, he was the best friend she’d ever had. That didn’t erase her memory of the pleasure, but that was in the past. Now they were roommates and that’s how it would stay.
“What are you doing today?”
“Work,” she said. “You?”
“My definition of work is different to yours.”
That was true. “It is great having the office so close to my bedroom. I’ll never have to see another soul again.”
“No, no, no, you are not going to become a recluse. The club’s open door for you. It doesn’t have to be loud and busy, you’re in LA, you can use our private pods. Take Bastian along or Keely.”
“I don’t think they know I’m…”
“Shacked up with Bastian?”
Roxie sure didn’t make this easy. “My family don’t know, why should his?”
“You have nothing to be ashamed of.”
“It’s not shame, we just don’t need everyone in our business.” And she didn’t want them getting the wrong idea. Like Roxie’s idea this was something more. “We’re friends. That’s it.”
“Friends,” Roxie stated though whether she agreed was dubious. “Friends is good.”
“I am going downstairs to make some food, then I’ll spend the day working. Bastian’s still asleep.” Or so she thought. “We won’t even have to see each other.”
“Friends,” Roxie said again. “Friends is good.”