THIRTY-TWO
“DID brOGAN PLAY? Football?” Roxie asked after a squeal. “God, I wish I’d been there to see that. Why did the Queen Dinner have to be this weekend? And in stupid Tokyo.”
“You were stoked about going to Tokyo.” Legs outstretched on her hotel bed, she wiggled her toes, admiring her pedicure. “As for the football, Tripp got Brogan on the field,” she said into the phone. “Don’t know how it went after that.”
“He just stood there?”
“I don’t know. I imagine he planned it that way, as to how it stuck…
He’s competitive. It could’ve stuck.” She’d try to corner Julius at that night’s drinks and dancing downstairs to find out.
“Tripp promised me Brogan and Bram weren’t playing at the same time.
There are so many guys here, I don’t think anyone had to be out there more than ten minutes. ”
“That’s something.”
“Didn’t save everyone, I did notice a few new bruises around the room at dinner earlier.”
“Now I would’ve paid to see that,” Roxie said. “You carry a cellphone, a charged cellphone, like a normal person, did you get any footage?”
“I wish. I, and all the other women, were funneled off to the hotel’s spa.”
“We miss all the fun. Stupid grooming. Brogan better appreciate it.”
Any preening wasn’t supposed to be for him. “I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m sleeping with Gault.”
“That makes a change. Most guys assume when Tripp Breckenridge’s in the room, he’s the one sleeping with all the women.”
“All of them?”
“Hey, between Tripp and my guy, it’s possible they’ve tapped every female there.”
“Tripp’s been very respectful.”
Roxie sighed. “That’s the big secret, he always is. Alice raised her boys right, believe you me. Tripp’s been respectful. How about Gault?”
“On the disrespect scale, everyone has to get in line behind my brother. He’d be quite happy for me to get this deal for the Sears on my back.”
“He’s a dick and you’re better than that. Stronger than that. You stood up to them for Brogan.”
“For Shanna.”
“Don’t worry, honey,” Roxie said. “Tripp is there.”
Glancing around, that got her thinking. “Yeah, somewhere. He got a call and disappeared a while ago.”
“Call from who?”
“I don’t know.” And she wouldn’t ask. “Think everything’s okay?”
“If something bad happened, I’d know.”
“Would you tell me?” she asked.
“Depends what it was.”
If nothing else, she couldn’t fault her friend for honesty. “I’ll see Tripp at the drinks thing tonight. There’s a lot of required drinking.”
“Drink whatever you want, Tripp won’t let anyone take advantage.”
“Do people believe you about him?”
“About Tripp? What about him?”
“The way people see him—”
“People who don’t know him.”
“Right—” Her phone buzzed, another call: Shanna. “Rox, Shanna’s calling, I—”
“Go, answer it. Be careful and call me later.”
“Thanks.” She hung up on one friend to answer the other. “Shanna?”
“Gia! Oh my God!”
That wasn’t informative. “Everything okay? Are you okay?”
“I—we—” Shanna let out a long breath. “He found him. We think he found him.”
“Jarrod? You found Jarrod.”
“The PI, in Mexico. He thinks it’s him. We have to go down there.”
“We have to go down there?” she asked. “We have to go—why do we have to go to Mexico?”
“Someone must ID him and the PI says he’s mixed up in—he might not walk away with a stranger. Please, Gia, I know it’s a lot of money, but—”
“It’s okay,” she said. Nausea suggested otherwise. “If you want to go talk to him.”
“Yes! We have to. The PI says we have to be quick or we’ll miss our chance. Jarrod won’t trust someone he doesn’t know. He’ll trust me. He’ll know it’s okay if I’m there.”
“Yeah,” she said, leaping up from the bed. “Okay, I’ll—wait by the phone.”
“I’m packing. Now.”
“Okay, yes. I’ll take care of it and call you back.”
Hanging up, she tossed her damp hair from her shoulder as she swept up her keycard.
She hadn’t dried her hair or done her makeup.
Still, she sailed out of her suite, barefoot, to hurry along to her father’s room and hammer on it probably harder than was necessary.
Wasn’t her fault Shanna’s urgency fired her adrenaline.
Some of the employees of Gault’s company were staying in the hotel too, the delegations of those bidding on the company were grouped on the same floors. What the hell did that matter? The only thing that mattered was her dad opening his door. Like now. Not yesterday or tomorrow, now.
“Come on,” she whispered and knocked again. “Come on, come on, Daddy.”
A moment later, his door opened, and he stood there, shirt half unbuttoned, bow tie loose around his neck. Tonight was black tie. Explained the voluminous gown hanging in her closet.
“Gianna,” he snapped. “Why are you banging on my door like that?”
Bram appeared behind him. “Is Spurn pressuring you?”
“Pressuring me for what?” she asked. Closing her eyes and shaking her head, she didn’t care about the answer. “No, Daddy, I need money.”
He straightened up. “Why do you need money?”
“I need to go to Mexico.” She didn’t blame him for being surprised. “I know that it doesn’t make much sense and there isn’t time to explain. I just need you to trust me and—”
“You’re not going anywhere,” he said. “The deal was you remain with us while we’re here and we won’t be going home until Monday.”
“I know. I know that, but—”
“No, that was the deal,” her father said.
“Something unforeseen has come up. It’s an emergency.”
“I don’t care what it is, Gianna. Frankly, I’m tired of having these conversations with you. There is an appropriate way for a woman to act and gallivanting around hotel hallways in a bathrobe is not an appropriate way to act.”
Who cared that she hadn’t put on her dress yet? She was wearing underwear beneath the robe. Routine dictated the dress came last. Hair, makeup, dress. Not her rules.
“I’m sorry, Daddy—”
“Doesn’t matter,” Bram muttered. “There’s guys in this hallway who’ve seen her naked.”
“Please, Bram,” she said, aggravated by his attitude. “Can you, please, butt out for ten seconds?”
“I think it’s sick that—”
“Yes, I know you do. Everyone knows you do. Why don’t you go up to the roof and shout it out?”
Would give her ears a break for a minute.
“Stop your bickering,” her father said and laid a hand on her shoulder. Ah, relief. Support at last! “When we get back home, if there’s still a problem with your friend, I’ll make a call to—”
“No, not a call, I don’t need you to make a call,” she said, stepping away from his patronizing pat.
“That’s all I can offer you, Gianna,” he said and exhaled. “I don’t know why you insist on throwing good money after bad. It’s crazy. And your friend Shanna is—”
“Were you ever planning to help me?” she asked, hurt, upset, angry. What an idiot. How could she have let herself be duped by her own father? Again and again. The longer he stood there saying nothing, the deeper the truth sank. “You weren’t, were you?”
“Go to your room and get dressed,” he said and had the audacity to smile. “You’ll come to the party, spend some time with Gault and forget all about your friend’s problem.”
Stunned, she didn’t move when he stepped forward to kiss her forehead. “I—”
“On you go, sweetheart, we’ll see you downstairs in a few minutes.”
Her father went back into his room and closed the door like that was that. He’d made a deal, a deal to finance Shanna’s search. Hadn’t he? How could she misconstrue the situation so—how did someone…? No. That deal was the only reason for her presence.
Preparing to knock again, she lifted a fist… It hung in midair. Reality hit hard. She’d been fighting with her father, with her family, for decades, and their position never changed. They didn’t respect her. They didn’t care about what she cared about. She’d never get through to them.
That was that? No, Daddy, because she could rely on this for that.
Spinning around, another door became her goal. Though her heart thumped hard, she edged across the hallway, fist still raised.
Quick, before she could change her mind, she squeezed her eyes closed and knocked with way less force than she’d used on her father’s door.
In the seconds she waited to see if the door would open, adrenaline surged again, raising her blood pressure.
Good. Confidence was what she needed. Real or biologically enhanced.
The door opened and her lips parted, except no words came out. Why was she there? Every time she looked into his eyes, she forgot who she was for a few seconds.
“Irish?” Brogan asked when she didn’t speak. “What’s wrong?”
Licking her lips, she gathered her gumption. “Are you attracted to me?”
A flash of surprise crossed his face. “What?”
“Do you think I’m attractive?”
“Do I…? Of course I damn well do. Babe, what—”
“Good,” she said, grabbing his face and pulling his mouth down to hers.
While he was still catching up, she pushed him inside and kicked the door closed. His room had to be the same layout as hers. Guiding him to where she thought the bed would be, she pushed off his jacket and opened his shirt.
The kissing only stopped when they got to the end of the bed. Right where she wanted them.
“Gia—”
“Shh,” she said, thrusting her hands to his chest to shove him down onto the bed.
Dropping her robe, she climbed on top. “Gia—”
“Stop saying my name like that and kiss me,” she said, bowing over him to plant her mouth on his again.
Given their break-up, they shouldn’t be doing this, but this was how their relationship worked: quid pro quo.
It wasn’t prostituting herself. Sex for money? Some may say different. How could that be when she wanted it so bad? In truth, this was pathetic, her friend’s need was an excuse to taste him again.
His hands loosened to skim down her back and cup her ass, pulling her pelvis hard against his, encouraging her to grind against him. It was there she found the evidence that he was happy to be used.
“Fuck, baby,” he groaned when she rocked faster.
Being in his arms, being touched by him, kissed by him, the reason for knocking on the door drifted away. Nothing mattered but them right there.
Priorities realigned when he took control and rolled her onto her back, his mouth gliding down the side of her neck.
“I was gone three damn minutes!”
Julius’s voice stole Brogan’s mouth from her.
On top and in control, he only twisted to glare at his friend. “Seriously?” he asked. “You couldn’t have just backed out quietly?”
The older man wasn’t apologetic. “You two are broken up. The man whose company you’re trying to buy is enamored with her.
It’s possible one of your oldest friends was in her panties this morning, and…
what am I forgetting? Right! Her family despise you…
But, sure, boy, I’ll back out quietly and let you get yours. ”
“I’d appreciate that,” Brogan said without acknowledging the sarcasm. “If you knew what it was to go a minute outside this woman’s body, you’d respect that it’s been almost a week and a man can only take so much.”