Chapter 3
Ria
To:riastone@
From:shannonstevens@
Subject: Potential collaboration
Good afternoon, Miss Stone:
I have been liaising with your assistant, Grace, and I have managed to carve out some time for you to discuss the matters addressed by Mr. West, next Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m.
He’s looking forward to speaking with you.
Shannon Stevens
Executive Assistant to Mr. Cole West, CEO, West Wing Hotels
After Leo left my office this morning, his cheery enthusiasm rubbed off on me, and I was literally skipping through my day. Nothing was going to ruin my mood.
Bright is going from strength to strength, and finally, I feel like I’m settling in. The move to London was just what I needed. A fresh start. Even though my ex is still very much a fixture in my life.
“Jade?” I peer around her door.
“Ria.” She smiles at me, tearing her eyes away from her screen. “Come in.”
“Thanks, babe.” Walking into her office, I take a seat opposite her, and she gives me her complete attention.
Jade is my associate here at Bright and is the calm I need in the office when Grace and Leo get to be a bit much. She balances out their mayhem.
“I hear you’ve got a big client to wine and dine next Wednesday.” She waggles her eyebrows at me.
“Don’t you start.” I groan. “I’ve already got Grace planning my outfit. I have no idea what goes through her head most days. She was muttering something about my tits and how they need to be perky enough to rest my drink on.”
“We need to limit her time with Lily. Those two are loose cannons.”
“They are too much,” I agree.
“But we wouldn’t have them any other way.” She tilts her head slightly before asking, “You doing okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good.” I nod, knowing she’s only asking because this weekend is her joint bachelorette and bachelor party with Hunter. And Trixie is coming with us, one of her best friends who also happens to be now dating my ex.
Ezra St. Claire.
He’s the shit on your shoe you can’t get rid of no matter how hard you try to clean it. It still lingers.
After three long years of self-discovery and also a lot of self-loathing for what the prick turned me into, I was finally in a good place.
But he sprang back into my life in spectacular fashion when my brother started dating Jade and I moved to London to take over Bright.
I tolerate the dick for Jade because since she’s started dating my brother, we’ve become really close friends.
She’s been like the little sister I always wanted, and I know if I acted on my instincts and called him out for his shit, it would create drama that we don’t need, and Jade would feel like she had to choose between Hunter and Trixie.
I could never do that to her, so I’m civil.
His face was the reason I needed to find my Zen, to ease the tension that even just the thought of him stirred in me.
Oh, and the prick bought out Bright’s biggest competitor, Peak Investments, so my ex is now my rival.
Lucky me.
How he managed it none of us know. But between when he disappeared until now, there’s a huge chunk of time where no one knew what he was doing or where he even was. I don’t trust him.
“Good. I’m not sure I am though.” She cringes.
“Why?”
“I think I overheard Lily last night talking to someone about, poles and superheroes, but I could be wrong.”
“Well that’s…actually I am not sure why those things would be linked.” I do know, but I can’t let on that I do because it’s actually hilarious.
“Exactly. I have no idea where she even comes up with this stuff.”
“You never know—it could be something to do with a sport she’s covering.”
“What the hell type of sport has those things together?” She quirks an eyebrow at me, and I have no comeback. “Exactly. One that has the potential to have me arrested.”
“Only if you partake.” I shrug.
“You saying no to Lily?”
“I’ll say no to Lily if you say no to Grace when she struts in here in five minutes with my outfit for my nondate with Cole West.”
“I’m good. I’ll lube up the pole with whatever sauce Lily’s offering.” We both cackle, and I’ve got tears in my eyes from laughing so hard.
“Who’s lubing up poles?” Ted, Jade’s assistant, walks into her office with a pep in his step as he hands her some files.
“Best you don’t know.” She wipes her eyes as she looks over the documents.
“How long have I worked with you? This sounds like a conversation I should be involved in.” He crosses his arms across his chest.
“One word, Ted.” Jade sits back, throwing her pen on the desk. “Lily.” The grin that spreads across his face is feral. “You know!” She points her finger at him, and he holds his hands up in surrender.
“No idea what you’re on about.” He starts to back away out of her office as Jade jumps out of her chair, following him. “See you later, boss.”
“Ted, you get back here and tell me.”
“Miss Wilde’s office.” He picks his desk phone up, pretending to answer a call.
“Ted, there’s no one there; it didn’t even ring.”
“Yes, of course.” He covers the mouthpiece and whispers, “I’ve got to take this.” I walk out to stand in Jade’s doorway, watching the scene unfold.
“Ugh!” She spins on her heel, shaking her head and grinning. “If you’re in on whatever this is,”—she motions behind her at Ted, who is trying his best not to laugh as she glares at me—“I swear I will get you back, Ria.”
Jade has been giving me the eye all week and has tried to get out of me what Lily has planned, but I’m more scared of Lily than I am Jade, so I keep my mouth shut.
I just hope Jade knows what she got herself into when she told Lily she could plan the bachelorette party, because that woman and the workings of her brain scare me.
I was told to pack for Vegas. Her exact words were “less is more.” I have no idea how Marcus, her boyfriend, copes, but from what I’ve seen of them together, he gives as good as he gets. Those two fight and call it foreplay.
I let out a huge sigh of relief as I take my seat on our family’s private jet Friday evening, heading for Las Vegas. I’ve been preparing for my meeting with Cole, and I think I’ve got a proposal set for when we get back, but right now, I’m leaving all that behind and am ready to let loose.
“You look like you’re really in the party mood, Ri Ri.” Leo comes bouncing in, his normally perfectly styled hair tucked underneath his backward ball cap and his gray eyes twinkling with pure mischief. Taking the seat next to me, he bumps my shoulder with his. “You good?”
“Yeah, I will be. It’s been a bit of a week.” I huff out a small laugh.
“It has.” His playful look is replaced with concern. “You okay with spending time with Trixie?”
“Of course. I’ve only ever known her with Ezra. It’s fine.” I gently squeeze his forearm and his fingers flex. “Plus,” I say with a sigh, “it will be quite nice to have time with her without that douchebag around, you know?”
“Yeah, it will. She's pretty awesome. But you’re right; she is different around him.”
“Was I different when he was around?” I question, my stomach churning at the thought. I don’t want a man to change me.
“Toward the end, yeah.” He quickly grabs my retreating hand as my gaze drops to my lap, shame washing over me.
“But only because you lost your glint, that Ri Ri sparkle.” He tips my chin up with his finger, his eyes connecting with mine.
“But you’ve got it back. Don’t let anyone take that from you again because you’re one incredible woman. ”
“You flirting with me, Leo?” I tease.
“Always, Ri Ri,” he whispers as his gaze flicks to my lips briefly. Feeling my body lean toward his, instinctively I lick my lips, my heart beating wildly in my chest.
“Have you seen what Kai is doing?” Lily’s voice has me jumping in my seat and staring wide-eyed at Leo as he gives me a look that I can’t quite interpret.
What the hell was that?
Lily is laughing uncontrollably as she comes into view, her arm tucked through Jade’s, with Trixie on Jade’s other arm.
“The man is so weird.” Marcus snickers as he follows behind the girls. My brother's other best friend, Deacon, follows closely behind, his permanent scowl set on his handsome face as he texts furiously on his phone.
“He was yours first,” he grumbles without looking up.
“I know. I have a lot to answer for.” Marcus swipes his hand through his wavy locks.
Kai is Marcus’s best friend, and when he started dating Lily, Kai and Leo instantly connected.
It was as if the universe decided one Leo Brent wasn’t enough for this world, so it created Kai Harris, using Leo as the prototype and doubling his crazy.
They are a double act that constantly has us in fits of laughter.
“The man has made my day. He is always down for a laugh. A literal genius, I tell you.” Jade giggles as she takes her seat. “You okay, Ria? You have crazy eyes.” She frowns across at me.
“Who, me?” I point to myself, my voice pathetically high, and feel my cheeks flush as everyone turns toward me.
“Yes, you.” Jade raises her eyebrow.
“Just tired. Been a bit of a week.” Waving her off, I slide deeper into my seat, hoping it will swallow me whole.
“Think I’m going to try and get some sleep.
” And try and work out what the hell that was with Leo.
I’m not blind. The man has grown up to be most women’s wet dream, but Leo has never looked at me like that before—his eyes full of desire and heat.
And the way my body gravitated toward him didn’t feel wrong.
“You’re going to need it for what we’ve got planned.” Lily’s teasing tone has me slightly disturbed as she slumps into her seat.
“You better not have anything too mental planned, Lily Chambers.” Olivia, Jade’s mom, now joins us with Henry, her new husband, helping her to her seat.
“Of course not, Mama Wilde,” Lily sweetly says, but the mischief in her green eyes gives her away.
“Why do I not believe you?”
“I promise, you’ll enjoy everything I have planned.” Her smile is wide as she shimmies her shoulders.
“You always were a wild one. I shudder to think of the trouble you got my girl into.” Olivia grimaces.
“Nothing she wasn’t a willing participant in.”
“Leo!” Hunter shouts as he runs up the stairs, the muffled sounds of a familiar Celine Dion song following him. “Go help that fool. Apparently he needs his karaoke king.”
“Perfect.” Leo jumps up and darts toward the door, seemingly back to his normal self, our little moment long forgotten.
“I’ve told you before, Leo, I don’t do karaoke,” Hunter shouts at Leo’s retreating form.
“I’m very persuasive, Stone.” He winks as he bolts down the plane steps.
“Fuck my life.” Hunter sighs.