Oh, thank God.
I breathed out heavy in relief, but composed myself.
“You’re okay with where you’re staying in the house, right?” she asked, knowing why I was here and everything. I mean, me staying here was house news, and as she ran the house, of course she knew. “I just ask since you were on the couch.”
Her words cemented that she really wasn’t privy to what went on, and I smiled at her, shaking my head.
“It’s fine,” I said. “I was just up working late last night. Went out for some coffee.”
“I saw that too,” she said getting another pan. “It must not have been very good.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because it was full,” she said, tossing a smile over her shoulder. She rose up from the floor again. “I disposed of it this morning when I found it.”
Nothing short of dread filled me, and with a coy smile, Irene went back to what she was doing.
“I’m getting these pans out for Colton,” she said as I backed to flee the room. “He said he wanted to make breakfast this morning.”
I froze full stop, and when I turned, Irene’s wide smile was on me.
“I’m happy you’re staying with us, Cami,” she said, her brown eyes big and bright. “It’s good for this house, good for Colton.”
Her look almost seemed knowing on me. She lowered back below the sink, closing those cabinets. I didn’t know what to feel about what she said, what she might know, but it all surrounded what I initially felt when I got up this morning. I woke up alone…
And how I wished I hadn’t.
It was all madness, insanity, and when I scaled the steps up to Colton’s room, I didn’t knock first in my busy thoughts. I should have knocked.
Because there was a naked girl in there.
She rose up from the sheets the moment the door blew open, the scene too familiar, and my chest caved.
“Cami?” she questioned, sleep clearly in the woman’s eyes. A flourish of wispy, blond strands covered her shoulders and breasts. That’s how I knew she was bare.
Her hair was the only thing that covered her boobs.
Realizing that, she brought the sheets up and I realized I knew her too. Well, at least knew of her as I wrangled Colton’s harem from day to day. Skylar Daniels was one of the few women he actually let stay over in his house, and it wouldn’t be uncommon to find her here and half dressed whenever I came over to get Colton’s ass up for a day of work. She made her way around the house all the time, and Irene must have let her in.
Or Colton last night.
Like I said, I didn’t know when he left, left me.
“What are you—”
“Sorry,” I said to Colton’s clear guest. I mean, she was in his bed. I backed away. “I was just looking for Colton.”
“Oh, Colt’s taking a shower,” she said, “Colt” when she pushed that bush of big blond hair out of her face and pointed toward his bathroom. The door open, heavy steam pushed into the wide room. I hadn’t noticed that when I came in.
Yeah, he definitely knew she was here.
The thoughts should hurt more, but I think, if anything, they released me from other thoughts that shouldn’t have surfaced. They were impractical and the exact opposite from what I actually wanted. I didn’t want to get in a relationship with my boss.
I didn’t want to be hurt again.
I left the room without saying anything.
“I’ll tell him you came by,” Skylar tossed from behind me, but I didn’t need her to do that for me. I didn’t need anything from her.
I especially didn’t need anything from him.
Chapter Eight
Colton
“Cami?”
I scoured the house, it was curiously… vacant. Unusually, my sheets had been tossed when I got out of the shower. Like someone had been there waiting for me, and I thought it might have been her, Cami.
The reason I’d been in the shower for over an hour.
Her tight little bottom pressed up against me all night and into the morning, her body warm, and between that and the blue balls I gave myself, I needed some relief. Dick in hand, I jerked off to the memory of her sweet heat flooding my mouth, and I had to after what happened last night. She gave herself to me.
She let me make her come.
I couldn’t believe she’d never had that experience, that a man either had never been able to or had the desire to actually do that for her. The latter maddened me, and I might have overstepped my boundaries when it came to her, but I hadn’t cared. The desire to please her, have her overcame me, and I lost control of myself. I did something I probably shouldn’t have, and what made it worse was I not only wanted to do it again, but finish the job I started last night. I wanted to see her in my bed this morning.
I wanted to make her come again.
Last night hadn’t been about me, but this morning selfishness swarmed me, as I made my way through the house, checking all rooms. I told Cami things could be casual, but I at least wanted to talk about what happened. I figured we could discuss it over breakfast or something. Problem was, I couldn’t seem to find her, and the pans I requested to start that breakfast were currently being put away.
My housekeeper banged and crashed pots and pans like she was trying to start her own percussion line when I entered the kitchen, and I caught a skillet just before she raised her little feet off the floor to hook it above the sink.
“I said I wanted to make the house breakfast,” I said to her, and Irene had looked pleased when I offered. She didn’t so much now when she got to her feet, and wiping her hands on her apron, she frowned at me.
“I’m afraid there’s too much work for me to join you this morning, Colton,” she said, standing back. “But I’m sure you can manage in the kitchen?”
Because I could, I nodded, but when she started to walk away I hadn’t been quite done.
I clasped her arm. “Have you seen Cami? I can’t seem to find her anywhere.”
Though her physical presence appeared to be gone, her essence actually lingered in the air—especially, after last night. This might have all just been in my head, but I could feel her around me as if she’d been here. She’d really gotten to me like nothing else, and I really, really needed to talk to her.
Irene slid away. “Camille left for the day, Colton. And I’d mind you to keep better track of your company.”
Frowning, I didn’t understand what she said, putting the pan on the counter.
“Cami’s staying here, Irene. She can come and go as she pleases—”
“I don’t mean Cami, Colton,” she said, her fluffy bangs brushing against her forehead before she pushed them back. “I mean, your guest. Ms. Skylar.”
“Skylar?” My head shot back. “Why are you talking about Skylar? She isn’t here.”
“She was,” she said, putting another pan away. “I told her to wait in the parlor for you, but I have a feeling impatience sent her upstairs to see you. She dropped by as she had a few minutes before work, but they must have not been enough to wait for you to finish upstairs. She said to tell you hello before leaving several moments ago, and Camille, well, she left only moments before that.”
Moments before that…
“I have a feeling they may have intercepted each other,” Irene stated, but I was already fishing my phone out of my pocket. I got another Irene frown. “Again, I say do better with your company, Colton. You’re better than that.”
A basket of laundry slid across the counter with her final statement, and though I obviously hadn’t mentioned what went on with Camille, I was sure Irene had seen us together on the couch. She may have even encouraged it when she put an extra blanket on us. I’d folded it and returned it to the back of the sofa when I got up.
What the fuck did I do?
Dialing, I bypassed an incoming text. I didn’t know who it was from, but I wasn’t concerned. I was aiming for Cami’s ears and went straight for them when I dialed her.
I knew exactly what I’d done as I listened to the phone ring. In my openness to allow one of the girls I was seeing to drop by whenever they damn well liked for a screw amongst other things, I let someone else get caught in the crossfire. But that someone wasn’t just anyone. It was Cami, and though she knew the gory details when it came to my life, she should have never fallen into the rough of it. She didn’t deserve that and definitely didn’t deserve what she thought she saw.
Hi, this is Cami, personal assistant to Colton Chandler. If you need to leave a message for him or me please do so at the—
Hanging up the phone, I decided to text.
Hey. I ran into Irene. She told me you left. Please let me explain. It’s not what you think with Skylar.
I left two more messages in the same vein before grabbing my car keys and heading down the hall to grab my shoes. Pressing my phone to my ear, I attempted a second call while I got them on but must have answered the phone with my cheek because my agent’s voice was suddenly in my ear.
“Colt—”
“Sorry, Joe. This isn’t a good time,” I said stomping my foot down into one shoe before putting on the other. “I’m looking for Cami.”
“Cami’s here, son. But where are you?”
Confused, I placed both feet on the floor. “Wait. What? What do you mean Cami’s with you? Where are you? Where’s she?”
In the background, I heard male voices, Joe’s amongst them, and when he returned, a sigh was in his voice.
“We were supposed to go over your contract stuff today, Colton.”
My eyes closed, the reality of what he said coursing through my veins.
That was today…
“That’s today,” I concluded, knowing he’d scheduled me a meeting. He confirmed the time with me already.
“Colton…” And I didn’t like how Joe said it, his voice something I’d heard before. It came after the initial shock of me almost dying. I hated this man’s sympathy, someone I’d come to look up to over our time working together. I hated his disappointment even more. It’d become something of a normal occurrence when interacting with the people in my life as of late.
I only added Cami to the stack.
“Get here,” Joe said, sighing again. “Just get here.”
Chapter Nine
Colton
Looking for Cami wasn’t something I meant to do upon crossing the threshold of my agent’s office suite, but something I instinctively did. My assistant was in my mind with no possible means to escape, and I just needed a few moments with her, to explain, but Joe got to me first. He found me lingering in the lobby, his hands up.
“Miami’s here,” he said, placing them on me. “You all right? Is your head here?”
Meaning was I… stable. Though he didn’t actually say that. In the back of my mind I wondered if he questioned my mental state just as much as the rest of the world seemed to as of late. He believed the judge’s sentence regarding my drug and alcohol use was just as much bullshit as I did.
But that didn’t mean he didn’t question the behaviors surrounding the actual act. He’d never say anything of course, but I didn’t believe he had to. I saw it all over his face when he looked at me, handling me with kid gloves, as he shook my shoulders before pulling away. Guiding me toward his personal conference room, I allowed my gaze to travel again, looking for Cami.
I only found my brother.
I could actually see his big-ass grin from here, toothy and bright from all those tubes of Colgate I was sure he got for free for being one of their spokespeople. There wasn’t a week that didn’t pass without seeing my brother Griffin’s face on an ad or a commercial since he went pro and even more frequently over the years as he settled into his stride. Griffin had become something of a legend even here in LA where I played. What I didn’t understand was why he was here now.
Honestly, I didn’t know how I would react upon seeing any of my family after my, well, after all I’d been going through. I strategically restricted all contact with them to either phone calls or text messages. My brother Griff was the first person I technically saw since getting out of rehab.
And something made it easier to breathe now that he was here.
I didn’t understand that feeling as he rose from his seat, coming over to me. Broader, he had a width to his shoulders where I was narrower and a height to his frame that I just barely surpassed. I’d grown taller than him years ago, taller than all my brothers in the end. I supposed it’d been the one thing I had of my own being surrounded by nothing but rowdy siblings. They gave me a hard time being the youngest.
“Colton.”
But they always protected me.
I felt that as my brother brought his extended limbs around me, his flaxen hair pushed back and making my new look resemble a kid’s style. His pressed suit only pushed that distinction more. I came today in a popped-collar polo and dress pants. I was his baby brother in every way.
“Griff, what are you doing here?”
Emotion in my voice I didn’t anticipate, I didn’t let him go immediately. Eventually, he did draw back though and gripped the back of my neck. He took me in, smiling at me.
Griffin and I had always been the closest growing up. I figured that had to do with our ages. The pair of us were the youngest out of the four Chandler boys, and everything he seemed to touch I wanted to as well. I admired him I guess, my big brother. Taking my shoulder, my brother stood before me. Like I said, looking way better than me. He matured so much in what seemed like only a few years, and I figured I would be on that same path as well.
At least I had been.
His hand coming down, Griffin slid both into his pockets. “It’s a big day for you,” he said, tilting his head. “I guess I wanted to give my support.”
I had no idea what that meant, and the possibilities didn’t sit well. Especially as Miami seemed to be behind him.
Men I had met before reached to shake my hand, Miami reps and some of the most powerful men in the industry. The last time I’d seen these fellas we’d been having drinks, celebrating.
How much things had changed.
“Griffin’s with us today, Colton,” one of them said, the man in a fitted suit even fancier than my brother’s. He settled a hand on top of mine. “We’re all hoping to have some thorough discussions today.”
Words like support and discussions really didn’t sit well. There certainly hadn’t been anything that needed supporting the last time I’d seen these guys, the decisions settled and the offers made. The men had me sit on one side of the table while they took the other, Joe on my side. Griffin joined the men, technically his reps still, I supposed. We all squeezed in, and Joe took the lead.
“Colton apologizes for being late, gentlemen,” he said, shaking my shoulder like I was two. I supposed I acted like it, considering my tardiness for such an important meeting. My agent smiled at the group. “But he’s here now, and he’s ready to talk.”
“And we’re ready to both engage and listen,” said one of them, his nod firm with his smile. “We also hope all issues with your house are okay. Your assistant informed us you were having some type of plumbing issue.”
A slow lift to my eyebrow had me facing Joe, who only grinned and shook my shoulders again.
“Cami told us all about the flooding,” he said, dropping his hands. “And here I was starting to think you might have forgotten about today.”
The men partook in a round of laughter at his comment, but all I was thinking about were the excuses that preceded me.
And the woman that came in looking like a goddess right after.
Cami had these cute, little curls sweeping across her face when she came into the room, her bangs I was guessing as she had her hair up. The tiny twists caught on her eyelashes with the steps she made in the highest heels. Her arms full of binders, she placed one in front of each of us, filling the room with her honey smell. The scent only consumed me more when she placed one of those binders in
front of me, her curvy body painted in a white dress, which hugged her hips and breasts.
“Colton’s never without humor as you’ll all come to see,” Joe said, opening that binder Cami gave him, but I was looking at Cami, shifting her way a little. The small maneuver blocked her from escaping me, and I begged her with my eyes to look at me for just a moment.
Pushing out a heavy breath, she chose to navigate the opposite way. She went behind Joe, leaving me, and since the rest of the group had their binders, she headed for the door.
“Thanks, Cami,” Joe said to her, pretty much absentmindedly as that was her job, but again, I was focused on her, waiting for her to look at me.
Please see me.
Like I willed it, I got a flicker of her gaze before she looked away and closed the door behind her. It seemed she saved me again, her excuse for me being late and all that.
Swallowing, I opened my binder, seeing something familiar. The contract to join a team, join Miami, and when I looked up, four grins filled my eyes.
My brother’s was included. His smile had been the widest, and I wasn’t surprised.
“Your…” I started, swallowing hard. “You still want to make this happen? Take a chance on me?”
Because I had to admit I was… awed. I put myself and consequently this team through media hell by the mistakes I made only several weeks ago, and here they were, offering me the keys to the world, Miami to play with my brother.
“We stand by our players,” one of the reps said, the closest to Griffin. The man placed his large hands on the binder. “And you are one of our players. At least you will be as soon as you sign on that dotted line.”
Still not believing any of this, I faced Joe.
He flashed his big teeth. “Miami’s graciously offered to keep you on board with some provisions.”
The rep who spoke before nodded. “A media tour being one of them,” he said pointing to the contract with his hands. “You’ll go from city to city, speaking on behalf of yourself and telling your own story. The details are all written out in the contract as far as what cities and the tour’s length, but the purpose is to give you a voice, to share what you want to about who you are—”
Colton (Found by You Book 7) Page 7
