Paradise: The Paradise Club Series

by Low, JA

  “I know what that’s like,” Olivia’s whispers.

  In my anger, I forgot she too agreed to marry a guy for her family’s business. She’s royalty, they have different traditions than some rich guy from Connecticut.

  “But you weren’t dating someone and leading them on,” I tell her.

  “No, but…”

  I know she’s thinking about her time in Monaco. She had a holiday fling with Axel Taylor, Christian’s twin brother, who’s also in Dirty Texas. We were there for the bachelor and bachelorette parties. I know it sounds bad, but we all encouraged her to have a fling before she marries her womanizing fiancé to meet her family’s obligation. I mean, her fiancé’s running around town hooking up with every supermodel under the sun. It’s all over the tabloids, so why shouldn’t she have some fun. It is only fair.

  “But you and Axel are not dating, are you?”

  “No,” she quickly adds. “I gave him a fake number for that very reason.”

  “A fake number?”

  “Yes. Because I’m betrothed to another. What happened in Monaco was a weekend of fun. That’s all,” Olivia quickly adds.

  “But he asked for your number?” I push further.

  “Yes. But it was a holiday fling. I told him that.”

  “Is it going to be awkward… you know, at the wedding?” I’m pretty sure Axel isn’t used to a girl giving him a fake number.

  “Um…” Olivia hesitates. “I hope not.” I place a mental note to keep an eye on that situation. “Enough about me,” she says, changing the subject.

  “I’m humiliated, Liv.” I let out a heavy sigh. “Thankfully, the media didn’t know about Harris and me dating. They have seen us pop up here and there together, but not ‘together’…” I use air quotes, “… if you know what I mean.” And that was my choice, not his. Harris wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but I didn’t want me dating one of New York’s most eligible bachelors to interfere with my business, or for people to think he’s the reason why our business has been so successful. Now with hindsight, I guess it was for the best. Otherwise, I would have page six on my doorstep salivating over what’s just happened. It’s hard enough seeing the news this morning covering their ‘surprise’ engagement party, the speculation on how she snagged New York’s hottest bachelor. Seeing their smiling faces just makes me want to rage out. “They are everywhere.”

  “Oh, Cammie… that’s horrible.”

  “It is, but there is a silver lining. We have been inundated with new business.” Which is one giant finger in the air to Harris’ father. “I can’t get away from it all, Liv.”

  “Why don’t you come here,” Olivia asks. “I can give Ivy a call. She could come up from London to see you. We can have girl time. You shouldn’t have to put up with seeing them running around town as if nothing’s happened.”

  Maybe Olivia’s right. I was going to England anyway in a couple of weeks to start setting up for Vanessa and Christian’s wedding, but this simply gives me more time to make it perfect. Plus, I haven’t seen my sister for a long time, and I miss her.

  Ivy lives in London, where she runs her own interior design business. We haven’t caught up recently because she’s been busy jet-setting around the globe for her celebrity clients.

  Maybe this is exactly what I need—girl time.

  “That’s it. I’m jumping onto the next plane. He can pander to the paps with his new fiancée, but I don’t need to see it.”

  “We can raid the cellar when you get here,” Olivia offers.

  “Sold!”

  Olivia has fancy stuff in her cellar. Royalty always has the good stuff locked away for that special occasion.

  “I’m excited,” she squeals. “I mean not ‘cause Harris is a dick, but we get girl time.” Her words make me smile. “Text me your flight details.”

  We both say goodbye to each other while I scramble to change my flight.

  Hitting Kimberly’s number on my phone, I place it on my bed, putting it on speaker while I grab my suitcase and madly start throwing clothing and other items into it. I wish I had more time to pack because I honestly have no idea what I’m putting in there.

  “Hey,” she answers the phone, the sadness in her voice tells me she’s worried about me.

  This is why I need to get out of town.

  “I just wanted to let you know I’m leaving for Olivia’s today.”

  Silence greets me on the other end.

  “Excuse me?” Kimberly eventually asks.

  “I can work remotely. I’ll have my laptop.” Grabbing a second suitcase to throw my shoes into, I continue with the job of packing.

  “I’m not worried about that. You’re going to England… today?” I can tell she’s thinking I’m being dramatic.

  “I can’t stay here. I can’t pretend nothing’s happened while they swan around town as if they’re the fucking king and queen of New York society.”

  “I understand, babe. But it’s our busiest time leading up to Christmas.”

  Dammit! My stomach falls, she’s right. I’m being utterly selfish. The lead up to Christmas is our crucial time and our most lucrative, I will be leaving her in the lurch.

  “I can cancel my flight.” Guilt hits me like a tonne of bricks.

  “Babe, don’t do that. I don’t want you to cancel. If you need to get away from everything, then go. I can delegate. I’ll hire more interns. I’m sure, Seth will love to step up as will Margot,” Kimberly adds.

  Of course, they will love more responsibility, they’re our best planners. I know the company will be in great hands, and I feel less stressed about leaving Kimberly in a mess.

  Stopping my frantic packing, I reply, “Thank you.”

  “I don’t blame you for leaving. Just look after yourself, okay?”

  “I promise. I’m going to sit in front of the fire, probably cry a million tears and drink a thousand bottles of wine.”

  “You know he’s not worth your tears,” Kimberly advises.

  “I know. He deserves nothing from me. But I do need to get it out.”

  “I get it,” she says sadly. “Have fun. Don’t behave, and I love you, Camryn.”

  “I love you, too. I owe you big time, Kimmie. I’ll see you soon.”

  “Introduce me to some of those hot rock stars, and we’ll call it even.”

  I laugh. “Consider it done.”

  My Uber is waiting to take me to the airport, so I make my way downstairs.

  “Miss Starr,” Billy, my doorman, halts me. “Um… there’s been some deliveries for you.” I frown because I wasn’t expecting anything. “There are a couple of large vases of flowers that have arrived.”

  I look up and stare at the beautiful bunches of flowers and know exactly who they’re from. True to his form, Harris isn’t going to let me go. Heading off early to England is most definitely the right idea.

  “Billy, I’m on my way to Europe for the holidays. I won’t be back for a while. Keep them, and any more deliveries like this give them to your wife.” His eyes widen.

  “Miss Starr, are you sure?” I nod. “Thank you. She will enjoy them so very much. Would you like me to keep the cards?”

  I shake my head. “I already know what they will say, and I’m not interested. Happy Holidays.”

  And with that now final, I make my way to the airport.

  5

  Nate

  I’m back in New York, finalizing things with Sam Rose, my oldest friend and silent partner, in my latest venture, The Paradise Club Resort. I’ve decided to turn my extremely successful, ultra-exclusive sex clubs into an island paradise. Let’s be honest, living your fantasy for one night sometimes isn’t enough. Sam and I have been working on this venture for five years together. He knows resorts, and I have the same experience with clubs. Unfortunately, due to his family’s business being of the wholesome variety, he’s had to come in as a silent partner.

  The resort will be ready to launch over the next couple of months, and we ha
ve so much to do. We’re planning on a soft launch next year for a select few hundred of our trusted clientele to see if the resort will run smoothly. The hardest part so far has been hiring employees. Good employees. We’ve moved some from our city locations to the island, but we need to hire so many more. You want the right caliber of employees—discreet, sexy, and most importantly, love having sex. I know some people can fake it for the money, but I want genuine people who love it and are not simply sex addicts. All staff must pass a strict psychological test to make sure we are not employing people who have a dependency or who have had past traumas, which might trigger a bad memory. So, it’s been hard.

  “Morning, Teresa, you look beautiful this morning.” I smile my biggest smirk at Sam’s receptionist because I love watching her flustered features when I’m around.

  “Morning, Mr. Lewis,” she mumbles. “Mr. Rose is waiting for you.” Giving her a wink as I pass, I stride on into Sam’s office.

  “Are you flirting with my receptionist again?” Sam chastises me as I take a seat opposite him.

  “Maybe… I love making her blush.”

  Sam grumbles something which makes me chuckle, then continues with, “Don’t touch my staff,” he warns, which he does every single time I come into his office.

  “Not my fault, I’m irresistible.”

  Sam rolls his eyes and huffs. “Coffee?” he asks, changing the subject.

  I nod.

  He busies himself with his fancy coffee machine, then hands me a mug of some Italian concoction, which is actually pretty good.

  “So, next month, we have the soft launch of the resort.” I nod in agreement. “We will iron out all the kinks then.”

  “Well, I hope we don’t get rid of all the kinks,” I add.

  Sam glares at me. Geez, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Come on, my jokes are hilarious. “And it’s all ready to go?”

  “Yes. There will be about two hundred visitors spread out over the month. I think that will give us a good idea of their experiences.”

  Sam nods as I take a sip of the piping hot liquid.

  “And you think Camryn and Kimberly will be ready?” I ask.

  Sam suggested Camryn and Kimberly from Starr and Skye Events would be the perfect company to help organize the soft launch and the Grand Opening of the resort. Kimberly’s mother and Sam’s mother are the best of friends. She’s family. He trusts her, which is what we need when dealing with a top-secret resort like ours.

  I’ve met Kimberly a couple of times over the years, and she’s great, loads of fun, actually. I haven’t met her business partner, Camryn, before, but as she hangs out frequently with Sam and his sister, Harper, I believe she’s trustworthy too. Sam and Harper suggested we all go out to dinner to make sure we’re all comfortable working together. What I wasn’t expecting was for this gorgeous blonde bombshell to walk into the restaurant and knock me off my feet. It’s been a while since anyone’s done that to me. She’s beautiful, intelligent, funny, but most of all, she understood our vision for the resort.

  We agreed that before finalizing the contract, we need to take the girls to the New York club to make sure they understood what they’re getting into. The last thing I want is for the event planners to freak out over watching people fuck on the beach.

  We’d tried to sync our calendars, but there just wasn’t a day free for all of us to go. So, Camryn suggested that Kimberly should go as she’s single. Sam’s face lit up at the prospect.

  Of course, a woman like Camryn wouldn’t be single.

  Lucky bastard, whoever he is.

  So, when I saw Camryn Starr walking into the high rollers section of the Monte Carlo casino looking like a fucking Bond girl during my friend’s bachelor party a couple of weeks later, I was fucking shocked. I had no idea Camryn was friends with the band, Dirty Texas. Christian Taylor, whose bachelor party I had organized, his fiancée, Vanessa, is best friends with Camryn, something about working in London together.

  “Of course. Trust me. They are professionals.” Hearing the confidence in Sam’s voice.

  If only I were a professional in Monaco. I’ve always lived by the rule ‘never mix business and pleasure,’ even if my business is pleasure. I never mess around with clients. Technically, Camryn isn’t a client, but I have hired her to do a job for me. I don’t fuck around with people who I’ve paid to do a job for me because let’s be honest, if things head south, she could fuck with my business. I’ve worked too damn hard to have a disgruntled fling fuck it all up. I’m careful about which staff I hook up with for that exact reason.

  Maybe it was the bachelor party vibes, or that she’s close friends with mine, that it sort of took away the professionalism. Or maybe it was seeing her walk into my club in Monte Carlo, those green eyes wide and filled with excitement at what was happening before her that made me do it. I’m not proud.

  “Kimberly was fine when I took her the other night.” This grabs my attention. I’ve long suspected Sam’s had a crush on Kimberly, but they both keep saying they’re just friends.

  “And?” I push my friend.

  “She was fine.”

  That’s not quite the answer I was looking for. “Fine?” I question.

  “Yeah. She didn’t freak out. She thought it was fun.”

  My eyes narrow in on him. “And did you help her explore everything the club had to offer?”

  Sam looks down at the papers on his desk and uncomfortably begins to fidget with them. “No. I did not,” he replies through gritted teeth. But something did happen, though. Before I even get a chance to push him about anything further, his office door swings open and slams just as quickly.

  “That motherfucker,” Harper curses. Sam and I both look at each other with concern as she slumps in the chair beside me. “That motherfucking bastard,” she repeats.

  “Are you okay?” Sam tentatively asks.

  “No, I’m not.” She waves her hands in the air dramatically.

  “Did someone hurt you?” The protective brother comes to life, and his face changes from amused to stern.

  “Not me. Camryn.”

  Now Harper has my attention. “Is she okay?”

  “No. Her asshole boyfriend just got engaged.”

  “Camryn’s engaged?” The question coming out before I have a chance to hide my reaction.

  Sam frowns in my direction, his eyes bore into mine.

  “No. He’s engaged to another woman.”

  “I’m not following?” Sam’s attention returns to Harper as he jumps in.

  I’m as confused as him.

  “Harris fucking Edwards…” Harper seethes. Shit! I haven’t heard that name in years. Please don’t tell me Camryn was dating that douchebag? “… just got engaged to someone else.” Harper grabs a newspaper from her bag, slamming it on Sam’s desk.

  “Camryn’s dating Harris Edwards?” My gaze goes to Harper while Sam’s reading the paper.

  “She was. But not anymore. I mean, the fucker hired her to plan his surprise engagement party. Who does that?”

  “He what?”

  The door to the office swings open and in walks an exhausted-looking Kimberly. “It was his father, not him who hired us,” Kimberly corrects Harper. I stand up, offering her my chair. “I had no idea it was coming. It was a last-minute booking, and we were sworn to secrecy as they didn’t want the paps to get hold of it.”

  Slumping into the chair, I let out a long sigh.

  “I’m going to fucking kill him,” Sam threatens.

  Stand back, buddy, me too.

  “Camryn’s on her way to England as we speak,” Kimberly adds.

  “I don’t blame her,” Harper muses. “He’s been all over the social pages this morning with his ‘surprise engagement.’”

  Grabbing the paper from Sam’s desk, I have a look at the black and white photograph of the smiling couple. Looking every inch like the society darlings the newspaper is screaming about.

  Sam and I went
to college with the dickhead. We never liked him, and the feeling’s mutual. He especially hated me. I totally understand why, finding me in bed with his girlfriend will do that to a guy. To be fair, though, I didn’t know they were together. She never mentioned anything, so how was I to know?

  “I can’t believe she was dating that douche.” Not realizing I’ve said it out loud until three faces look up at me with eyes wide and eyebrows drawn together.

  “We went to college with him. He’s not the biggest fan of Nate.” Sam chuckles. “Especially finding him in bed with his girlfriend.”

  “She told me she was single,” I attempt to defend myself.

  “You’re just so irresistible,” Harper teases.

  “She’s going to be okay, isn’t she?” Sam asks Kimberly.

  “Yeah. She just needs to get out of town. So, sorry she’s missing the meeting today.”

  “Totally fine,” I add, which is highly unusual for me because bailing on a business meeting for personal issues, I don’t normally have time for that shit.

  “We’ll see her in a couple of weeks, anyway, for the wedding,” Harper adds.

  That’s right, the wedding.

  The one we’re both friends with.

  The same wedding, she will be single at.

  Not like that means anything.

  6

  Camryn

  We are all drunk and sitting around the open fire in Olivia’s cottage, dressed in our pajamas. This is the perfect spot for me to wallow in my misery, it’s dark and cold outside, and Olivia even thinks there might be a light dusting of snow overnight. If I weren’t so heartbroken, this place would be utterly romantic.

  “Men fucking suck.” I take a long swig from my glass, the red liquid warming me, my throat, and then my stomach.

  “Tell me about it,” Ivy cheers in agreement.

  “Who needs them?” Olivia adds.

  Ivy and I look at her. “What? I am not going to use my vibrator for the rest of my life, Liv. I need a fucking man. I need dick. Cock. Balls even. I need strong arms and whiskers,” I tell her. The damn alcohol starts playing with my emotions, and the stupid tears fall down my cheeks again. I try and compose myself before I say, “I could have cheated on Harris when we were in Monaco, but I said no,” I confess, the girls all looking at me to continue.