Brightly Burning Bridges: A Bully Romance (Kings of Capital)

by Ivy Wild

  Alice shrugged her shoulders. “Um, I don’t know. I guess maybe like, buy a bunch of stuff I really wanted from Amazon Prime?”

  Ms. Clifford pursed her lips slightly. Clearly, Alice had not given her the answer she was looking for. “Well Alice,” she said, obviously trying to keep her tone even. “The Apocalypse will be on the way. So I’m not sure Amazon Prime would be able to stick to its two-day delivery window. You might not have that amount of time, anyways.”

  “Oh, right, duh,” Alice said, twirling a lock of chestnut hair around her finger. “I guess like, I could use Prime Now then. That stuff gets delivered in an hour.”

  I watched Ms. Clifford’s lips form a flat line. “Why don’t I go first, instead? Alright, if I were told the Apocalypse was coming, I’d head to the grocery store and eat as many cookies and sweets as I wanted.”

  Silas barked out a laugh from the corner of the room and a few snickers rose up in response. Ms. Clifford was a little heavy set and it was obvious to everyone that his outburst was related. “Did you have something to say, Silas?” Ms. Clifford asked, ignoring the obvious buzz around the room.

  “No. Just read something funny on my phone, that’s all,” he replied smoothly.

  “Yes, well, phones need to be put away during class, please.”

  Silas rolled his eyes but tucked his brand new iPhone back into his pocket.

  “Instead of going around the room,” Ms. Clifford said, suddenly realizing that Silas was next to Alice and therefore on deck, “Why don’t we just go at random. Becca, what would you do?”

  Becca was sitting right next to me. Of all the girls at the Academy, I actually liked her. She was tall, worked out a ton and had a killer body with long strawberry blonde hair to match. She was immensely popular but also extremely sweet to everyone, including me.

  She laughed a little under her breath before giving Ms. Clifford an interesting look. “Well, I mean, I don’t know what answer you’re looking for Ms. Clifford, but I think most of us are going to say we’d try and lose our virginity.”

  My eyes widened as giggles and nods went around the room. It sort of shocked me that Becca was still a virgin considering how she was always rolling her skirts up and seemed entirely comfortable around guys. Maybe I wasn’t as inexperienced as I thought.

  I looked around the room to gauge people’s reactions. Silas was openly laughing and just as the room quieted down he said, “Some of us already have,” loud enough for everyone to hear.

  I stared at him.

  Really stared at him.

  That green snake I’d thought I’d killed returned with a vengeance. It coiled around my heart, squeezing it until jealousy and envy dripped down my soul.

  Why was I jealous that Silas had sex? Why did that matter to me? I guess I always figured he wasn’t a virgin, maybe? But hearing him say it out loud . . .

  My teeth clenched and I must have been staring too long, because he turned to look at me. Our eyes met, mine light, his dark, and he flashed me a wicked grin. I turned away, unable to hold his gaze any longer.

  I told myself I didn’t care.

  I told it to myself over and over again, waiting for it to seep in.

  “Well, maybe this wasn’t the best idea,” Ms. Clifford finally admitted just before the bell rang.

  * * *

  Present

  “We’re not friends, Silas,” she pointed out.

  “So you keep telling me,” I replied.

  She turned to face me, but didn’t move to join me on the sofa. Perhaps she thought she was safe from way over there. I loved it when she was wrong.

  “With friends like you, who needs enemies?” she muttered under her breath.

  I chuckled. “How cliché of you, Skyler. And here I was, thinking you were original.”

  She frowned at me before turning back around to give a worried glance to the clock above the stove.

  “Got somewhere to be?” I asked with an arched eyebrow, taking a moment to look up from my phone.

  “No,” she replied, turning back around to look at me. Our eyes met and she faltered. “I’m just expecting some company, that’s all,” she said. “You know, cause normal people invite their friends over.”

  The space in my chest felt entirely uncomfortable all of the sudden, much like it had the first afternoon we were in this apartment together. It was an odd feeling and one that told me I was dangerously close to breaking the rules I’d set for myself when my mother died.

  Those rules had me avoiding Skyler for the past week, thinking enough space would cause these feelings to subside, but apparently I’d been wrong. I didn’t like feeling things. Not about an object and definitely not about a person.

  People were messy.

  Feelings were filthy.

  Even still, I wanted to know who these so-called-friends of hers were. Skyler didn’t make friends easily, at least not the Skyler I knew. She claimed we weren’t friends but that was bullshit and she knew it. You didn’t just hold secrets the way we had for a fucking decade for a stranger. If anything, our relationship was beyond that of just friends. What a terribly boring and overused word, friends.

  Phoebe and Rachel were friends.

  Skyler and Silas were beyond that.

  We had the type of shit that didn’t just go away because time passed. If anything it aged like a good wine, only enhancing the flavors.

  But at her essence, Skyler was a denier. She’d been the worst kind in high school and it seemed as if the trait hadn’t lessened with age. In high school her denier-tendencies were physical. As an adult, they seemed to have switched. At least I hoped that was the case.

  I could deal with her icing me out emotionally.

  Physical rejection was not something I was keen on accepting the second time around. Having her was the only way I’d get over her. So have her I would.

  “Ah, I see how it is.” I tried to keep my voice light and cheerful and fix the mask over my face. I didn’t want her knowing how I truly felt about this whole situation.

  “Did you need something?” she ventured to ask, trying and failing to be nonchalant.

  I crossed a long leg over the other and leaned my elbow against the arm rest. I fixed her with my best smile, eyeing her up and down. I could see her falter under my gaze and it spurred me on.

  “So, how do you like working for me so far?” I asked, slightly ignoring her question.

  She pursed her lips. Perhaps she could tell I was stalling, but I didn’t care. I’d never been one to care about the feelings of people around me. Not in high school and not now. She knew that.

  “It’s fine,” she managed to mutter.

  My lips lifted slightly. “It’s fine? What a nothing sort of word for an everything sort of girl?”

  “An everything sort of girl?” Her lavender eyes were wide with shock.

  I just smiled at her. “So, what time did you say your friends were arriving?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “I didn’t.”

  “Then I guess we have all the time in the world to explore just how fine you are.” I licked my lips slightly before curving them into a mischievous smile. Skyler hesitated, her lips separating slightly, an answer that she was clearly holding back about to spill out.

  The doorbell rang, breaking up the awkward silence that was growing between us.

  “Coming,” she yelled, making her way over to the door. I stayed where I was, pulling my phone back out and idly scrolling through my Instagram feed. @fadedwhitewings hadn’t posted in a few weeks and I found myself checking her feed every few hours to see if I had somehow missed an update.

  I looked over the edge of my iPhone 12 to watch Skyler hug the infamous Sophie Strong. I was a little shocked to learn that Skyler was friends with such a household name. Sure, the woman had her fair share of bad press over the last two years, but it had passed and she’d apparently landed back with her college sweetheart, Connor Driscoll, another real estate mogul in the city. And by the looks of it, the
two had been busy, because she was quite pregnant.

  “Oh my god, Sky!” Sophie exclaimed. “You look so grown up,” she commented as she pulled back and looked Skyler up and down.

  “Did you guys drive together?” Skyler asked.

  “Nah,” Sophie responded. “You know Connor. He insisted on me being safe and apparently Trevor isn’t,” she laughed.

  “Alright, alright,” a male voice said as the two woman beamed at one another. “My turn.” The voice had me putting down the phone, but what followed had me standing up and making my way over to the little impromptu gathering.

  A large man with bleached hair and about as many tattoos running down his body as Skyler moved forward and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her up in a giant bear hug. She giggled and squealed and my insides turned venomous as I watched her reaction.

  “Trev, stop!” she said breathlessly as he finally put her down. He pulled back and smiled at her and I wanted to punch him square in the jaw.

  Fucking feelings.

  “You’ll have to introduce me to your friends, Sky,” I said loudly, purposefully calling her by her nickname and trying to break their gaze.

  It worked and the trio turned to face me. I gave them my best smile and Skyler fixed me with one of her “What the hell?” looks. I let my smile linger on her for a moment longer and she cleared her throat and made nice.

  “Sophie, Trevor, this is my new boss, Silas Jenkins.”

  I could feel both sets of eyes on me. It was obvious that they were trying to size me up. I stayed relaxed, confident and unfazed by their transparent attempts to intimidate me.

  “Pleasure to meet you,” I said, looking first at Sophie. “I didn’t realize my Skyler was so well connected.”

  “There’s a lot about Sky you probably don’t know.” That was Trevor. I turned to fix him with an intense stare before I caught myself and relaxed my demeanor.

  “Oh, I seriously doubt that,” I said with a small laugh. “Sky and I go way back. When did you all meet?”

  “At a time she needed a true friend,” Trevor bit back and I narrowed my eyes at him. There was clearly more to this relationship than I was aware of and a small green thread coiled in my chest.

  “Right well, I hope you all enjoy your time together. This is one of my nicest rentals. I was so glad to be able to lease it to Skyler as part of her compensation schedule,” I remarked. Generally, I was above engaging in pissing matches with men my age, but the need to shove this guy in his place was overwhelming. And that place was firmly out of Skyler’s life.

  I made my way towards the elevator, brushing shoulders with Trevor. Skyler gave me a look I couldn’t quite read as the elevator doors closed in front of me.

  When I’d landed at the bottom, I blew out of her building and up to mine at a pace that screamed “Entirely Too Concerned.” The receptionist tried to smile at me but I breezed past her, intent on getting to my condo as quickly as possible. As soon as I made my way to the top floor I threw open all of my blinds, giving myself a clear view of just what was going on across the street. The mechanisms creaked in protest. The last time I’d opened them had to have been at least a year ago, if not more. My contractor always suggested we do monthly maintenance on them, but why bother when I had no intention of letting the rest of the world in.

  Well, apparently the rest of the world hadn’t gotten the fucking memo and had resorted to mocking me from the sidelines.

  When I’d had Skyler’s apartment cleaned ahead of her arrival, I’d told my contractor to remove the blinds around the kitchen. At least at night time, I had a clear view into her condo from my side of the street.

  Was it a possessive and slightly unchivalrous thing to do? Of course.

  Did I care? Of course not.

  I never claimed to be chivalrous and I never pretended to respect someone else’s privacy. Especially not someone I was interested in.

  Whoa.

  Not interested in. Intrigued by.

  Nope. Try again, dumbass.

  Someone who provided me amusement.

  Better.

  And I hadn’t lied to her. It wasn’t a camera.

  King padded around the apartment but I signaled for him to go to his bed and he complied but still gave me puppy dog eyes about it.

  I grabbed a copy of the magazine “How to Spend It” that came with my subscription to the Financial Times and sat on the sofa opposite Skyler’s kitchen window. It gave me a perfect view into the happenings of their touching reunion all while putting me far enough back in my own condo so as not to appear like the creeper I apparently was.

  I sat there, scrolling through pages of overpriced suits on emaciated models, not really looking at any of the adverts, but instead keeping an eye on the troublesome trio. After the obligatory tour, they made their way back into the kitchen, all but Sophie drinking glass after glass of wine, just chatting. I hated how fucking chummy they all seemed.

  No.

  I hated how fucking chummy Trevor seemed. I couldn’t give two shits about Sophie. How Skyler had managed to become best friends with an international pop star was intriguing, yes. But it wasn’t going to keep me up at night.

  After two hours of pouring wine, over the top hand movements, and obvious bursts of laughter, the evening finally appeared to come to an end, thank fuck.

  All three of them rose up out of their chairs, the women embraced and then they disappeared down the hallway that led to the elevator. Just as I was about to shut the entire world out again, movement in the kitchen caught my eye and I saw Skyler walk back into view with Trevor.

  I grit my teeth, standing frozen on the far side of my condo. I was far too irritated to stay seated anymore but I didn’t want to pace back and forth and bring attention to myself. So, I made my way to the kitchen island, turned all the lights off in my apartment and watched the scene play out in front of me like a bad movie.

  The pair sat at the kitchen island cattycorner and entirely too familiar.

  They sat that way for a while, just talking.

  Just the fucking two of them.

  Alone.

  In my fucking apartment.

  I tried to tell myself I didn’t care. Why the fuck would I care who my assistant had over to her place? I shouldn’t. But I fucking did.

  Apparently I cared a lot.

  And I cared even more when I watched the fucker put his hand over hers then brush a piece of hair away from her face.

  She didn’t flinch.

  She sat there and just let it happen, like she was used to him touching her.

  It was hard to see because my vision alternated with green from envy and red from rage. Logic was fucking out the window when I saw them both stand and watched Trevor wrap his arms around Skyler, pressing his face into her neck. This guy was seriously lucky I had an aversion to the legal system. Because it weren’t for that, I would have killed him.

  I guess I’d have to settle for caving his face in for now.

  I grabbed my coat and for the second time that evening, let feelings carry me down the elevator and across the street.

  * * *

  “I think I better get home,” Sophie said with a yawn. Trevor and I both smiled at her. It was only eight at night but I wasn’t aware of what it felt like to be pregnant. It looked exhausting, though.

  “I’m so glad you came over, Soph,” I said, standing and giving her the best hug I could. “I wish we had time to see more of one another.”

  Sophie nodded, her bright red hair moving this way and that. “To be honest, you’re closer to the city now, babe. You’re not so far from me and Connor. I think it may be easier to get approval to come here than to drive all the way up to the edge of Maryland,” Sophie said with a laugh.

  “Tell Connor I said hey.” She nodded and the three of us made our way back to the elevator. Sophie insisted she didn’t need help getting to the waiting car Connor had called for her and we relented.

  The elevator doors closed and Trevo
r looked at me. “Got a bit more time to chat?”

  I nodded. “Yeah,” I said slowly. We made our way back over to the kitchen and sat down. I poured myself my third glass of wine for the evening, because for some reason, I had a feeling this conversation was going to be mildly uncomfortable.

  Trevor watched my movements carefully. “Are you doing okay, Sky?” he asked me.

  I tried to brush off his comment with a wave of my hand. “What do you mean? Of course!”

  But he knew me too well for that. That was the problem when you became intimate with someone who was also your very good friend. There were pretty much no secrets left about one another, so it was impossible to try and hide something.

  “I was just surprised to hear that you had taken this job. You know, for Silas,” he said with careful words. “I don’t know all the details, but from what you told me about your past, you two weren’t the best of friends.”

  “Yeah, definitely not friends,” I repeated for the millionth time that day.

  “So, then why work for him? Why put yourself in a position where you’re totally dependent on him?” Trevor looked around the apartment. “This place is great and all but Sky, I know you and I know this isn’t your thing.”

  “So what, nice things aren’t my thing? Just because I come from humble beginnings means I’m not eligible for an upgrade?” I knew I was getting overly defensive. Trevor was just trying to look out for me, but I was tired of being babied by people, despite their good intentions.

  He put his hand on mine and I looked up at him. “No, Sky. Not at all. You know I just want the best for you. I know things didn’t work out between us and that both of us decided that was for the best, but that doesn’t mean I’m ever going to stop caring about you.”

  He brushed a lock of my silvery hair away from my face and I smiled at him. It was a shame that we hadn’t worked out as a couple. He was the nicest guy and I knew he was going to make a girl very happy someday. Well, as long as he was able to move past his inferiority complex.

  I hadn’t told him much about Silas. Trevor just knew the “current” version of me. The version of me that had tried to become an actress and had failed and had to move back home to work at a diner in her hometown. He didn’t know the version of me that had moved to New York to pursue that silly dream in the first place. And that was because I didn’t want him to know that version of me. The “past” Skyler needed to remain well in the past.