by J. L. Perry
My eyes seek out Brock, and that’s when I see him standing at the bar talking to a tall, beautiful blonde. She’s a woman of good breeding. A lump rises to my throat when I see her affectionately rub her hand down Brock’s arm as she smiles at something he’s said. She turns her head slightly to look in my direction. When our eyes meet, her lips curve up. It’s not a pleasant smile; smug would be the best way to describe it. I’d like to march over there and tell her to get her hands off my man, but I can’t do that, because truth is, he’s not mine. He’ll never be mine.
Coming here tonight was a huge mistake.
I don’t belong with these people. All the money M spent making me so refined over the years was a waste. My training is just a mask to hide the real me. The scum, as she so rightly put it. The girl nobody has ever wanted, or loved.
Rising from my seat, I move hastily across the room. Tears rise to my eyes, but I manage to contain them. Breaking down in front of these people is the last thing I want to do. I’m already humiliated enough.
When I see Elaine exit the ladies’ room, I head in that direction.
‘Jade. Are you all right?’ she asks as I hurry past her.
‘I’m fine, Mrs Weston,’ I reply, glancing at her over my shoulder and forcing out a smile. ‘Nature calls.’
The large sitting area is empty when I enter. I cross the room, heading for the cubicles. The moment I’m locked inside, I take a few deep breaths to try to calm myself. My body is trembling. I’m not going to cry … I’m not going to cry. I’ve been treated a lot worse than that in my life, but Brock was right, his dad’s a prick. He’d get on famously with M.
I wait a few minutes until I’ve pulled myself together before heading back out to the sitting room to check my appearance in the mirror. I’m washing my hands when the door flies open and the blonde who was talking to Brock waltzes in like she owns the place.
Her eyes meet mine in the mirror and she gives me another one of those smug smiles. I’d like to slap it right off her perfect face. I’m in no mood for her.
‘I don’t believe we’ve met,’ she says coming to stand beside me. ‘Although I’m not usually interested in meeting any of Brock’s whores.’
‘Excuse me?’ I gasp, turning to face her. Does he hire prostitutes on a regular basis? Does she know who I am?
‘I’m Clarissa, Brock’s fiancée.’ She extends her hand to me, but I ignore it.
She’s what? I take a few seconds to try to process what she’s just said. She’s fucking what? My erratically beating heart drops into the pit of my stomach.
‘Don’t look so shocked. You honestly didn’t think you had a chance with him, did you?’
I suddenly feel like I’m in a world of M’s. First Brock’s father, now this bitch. Her words swim around in my head as I try to make sense of it all. It can’t possibly be true. ‘I don’t think Brock would have me staying with him at his house, or would’ve introduced me to his parents as his girlfriend tonight, if he was engaged to you.’
She falters briefly as her eyes narrow at me in the mirror. ‘That’s where you’re wrong. Brock and I have an arrangement. His sexual appetite, as I’m sure you know,’ she says with an eye roll, before beginning to reapply her lipstick, ‘is insatiable. I decided to let him fulfil his needs elsewhere until we’re married, then it’s going to stop. I won’t share him after that.’ She speaks calmly, like it’s no big deal. It’s a big deal. A huge fucking deal.
I think I’m going to be sick.
‘Excuse me,’ I say, pushing past her and accidentally knocking her arm in the process. The lipstick she was applying leaves a hot pink smudge up the side of her face. If I wasn’t on the verge of a total meltdown, I would’ve found that amusing. Crazy bitch. Who in their right mind would let their fiancé sleep with other women?
I leave the toilets and hurry towards the door that leads to the hotel foyer. The second I step out onto the street an ugly sob escapes me as a crushing feeling settles in my chest. I’m suddenly finding it hard to breathe. I wrap my arms around my body to try to comfort myself. I have nobody else to do it. Again, I’m all alone. My heart feels like it’s shattered. I’ve endured a shitload of betrayals in my life, but nothing has hurt as much as this does. I feel like a fool for letting my guard down and trusting Brock. He’s a snake just like the rest of them.
Those damn barriers were there for a reason.
CHAPTER TWENTY
BROCK
‘Where’s Jade?,’ I ask my mother when I arrive back at the table. After getting stuck listening to Clarissa whinge for five excruciating minutes, I was stopped by one of my clients. Normally it wouldn’t bother me, but I didn’t want to leave Jade at the table with my father for too long.
‘She went to the ladies’ room about ten minutes ago, but hasn’t returned,’ my mother tells me. For some reason, that gives me a sick feeling in my stomach. Slamming the drinks down onto the table sends the liquid flying everywhere, but that’s the least of my worries at the moment. What if something’s happened to her? Christ, M. I break into a run as I head across the room. My heart is beating so hard I can hear it thumping in my ears.
‘Jade,’ I call out, bashing on the door of the ladies’ room. I’m sure I look like a dick, but I don’t care. ‘Jade!’
Relief floods through me when the door swings open, but it doesn’t last long when I see Clarissa glaring back at me.
‘Is Jade in there?’
‘Who?’ she replies, screwing up her face.
‘Jade. My date. The one I came here with tonight.’
‘Oh, your whore. Nope. I haven’t seen her.’
Fucking bitch. She’s just jealous she’ll never have me. I hear her laughing as she walks away. I need to put a stop to her attending these events.
‘Jade!’ There’s still no response. I’m going in. Pushing open the door to the ladies’ room, I call out her name again. All the stalls appear to be empty. Where could she be? Turning on my heel, I head back out. I can see from here she hasn’t returned to the table. I search the room. When I can’t see her, I head towards the exit.
‘Is everything okay, Mr Weston?’ the doorman asks as I approach the front of the hotel.
‘Did you see the woman I came here with leave? She was wearing a green dress.’
‘I remember her, yes. She left a few minutes ago. She looked distressed. I hope everything is okay.’
The only words that register are ‘she looked distressed’. Fucking hell. I need to find her.
‘Was she alone?’
‘Yes, I believe she was. She asked where she could get a taxi. I had reception order one for her. You may find her waiting out front.’ I don’t even wait to hear if he has anything else to say—I’m out the door in a flash and running towards the street. It’s not safe for her to be out here alone.
‘Jade! Jade!’ I call. I get a few strange looks from people milling outside the hotel, but I don’t give a shit. All I care about is finding Jade and making sure she’s okay. My head swings from left to right as I frantically search the surrounding area. ‘Jade!’ Christ. Where the fuck did she go?
My hands are trembling as I reach inside the breast pocket of my tux to retrieve my phone. I need to call her and find out what the fuck’s going on. Maybe she’s tried to contact me. My heart drops when I realise I don’t have her number. I only have the number of the phone I gave her, but she didn’t bring that one to my house. Shit!
Searching through my contacts, I find Rupert’s number. It’s too late to call, so I text him on the off chance he’s still awake.
Hi Rupert, it’s Brock. Do you have Jade’s phone number?
I head towards the valet to collect my car—I can’t stay here when she’s out there all alone, anything could happen—but I only make it a few step before I see her. She’s leaning against the wall of the hotel. Her arms are wrapped protectively around her body, but her eyes are on me. She doesn’t look impressed. She looks downright pissed.
‘Jade,
’ I breathe in relief as I approach her.
I’m taken aback when she pushes off the wall and starts walking in the other direction.
‘Jade, wait up.’ I’ll admit I’m perplexed by the way she’s acting. She’s never acted this cold towards me. She seemed fine when I left her sitting at the table earlier. This is exactly why I don’t get involved with women. They’re so fucking unpredictable.
I break into a jog and catch up to her in no time. Reaching out, I attempt to halt her. She abruptly swings around. Anger is rolling off her, but it’s the sadness I see in her beautiful green eyes that tugs at my heart.
‘Don’t touch me,’ she spits, ripping her arm from my grip.
‘What’s your fucking problem?’ I ask.
‘Just leave me alone.’
I don’t think so, sweetheart. Reaching for her arm again, I gently but forcefully guide her around the side of the building. This time she doesn’t put up a fight. The second I back her into the wall, I use my arms to cage her in. I’m not letting her go until she tells me what’s wrong. She better not say ‘nothing’, or I’ll lose my shit.
She bows her head when I move my face within inches of hers.
‘Look at me,’ I demand.
‘No.’ She crosses her arms over her chest. It only manages to push her perky tits up further. I can’t let that distract me, I need to know what the hell is going on. Why am I finding her attitude a complete turn on? Is there something wrong with me? To my dismay, it only proves yet again that this woman owns my balls. If anyone else acted this way towards me, I wouldn’t care. I’d walk away without a backwards glance, wishing them a nice life in the process. Fuck me, why can’t I do that now? She has me tied up in fucking knots. ‘Goddamn it, Jade,’ I say, trying to calm my voice. Using my finger I tilt her face up to meet mine. ‘Talk to me.’
Her determined gaze locks with mine. She’s so stubborn. I’ve never seen this side of her before. I’m usually a good judge of character but maybe I’ve been wrong about her. Then, in an instant, her beautiful green eyes well with tears and I know I haven’t been mistaken—she is the sweet person I believe her to be. She’s just hurt or angry and I have no idea why. I can’t fix it if I don’t know what the hell is wrong.
Drawing her towards me, I wrap her in my arms. ‘Talk to me, sweetheart,’ I plead. She doesn’t answer for the longest time and it does nothing to calm my racing heart. Saying I’m confused would be an understatement.
‘I just met your fiancée,’ she finally whispers into my chest.
I almost want to laugh because the notion of me having a fiancée is quite comical. Why would she even think that?
Drawing back, my eyes search her face and I can tell she honestly believes I’m engaged.
‘You’re joking right? I don’t have a fiancée.’ My response doesn’t sound very convincing, but it’s true.
Her brow furrows before she places her hands on my chest, pushing away from me. ‘Deny it all you want, Brock, but she told me you were engaged.’
‘Who told you?’ I ask, pinching the bridge of my nose. This conversation is giving me a fucking headache.
‘Your fiancée,’ she says, ducking under my arm to head back to the street.
Here we go again. I should just let her go, but I can’t. I don’t want to lose her over a stupid misunderstanding. I don’t want to lose her period.
Who would say such a thing? My mind is swimming in a haze. Then realisation hits. Fucking Clarissa. She must’ve confronted Jade in the ladies’ room.
‘Fuck, Jade, stop walking away from me,’ I snap as I go after her again. ‘Do I even get a chance to explain?’
‘I think I’ve heard enough for one night,’ she replies glancing at me over her shoulder and narrowing her eyes. She’s so fucking sexy when she’s angry. I see her raise her hand to flag down the taxi as it pulls up to the kerb. If she thinks I’m letting her go, she’s delusional.
The moment she opens the door, I reach over her shoulder and push it closed. We have a silent standoff, before the driver interrupts us. ‘Do you wanna ride, or not?’ he asks impatiently, winding down his window. We answer in unison.
‘Yes.’
‘No.’ Of course my reply was the ‘no’.
Ignoring me, she tries to open the back door of the cab—again I close it.
‘For fuck’s sake, Brock,’ she snaps, and I smile. I think that’s the first time I’ve heard her use a profanity. I shouldn’t be turned on by her attitude, but I am.
‘I don’t have all night, lady, are you in or out?’
Reaching into my pocket, I remove a fifty dollar bill and pass it to the driver. The satisfying look on Jade’s face tells me she’s relieved I’m letting her leave.
‘She’s out,’ I say, before bending my knees slightly and wrapping my arms around her legs.
‘Let me go, you pig!’ she screams as I haul her over my shoulder.
I laugh. ‘Can’t do that, sweetheart,’ I reply smugly, walking towards the valet.
‘I’d like to collect my car myself,’ I tell him as Jade thrashes around on my shoulder. The valet gives me a quizzical look, but doesn’t argue. My company uses this luxury hotel often for functions, so they know me. ‘She’s had too much to drink,’ I say, trying hard to suppress my smile when she slaps my back.
‘Sure, sir. Let me get you the key to your vehicle.’
‘Let me down, Brock,’ Jade pleads when the valet walks away.
‘Nope.’
The valet approaches again, handing me the keys to my Lamborghini. ‘Take that door over there,’ he says, pointing. ‘Your vehicle is on the first floor, in the second row.’
‘Thank you.’
‘You can’t take me against my will,’ Jade cries as I climb the flight of stairs. ‘This is kidnapping.’ When I chuckle, she pinches my arse.
‘You didn’t exactly give me a choice,’ I say. ‘You forced me into taking drastic measure when you refused to hear me out.’
‘I’ve heard enough lies from you, I don’t need to hear anymore.’
Her comment gets under my skin. I pride myself on my honesty. And I’ve never lied to her.
When I reach the car, I slide her down my body, pinning her against the side of the vehicle. ‘Listen here, I’ve never lied to you.’
‘Really? You just forget to mention that, while I’ve been living at your house and sleeping in your bed, you’re engaged to someone else? You snake.’
I chuckle when she calls me a snake, I can’t help it. I’ve been called a lot worse in my time, but I find what she said, and the way she said it, amusing. Especially coming from her sweet mouth.
‘You think playing with someone’s emotions is funny?’ she says, pushing on my chest. ‘I thought you were different.’
When I see tears well in her eyes again, I feel like a prick for making light of this situation. I hate that this has hurt her. I could fucking strangle Clarissa.
‘Jade,’ I say, cupping her face.
‘Get your two-timing hands off me.’
This time I manage to repress my amusement. I can’t lose her over this. ‘I’m not engaged. I never have been, and I never will be.’
‘Tell that to your fiancée,’ she snaps.
‘Clarissa is not my fucking fiancée, goddamn it.’
‘Oh, but you know who I’m referring to without me even mentioning her name.’ She tries to push out from underneath me, but I hold her firmly in place.
‘Because she’s a psycho bitch, that’s why. Our fathers are friends. They’ve wanted us to get married for years. I can tell you right now, it’s never going to happen. I can’t stand that woman. Do you really think if I was engaged to her, I’d be here tonight with you?’
‘She told me you had an arrangement.’
‘There’s no fucking arrangement.’
Her green eyes lock with mine as she tries to absorb what I’ve just told her. Fuck—I hope she believes me, because it’s the truth. ‘Please believe me,’ I pl
ead as my hands settle on her shoulders. I’ve never had to beg anyone like this before. I never wanted to, but she isn’t just anyone—she’s Jade.
‘I’ve told my father—and Clarissa—numerous times that I have no inclination to marry her. I’m not the marrying kind.’
‘You’re not?’ she asks, and I see a flash of hurt cross her face. My thumbs tenderly caress her cheeks. Marriage has never been on my agenda. My parents haven’t set a great example in that department.
‘No, I’m not, but if there was one person on this earth who could change that, it would be you.’ And that’s the truth. Having her staying at my home has opened my eyes to the possibility. Well, it’s planted a small seed, anyway. I still don’t think I have it in me.
‘Me. Really?’ she breathes as a small smile plays at her lips.
‘Yes, you.’ Closing my eyes, I exhale a large breath. It’s not until my forehead is resting against hers, that I open them. I can’t believe I’m about to admit this out loud.
‘I think I’m falling in love with you, Jade.’
*
JADE
I gasp at his words. Taking a moment, I give myself time to let them sink in. The way he struggled when saying it makes me believe he meant what he said. I’m not sure if it’s hearing those words or if it’s just a combination of everything I’ve been through this week, but when the tears come I’m powerless to stop them.
I cover my face with my hands and I start to cry. Like, really cry. Cry as I never have before.
‘Jesus, Jade,’ he said, pulling me into his arms again. ‘That’s not the reaction I was hoping for.’
He holds me for the longest time until the tears finally stop. I feel foolish for crying in front of him. I hate showing anyone my vulnerable side. I’ve become a master at disguising my weaknesses over the years; I learnt at a young age that only the strong survive.
Placing his finger under my chin, he lifts my face to meet his. The look in his eyes tugs at my heart. The confident Brock I’m used to seeing is gone.
