Sterling

by Willow Summers

  “You got me there.” Janie frowned and picked up the silver shaker and the bottle of vodka. Noah shifted, and the firmness of his pressure on Cynthia’s back tightened. He seemed to do that whenever he was uncomfortable about something.

  She wondered what it was—some sort of awkwardness between the girls Cynthia wasn’t picking up on? An issue with Colton’s project? She couldn’t tell, and didn’t want to ask in front of everyone. She’d have to remember to do so later.

  “Besides,” Madison said, “he won’t stop obsessing, and if Cynthia is as smart as Noah says, she’ll probably come up with something easily. Anything would be better than what he has.” She motioned for Colton to get going, and he didn’t hesitate. “Which leads me back to my original question. How does a smart girl like you know all these morons?”

  A laugh bubbled out of Cynthia unexpectedly. Madison wasn’t nearly as prim and proper as she looked. It took a second for Cynthia to figure out where that perception had come from in the first place: the suit. Madison wore the kind of business suit distinctive of someone with a high-dollar, important job. The kind of job Cynthia wanted to work up toward…if she could manage to stay in one company for long enough to even learn everyone’s name. But the devil was in the details. Unlike someone who really was prim and proper, Madison’s hair was thrown back in a messy ponytail, her flats looked worn and comfortable, and no makeup adorned her face.

  Cynthia scouted out Janie’s outfit while Colton told Madison about Ellen’s crazy little sister. Janie had old jeans covered in dots of color—paint, maybe? Her shirt, not unlike Cynthia’s, was a little worse for the wear, with a hole in the sleeve and a faded logo of some sort on the front. She didn’t seem to care about her wardrobe in the least, even though her boyfriend was wearing something like the ensemble Noah had started out with.

  “So wait,” Madison said, holding up her hand to stop Colton. She turned to Noah. “You’re now dating the sister of an old fuck buddy?”

  “And you say I’m the one that always says the wrong things?” Dave asked Janie.

  “Pass that award along to Madison,” Janie said, dumping vodka into the mixer.

  “Yeah, that sounded bad,” Madison muttered, her face turning red.

  “It’s fine.” Cynthia waved it away. “I mean, obviously it’s gross, and I’d prefer not bringing it up all the time, but whatever. It was over a decade ago. I’m not dwelling on the past.”

  “Well, you’re here, so clearly you aren’t dwelling on the past,” Janie said. “It takes an understanding woman. I should know.” She shook her head as she added more ingredients to the shaker.

  Cynthia shot Noah a confused look over her shoulder, silently asking for more information. His brow furrowed, but before he could say anything, Colton stalked into the kitchen with a binder, a stack of papers, and a laptop.

  “So why couldn’t we do this in an office, or wherever this stuff came from?” Cynthia asked as Colton spread it all on the island.

  “Because we’re hungry and he’s the cook.” Janie jutted the shaker out in front of her.

  Dave sauntered over and took it. “Time to show Noah up.” He posed with the shaker by his ear. His muscles bulged, straining his shirt. A shit-eating grin took over his lips. “Hot, am I right?”

  “Would you just shake it?” Janie asked in annoyance.

  Dave winked at Cynthia before shaking the drink.

  Odd.

  “Okay,” Colton said, putting three legal-pad-sized images in front of Cynthia. One she recognized as the wall painting that Noah had shown her. This image was so much larger and clearer, though, and she instantly recognized the artist.

  “No way!” Cynthia pulled the papers toward her so she could get a closer look. “Please tell me that you didn’t somehow get Chris Perrin to do murals for you? Because, though I’m not a jealous person, I will be jealous.”

  “Chris who?” Colton asked.

  “Janie’s alias, you nitwit,” Dave said, handing the shaker back to a suddenly hunched and red-faced Janie.

  Cynthia stared at Dave for a moment. Her gaze shifted to Janie, who wouldn’t turn around. She glanced back at Noah, who had a sly grin on his face.

  “Nope.” She waved her hands in front of her face and got off the chair. “No.”

  Colton paused with his hands out over the island, as though afraid to touch anything. “What’s the matter?”

  “She is Chris Perrin?” Cynthia jabbed her finger at Janie. “She is Chris Perrin?”

  Madison started laughing as Janie hunched a little more.

  Colton relaxed. “Oh, I figured Noah had told you.”

  Cynthia turned on him. “And you had one in your house. I can’t believe you.”

  Noah’s smile lit up the room. He grabbed her and pulled her up for a hug. “I didn’t pay a dime for that painting, either. Surprise!”

  “Bastard,” she said, no weight behind her words. She melted against the feel of him, relishing in the electricity surging between them. “It isn’t fair that you always have it all.”

  “Never has been fair. That’s why his nickname is Sterling.” Dave guffawed.

  “Mr. Silver Spoon.” Ethan leaned back on his chair. He draped an arm across the back, a move that looked as uncomfortable as it did odd. How did he also seem relaxed?

  “Wait…” Cynthia blinked as she stared at Dave for a moment. “You were that main painting. You were in all of those paintings. Wow. It took me a long time to connect the dots.”

  “And I was in all the social media leading up to it.” Dave preened. “My baby made me look like a god.”

  “Yikes.” Cynthia wiggled out of Noah’s arms and sat back down. “I don’t know about the social media—or god—situation, but yeah. I remember that painting. No offense, but it wasn’t the one I liked best.”

  “Um, yes! Offense taken.” Dave held up his hands.

  “Can we get back to this now?” Colton pounded on a thickly stuffed green binder.

  “See what I mean?” Madison said to Janie.

  “Yeah. You win. He is wound up.” Janie poured drinks.

  “So if you were so into her, why not buy on the website?” Dave asked Cynthia as she shook off her awe and shifted her attention to the pictures Colton had spread out for her.

  “I bid at the event, but didn’t get any of them. When the website came up, I was on a rocky road with work again, so I figured I’d better save my money.” She leaned forward. “I need to see the layout and any other pictures you’ve taken.”

  Twenty-One

  Noah stood back as Cynthia listened to Colton talk about the “playground.” The rest of them had heard the pitch multiple times, but Cynthia was nodding with a focused expression. He could tell the wheels were turning.

  Lead filled his middle. He knew he should’ve told his friends before he came over not to mention BD, but he hadn’t because he knew what they’d say—don’t wait to tell her. The longer you wait, the worse it will be. Truth be told, he was worried this was too big of a hurdle. He was man enough to admit that he was scared shitless she’d leave. So while he knew he needed to have the conversation, he wasn’t ready yet. He didn’t have all his ducks in a row.

  But the information needed to be relayed to the others. They’d had a couple close calls already—he couldn’t risk any more.

  “I remember her,” Dave said quietly as he drifted out of the room with Noah. Madison, Ethan, and Janie were there a moment later, probably wanting gossip. Or maybe not wanting Colton to yell at them to keep quiet. Dave’s eyebrows rose. “She was sm-art. A buddy of mine got her as a tutor once for trig. Do you know how embarrassing it is to get tutored by someone younger than you?”

  “Very?” Janie offered.

  “Yes. Very. I made fun of him for it, at any rate.”

  “Good for you,” Janie said, patting him on the chest.

  Dave gave her a sarcastic smile before continuing. “But that guy turned his grade around. She was weird, but she knew her s
tuff.”

  “She’s still weird,” Janie said. “And I like it. How did you land a cool chick like that, Noah? She’s not your type.”

  “She’s totally his type.” Dave waved them away and headed to the front living room. Despite the sea of leather and larger TV in the main living room, they spent equally as much time in this one.

  “I agree. She’s zany, like us. He’s used to it now, so it’s his type.” Madison fell onto the couch with a sigh. “I’m exhausted. I really hope she can help Colton. He has a decent buzz going, but it’s more of a family affair. The people he has on the line aren’t the right sort. Not for this.”

  “Listen, you guys.” Noah cleared his throat, too nervous to sit. The others all found seats. “You have to can it with anything about BD.”

  “Why?” Understanding crossed Janie’s face a moment later. The doorbell rang—saved by the bell—but as soon as Ethan went to answer it, Janie said, “You seriously didn’t tell her, Noah?”

  “There was all that stuff with her sister… I didn’t want to add fuel to the fire.”

  Dave nodded slowly. “And there were a lot of rumors about you and Colton. I remember that being really weird.”

  “What rumors?” Janie asked.

  Heels tapped against the tile, and Ethan’s girlfriend, Kaylee, walked into view, her hair twisted up into a tight bun. Ethan sauntered after her.

  “Hey, guys,” Kaylee said, glancing at their hands. “No food or drinks?” She looked around. “Am I in the right house?”

  “We’re having a mini-crisis,” Madison said as Kaylee walked into the room. She put her bag on the table next to the couch and took a seat next to Madison.

  “What’s the crisis?” Kaylee asked.

  “Noah’s awesome new girlfriend doesn’t know that, up until last week, he was a hooker.” Janie shook her head.

  “He technically still is,” Ethan said, leaning against the wall. “His page and everything is still up.”

  Kaylee’s eyes widened. “Oh, Noah, that’s not the right way to play it. We all knew what we were getting into.” She gestured between the girls. “Madison and I participated in it, which made us guilty by association. But for someone that might not even know male escorts exist…”

  “It is going to be a very unpleasant shock for her,” Madison finished. “And the longer you wait to tell her, the worse her reaction will be.”

  “I know.” Noah dug his hands into his pockets.

  “I get why you held off, though.” Madison scratched her nose. “Because yeah, with the sister and the rumors…”

  “Why didn’t you get rumors?” Janie asked Dave.

  “I wasn’t a silver-spoon kid. I was poor. The girls still wanted to bang me, they just weren’t interested in anyone knowing about it.” Dave shrugged. “Less drama.”

  “I need advice,” Noah said. “I need to tell her before she somehow finds out on her own. She’s living with me now. I don’t want to hide anything from her. I doubt that I could even if I tried.”

  “I agree,” Madison said thoughtfully.

  Unfortunately, none of them managed to think of anything before Cynthia wandered in looking for Noah. Apparently, it had taken her no time at all to throw out a few ideas Colton could implement immediately. She wanted to plan something more intricate for the larger campaign, which would take more time.

  That small planning session seemed to have appeased Colton. By the time he made dinner, with Dave’s help as sous chef, his shoulders had dropped an inch and he’d stopped clenching his jaw. It wasn’t until the next day, though, that Noah heard any details, since Cynthia had ripped off his clothes shortly after they’d returned home the night before.

  “Hey,” Noah said as he walked into the gym midmorning.

  Dave straightened up from the counter of the check-in desk, where he’d been leaning as he chatted with Dick, the heavyweight owner. Colton glanced up from the other side, both of them already in their gym attire. “How’s it going?”

  Colton nodded in hello, his eyes bloodshot. “Good. I’ve been working on the list your girl gave me. Jesus.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s two pages of tasks, like updating social media, fixes on the website—stuff like that. And while it sounded easy when she was going through it, when I actually started working on it, it took forever.”

  “That’s because you don’t know what you’re doing,” Dick said as he stared at his laptop resting on the gym counter.

  “Yes, thanks for the input, Dick,” Dave said. He looked at Colton. “He’s right, though. You have no idea what you’re doing.”

  “If I wanted a parrot, I’d go out and buy one,” Dick groused.

  “No parrot would have you,” Dave replied.

  Colton ignored the exchange, still looking at Noah. “She’s working on a comprehensive plan for you,” Noah said.

  Colton shook his head and leaned against the counter as Ethan walked through the door. “There’s no way I can put it into motion. I already know this.”

  “Just have the lady do it,” Dick said, jabbing at the keyboard with two fingers, his preferred—and maddening—method of typing.

  “Did you tell her about BD last night?” Ethan asked, lounging on the counter beside Dave. Only Ethan could lean against a scratched gym counter and look like he was lounging.

  Noah shifted uneasily as Dick looked over, his eyes narrowed. “You’re leaving, too?” Dick asked.

  “My bad,” Ethan said. “I didn’t realize you were keeping secrets from all the people that need to know about your situation.”

  “I met a girl,” Noah told Dick. “We need to get my page down ASAP.”

  “Why just the page? Why not the whole site?” Dick asked.

  All the guys looked between each other. They’d all dropped out at this point—why keep the site up?

  Dave shrugged. Colton mimicked him. Noah did the same. They all looked at Ethan.

  A slow smile curled Ethan’s lips. “We can always hire out.”

  The rest of the guys huffed out a shared laugh, and another series of shrugs followed.

  “Fine. For now, I’ll just take you off, Noah.” Dick looked up as a geeky teen walked into the gym. He looked between all the guys hanging out around the check-in desk and his eyes tightened. “Now get out of here before you scare off all the customers.”

  The teen paused as he handed over his card to be scanned. “Me?” he asked Dick.

  “No, not you.” Dick grabbed the card. He scanned it with a scowl before thrusting it back. “You’re all set.”

  “Thanks,” the teen said, glancing around at the guys again before heading past the divider and into the gym.

  “Why would you want to chase us away when we so obviously sell this place?” Dave asked, not budging.

  Noah started walking. He needed to get changed. The other guys mocked him for it, but his upbringing had drilled certain rules into him, one being that workout clothes were for the gym.

  “The only thing you sell is looking like a box of turds,” Dick replied.

  Noah’s phone chimed.

  “And put that blasted thing on silent,” Dick said, pulling his hands away from his keyboard.

  “Dick, you’re awfully worked up.” Dave shook his head. “You’ll give yourself a heart attack.”

  Dick turned in his chair to face him. “Is there a reason you’re still here?”

  Chuckling, Noah lifted his phone to see the text. As usual, his heart quickened when he saw Cynthia’s name. Then he read the message, and his heart rate shot up from quick to violent. He broke into a sweat.

  “Shit!” He pulled up the messenger app.

  “What?” Colton asked. Dave and Dick stopped bickering for a second and turned his way.

  Noah read the message again, then looked at the picture she’d sent. “She knows. Fuck!”

  “Who knows what?” Dick asked.

  With shaking hands, Noah replied to the text.

  “Cynthia knows?” Ethan as
ked, straightening up.

  “Yeah.” Noah slumped, his stomach churning.

  “How’d she find out?” Colton pressed.

  “I don’t know. I just asked. Shit.” Noah dropped his bag to his feet. “She sent me a text asking, ‘What the fuck is this?’ and sent a screen shot of my page on the website. That is the worst possible way she could’ve found out. The comments on that page are…”

  “Wait, did you say you asked her how she found out?” Ethan asked, walking over. “Because that is the last thing you want to say when a chick finds out your dirty little secret.”

  Dread overcame Noah. He slowly lowered his phone as he looked at Ethan, the truth of his buddy’s words hitting home.

  A moment later, Ethan was proved right. A new text from Cynthia came in: I discover that you’re a prostitute, and you ask HOW DID I FIND OUT?

  “Shit,” Noah muttered, staring at his screen.

  “You gotta do damage control on this one, brother,” Ethan said, looking down at Noah’s phone. “You have to fix this somehow.”

  My sister called me gloating, that’s how I found out. She thinks it’s hilarious that you graduated from a man-slut to a man-whore. LITERALLY

  “Shit,” Noah said again.

  “That isn’t good,” Ethan muttered.

  Another came in. So exclusive really means that you fuck me for free and then get paid for action on the side? Now I realize why you get tested so much. You have a right to be paranoid, you gross fuck.

  “She is really angry,” Ethan said, reading the latest message.

  “You think?” Noah replied.

  “Are you getting yelled at via text?” Dick asked, leaning back in his chair.

  “There are bigger problems than how he’s getting yelled at, bro,” Dave murmured.

  “He fucks women for money and didn’t tell his girlfriend,” Dick replied. “Obviously he has bigger problems. I’m just amazed at the modern era.”

  “Get that page down,” Noah barked at Dick, snatching his bag off the ground and heading for the door.

  “You off to do damage control?” Colton asked as Noah pushed open the door.

  “I’m going to do whatever it takes. I can’t lose her.”