by Meghan Quinn
“No, thank you, you made me a better offer than what I was shooting for.”
With those parting words, I took off to catch my plane back to New Orleans.
Everything seemed to be coming together. Zane was going to contact Rex and fly out to New Orleans as soon as possible, and I had my detective on hold. Hopefully, sooner rather than later, I would be able to finally take my dad and Rex down, and if it wasn’t too late, hopefully claim Goldie once again.
11
“She Knows”
Goldie
“I have a meeting, Goldie, an important one, so please clean up your dishes and go up to your room,” Rex demanded, as he wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin and then took his plate to the kitchen.
I missed Kace already. It was torture being with Rex, and then trying to go to the club to teach the girls, who remained cold and stone-like toward me. I had hope when Blane tried to approach me, but all he asked was for me to give the girls a break…that was it. I wondered if he really was trying to be in cahoots with me, because I didn’t even get the smallest of nods from him.
Rex had been an uptight ass-hat ever since he took a call earlier today. It was like someone strung his balls up and occasionally pulled on them, just to piss him off.
His maid cooked us a delicious platter of lasagna, and did the man even thank her? No. He just ate the food on his plate without even talking to me. I had more of a conversation in my head with George Washington on the wall than I did with Rex.
“Hurry along,” Rex said, while he looked at me, waiting for me to move.
“Do you mind if I finish?” I said in a snappy tone, getting pretty annoyed with his pestering.
“I would tell you to finish upstairs, but I don’t allow food on the second floor. Please, just finish; I need you out of here.”
“It seems like you’re trying to hide me,” I stated with my mouth full of lasagna.
“I can’t imagine why,” he rolled his eyes and ran his hand through his hair.
“I thought I meant something to you, Rex. I’m sorry, but with the way you’ve been treating me, it seems like you don’t even want me here.”
Where the hell did that come from? And why the hell did I even care?
Looking frustrated, Rex got in my face and said, “You’re the one who wants to build a friendship first. If you were my girlfriend, you would be treated a little differently, maybe with a little bit more respect.”
Ahh, so the man wanted access to the Goldie garden. Not going to happen.
“Well, it would be nice if we could be friends first, seems like it would build a solid foundation. How am I supposed to know if I want to move forward with you if you’re going to continue to treat me like this?”
Irritation laced Rex’s features, but I could see him ease up a bit.
“I’m sorry, Goldie. I’m just stressed, and having you in the next room is killing me. I will do better at being a gentleman. I apologize.”
He sounded almost like he meant it.
Deciding to throw him a bone, I got up from the table, shoved the rest of my lasagna in my mouth, and rinsed my plate off in the kitchen sink. I was about to turn to him and give him a conciliatory hug when his doorbell rang. The look in Rex’s eyes made me think I should probably get the hell out of his sight, or else I would be dragged up the stairs by my hair. Scary.
“Uh, I’ll just head up to my room.”
“Take the back stairs,” he said curtly, ushering me away.
Flipping him off behind his back, I walked to the back stairs and pretended to climb them with great force. I was too curious just to let him get away with tucking me away. I needed to know what this meeting was all about, especially if it possibly had something to do with Masquerade. I was a “manager” of sorts; I needed to know what I was working with.
I heard Rex greet whoever was at the door in the hallway in the fakest tone I’ve ever heard from him. A very strong male voice greeted Rex back, making me wonder who the hell he was meeting with.
Carefully, I padded across the kitchen floor and perched my ear against the door to get a better listen.
“Glad to see you had a safe flight,” Rex said. “I was surprised you contacted me, Zane. I wasn’t expecting to hear from the competition.”
“Call me, Z,” the man said back. “Shall we go somewhere to sit and talk?”
“Yes, follow me back to my office.”
The sound of their footsteps retreated across the hardwood floors back to Rex’s office. Once I heard the door click shut, I pushed past the kitchen swinging door and looked around before falling to the ground and army crawling across the floor.
As I glided along the hardwood, I made a mental note to commend Rex’s maid, Sally, on her formidable waxing capabilities, because what I thought might be a difficult task, going unnoticed while crawling on the floor, was actually quite easy.
I pulled up next to Rex’s office door, under a console table that rested in the hallway, just in case I had to do some quick camouflaging, and pushed my ear next to the crack of the doorway.
“Drink?” Rex asked.
“I’m good, thank you, though.”
The clanking of a decanter sounded off in the room as I heard footsteps retreat away from me.
“So, to what do I owe the pleasure of you coming to see me? I was surprised, yet intrigued, to receive your phone call.”
“As you know, I’ve put in a bid for Lot 17, and from the looks of it, my scheduled interview is more of a courtesy than anything. I don’t have a chance up against you and Jett Colby.”
Realization hit me as I thought about who Rex was talking about. He must be Zane Black, especially if he was the other one bidding on the property. If he knew he wasn’t going to have a chance with winning Lot 17, then why was he talking to Rex?
“Is that confirmed?” Rex asked.
“It is, unfortunately.”
“So, why are you here?”
“I want in on your club.”
Silence fell across the room, and I could just see Rex trying to understand what Zane really wanted.
“Why would I allow you into the club?”
“We both want something the other has. I know there are some city officials on your side, because of what you’ve offered them when it comes to your club. I have the other few votes to sway in any direction I want, from the connections I’ve made since I’ve been down here. I can guarantee you Lot 17 if you allow me to be a member in your club.”
“And why would you want that?” Rex asked, with skepticism lacing his voice.
The sound of leather being shifted on rang through the room before Zane began talking again.
“Two reasons, when I come down here, I have a lot of city elites to entertain, and I would like to entertain them properly, if you know what I mean. Secondly, Jett Colby needs to be shown that he can’t have everything.”
My stomach dropped at the mention of Jett’s name. How did this guy know Jett? I’d never heard of Zane Black until the Lot 17 bidding came up.
“Do you have something against Jett Colby?” Rex asked.
“I do. Jett Colby stole property from me in New York City. Stealing property isn’t something I take softly. I’ve built an empire with my real estate aspirations, and when someone fucks with me, I hold a grudge. Jett Colby fucked with one of my properties, costing me millions of dollars, and I will be damned if he gets away with it.”
Was that true? The way Zane’s voice rose with anger made it seem like what he was saying was, in fact, the truth, but Jett wouldn’t do that, would he? He always prided himself on being an honest and fair businessman. He wouldn’t screw someone over for property…his father would, but Jett wouldn’t. At least, that’s what I convinced myself.
“The man seems to get away with everything,” Rex scathed. “How do you plan on taking Jett Colby down? He has a golden reputation in this town.”
“Ah, he does in this town, but he doesn’t in New York City. I have a few sources
who are ready to come forward at the interviews to shed a rather unflattering light on the man. With my persuasion of some of my connections and the evidence I have of Jett being less than honorable in his real-estate dealings, Lot 17 is guaranteed for you, but like I said, I want in. I want to be a silent partner in your club.”
Zane had evidence of Jett doing something wrong in New York City? What the hell was he doing that was so bad, and the better question was, when the hell did he do it? Because, if he was with me at the time, the man was going to be castrated, that was for damn sure.
“Are you demanding a say in what happens at the club?”
“Not necessarily. I just want to be able to entertain when I’m down here, show my friends a good time.” Zane paused for a second, and then said, “Listen, Rex, you don’t have to hide from me. I know from a good source that what you’re doing isn’t quite legal, and that’s what I like about it. It’s the forbidden. I want to be able to offer that. Everything about my racing business is forbidden, so why not have access to a club that is as well?”
“These witnesses will come forward to testify against Jett?”
I leaned forward a little more to hear how Zane was going to answer, when someone above me cleared their throat.
Stifling a scream, I covered my mouth and looked up to see Sally, the maid, standing over me with her arms crossed and tapping her toe. Quickly, I shimmied out from under the table and stood up.
“Shhh,” I said while covering my lips with my finger and pulling Sally to the side, out of earshot. “Sally, please don’t say anything to Rex. I was, umm, just trying to find out what he, uh, wanted as a birthday present.”
God, that was a lame excuse, but I really had nothing else up my sleeve.
She gave me a pointed look that said, “I’m going to blow up your spot.”
“Please, don’t say anything,” I begged. “It’s important he doesn’t know I was listening. Did I mention how nicely you waxed the floors, by the way, and how amazing your lasagna was? Top notch, Sally. You totally nailed that lasagna.”
A light smirk played across her lips as she nodded and moved past me, allowing me to blow out the pent up breath I was holding in. Note to self, Sally likes to be complimented.
Not wanting to get caught again, I went back to the kitchen and walked up the back staircase to my room. Thomas Jefferson greeted me by staring at my breasts once again, while I flopped myself on the ancient bed.
I couldn’t be any more confused than I was right now. Did Jett really screw over that Zane guy? Zane seemed so passionate. Granted, I hadn’t see his face, but if he was anything like all the other guys in my life, he probably didn’t show much emotion.
My gut twisted at the thought of Zane and Rex ganging up on Jett to acquire Lot 17. Where was this Lot 17 anyway? It seemed like it wasn’t even that great of a property. Was there even a bar nearby? Maybe a Target? What’s the point of buying property if you can’t get drunk and then drunkenly wander over Target to purchase over a hundred dollars’ worth of unnecessary crap?
I was in way over my head. I still had yet to find a way to gather information on Rex’s club, thanks to the no phone policy. None of the girls seemed like they were in a position to testify, and neither was Blane. It was weird; they all seemed like they were having less than a stellar time working at the club, yet they clammed up when I tried to get any information out of them.
Besides the one conversation I had with Blane, it seemed like everyone had some strange loyalty to Rex. I tried approaching Blane a couple of times, but he just shook his head no at me, and on top of that, whenever Rex was around, Blane was a giant ass.
I was lost; I was drowning, actually. I needed Jett. I needed to hear his voice, to feel his touch, but I knew if I reached out to him, if I tried contacting him, he would force me to come back, or at least that’s what I hoped. Maybe he wouldn’t. Maybe he’d moved on.
Last I heard, Rex sent Jett a text about me being with Rex, and I just hoped and prayed Jett kept faith in my feelings for him. I hoped that he hadn’t given up on me yet.
I was lost in my thoughts when my phone started ringing. Praying it was Jett, I fumbled around until I was able to grab it and check the caller ID.
Diego.
My heart sank as I answered.
“Hey,” I said softly.
“That’s not the kind of greeting I was hoping for,” Diego said on the other end.
“Sorry, I thought maybe you would be Jett.”
“Are you expecting a call from him?” Diego asked, using a curious voice.
“No, not really. I mean, it would be nice to hear from him, but I guess we didn’t have a scheduled call or anything.”
“Goldie, you left him. Did you really expect him to call you?”
“I didn’t leave him,” I snapped. “I told him I would be back. I’m trying to work some things out; I’m trying to make things better for us.”
Diego was silent for a second before he responded, “And how are you doing with that?”
“Not very well,” I admitted. “I’m not doing well at all, Diego. I thought this was going to be easy, that I was just going to waltz into Rex’s life and grab what I needed so I could ride off into the sunset with Jett, but right now, I feel like there is no way I will be able to ever solve this.”
“What are you trying to do exactly?”
“I want to bring Rex and Leo down. I want to release myself from the shackles they have me strapped down in. With them still around, they’re going to keep dragging me and Jett through their negative lives. They’re going to continue bringing us down, and I don’t want to live like that anymore. I don’t want to be in hiding; I don’t want to have to watch my back or hide behind the closed doors of the Lafayette Club. I want Jett to claim me, for everyone to see. I want him to take me on dates, for him to be proud to have me on his arm.”
“You know he is proud to have you on his arm already, Goldie.”
“I like to think so, but now I don’t know. I think he’s moved on.”
“What gives you that impression?”
I sighed and flipped onto my stomach so I could prop my legs up and talk on the phone like I was a teenager in some fifties sitcom.
“I don’t know, I mean, I haven’t even…”
“Who are you talking to?” Rex asked, as he barged through my door without even knocking.
“Rex,” I said in shock, dropping my phone.
Rex eyed it on the ground and quickly picked it up before I could grab it off the ground. He held the phone up to his ear with a look in his eyes that said he was about to explode in seconds. I’ve never seen the man so mad before in my life.
“Who is this?” he spat into the phone. “Why are you talking to Goldie?” Rex asked after a brief pause. Turning toward me, Rex eyed me suspiciously and said, “Don’t call her again,” and then he hung up and pocketed my phone. “Why did you answer your phone?”
The way Rex was breathing heavily and searching me like he was crazed, set my warning bells off. Maybe the meeting didn’t end well.
“I’m not sure,” I responded, starting to fear what he was going to do.
“Don’t talk to anyone. I don’t trust you,” he eyed me up and down.
“Wh-why?” I asked, stuttering from the way he was closing in on me.
“Because, until you fully give yourself over to me, I won’t trust you. I will always think you’re still interested in Jett. You don’t even come near me…you barely look at me,” Rex stated.
Oh, shit. I, apparently, wasn’t doing a good enough job in fooling the man. But how was I supposed to show him I wanted to “be with him” if I didn’t want to have sex with him, let alone touch him? Rex was a very physical man, and the way you proved your loyalty to him was by showing him how physical you could be. Right now, my physical level was at zero and slowly declining into the negatives with each passing day I was near him.
“I want to, Rex. I want to be with you,” I pleaded, as he p
ushed me back on the bed and surrounded me with his strong body. Sweat started to trickle down my back from the strength he was forcing on me and the proximity of his body. “I just can’t,” I gulped. “I don’t want to be used anymore.”
“Do you think I like to be used?” he asked with venom in his voice.
“No,” I shook my head.
“Because, right about now, it seems like you’re the one who is using me.”
Where was this coming from? Why was he all of a sudden attacking me? What the hell went wrong in the last twenty minutes that set him on fire?
“Then, I’ll leave. I don’t want you to feel like I’m using you. I’ll go somewhere else, but I would still like to see you,” I bluffed.
His face softened for a second, right before he pulled away and ran his hand through his hair while pacing the length of my room.
“Don’t leave,” he gritted out. “But don’t fuck with me, Goldie. I swear, if I find out you’re fucking with me, I will destroy you. Do you hear me?”
Swallowing hard, I nodded my head and let him walk out of my room with my phone, taking my last connection to the real world.
He slammed my door shut, leaving me completely perplexed as to what had just happened.
Fucking weirdo and his mood swings.
Sinking into my stiff-as-a-board bed, I bid Thomas Jefferson a good night and tried to get some shut eye. I still had a lot of work to do at the club, especially since I had no way of proving what Rex and Leo were doing.
I shut my eyes, but was disturbed when Rex flew through my door again. His shadow was booming through my room with the hallway light backing him.
He spoke firmly and said, “Saturday night, I have some business to attend at the club before the gala. I will meet you at the house. My driver will bring me back here to pick you up before the event.”
“You don’t want me to go to the club with you? It’s the girl’s first…”
“No, I don’t want you there. Just make sure you’re ready for the gala. Be sure to look pristine; I’m counting on showing you off to everyone.” With that, he slammed my door shut.
