by CY Jones
“Yours, sugar buns, but you have to admit you’re being a bit childish. Just call the man and tell him you’ll be back in time for the wedding.”
I know he’s right, but I don’t want to speak to The Turd. My pride, and probably Gloria and Nancy, is like, fuck you asshole, we’ll see you when we see you. So yeah, I’m being childish, but I have my reasons. It’s a slippery slope to the land of suck. If I call him, we’ll have to talk. If we talk, what I’m being forced to do on Christmas day will be that much more real. I’ll have to admit to myself that I did in fact give up. That Justin is out of my reach forever and I’ll be miserable for the rest of my life. Do you see now why I rather ignore life?
“It’s not fair. I don’t feel like adulting,” I whine. “Let’s let him stew for a bit longer.
Raising a perfect brow he shrugs. “It’s your call, sugar buns, but he’s not going to stop calling.”
18
Another Week
Ignoring The Turd was fine in theory, but I didn’t take in account his determination to track me down. So when my brother called to inform me he was at his house, refusing to leave until he saw me, my heart dropped. I’ve been hopping over that big red hotel on Boardwalk, speeding past go, but now the cops have finally caught up to me and I lost my get out of jail free card during the high speed chase.
“Well, sugar buns, what now?” Chaz asks, watching me with wary eyes.
“Can I borrow your car? I’m going to have to go to my brothers’ and straighten this mess I made up. I can’t leave Harrison to deal with The Turd for me.”
“Why not?” Gloria asks. “He’ll kill him. Problem solved.”
“That is not an option. How many times do I have to tell you guys murder is a big no-no?”
“Of course. Do you want me to come along for moral support? I can always reschedule my next appointment.”
“No, thank you. As much as I want you by my side, I need to confront him myself. I’m doubtful he’ll take me seriously if I have back up.”
“Okay, well, call me if you need me.” Taking the keys from him, I kiss him on the cheek and leave out the door.
I don’t start to get nervous until I get to my brother’s and see The Turd pacing outside the front door. When he sees me pull up, he watches me with intense blue eyes as I park behind my brother’s truck. I don’t see Paige’s Range Rover, so either she’s not here or it’s parked in the garage. I hope it’s the former. I don’t want to have to explain this mess, especially if The Turd decides to make a scene. I know Chaz has told her some things. She was his bestie first, so I can’t get mad, but he hasn’t told her everything.
“I see my brother wouldn’t allow you in the house,” is all I say once I’m in front of him. I try not to think about how handsome he looks in jeans and a t-shirt or the way the sun highlights his high cheekbones. I ignore his muscles peeking from the dip in his shirt from the weight of his Aviators or the cocky smirk on his plump lips. His eyes trace over me, first with relief before quickly switching to annoyance. He’s not exactly happy he had to come all the way out here. Well, that makes two of us.
“Yeah, well, I’m not exactly his favorite person,” he grumbles.
Folding my arms over my chest, I meet his fiery blue gaze with my own intensity. If it was his intention to come here to intimidate me then he better think again. Docile Brooklyn is gone and in her place is one mad bitch. “Five mad bitches,” Nancy corrects.
“Why are you here, Drew?”
“Why else would I come here? You just quit your job without a word and flew off to your brother’s. I had no way of knowing if you were dead or alive. You just left and wouldn’t answer my calls.”
“Dramatic much? As you can see, I’m alive and well,” I say, waving my hand up and down my body.
“I see that,” he growls. Yeah, he’s annoyed all right. Guess he doesn’t appreciate my new attitude. Well, too bad. It’s here to stay.
“How did you even know I was here?”
“It wasn’t hard to guess. You always run to your brother, but to make sure, I had my buddy at the police department track your phone.”
“Are you fucking serious?” I screech. “Not cool. Not cool at all. You know, Drew, I’m starting to think you need to talk to someone about your issues. Sending interns to follow me around and having my phone tracked is not normal.”
“What did you expect me to do?” he roars. “You’ve been acting like a brat since you lost that interview. You run off, crossing state lines, you don’t answer my calls. What exactly did you expect me to do?”
“Okay, I may have been wrong when I didn’t answer your calls, but everything else was all your doing.” I do not want to get into this on my brother’s front doorstep. Thank God his house is on a private beach and his nearest neighbor is a mile away. Turning, I head towards the water. The last thing I need is my brother within earshot when we get into it and to go Terminator on The Turd. Mumbling his frustration and a few choice words under his breath, The Turd follows, stomping through the sand after me. We’re at the water’s edge when he has finally had enough of chasing me and grabs my upper arm, halting me in my tracks.
“Enough, Brooklyn, stop running from me.”
“I’m not running. You want to talk then let’s talk, but I warn you now, you’re not going to like what I have to say.”
“What the hell is going on with you? Why did you quit your job and just up and leave? Babe, this is not you.”
“No kidding,” I laugh, but not because I’m amused. No, it’s more of a fed up with his bullshit laugh. “For the life of me, I do not understand how you can be so fucking clueless, but you’ve always underestimated me, haven’t you? I know what you have done, Drew. I know fucking everything.” His eyes widen, but I can tell he doesn’t believe me, so I push on. “Rebecca Fairchild. Sound familiar? You got her pregnant so you can use her father to nominate you into The Gentlemen's Society. You don’t love me. You’re trying so badly to keep me around only because you need me to use as an incentive for Nathaniel Bishop’s vote. I give you this. You came up with one elaborate plan. No details were spared.”
“And you found out all that out on your own?” I can’t read him. He has the ultimate poker face. I don’t know if he’s impressed or fishing for information.
"Despite what you and your father think, I’m not dumb. While here, I’ve done my own research. You somehow found out Nathaniel Bishop’s indulgences. That he has this sick disturbing fantasy of owning women like slaves, preferably someone’s wife to make the sick game more interesting. Once we marry, you’re going to give me over to him, aren’t you?”
He’s quiet. Too quiet, standing there with his poker face as he debates how much he wants to tell me. “You’re wrong. I don’t think you’re stupid. I’ve always known how brilliant you are and despite what you think, I do love you. More than you can imagine. I love you more than I have anyone, but I’m also an ambitious man. You know that. You’ve always known that about me. The Gentlemen's Society will open up so many doors for us. With their help, I’ll be able to propel my father’s company to an all new level. I’m not the only one who will benefit from this deal. You will too. So what if you’ll have to fuck Nathaniel maybe once or twice a month at the most. It’s a small price to pay for what we’ll receive in return. Why can’t you see the bigger picture?”
“Have you lost it? What bigger picture? All I hear is you and yours will reap the benefits while I’m the only one paying the price.”
“Baby.”
“Don’t 'baby' me, you asshat. Ugg, I could kill you right now.” Pulling at my hair, I pace the sand close enough for the water to brush the rubber rim of my Chucks. I wasn’t completely sure. From what I learned from Chaz about Nathaniel, this was all a theory I put together. A theory I hoped like hell wasn’t true, but now that he has confirmed my suspicions, I’m trying my hardest to keep Nancy from drowning him in the ocean. “How could you do this to me?” I cry.
“I… look
, it wasn’t supposed to be this way. When we first met, I was content in my position in life. I was happy how things were, happy with you. But after a while, I was starting to feel stuck. Yeah, I knew one day I’d take over for my father, but then what? With the innovation of technology, our company stood to become obsolete. We weren't growing like we should. Losing out to our competition more equipped to change with the times. With my father at the helm, we’ve been stuck in the middle. Showing me the bigger picture, my father agreed to step down so I could lead us into the future. I was hesitant at first, but after a while, I saw that he was right. Why be content where we were when we could grow into so much more? Into something the Society will never allow to die out because they do not tolerate failure.”
“Then marry Rebbeca and leave me out of it. I quit. I’m not part of the company anymore. What you do with it is your business. Please,” I beg. “I’ve never asked you for anything but I’m asking you now. Let me go.”
“I can’t. I need you. Even with Fairchild’s nomination, without Nathaniel Bishop’s endorsement, I’ll lose the vote.”
“I’m a person, Drew. I’m not a slave for you to lend out so you can join some secret club.” Either he doesn’t understand or he’s deliberately ignoring my statement. “Drew, this isn’t you. Your father, yes, but you? You’re not this much of an asshole." Closing the distance between us, I lift up on my tip toes and wrap my arms around his neck. “Please, I beg you. Let me go,” I tell him before pressing my lips to his in a soft sweet kiss.
When he pulls back, my heart sinks with his words. Although his gaze is uncertain, his thoughts conflicting in his head, he answers, “I can’t. Now that Bishop has seen you for himself. He wants you and only you.” My slap rings through the calm breeze, cutting through the air like thunder. My hand stings, but I ignore the pain, deeply satisfied with the red hand print starting to form on his cheek.
“I fucking hate you and everything you stand for,” I tell him before walking off, but I don’t get far when he grabs me again, pulls me against him, and attacks my mouth with his.
I fight him and try to pull him off, but he’s stronger than me and my will is weak. So fucking weak, which is why I’m in this mess in the first place. His tongue explores my mouth like it’s its first visit. Flushed against his body, I can feel his growing hardness. His moans ring in my ears, but all I hear is that this is a mistake. Finally, I rip my mouth from his. Panting hard, I tell him. “I can call the cops. Ones you’re not buddies with.”
“You’re not that reckless. I’m sure your friend Chaz told you how much of a bad idea it is to fuck with The Gentleman’s Society. They’ll kill you before you make it to the police department.”
“I like to see them try,” Gloria whispers.
“Then I won’t marry you. I don’t care about the video. Show it to whoever you want. It’s not like you haven’t already.”
“I’ve only shown it to Nathaniel to gain his interest and it worked better than I imagined,” he practically spits out, almost bitter. What am I missing? Isn’t that what he wanted? “Stop being hasty and think about what you’re threatening. Are you that selfish to ruin your family just so you don’t have to marry me? Because that’s what's going to happen. You’re involved now, whether you like it or not. Nathaniel will bury your brother and his new wife to get his hands on you. He’s obsessed.”
“How do I know you’re not just saying that? Once my name is ruined, he’ll want nothing to do with me. You either. I’ll be free of all this.”
“You’ll never be free. You underestimate your beauty and my love for you,” he sighs. “Truth is, I did try to save you from all this and tried to back out after that disastrous dinner. Once I saw myself how everything was playing out and the hurt I was causing you, I told Bishop I’d get someone else, but Bishop wasn’t having it. Whatever happened in that hallway between you two has him hooked. Your beauty, that special brand of defiance. No one has ever told him no. You are an enigma. A challenge. He wants to break you just to prove a point.”
“Ha, that’s hilarious since I’m already broken. I broke the day I found out you’re not the man I thought you were.”
“Be that as it may, we are still getting married. I promise I’ll protect you as best as I can. Knowing Bishop, he’ll tire of you quickly once he’s gotten what he wanted. Then we can make our own family and a whole empire together.”
“You can keep your promises. They’re fucking worthless and not worth the air you use to speak them. I’ll protect myself like I’ve always have, but know this, I’m only marrying you to save my family. There is no you and me. Our marriage will be in name only. After I say I do, you will delete every copy you have of that video and erase it from your memory. I will not share a bed with you, hell, I’m not even sharing a house with you. Our living situation will stay the same. Don’t expect me to jump at your calls because I won’t, but I won’t just ignore them like I’ve been doing. Once Nathaniel has had his fill of me, I’m filing for divorce.”
“Why are you being like this? Is it because of that guy at dinner who left?”
I don’t answer his question. I can’t without getting choked up. Yes, Justin is part of the reason, but it doesn’t matter because he ran him off. “I’ll see you at the wedding,” I tell him, walking away and this time, he lets me go.
Justin
“I feel bad singing your praises to Brooklyn when you turned out to be such a huge disappointment.”
“Jesus, I need to find another bar to drink at. I’m getting a little sick and tired of these interventions,” I complain, gripping the bottle in my hand tighter.
Ignoring my comment, he sits in the stool beside me and gives me a hard stare. It probably would have been more effective if I wasn’t already plastered and if he weren’t so damn pretty. “So, that’s it? Are you actually going to let her marry that douchebag tomorrow?”
“I’m not letting her do anything. She’s a grownass woman who can make her own choices. If Andrew Chatworth is who she wants, then I have to accept it.”
“Fuck, I swear you have marbles rolling around in your head for brains. She doesn’t love him, she loves you, you dipshit.”
“Ha,” I laugh. “Sure she does. She loves me so much, she’s on a flight back to New York amongst the craziness of holiday travels to marry another man. Yeah, I can really feel the love,” I spit out bitterly.
“Justin,” he says softly with a sigh. His eyes pin me, fighting through my foggy, drunken brain. I’d wish he would leave me alone. I’m quite content to drink away my sorrows. “Right now, I have a private jet on stand-by at LAX. Brooklyn is like a sister to me and I’ll never betray her trust, so I’m going to tell you my story. Afterwards, if you make the decision on your own to come with me then I’ll help fill in the blanks as best I can without betraying her of why she’s doing what she’s doing.”
“Okay,” I say slowly, stretching out the word. I’m confused as fuck, quickly sobering from his serious tone. He acts like Brooklyn is being forced to marry the dude, which can’t be true. You can’t force my firecracker to do anything she doesn’t want. It’s one of the things I love about her.
“As you know, Michael and I broke up. He was the love of my life and when he told me he wanted to break up, he completely devastated me. While I was in New York, I wasn’t just there to check up on Brooklyn and my father after his stroke. I went to see Michael. I don’t know what I thought would happen when I got there, I just knew I had to fix what happened. Fix us.”
His voice changes, sadness seeps in, and I don’t think I’m going to like the next part of this story. Whatever it is, it won’t be good, but he’s determined to tell me.
“I went to the hospital he works at and a nurse there told me he was getting married today. Using my connections, I found the chapel and there he was, standing profoundly up front, and with a kiss one would give their mother, sealing his marriage to a pretty blonde woman as petite as a ballerina. And you know what really bothers
me? He looked happy doing it, even though I know that, he knows, he’s living a lie. I could have saved him from that fate. Saved us. If only I had gotten my head out of my ass sooner and fought for him. Fought for us like he did for me when my parents disowned me. It’s one of my biggest mistakes and because I care about you as a friend, and love Brooklyn like a little sister I always wanted, I’m here now to see if you have what it takes to fight for her.”
My response is immediate. “When do we leave?”
19
Wedding Crashers
Brooklyn
Well, here I am, walking down the aisle to my doom. Beside me, Chaz tenderly holds the crook of my arm, linked in his as he gives me away. My father died when I was five and no way in hell would I invite my brother to this sham of a wedding. He’ll see straight through it and ruin everything. I’m doing what I have to do to protect all of us. Chaz knows this, which is why he’s by my side, supporting me throughout all this, instead of throwing me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and hightailing it out of here. He makes the perfect substitute brother.
He came back to the townhouse late last night and we made a blood promise to always be in each other’s lives, no matter what, so now, he is my honorary brother. Blood is thicker than spit. Fuck licking, he’s mine.
The wedding is small with probably fifty people or so in attendance, all guests of The Turd. Besides Chaz, I didn’t want anyone else here. Once I come into view, they all gasp at my dress. It is quite scandalous, if I say so myself. At first, I wanted to wear black to symbolize all that I’m losing, but in the end, I chose a deep red color as dark as pooled blood. It’s an off the rack, Vera Wang wedding gown with a lace bodice and satin rose ruffled skirt. Why red? Well for one, I look damn good in the color, and two, it’s symbolic. I’m letting those here who know the truth about this arrangement know that I am not a victim here. I am a warrior princess and no matter how much blood I spill, I will fight them every part of the way until I win my freedom.
