by Nikki Ash
“Kaden…” He shakes his head at me not giving me the chance to argue. “Why, Ashley?”
I let out a long breath and start from the beginning. I tell him about Tyler and how we met in college, how he was sweet and wooed me. How everything was great until he started gambling, and then it was far from great.
“So, you were working fulltime and he was paying all the bills?” He doesn’t ask judgingly, just to understand, and it reminds me why this man is my best friend.
“I was so busy with Tristan and going back to work, I just let him take it all over. When he told me to buy a house when I was pregnant, I thought it was a great idea. I wanted nothing more than to provide my baby with a home like the one my parents gave me growing up; I didn’t think about why he didn’t want it in his name. I didn’t ask questions... I trusted him.” The tears come back when I think what my naivety has cost me.
“But this was years ago. Did something happen recently?”
“Yeah, Tyler came back in January, threatening to take Tristan away from me. He said with him having rights he was going to disappear with him before I could even take him to court.”
“Motherfucker! Why the hell didn’t you come to me?”
“It all happened so fast! He wanted thirty thousand dollars in exchange for signing over his rights and he only gave me less than twenty-four hours to come up with it. I asked Don for a number to a loan shark and he sent me to Giovanni.”
“What the fuck… The guy owns a whorehouse!”
“I know…”
“You know?”
“I didn’t have anything to give him to ensure I would pay back the loan… so … I used myself as collateral.”
I close my eyes knowing Kaden is about to freak the hell out, and I’m right. He does. He stands up and punches the window behind us. Glass shatters everywhere and when I rush over to him I can see his hand is bleeding from the shards of glass. I rush inside my house to grab a towel and remember there’s nothing in the house. I have no idea why the door isn’t locked, like the bank said it would be, but they emptied out my entire house.
Remembering I have some clothes in my car, I run out to it and grab an old shirt. Taking Kaden’s hand in mine, I blot his hand with the shirt. “You shouldn’t have done that. We need to run it under cold water to see if there’s glass under your skin.”
He pulls his hand away. “I don’t give a fuck about my hand! You sold yourself to a man who sells women to rich men so they can fuck them?”
“No! I agreed if I didn’t pay him back I would go to work for him, but so far I paid him back…”
Kaden gives me a look. “Well, except when you paid him the four grand I was behind…” He gives me another look. “I almost had enough to pay him this month!”
He lets out a groan and shakes his head, having a seat on the porch swing, patting it for me to join. “So, I’m assuming Tyler signed over his rights?”
“Yeah. Then he disappeared. Thank God.”
“What about your job?”
“How did you know about my job?”
“Tristan overheard you talking to your mom. He was worried.”
Talk about failing as a mom.
“A dad from the school I worked at blackmailed me and when I refused to take him up on his offer. He reported me to the school, and the principal pretty much forced me to resign.”
“What’s his name?”
“Oh no, you aren’t going after him. It’s over with. Caleb is working on teaching me the insides of the club. I am really loving it. I never imagined running a strip club and restaurant but I am finding it to be fun, and I am good at it.”
Kaden and I sit for a few minutes in silence before I speak up. “All my stuff is gone. I thought I had until tomorrow night, but it’s all gone. The bank must have taken it all.”
“It’s all in my garage.”
I whip my head around to look at him. “Your garage?”
“I saw the notice the other day; so, when you left for work earlier, Cooper, Bentley, and I moved all your stuff to my garage. You and Tristan are moving in with me.”
“I am not even going to argue because I know I have nowhere else to go, but I promise you I will work all the hours Caleb will give me and I will not only pay you back for you paying off Giovanni, but we will be out of your hair as soon as possible.”
“About that… If you marry me, for pretend of course, not only will it make my grandmother happy, but I will split the fifteen million with you.” It doesn’t go over my head that he once again makes it clear this marriage isn’t real. Of course, it’s not real. Kaden is sexy and wealthy with a nice job. He has a nice house and a nice car, and that’s just the exterior. He is sweet and selfless; he could have anyone he wants, so why would he ever settle for a poor stripper single mom.
Then it hits me what he said.
“Kaden!” I screech. I don’t even know what else to say. “I can’t take seven million dollars from you! I owe YOU money, not the other way around.”
“Well, technically after taxes it would only be around four million. The IRS is a bitch like that. But if you don’t marry me, I don’t get any money and my grandmother will die without ever seeing her only grandson marry and have his happily-ever-after.”
Damn, guilt-trip much.
“Ok, I am going to agree to marry you… for fake.” I add it in there just like he did so he knows I am not going to try to rope him into a real marriage or something. “But I can’t accept seven million dollars from you.”
“It’s not negotiable.” I decide not to argue knowing he’s going to just keep at it until I agree with him. When the time comes, I will just refuse the money. Kaden has done so much for Tristan and me, there’s no way I am taking his family’s money.
“C’mon, Ash. Let’s get you home so you can change out of my shirt and those booty shorts.”
I follow Kaden back to his house trying not to think too hard about the fact that Tristan, Kaden, and I will all be living under one roof. Instead I focus on taking in my surroundings. Kaden lives on the outskirts of Las Vegas in one of the wealthier areas like his friends all do. But while his friends, Cooper and Bentley, live in a neighborhood filled with cookie cutter houses with zero land, Kaden is in a gated community where every home is on a nice piece of land. Each home is on a minimum of five acres, so the houses are far apart. A lot of people who live in this community even have horses with barns and such.
We pull up to Kaden’s country style home and the front porch light is on. I am always blown away by the beauty of his home. He bought it years ago but has renovated it little by little. It’s a multi-story home with several bedrooms and bathrooms. The outside has been redone and has the cutest wrap around porch with a blood red front door. The red door was my idea. With the different color bricks and the white windows with black shutters, he had to have a red door.
The inside has a spacious, open floor plan. There’s a fireplace in the center of the house that can be seen in the living room as well as the dining room. The master bedroom is on the first floor along with a guest bedroom and his office, and on the second floor are two more bedrooms. The kitchen is completely stainless steel and is gorgeous.
We are usually at my house because of convenience; Tristan has all his stuff at my place and I worked right down the street at the elementary school. But occasionally Kaden will throw a party here and I swear I spend the entire time just admiring the house.
“Hey girly!” Kayla comes walking out of the guest room to give me a hug, thankfully ignoring my outfit. “I see Kaden got his way.” She gives me a wink and giggles.
I look down in embarrassment. I know she’s joking to lighten the mood but it reminds me I have lost my house. I have lost everything.
“Hey,” Kayla says. “Don’t do that. Shit happens. I don’t know the details as to what’s going on with you, but you will work it out, and you have all of us. Please don’t shut us out.”
Tears well up in my eyes and I lose i
t; Kayla pulls me into her arms, rocking me softly, not letting go of me until I feel hands on my waist pulling me out of her arms. Kaden puts his arms around me and holds me tight. His warmth makes me feel safe, something I haven’t felt in a long time. I breathe in his fresh scent and it feels like home.
There’s a knock on the door but Kaden doesn’t let me go. The door closes and he still doesn’t let me go. We stand in the middle of his foyer for I don’t know how long with him just holding me, letting me cry until I run out of tears.
Chapter Seven
Kaden
I hold her until she finally stops crying. Then after going upstairs to check on Tristan, we go to bed. I know she is physically exhausted from working all night and emotionally exhausted from all this shit. She just needs a good night’s sleep and tomorrow will be a fresh start. Laying down in my California King, we have more than enough room but instead of laying on our own sides, Ashley lays on my chest while I play with her hair until she finally passes out.
“Ashley,” I whisper. She rolls over and grunts for me to shut up. It’s five in the morning and I need to get going to the gym. “I’m leaving for work.” Another grunt.
I walk out to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee and see Tristan at the table eating a bowl of sugary cereal for breakfast. I never carry food like that in my home but knowing Tristan would be living here with me, I had Kayla help me out by taking Tristan to the grocery store last night to buy food he likes. Watching him makes me think of my son and everything I am missing out on not getting to watch him grow up. It pisses me off knowing Tristan’s dad signed away his rights for a measly thirty grand. If it was in my control, no amount of money could ever keep me away from my child. Too many people take the important things in life for granted like family and loved ones.
The past couple years Tristan and I have gotten closer. I know he isn’t a replacement of my son and I am not a replacement of the father he’s never known but I love that kid like he’s my own. I find myself looking forward to spending time with him, and now with him living with me, I hope our relationship will grow even more. Tristan means a lot to me just like his mom does.
“Morning.” Tristan looks up from the iPad in front of him, the one I bought him for his last birthday.
“Morning, are you going to the gym?”
“That I am, want to go?”
His face perks up out of excitement. “Can I?”
“Sure, go get dressed. We’ll let your mom sleep in. She's probably exhausted from working late.”
I write Ashley a note letting her know I took Tristan with me and leave it on the nightstand so she doesn’t freak out once she wakes up, then take off with Tristan to the gym.
He spends the first hour working out with me but once Bella and a couple of his friends arrive, he takes off to the kids’ area. Cooper decided last year to split the gym into two areas: the smaller part is the kids’ area and the larger main area is for the fighters. That way the kids won’t hear the cursing and bashing that goes on when you stick a bunch of amped up fighters into the room together. The kids who belong to the fighters always venture into the adult area, but for the most part it works out well, especially for the kids who are only here for the kids’ MMA classes.
Alex arrives shortly after seven and we begin training immediately. After an hour of warming up, we start working on some takedown defense moves. His opponent, Gavin ‘Stunner’ Fitzgerald’s strength is submission, while Alex’s strength is stand-up, his area of expertise boxing. Most fights Alex will win with a knockout but if his opponent gets him to the ground, he will be in trouble, and that’s what we need to prepare for.
“I can’t believe you are planning a wedding the month before your big fight. Talk about adding more stress.”
“Well, if it helps we are holding off on the honeymoon until after the fight so I won’t miss any training other than the day of the wedding… and the day after.” He waggles his eyebrows up and down giving me a wink. I use him being distracted to take him down, and before he can even think about his next move, I pull him into a quick arm bar forcing him to tap out.
“Fuck!” he says, standing up pissed.
“Just don’t think about fucking your wife during the fight,” I say patting him on his shoulder. “Oh, by the way; right after the wedding, I have to go visit my family for a few days. My grandmother is turning eighty and is demanding I am present. I have asked Bentley to train with you. You will learn some good moves from him. Make sure you work his stay-at-home daddy ass hard.”
“Thanks, man! Will do.”
I see Ashley walking into the gym out of the corner of my eye, so grabbing a towel, I wipe the sweat off me while heading over to see her.
“What are you doing here?” I ask giving her a sweaty side hug. She scrunches her nose up in disgust so I go all in giving her a bear hug.
“Ewww! Kaden, stop! You are so gross.” She laughs, grabbing my towel to dramatically wipe her face and neck off.
“Better get used to it, soon-to-be-Mrs. Scott.”
Her smile spreads across her face but she quickly straightens it out.
“Thank you for letting me sleep in. I definitely needed it.”
“No worries. I’m working with Alex right now and Caleb this afternoon but I will be home later. Want to order in for dinner?”
“Hey, Kaden!” Stephen comes over. “The guys and I are all going to The Hideout tonight, it’s ladies’ night. You in?”
Before I can answer, Ashley answers for me. “You should go. I am actually here to pick up Tristan.” Then she walks away without even giving me a chance to answer.
“Nah, man. I’m going home after work,” I say, my eyes never leaving Ashley’s ass as she sashays to the kids’ area to get Tristan.
I pull up to my house with Thai takeout and don’t see Ashley’s piece-of-crap car in the driveway, only the oil stain it left behind. It really does need to get replaced, but she would probably skin me alive if I tried to buy her a vehicle. I got so busy at the gym I didn’t have time to text her all day. Hopefully her and Tristan haven’t eaten yet.
“Honey, I’m home,” I yell out like I do most of the times I enter her house.
“Hey Kaden!” Tristan yells out from the living room, playing my PlayStation.
“You hungry? Where’s your mom?” I bring the bag of food into the kitchen.
“She’s at work.” It’s not Tristan who answers this time; it’s Brittany, his babysitter.
“Uhh, hey. What are you doing here?”
She looks at me confused. “I’m babysitting Tristan. Ashley went to work about thirty minutes ago.”
Oh. Hell. No!
“You can take off. Do you need a ride home?”
“No, I can have my boyfriend pick me up.”
I pull out some money from my wallet to pay her, her full amount since it’s not her fault I am sending her home early. Then I shoot a text to Caleb.
Me: Is Ashley working tonight???
Caleb: Yeah…
Then a thought strikes me.
“You know what, Brittany? Would you mind watching Tristan? I will give you some extra money for the mix-up. I need to run an errand.”
“No problem, Kaden. I will let my boyfriend know to pick me up later.”
“Thanks! And there’s Thai food in the kitchen for you and Tristan.”
I jump in a quick shower and get dressed in a pair of nice jeans and a button-down dress shirt. I throw on my shoes and quickly dry off my hair before heading out. On the way, I give Caleb a call.
“Hey man, I need a favor.”
“I’m going to assume it has something to do with Ashley working tonight. You know I am not getting in the middle of that shit. It was bad enough I was stuck on the couch for over a week for not telling Hayley before. I am finally back in my bed and getting laid again.”
“I just need you to book her for a private party for tonight. If she has any other parties, give them to someone else.”
&nb
sp; “Fuck, Kaden,” Caleb groans.
“I will pay.”
“You know damn well it’s not about the money. It’s about fucking with Ashley. She’s good for my business and I am hoping she will eventually manage this place. Pissing her off isn’t going to help with that.”
“Just do it.”
He groans louder but agrees.
I arrive at Assets a few minutes later and am let in right away. Caleb has us all on his VIP list so we never have to wait to get in. When I walk through the restaurant I don’t see her so I head upstairs to the bar area. She is up on the main stage in only a thong barely covering her pussy, as she moves her body up and down the pole. She is breathtakingly beautiful and every man watching her is entranced by the way she dances so gracefully on the stage. Unlike in some of the trashier clubs, Assets doesn’t allow men to stick bills in the girl’s underwear or throw it up on stage. Girls take turns dancing a couple times a night but it’s mostly to advertise themselves. Seeing them on stage is what makes a man want her to perform for him up close. I can’t even imagine the amount of men that request Ashley.
Waitresses aren’t allowed to give private dances, which is why, according to Caleb, Ashley left Double D’s to work here, for him. As a dancer, she can make money from the private dances and parties.
Once she is done dancing, the curtains close around her so she can grab her clothes as she heads out back. Caleb sends me a text letting me know which room to go into, so I go straight there to wait for her.
I get comfortable on the couch this time and wait for the music to start for my private performance. A few minutes later, the music begins and she is back to climbing and grinding that pole, only she is in a different outfit this time. A light blue dress with a matching bra and panties. When she’s done, I make it a point to clap loud and slow. She looks past the bright lights and sees me sitting there. Throwing back on her sexy see-through dress along the way, she walks toward me until she is standing in front of me.
“What are you doing here? When Caleb said VIP, he didn’t mention you.”
