by S R Watson
“He doesn’t know about our plan Phoenix. He doesn’t know that I plan to give you equal shares to run the company together. To him, it’s a last-ditch effort to ensure that I’ll be okay—that I won’t get in over my head. I’m sure he thinks he’s giving Morgan Investments just enough shares to have an obligation to make sure that we don’t go under while not giving them enough to have any real power.” He takes a deep breath and then blurts out his plan. “We need to come forward now.”
“What?” I yell. “Why?”
“We need to leak that he’s sick, and that he may be potentially trying to bring another person on board to help run the company in his absence. That part is not true, but it’ll get the shareholders all riled up. They’ll block the addition of any new members.”
“Don’t you already have the sixty percent of the shares right now? He hasn’t given away your original nine percent yet, has he?” I’m pacing now.
“No. I have the sixty percent controlling shares for now. Father hasn’t announced that to the board either, but we’ve already signed the necessary paperwork with his attorney.” He looks down at the floor. “I know what you’re suggesting, Phoenix, and I can’t do it. I can’t be the person to block his request to add a member. That would be the ultimate betrayal after he literally handed me over his controlling interest. If we leak information about his health and his intent to bring in a foreign partner, we won’t have to get our hands dirty. I won’t have to feel the guilt—his hurt from knowing this blow came from the son he trusted. Please Phoenix. I want more than anything to share this company with you, but not like this.”
I see the tears threatening to fall from my brother’s eyes. Personally, I don’t give a shit, but I’ll go along with his plan. He doesn’t want to be the one to hurt Claude—at least have him know where this plan of deceit stemmed from. When he finally passes, he wants it to be on good terms.
“Fine, Sevyn. I’m sure you know how I feel about it. He didn’t give me any consideration, but whatever. When is the leak supposed to happen?”
“Well, he’s not due back until next Friday, so a couple of days before that. Too soon, and he’ll speculate how it got out. Give it some time for him to be seen in London, so it can be generalized that the pieces were put together from his trip.”
“Okay,” I agree. The shower shuts off, and I remember that Melissa is in there. I don’t think she overheard anything. She walks out in a towel and nearly jumps out of her skin when she sees Sevyn. She looks back and forth between us to try to figure which brother is which.
“Sorry. I didn’t know anyone was in here.” She inches back until she’s back in the bathroom. She closes the door, leaving a small gap. “Phoenix, can you hand me my clothes from the bag of stuff I bought yesterday?” When I step forward, she smiles, so I guess she figured which brother was the correct one.
“We’ll be arriving in Phoenix in less than an hour,” I inform her. I would suggest that she delay her flight to attend the party tonight, but it’s time I get back to my playboy ways. Keep it moving. Besides, this is my last night to hang out with my brother. I need to get him out of his own head. He needs to be focused when he goes back to New York tomorrow.
“Okay. I’ll be ready,” she promises. Sevyn and I head back into the living area. The guys agree to just have a quick meeting in here since Melissa is getting dressed in the bathroom anyway. I have two new songs I’ve been working on that are almost done. We discuss which song Ivy will sing with me and which song Anderson will join me on. It’s still our set, so we don’t want them to overshadow our entire performance. Two songs for our collaboration is enough. We wrap up our meeting rather quickly so we spend the rest of the time talking about the party tonight. Killian and Ren are more excited than the rest of us. I can admit that we haven’t exactly been living the life of rockers since we’ve gotten on the road. They’re ready to let their hair down, figuratively speaking, and frankly, so am I.
Chapter Thirteen
Harlow
Our bus arrives at a gorgeous mansion, and I’m in awe. The exterior is so grand and breathtaking. We pull around the circular drive before the bus comes to a stop. Wild Silence’s bus is already here. I snap pictures of this place as soon as my feet touch the ground. I send them to Irelyn via text. I miss her like crazy, but she hasn’t been messaging me back. I hope she responds soon because I’m starting to worry.
“Look at this place,” Lily says, looping her arm through mine.
“I know, right?”
“Life of the rich and famous, baby,” Killian shouts. “Let’s do this. Bring on the women.” We all giggle. Ren mockingly slaps him in the back of the head.
We all head into this palace, except Phoenix and Melissa. Another car pulls up, and he’s handing her bags to the driver. So apparently, she’s leaving. I can’t say that I’m sad to see her go. It doesn’t change anything between Phoenix and me, but at least I don’t have to witness their connection in contrast to our lack thereof.
Lily grabs my hand. “Come on. Our first stop is the pool, woman.”
“In January?” It’s in the sixties here in Phoenix, but still. Not exactly pool weather. The wind is kind of snippy too.
“Indoor pool, crazy. Asher already scoped it out when he looked over the floor plan. And it’s heated,” she informs me. I guess I could use some pool time. Sounds fun. We find ourselves in one of the bedrooms upstairs to change. I swear it’s the size of a small house. The closet is the size of a living room. What I wouldn’t give to own a place like this…shit, just to live in a place like this.
I pull out the red bikini Irelyn picked for me when we went shopping before I left. I change in the closet surrounded by mirrors. There is no way I can miss all the ass I have hanging from these string bikini bottoms. I tug at them, but it’s no use. The triangle top gives me a little more coverage, but not a ton. I feel like I could be one of those women in the music videos with all my goods on display. I’m contemplating changing into the one-piece I snuck into my suitcase. It’s black and has its own skirt attached. Lily walks into the closet, wearing a red bikini with black paisley.
“Look at us. We match,” she squeals. “I have to say, yours is smoking hot. Wait until Phoenix sees you.” Wait…what? I was about to tell her I was thinking about changing, but she caught me off guard with that statement.
“Who said anything about Phoenix? Who cares what he thinks?” I retort.
“Girl, please. You care, and we will be talking about just how much by the pool. You’re not getting out of our girl talk this time.” I tug at my bottoms and look in the mirror with a frown. “Oh, come on. I see you’re looking and having seconds thoughts. You look great, so no changing.” She pulls me toward the door before I can object. When we get to the indoor pool, everyone else is already there—both our guys and Wild Silence. I guess we took too long admiring that to-die-for room. I walk closely behind Lily, trying not to pay attention to the stares I’m getting.
“Damn, Harlow. You’ve come a long way, babe. That fucking bikini is—” Killian looks over at Asher and decides not to finish that remark. He misses the scowl that Phoenix is giving him.
“Doesn’t she look fab?” Lily twirls me around, and I could strangle her. I’m trying deflect the attention away from me. I catch the eye roll of Ivy, and it kind of makes the attention worth it—just a little. I sit in the nearest chaise lounge chair, which just happens to be next to Phoenix. Lily takes the one on the other side of me. Too late to change places with her without making a scene. Music starts playing overhead, and I’m happy for the reprieve. In an instant, the roofing retracts, leaving just glass to surround us. It’s then that I realize that this is a solarium. The sunlight filters in, and now you can see the lush gardens outside as well as a second outdoor pool. This place is magnificent.
A couple of waitstaff enter with beer and cocktails. The pre-party has officially started. I luck out and get one of the few mojitos they have available. It’s one of my favorites.
Cool and refreshing, perfect for that quick buzz. I lean back in my chair and sip on my drink. I can feel Phoenix’s eyes on me, but I try to ignore it. It really is unfair that one look from him can get my blood boiling. But just because Melissa is gone does not mean I’m up for going back to being his play toy.
“I think I like this new bold you,” Phoenix says, where only I can hear. I look over at him now, and he takes a sip of some kind of brown liquor in a glass.
“What are you talking about, Phoenix?”
“Red is my favorite color, you know?” He takes another sip of his drink. He’s already toying with me.
“Yeah. Mine too. I wonder what Melissa’s favorite color is.” I can play his game. One point for me.
“Black. Her favorite color is black. There’s something about red, though. Sort of like when the color red is waved in front of a bull,” he surmises.
“What’s your point, Phoenix?” He’s talking in circles, and I don’t know his angle.
“You walk in here with all that ass barely covered by that string bikini, and it’s taking the will of a saint not to do something about it.” I look around, but nobody is listening to us.
“Don’t worry. I have enough will for both of us. I’m sure those bedsheets aren’t even cold yet from you and Melissa, yet here you are making sexual advances on me. You’re such a manwhore.” There, I said it. He’s been with Ivy, he’s made moves to be with me, he had Melissa, and now he’s trying to circle back to me. We haven’t even been on the road a month yet. And my tingling girly parts are stupid as shit, so I choose to ignore her horny ass.
“Mm-hmm, maybe,” he admits. “But an honest one. Everybody I get involved with knows the score up front.” He winks at me and finishes his drink. He signals the waiter over for a refill. I finish my drink off so that I can get another as well.
“We all have needs, Harlow. I’m just honest about mine.” He pulls his shirt over his head, and I try not to melt in a puddle from his exposed abs that are so fucking taut and lickable. I swear I drink my second mojito in three swallows. Things are heating up. I can feel my skin flush. I know better, yet my body aches for him. I’m under his scrutiny. He watches as I reposition myself on the chair.
“Yeah, you’re pretty honest about it. We all are witness to your whore parade,” I say, trying to verbally remind myself why my pussy shouldn’t be on fire right now.
“I didn’t fuck Melissa, Harlow,” he volunteers.
“I didn’t ask if you did,” I quip.
He narrows his eyes. “I know. I just needed to set the record straight. Not that it matters. Just want to put that out there. Never assume you know shit.” He smirks. He’s right. It doesn’t matter, so why does my heart feel a little relieved? I raise my empty glass for another drink, but he waves the guy off.
“No,” he says firmly. What the fuck?
“No, what? You can’t cut me off,” I whisper hiss. He motions the guy over and I think he’s about to tell him to get me my drink.
“Two waters, please.” He smiles, but I’m not amused. The guy nods and hands him the two waters. “You need to drink water between drinks and slow the hell down. We have a long night ahead with the party. At this rate, you’ll be drunk off your ass before it begins.”
“Not your problem now, is it?” I snap. How dare he try to cut me off!
“I beg to differ, sweetheart, since I was the one cleaning vomit off you and taking care of you all night the last time you overindulged.” He stares at me, daring me to try to dispute that fact. He has a point, but damn if it doesn’t still piss me off. I fold my arms, and he laughs so loudly, we get some stares.
“Shut it. Okay fine. I’ll drink the damn water. Give it to me.” Our fingers brush as he passes it to me, and it awakens the fucking tingles in my vagina that were lying dormant after he cut my alcohol off, fooling me into believing I had gotten that shit under control.
“Come on. No pouting, babe. You know I’m only looking out for you.” Hearing him call me babe is a mind fuck. I know that he’s no good for me, and I really need to move the fuck on because he’s going to crush me. He’s admitted over and over again, both through words and actions, that he is not interested in having anything with anybody. Just fucking. Yet he calls me baby or babe, and my stupid as shit heart skips a beat as though it’s oblivious to the facts.
I chug the water because I will not react to his endearment. Every time he uses babe, baby, sweetheart, or any other word in his manwhore repertoire, I need to replace it with fuck buddy. I need to be realistic and not be sucked in by his charms.
“I’m going to rehearse with the guys. Remember what I said. Take it easy, babe,” he says, getting up from his chair. Fuck buddy, I say to myself. I wave and watch the sexiness of his back as he retreats. He says a few words to Asher, and they round up the rest of the band members. They all head back into the main part of the house, so that just leaves Lily and me. I know what this means. Girl talk time. They’re barely out the door before she scoots her chair closer to mine.
“Okay. Spill, woman,” she says. I laugh because I called it. I knew she was bursting at the seams to find out about Phoenix and me.
“What do you want me to tell you?” I tease her. She looks ready to stab me.
“Tell me all about you and Phoenix. I know there is history between the two of you. You admitted as much, but then you left me hanging. I didn’t push because you had a few mopey days, and I guessed it was because of the addition of ass he brought onto the bus and Ivy.”
“Pretty accurate,” I admit. I didn’t plan on going into great detail about our history, but Irelyn has been missing in action, and I could use a friend to talk to. It sucks to hold all this in. “You first have to promise that you will never share any of this with Asher,” I warn.
“I would never betray your trust like that, Harlow. Whatever you tell me will stay between us,” she promises.
I believe her, and it’s comforting that I can trust her. I start from the beginning when I first met Phoenix and how I wanted to stay away from him because I knew he was a manwhore. I tell her about Irelyn, the rape, me falling for Phoenix, our relationship, and finally the deceit. I tell her how my world was shattered to learn he had a twin. One that I had spent time with, but not sexually. I explain that he has redeemed that part of our past, but I wouldn’t divulge what Phoenix shared with me when he, his brother, and I had that talk. That’s not my story to tell. All she needs to know is that they had a reason for the switch and that I have forgiven them.
“Holy shit, girl.” She shakes her head. “Had no idea you were dealing with so much.” She gets up and hugs me, and tears threaten to fall.
“Yeah. It actually feels good to let that all out. So you can see why I’ve been so emotional lately. I know I need to move on, but a part of me is still holding on to the time we had when things were good. He let me in once, and now that is not even a possibility.”
“I know it’s hard. The thing is, you can’t keep holding on by yourself. If it was just sex, that’s one thing. You have real feelings for him still, so unless those feelings are mutual, you’re setting yourself up to be crushed.”
She’s not telling me anything I don’t already know. I nod in agreement. “Come on. Let’s go plan what we’re wearing tonight. You just need to meet your next distraction. Things will get better, but it’s just going to take time. Even more time because you’re seeing him every day on this tour.”
“I know. Yeah, come on. I have a nice buzz, and I don’t want to ruin it with thoughts of Phoenix.”
We head to the bus first to get some clothes to choose from. We’re surprised to see Sevyn sitting in the living area flipping through channels. I assumed he went to rehearsal with the guys. He looks up at us when we board the bus and gives us a sexy smile.
“Hello, distraction,” Lily says too faintly for him to hear. I laugh my ass off as we head to the closet in the bedroom.
“Uh, no. You’re crazy!” Okay, I kind of omit
ted the freaky part of the afternoon I spent with Sevyn. Ending result being, he rejected my ass. “From what I overheard from the guys, he’s leaving tomorrow anyway.”
“I guess it would have been pretty fucked up anyway. Regardless of Phoenix’s stance of no longer wanting a relationship, I think he would flip his shit if you banged his brother. You don’t want to come between two brothers. Pay me no mind,” she giggles. “I have lapses in judgment sometimes.”
“So do I, apparently.” I nod in agreement. If she only knew the truth behind that statement. Hopefully, the day at the movie theater will stay between Sevyn and me.
We ended up not going back into the house before the party. Lily told me about her life back home, her classes this semester, and her career goals. Thank God you don’t get much work the first couple of weeks of online classes, aside from reading, because neither of us has cracked open a book. After we get back on the road, we need to remedy that. The book I’m working on and my online classes can be the distraction, hopefully.
Lily turns on some music to get us in party mode, and it works to rid some of the weight from our earlier heavy conversation. I find myself dancing to the beat. I’m not sure how to dress for something like this, but I’m going with classy and not the obvious slutty choice. I’m sure there will be a few thirsty ones, but this a celebrity party. The desperation to be seen should be at a minimal, right?
“Ooh, that one,” Lily says, eyeing the dress I have in my hand. I was thinking the same thing. It’s perfect, and it just happens to be red. It’s a Herve Leger cross-chest strap bandage dress. It forms a keyhole between my breasts, so they are slightly on display without being overly so. I don’t have many expensive purchases, but this is one of them. It makes me feel sexy and that is what I’ll need tonight, being surrounded by all the gorgeous women who can buy their beauty.
