Deacon (Starkis Family #1)

by Cheryl Douglas

  “Some of the other models have told me stories about men stalking them.”

  “You don’t have to worry about that. No one will hurt or scare you. If you receive any digital correspondence—texts, email, even social media messages—that make you feel uncomfortable, tell me. I’ll take care of it.”

  “Knowing you’re looking out for me makes me feel better. Thank you.”

  “It’s my pleasure.” And my job. “Good luck with your meeting. Let me know how it goes.”

  “One more thing?” she asked, sounding tentative.

  I smiled. “Yes?”

  “You keep calling me theia but won’t tell me what it means. Will you now?”

  My smile broadened. I often threw the odd Greek word into our texts when I needed to communicate things I knew she wasn’t ready to hear yet. “You haven’t googled it yet?”

  “No, I want you to tell me.”

  “I will. Soon. Good-bye, Mia.”

  She sighed. “Good-bye, Deacon.”

  ***

  With the launch party at the forefront of my mind, I made my way downstairs to wardrobe. Half a dozen women turned, gaping at me. I rarely made personal selections for my models, but I didn’t think my presence warranted such stunned silence.

  “Good afternoon, ladies,” I said, trying to hide my amusement.

  “Hello, Mr. Starkis,” one of the women stammered. “How can we help you?”

  “I’m here about the fashion show this weekend.”

  She gestured toward several hanging racks. “Everything’s taken care of, sir. You’re welcome to have a look at the samples. They’re right over there.”

  “I’d like to see what Mia Barnes will be wearing.”

  Two women exchanged curious glances before one said, “Of course, Mr. Starkis. I’ll get those selections right away.”

  I barely noticed the gorgeous models milling about half-naked, being fitted for the upcoming show. Many were trying to get my attention, smiling or giving me sultry looks as they met my eyes in the full-length mirror. They had been hand-selected for their talent and beauty, but none were Mia, therefore none held my attention for long.

  “Here they are,” the harried, middle-aged woman with the blond bob and pixie skirt said. “I think these will look fabulous on Mia.” She laughed. “I’ve worked in this business a long time, and I can tell you it’s rare to find a model who looks amazing in everything she tries on. Most have some flaw they wish to hide, but not our Mia.”

  I smiled tightly. Our Mia? Wrong. She was my Mia. “I’m sure you’re right, but that one won’t work,” I said, pointing at the lavender silk bra and matching panties on the white satin hanger. “Next.”

  Looking stricken, the woman said, “But—”

  “It’s lovely…?”

  “Barbara.”

  “It’s lovely, Barbara. Just not what I have in mind for Mia. May I see the next one?”

  She held up a black lace bustier with a matching thong, looking apprehensive. She had every reason to be nervous. The only time I expected to see Mia parading around wearing that was when she was modeling it for me.

  “I want her to model the bridal collection.” I knew that was sexy yet demure.

  “The bridal collection?” Barbara seemed stunned by my request.

  “Is there a problem?”

  “Um, no, but with Eleni’s darker coloring, I thought she would be perfect for the bridal collection.”

  “You thought wrong,” I said, pinning her with a stare that brooked no argument. “Switch them. Eleni can wear these.” I gestured toward the pieces Mia had been slotted to wear. “Mia will model the bridal collection.”

  “Of course, Mr. Starkis. Anything you say, sir.”

  Chapter Three

  Mia

  Feeling a little unsettled after my meeting with Bernie, I went home. I had to go back to the Alabaster’s headquarters later for my final fitting before the fashion show.

  As usual, Drew was lounging on the couch, his hand stuck in a half-empty bag of potato chips with his eyes glued to his laptop screen. As soon as he spotted me, he slammed the laptop shut, knocking all the chips onto the carpet I’d vacuumed last night. “Son of a bitch!” He jumped up, crunching the chips under his feet. “Why didn’t you text me to let me know you were on your way?”

  “I didn’t realize I had to announce my arrival.” I tossed my purse onto the stool at the breakfast bar. Nice to see you too, lover. “You’d better get the vacuum out before Rosie comes in here and polishes those off.”

  “That’s all that little bitch is good for,” he muttered. “A canine waste disposal.”

  I felt my anger rising. My older brother had given Rosie to me when he enrolled in the service four years ago. I hated thinking about him being out there, on the front lines and risking his life, but Chad had promised that whenever I got scared or missed him, Rosie would be there to keep me company. My brother had always been my rock, and even with thousands of miles between us, he still was one of my main sources of support.

  Trying to ignore Drew’s fit, I snagged a bottled water from the fridge and sat down to check my messages. My heartbeat kicked up a notch when I saw a text from Deacon. How was your meeting with Bernie?

  In spite of the fact that he ran a multi-billion dollar company, he still made time to check in with me countless times a day. My so-called boyfriend, who was supposed to be out looking for a job since school was out for the summer, barely acknowledged my presence. Nice. Real nice.

  It was kind of weird.

  He responded right away. How so?

  We’d been talking about a lot of other opportunities lately, but now he wants to abandon all other prospects. He says he has faith Alabaster’s will become a permanent gig.

  Is that a problem?

  Don’t like to have all my eggs in one basket, boss.

  Smart girl, but you don’t have anything to worry about. You’re future with A’s is a sure thing.

  I loved getting reassurance from the head honcho himself, but I couldn’t help feeling guilty about using my friendship with Deacon to secure my future. I wasn’t naïve. I knew the modeling business was cutthroat and I had to take a hand up whenever I could get one, but…

  You still there?

  Yeah. Gotta go though. Drew’s home.

  Ugh. Call me later?

  I smiled. Sure. It’ll be much later though. I have to stop by A’s for a fitting.

  Okay. Have fun.

  I tried to quash my disappointment that he hadn’t suggested we meet for coffee or something after my appointment. Then I reprimanded myself for being silly. He was a busy man. He couldn’t drop everything to accommodate my schedule.

  I slipped my phone back into my purse and frowned when I noticed Drew had turned on the TV instead of cleaning up the mess he’d made. “Aren’t you going to get the vacuum?”

  “Would you mind grabbing it, babe? I forgot there was a game on this afternoon.” He pointed at the baseball game filling the 50-inch flat screen he’d insisted on buying with the birthday money my parents had given me.

  “How did the job hunt go today?” As though I didn’t know. He was wearing the same drawstring sweatpants and black T-shirt he’d been wearing when I left the apartment that morning.

  “I’m checking out some prospects,” he muttered. “Hey, can you grab me the peanuts?”

  I took a deep breath before reaching into the cupboard for the bag of nuts. Maybe I was a little nuts for putting up with his shit. It could have been the time I’d spent chatting with Deacon, but it was becoming painfully obvious that my lazy-ass boyfriend took me for granted, and I was sick of it. As I walked past him, I threw the large bag of nuts at his chest, which hit him in the stomach.

  “Hey, what’d you do that for?” he cried.

  “Oh, just shut up and eat your nuts,” I muttered.

  I opened the master bedroom door only to find Rosie locked inside. That bastard kept my dog locked in one room all day just so he
wouldn’t have to deal with her? With Rosie tucked under my arm, I stormed back into the living room.

  “Why was she in the bedroom?”

  Without taking his eyes off the screen, he said, “She likes to sleep under the bed.”

  “Only when you’re around.” Rosie hated Drew even more than he hated her. “Do you do that all the time when I’m not here? Is that why you like me to call or text when I’m on my way home?”

  He shrugged, his eyes glued to the TV.

  “Do that again, and you’re the one who’ll be sleeping under the goddamn bed!”

  “Why’re you in such a pissy mood?”

  “Gee, I don’t know,” I said, throwing up my free hand. “Maybe it has something to do with my lazy boyfriend refusing to get a job, clean up after himself, or help take care of my dog when I’m out busting my ass to pay our bills.”

  “Don’t you mean selling your ass?” he asked, smirking.

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “What did you say?”

  “Come on, that’s exactly what you’re doing, and you know it.” He popped a shelled peanut into his mouth. “Parading around half-naked, posing for those rags men use to get off.”

  “It’s not a porn magazine! It’s a lingerie catalogue. Women are the ones who look at those.”

  “Ha! Whatever. You think their husbands and boyfriends don’t sneak into the bathroom with them?”

  “God, you’re twisted.” I secured Rosie’s leash and grabbed my purse.

  “Where are you going? Aren’t you gonna make dinner? I’m hungry.”

  “Then make it yourself.”

  I’d walked half a mile before I finally felt as though I could breathe again. Never had it been more glaringly obvious to me that Deacon and Eleni were right—I had shacked up with a loser. Even worse, I’d wasted eight years of my life with him. What the hell had I been thinking?

  I knocked on the door of Eleni’s apartment, praying she’d be home to watch Rosie while I went for the fitting.

  “Hey you,” Eleni said, grinning. Her eyes fell on Rosie, and her smile got bigger. “This is a nice surprise. Come on in.” She opened the door wider as she stepped back. “I was just sautéing some shrimp and scallops for dinner. You want some? I have plenty.”

  “Thanks, it smells great.” I had some time to kill before my appointment, and I really needed a little more quality time with my bestie. “Could you do me a favor?”

  “Anything.”

  That was one of the many things I loved about El—she was always there when I needed someone. “Could you watch Rosie for me? I have a fitting for the show in a bit.”

  “Sure, but what’s the deadbeat doing? Don’t tell me he actually hauled his ass off the couch.”

  “No,” I said, smirking. “He and I got into it, and I didn’t want to leave Rosie there with him.”

  “You got into it?” Eleni sounded hopeful. “Does that mean you’ve got one foot out the door?”

  “I’m not leaving! I came up with the first and last month’s rent. He can leave.”

  “Oh Lord…” Eleni carefully stirred the spattering seafood with a spatula. “If you’re waiting for that, you’ll be living with him until you’re old and gray.”

  “He can’t be any happier than I am.” Stroking Rosie’s curls, I whispered, “We haven’t, you know, had sex in almost three months.” It wasn’t entirely his fault. Every time he’d tried, I faked a headache or a stomachache or that time of the month. I was getting pretty good at giving him excuses.

  Eleni’s jaw dropped as she raised the dripping utensil. “Shut up! And I’m just hearing about this now?”

  “I didn’t want to give you any more ammunition.” I set Rosie free to explore before claiming a stool at the tiny breakfast bar.

  Eleni’s place was little more than one big room, but with her flair for decorating and fearless use of color, it was fun and quirky—like her.

  “I wasn’t sure I was ready to end it, and I didn’t need anyone, not even you, trying to influence me.”

  Eleni turned the burner off and plated the seafood before reaching into the fridge for a large stainless steel bowl brimming with fresh greens. “Does that mean you’ve made your own decision? Please, please, please tell me you’re ready to kick him out. My lease here is up next month. I could move in with you, help pay the bills. That would allow you to save some for a rainy day.”

  As models, we both knew our next paycheck could be our last, and living in a city where rent on a shoebox was sky high, we’d both sworn to be frugal—except when it came to clothes and shoes… and makeup, spa appointments, gourmet coffee, hair… okay, so maybe we were a little reckless with our money. Splitting the rent would definitely help us both save more.

  “I’ll think about it.” I thanked her as she set a plate of food in front of me. I wanted to tell her about Deacon, but I couldn’t. He’d sworn me to secrecy because he wanted people to find out about our relationship when the time was right, whatever that meant.

  Eleni pulled a stool up on the other side of the breakfast bar so we sat facing each other. “I got a weird call from Alabaster’s. They said there’d been some last-minute change to Saturday’s line-up and they need me to come in for some extra fittings.” She snorted. “I still think it’s funny they have to alter bras and panties to fit us perfectly.”

  I rolled my eyes as I took a bite of shrimp. Mmm. The flavor just exploded on my tongue. Eleni was a much better cook than I was—another reason to consider the whole roommate angle.

  “I think it’s more the clothes that need alterations, not so much the undergarments.” Though they did seem to tweak those endlessly too. Half the time I expected them to superglue the underwear to my butt to keep it from riding up before I stepped out on the runway.

  Alabaster’s sold everything from swimwear to workout gear and outerwear, but they were best known for their lingerie and the flawless models who made every woman want one of their signature pieces. I could hardly believe it when they’d asked me to replace one of their leading models, who was going on maternity leave. They thought I fit their flawless mold, but that was only because they hadn’t seen the real me: oversized sweats, bedhead, bloodshot eyes, and pre-wax. Definitely not a pretty sight.

  “I don’t know about you, but there’s nothing resembling clothes in my line-up for Saturday,” she said. “It’s all lingerie.”

  “Yeah, me too.” I wasn’t surprised. The other girls had told me the launch parties usually featured the new lingerie collection since that had always been Alabaster’s staple.

  “I’m modeling the bridal collection,” Eleni said, spearing her lettuce with a fork. “Can you imagine? Me in bridal lingerie?” She shuddered. “Never.”

  Eleni had decided she would never get married. Her traditional Greek parents had broken the mold and separated when she was ten, and the experience had apparently scarred her for life.

  “I think you’ll look great in the bridal collection.” I sliced a scallop so I could pop half into my mouth. “White with your coloring? It’ll definitely be the highlight of the show.”

  “I don’t know. We’ll see, I guess.” She took another bite and chewed carefully. “So I’ve been thinking about calling Starkis. You think I should?”

  I reached for one of the bottled waters she’d set on the counter, hoping to buy some time to think of a plausible reason why that was one of the worst ideas she’d ever had. “I wouldn’t if I were you, El. That guy has a reputation.” God, I was such a hypocrite. Wait ‘til she found out I’d been corresponding with him for months. She was going to hate me.

  “I don’t wanna marry the guy. I just want to sleep with him.”

  I covered my mouth when water threatened to spew across the counter. I didn’t know why I was shocked. Eleni was never looking for a relationship—only the kind of sex that made her eyes roll back in her head. “Still, he’s our boss.” There was a special place in hell for people who deceived their best friends, and I’d just secured
my spot.

  “So what? All the more reason for him to want to be discreet. You think he hasn’t banged other models?” She rolled her eyes at my naïveté. “Please. I was beginning to wonder what was taking him so long to get around to me. I bet he would have propositioned you too, but he probably heard you had a boyfriend.”

  I pushed my plate away, my stomach plummeting. “He’s slept with other models who work for him?”

  “Of course.” Eleni giggled. “Come on, Mia. Don’t look so surprised. He’s a real-life Greek god with more money than… hell, anyone I can think of. Every model wants to do him, thinking she’ll be the one.”

  “The one?” My mouth dried up as I tried to swallow.

  “The one he’ll decide he can’t live without.” Eleni gave a bitter laugh. “They all want the big rock, designer clothes, the mansions on both coasts, flashy sports car…”

  I felt sick when I thought of all the gifts tucked away at the back of my closet. He was trying to buy me, just like he’d bought all the others! I was a challenge to him because I had a boyfriend. As soon as I dumped Drew, he’d get me into bed and move on to his next conquest. How could I have been so stupid?

  “Does he, uh, give them gifts? The girls he sleeps with?”

  Eleni shrugged. “Sure. You know Melanie?”

  I nodded, afraid I’d give myself away if I spoke.

  “He bought her those big-ass diamond earrings she won’t take off.” Eleni leaned in as though we weren’t the only two people in the room.

  I snuck a peek at Rosie basking in a pool of sunlight under the window. I was pretty sure our secrets were safe with her.

  “She said he’s hotter than hell in the sack. I mean, he’s got the biggest—”

  “I’d love to hear the rest,” I lied, sliding off my stool, “but I’m gonna be late for that fitting. I’ll pick Rosie up as soon as I’m done. Thanks for dinner.”

  “No worries,” Eleni said, clearing our plates. “She and I’ll eat some popcorn and watch a movie.”

  I frowned, knowing she wasn’t kidding about feeding Rosie snacks. I’d come back in a couple of hours to find them passed out on the couch with an empty bowl between them.