by Sloane, Roxy
He shrugs. “This wasn’t about your business. It was always about me. That newspaper has had it out for me since day one, they’re my biggest critic. I went after the owner on some media competition rules a few years back, and ever since, they’ve been picking me apart every chance they got. So I’m sorry your club got dragged into it.”
“I’m the one who should be apologizing.” I shake my head. “Someone here talked. I promised you privacy, and I didn’t deliver.”
Andrew gives me a regretful smile. “C’mon, we both know it was a calculated risk, me coming here at all. Nobody can guarantee secrecy, and that was my decision to make. I guess I always knew this day might come.”
He shakes my hand, then heads out.
“If you change your mind about running, let me know. I mean it,” I tell him. “I want to make this right.”
He nods, and closes the door behind him.
But his words linger.
“It was always about me... The newspaper has it out for me.”
Could he be right? Zoe said she dropped the story -- that the editor used her notes without her knowing about it, that she had no idea the exposé would run.
What if this is bigger than her? If she got caught up in someone else’s vendetta against Andrew, then she wouldn’t have known what they were planning.
Is she the traitor who destroyed my world -- or a pawn in someone else’s power play?
I clench my jaw. I’m trying to make excuses for her, to find a way that she isn’t the enemy. This is the kind of thinking that got me in this mess to begin with.
But is it a sign that she matters too much to me to just walk away, or evidence of my weakness?
My whiskey bottle is empty, so I head out to the bar. My buddies Cam and Ash greet me, they’re just climbing the staircase from the front door.
I sigh. “Jesus, what is this: ‘let’s go babysit Dax’ day? The club is closed. And don’t you guys have work to do?”
“Great to see you too, buddy.” Ash slaps me on the back.
“Always here to show our support,” Cam adds. He looks me up and down. “Whiskey straight from the bottle? C’mon, show a little dignity in your hour of need.”
“Is this your version of support?” I grumble, but I’m glad to see them all the same. They’re both high-profile businessmen, and if they were thinking smart, they’d be far away from my doors right now.
“You should be careful,” I add, remembering the focus on the club right now. “Use the back exit. There will be camera crews outside the minute they figure out the address.”
“Too late,” Ash replies cheerfully. “They’re already out there.”
“I made sure they got my best side,” Cam tells me. He moves behind the bar and starts mixing a batch of martinis.
“Guys, you can’t be associated with this place. You need to think this through—” I start to protest, but Ash talks over me.
“I don’t give a fuck who knows I’m here. You’re forgetting, I own my company. One of the perks of being a billionaire.”
Cam grins. “And who’s going to fire me? I practically run Ashcroft Industries, and last I checked, I was pretty tight with the CEO.”
I exhale. “Well.... thanks for coming. I don’t know why you bothered. This place is as good as dead.”
“This location, maybe.” Cam passes the martinis out. Dry, the way I like. “But I’ll bet you’ve got a core client list who would follow you anywhere.”
“You mean start over, someplace new?” I lift my head.
“Another location, even more under the radar, and maybe a new concept.”
Ash nods. “You could branch out, maybe do weekend getaways, at luxury properties. Smaller guest-list, only the most trusted few. You could charge a premium for something like that, hire a planner to handle logistics so the clients don’t have to deal with any of the details.”
I nod, mulling it over.
“And since the location would change every time, it would be harder for anyone to get wind of it and infiltrate,” Cam agrees. “I’d go.”
The more I think about this idea, the more sense it makes. I’m already feeling less defeated. “You know, that’s a pretty great idea.”
“I’ve been known to have a few,” Ash smirks.
“The mystery could be part of the draw,” I brainstorm out loud. “Guests could be picked up by a limo, taken to a private jet... They’d only find out the destination once they were in the air.”
“A tropical island one month, a ski lodge the next...” Cam finishes. “There you go. Business problem solved, and we’re barely one drink down.”
I exhale, for the first time feeling the weight lift from my shoulders. This won’t solve my immediate problems with the press, but it’s good to know my business empire will survive. I’ll just need to evolve, think of something new.
“So who was it who blew the whistle?” Cam asks. “I’m surprised you haven’t got them strung up in your office for fifty lashes by now.”
My tension returns.
“Zoe,” I answer shortly.
“The hot hostess?” Cam asks.
I nod.
He chuckles. “I wouldn’t like to be in her shoes right about now. Did you set the lawyers on her first, or Griffin?”
“Neither.”
They both look at me, confused. Then Ash’s face changes. He snorts with laughter. “Wow. You sure know how to pick them.”
“Tell me about it,” I grumble. “If I hadn’t let my dick do the thinking, I would have sent her packing out the door the very first night we met.”
Then there’s no way this story could have ever run, no way my client’s secrets would be out in the open.
Unless Andrew was right. This was inevitable. If not him, then some other high-profile client, some other leak. Sex and secrets can never mix for long without someone letting something slip.
Maybe my empire was really just a house of cards, ready to fall.
Which means Zoe isn’t to blame, after all.
I pause, the thought sinking through me like a lead weight. Because if she’s not at fault, then I might have just walked away from the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
And what kind of fool does that make me?
CHAPTER NINE
ZOE
As soon as I leave Dax’s apartment, I head to the New York Daily offices. It feels like I’ve got a bullet lodged in my chest, but I can’t break down yet. I have to channel all my pain into anger to go confront Granger.
I can’t believe he did this--
No: I can’t believe I didn’t see it coming. From the start, the minute I mentioned Andrew Landsley, that was all he wanted to talk about. I was so naive, thinking that just because I backed out of the story, he wouldn’t find a way to plaster the sex scandal all across the front pages.
He used me to get what he wanted, and I was dumb enough to believe my investigation was about ethics and corruption, not some splashy, sensationalized story.
By the time I hit the lobby, I’m spitting mad. I steam straight past the receptionist, and back into the newsroom. It’s Sunday evening, but the place is still half-full with people working.
Granger is in his office talking on the phone when I storm in.
He looks up, surprised. “I’ll call you right back,” he says, and hangs up. Then he smiles at me. “Come to thank me?”
My mouth drops open. “Thank you?” I echo in shock. “You stole my story!”
“I did no such thing,” Granger frowns. “You’ve got your byline, just like I promised. Front page, above the fold. All my other cub reporters are green with envy,” he adds.
He ruined Dax, and Landsley too, and I’m supposed to be pleased?
“I pulled the story!” I yell. “I told you, it’s not public interest what anyone does in the bedroom!”
“And I told you, I disagree.” Granger rises behind his desk. “Someone’s private life tells us about their morals, their character. The people dese
rve to know.”
“And what the hell does his sex life say about his morals?” I counter, furious. “Everything that happens at that club is between two consenting adults. What gives you the right to judge him?”
“Public interest,” Granger repeats again, but there’s a smug grin on his face.
“Fuck the public interest, and fuck you!” I explode. “What do you get up to in bed, huh? Do you like it rough? Maybe you like being spanked? What about your porn: do you jack off to videos of barely legal gang-bangs once your kids are settled in at night?”
He turns red. “That’s none of your business.”
“Why not?” I demand. “You’re in a public position, editor at a big newspaper. Maybe your readers have a right to know.”
“That’s enough!” Granger looks seriously pissed now. “I did you a favor here, giving you credit. I was even going to offer you the follow-up piece. But it’s clear you don’t give a damn about your career.”
“Not as much as I care about my— friends.” I’m about to say ‘boyfriend’, but I quickly cover, crossing my arms. “And doing the right thing.”
Granger sneers. “Good luck with that. Let’s see how far your high and mighty act takes you. This is a goddamn business I’m running here!”
“Business doesn’t mean screwing people over,” I shoot back with a glare. “No wonder people don’t trust the media anymore, with people like you chasing after all the wrong stories. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
I turn on my heel and stalk out. Adrenaline pumps through my body, but it’s only when I emerge on the sidewalk outside that I realize what I’ve done.
I just told one of the most powerful editors in the city to go fuck himself.
And I don’t even care.
This isn’t why I wanted to be a journalist: snooping in people’s personal lives just to get ahead. I started out thinking that The Underground exposé would make my career, but the deeper I got, the more I realized that a story like that isn’t real news. I didn’t want to be a part of something so tawdry, and it breaks my heart that I unwittingly helped expose everything.
Expose Dax.
The anger disappears, leaving nothing but hurt and regret.
I think of the look in his eyes when he saw the newspaper. Like I’d just taken a knife and stabbed him in the back. He opened up to me, he showed me where he came from and the people who matter most to him, and after all that, he thinks I let him down.
Because I did.
It doesn’t matter if Granger is the one who ran the story -- I brought it to him in the beginning, and I gave him all my notes and research. If it wasn’t for me, everything would be fine. Dax would have his secret club, Landsley would have his career. And me?
I wouldn’t have lost the most incredible man I’ve ever known.
*
I call Tasha and find out she’s already back in the city, crashing at Miles’s place: the tech mogul I saw her with at the party last week.
“I’m sorry for showing up like this,” I apologize on the doorstep. “But after the fire, I haven’t figured out a place to stay just yet.”
“Please!” she hugs me, and pulls me inside. “I’m rattling around in this place on my own. Miles is out of town for work all week, so we’ve got run of the whole place.”
“He just left you alone here?” I blink, looking around at the massive penthouse with sweeping views of the river.
Tasha beams. “We, uh, kind of hit it off after you left the party. Turns out he’s a real sweetie once you get to know him.”
She waltzes across the vast living room and collapses with a sigh of satisfaction on the couch. “He’s got a whole wine cellar, a whirlpool tub... Plus, he’s got a great eye for real estate! I always thought the only thing he cared about was computers. Go figure.”
I smile, for what feels like the first time in forever. “I really am sorry about the fire,” I say, joining her on the couch. “You managed to get most of your stuff out, right?”
“Nothing was really damaged,” Tasha replies. “I just can’t believe you were stuck in there. I would have had a total breakdown.”
“I almost did,” I say, remembering my panic. I shudder. “I just hope they find who did it.”
“What do you mean?” Tasha’s forehead crinkles. “I thought it was faulty wiring.”
Shit.
“Right, that’s what I mean,” I quickly say. “The landlord must have known, renting out a place like that.”
“Well, you deserve to relax.” Tasha gestures around. “Take a soak in the tub, order up some food. Whatever you want!”
But the only thing I want is Dax.
Suddenly, the stress and loss of the past few days comes crashing down on me. Before I can stop myself, I burst into tears.
“Babe!” Tasha sounds horrified. “It’s OK! What do you need? Miles has a cabinet full of prescription meds. I can get you a Xanax!”
“I don’t need a Xanax,” I wail through the sobs. “I just need Dax to forgive me!”
“What? You mean big Boss Man?”
I nod through my tears, and understanding washes over Tasha’s face.
“Oh, sweetie.” She puts a reassuring arm around me. “I’m so sorry. And I wanna talk about this as much as you want, and give you as much wine and ice cream as you want, but believe it or not I have a callback audition this evening.” Tasha looks helplessly at the clock on the wall. “I feel awful. Maybe I should just stay with you?”
“It’s OK,” I sniffle. “I’m really proud of you. But you need to go. I’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure?” Tasha looks so worried, I force myself to nod and stop weeping.
“Definitely. I’ll have some wine, take a bath, and wallow in all the stupid mistakes I’ve made. And meanwhile you’ll dazzle those casting directors and when you get back you can tell me all about it.” I smile weakly, but Tasha looks relieved.
“At least you have a plan.” She checks her phone. “Ok. I’m gonna do it. I’ll be back later. Make yourself at home.”
She heads out to her audition, leaving me alone in another strange luxury apartment. I’m glad she’s landed on her feet, but now I feel more alone than ever.
I grab the wine and go run myself a bubble bath in the huge tub. I lean back in the water, and try to figure out how everything got so messed up.
I’m pretty sure it started the first time Dax laid me over the desk and showed me what a real man could do with his hands...
For a moment, I let myself sink into blissful memories of Dax. How he fucked me so deep, and those hands... gripping my hips, yanking me back against him in perfect time...
And now I’m never going to feel him again.
And it’s not just the sex, as mind-blowing as it was. Dax is different. He’s determined, ambitious, but loyal too. He pushed back when I put my foot down.
Fighting with him was hot as hell. He respected me, challenged me, and tried to protect me too.
No man’s ever done that for me. Not even close.
Dammit.
I duck my head under the water, and try to wash away my tears. When I surface, I hear the door buzzer going.
I get out and wrap myself in a robe. I wonder if Tasha ordered some food -- or if her audition went so badly she’s back early.
But when I look through the security hole in the door, I see Dax.
CHAPTER TEN
DAX
Zoe’s mouth drops wide open as she stands in the doorway looking at me. “Dax? What are you...I mean, how did you find me?”
“I called your roommate,” I answer stiffly. I came here to talk. To give Zoe a chance to explain. But now she’s looking at me with those blue eyes, her hair wet and dripping small rivulets down her neck. Her body naked under that robe.
Naked and ready for me.
“I’m sorry,” Zoe stands back, letting me into the apartment. “I’m so, so sorry. You have to believe, I didn’t write that story. I wouldn’t—”
&
nbsp; “I do believe you,” I cut her off. “That isn’t the problem.”
“What is?” she whispers, tugging her robe closed. I catch a glimpse of her glistening, naked breast, and fuck if all my sound logic doesn’t get obliterated under the surge of lust.
“You,” I growl, reaching for her. I yank her tight against me, her body melting just where it belongs. I tilt her face up to me. “You make me forget everything I learned the hard way,” I tell her, my voice rasping. “Like never to trust anyone. Like how one mistake should be the last.”
Her lip trembles. Her eyes fill with tears.
“I wish I could take it back. The story, the job I wanted at the newspaper, it was before I knew you,” she explains. “Back when I thought my career was the only thing that mattered. Before I knew what it was like, to feel...”
“Feel?” I prompt her, tracing my thumb over her plump lower lip.
“This,” she whispers, her pupils dilating from my touch. “Everything. I need you.”
Her words strike through me. “I need you, too,” I say. And it’s true. I pull her close, but she pushes away and looks at me, her brow creased.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“Nothing’s wrong. It’s just that. I—” Zoe hesitates, but then sets her hands on my shoulders and holds my gaze. “Dax, I love you.”
I can’t believe how much I needed to hear her say it until right this moment.
Love. Zoe loves me.
It was unthinkable, and now it’s real. How far I’ll go to protect her, how deep she could hurt me if she tried.
I can’t wait any longer. It feels like forever since I’ve tasted her lips, slid my tongue deep to plunder her sweetness.
I kiss her hard and deep, already tugging the belt of her robe loose and sliding it from her naked shoulders.
It falls to the ground between us. She’s naked, wet, willing. Mine.
With a growl, I push her back against the wall, sliding my hands over her gorgeous body. She yanks my belt free, kissing me as ravenously as I’m devouring her. She shoves my pants down, and closes her hand around my cock.
