by Tia Siren
Chapter 2
Ava
It was another Saturday afternoon spent at the NYU School of Law Library, but it didn’t bother me. It wasn’t like I had a ton of plans for the weekend. I had finished my master’s degree a few years before and knew I was destined to go to law school. Luckily, I had the grades to do it and even landed a partial scholarship to help with the costs. Blair and I had taken over the back table and stacked our books up all along the back. We were studying for the semester finals that were looming over our heads. I hated finals week, and not because I didn’t know the information but because everyone acted like it was the end of the world. Every sixteen weeks, I struggled to get through the hordes of students breathing out of paper bags and working from every café and pizza shop that had Wi-Fi. Personally, I found it much easier to study all year instead of cramming at the last second. Blair was a crammer, but I always helped her the best I could.
I only had two more rounds of this hell to go before I would get to walk across that stage with my degree. Of course, I would have to take the bar exam, but that was done my last semester when my prep class was completed. I wasn’t worried about that either because I had been buying bar exam books since I was a freshman in my graduate program. They all looked like hell with scribbles in the margins and folded corners to mark things I knew I would have to study harder. Blair found it amusing that I was so into it, but I had things motivating me toward graduation.
“Ugh, this history class is going to be the death of me,” Blair said, closing her book. “I can’t wait to get out and go work quietly for some firm in the city. How about you? Are your plans still the same?”
“Of course they are. They haven’t changed since Mr. York decided to steal my father’s company and sell it off piece by piece to the lowest bidder. And all just to spite me and Mason.”
Blair laughed. “You are like the heroine in those cute little movies fighting for the greater good.”
“I want to take the York family down,” I said angrily. “They deserve to feel it when I wipe them clean and take everything they value so much right out from under them. My mom’s slip-up with the press about Mrs. York’s plastic surgery habits did some damage, but I’m going for blood. And the blood of that family pumps right through Mr. York’s veins.”
“You have a lot of anger in you,” she said. “Like postal-killer anger.”
“No.” My laugh that came out might have been a teensy bit darker than Blair’s. “I just want what’s best for myself and my family—something they never had any concern for.”
“So, do you think you’ll find a firm that will back you in this endeavor?”
I sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe, maybe not, but I can always start my own. I mean, I don’t need an office or anything like that. As long as I have my license, I can practice, but it would be nice to actually get paid to take them down. That would be like icing on the cake. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”
“Tell me your plan again,” she said. “You always motivate me when you talk about this kind of stuff.”
“Well, first I have to pass my finals so I can graduate in two semesters.” I ticked each task off on my fingers. “But after that, I’m going to get the boxes and boxes of paperwork that was filed when this thing all went down. I’m going to comb through every piece, every detail, until I can find something that puts them at fault. And when I do, I’m going to nail their asses to the wall.”
“And what if you don’t find anything? They’re a huge corporation with some of the best lawyers in the world, much less the city,” she said. “What if they took care of every dirty detail in case someone like you popped their head in?”
“They wouldn’t think someone was going to come looking,” I said. “They assumed that when my father was forced out with debt up to his eyeballs, he would let it go. And they were right. He let it go, but I haven’t.”
“What about their son? Do you ever think about him? You guys were a thing,” Blair said.
“Mason?” I scoffed. “Absolutely not. Our relationship was the reason his father attacked us in the first place, and he never stood up to him. He never did anything to stop him. He held on to the secret and watched his father destroy my family’s business. Spencer hotels weren’t York hotels, but they were up-and-coming, and they did good things for our family.”
“I know.” Blair put her hand on my arm in a soothing gesture. “And you feel partly responsible for that.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m going to fix it, and that’s what matters.”
The truth was, I did think about Mason, more than I even wanted to admit to myself. These days, though, it was not in the cutesy loving way I had thought about him a decade before. My hate for him was almost stronger than the love I once had for him. I had seen the papers, heard about his lavish lifestyle, his girls, his money, and it made me sick. Some might have called it jealousy, but that wasn’t the case. I didn’t want his lifestyle. I just didn’t think he deserved to live so damn carefree while his father wreaked havoc on everyone around him.
My mind needed to stay concentrated on my goals, and I didn’t want people questioning my focus because of Mason. I kept my thoughts about him to myself, trying to just get through life without letting on to the fact that he crossed my mind so much. Besides, I didn’t need the pity party my best friend and my mother would surely throw if they knew how hurt I still was after ten years. It was better to keep Mason out of my thoughts altogether. His father was the one I was after anyway.
“So how is work?” Blair asked. “Get any new gigs?”
“Yes,” I said. “Finally. I had been going through a dry spell there and was starting to worry about paying next semester’s tuition.”
“What’s the job?”
“Modeling, as always,” I said. “There’s a new mattress store on Fifth that wants me to do some modeling for their new promotions coming up.”
“Did your agent land you that?”
“No,” I said. “I landed it. I hate paying that idiot part of my pay for jobs I can get myself. That’s why I put it in my contract that any job I get on my own, I keep all wages. They didn’t want to go for it, but they did it anyway.”
“Good,” she said. “How much does this one pay?”
“Five hundred an hour,” I said. “Pretty good considering all I have to do is lie around on a mattress all day and have a photographer take pictures of me. It’s only two wardrobe changes, too, which is nice. It’s a silky little nightgown and then just jeans and a T-shirt or whatever they bring for me to wear. They’re kind of in control of that, but it’s during store hours, so I know it won’t be anything too risky.”
“You have really come a long way since we met,” Blair said. “I’m proud of you.”
“Why? Because I’m not fat anymore?” I laughed.
“No,” she said, slapping my arm. “You weren’t fat before. But you jumped on the health train and just took off. I’ve never been able to be that dedicated to working out and eating healthy. My idea of a diet is no pizza for a week.”
I laughed. “Yeah, and still you’re the size of a toothpick. I just wanted to be healthy. I needed to make money to pay for tuition, and I didn’t want to be the person who worked three jobs. When they told me if I toned up, they would take me at the agency, I jumped right on it.”
“And most importantly, you are healthy,” Blair pointed out. “You take care of yourself, and not just physically. You’ve paid your way through law school by modeling, and you’ve kept your head from inflating at the same time.”
“No one likes a big head,” I said with a laugh.
I was just happy I was on my way toward my goals. Skinny, fat, curvy, thin—it didn’t matter to me. I was headed toward a different road. I was determined to take down the York family, Mason and all.
Chapter 3
Mason
Mondays always came too soon and lasted too damn long. All I wanted to do was sleep in, especially after the
amount of alcohol I had drunk the night before. I wanted my comforter, my pillows, and the pool to take a dip in every once in a while. Instead, I was at my dad’s office in the corporate building, hating my life as always. Maybe I should have been thankful I had the kind of money I had because of my father, but still, I hated being here. There was some big meeting that morning, and my father had called me five times already to make sure I would be there. He rarely asked me to do anything with him, so when he said he wanted me at that meeting, I knew it was a demand, not a request. The last thing I needed was for him to get an attitude about me not showing up and kick me out of the penthouse. I guessed it was paying my dues for the rent I didn’t have to pay.
I hated big corporate meetings with all the expensive suits, bad cologne, and men too serious for their own good. They all looked at me like my father did: a disappointment to the future of York Hotels and Resorts. I personally didn’t give two shits how they looked at me. I hated how boring the meetings were. They went over numbers I didn’t get, projections I didn’t care about, and only every once in a while tech stuff, but not usually. The real reason I was there was not for input or to learn anything but to make everyone think I was a stout supporter of my father. I did support my father if it meant I got to keep my lifestyle, but I hated being forced to do anything, much less sit there looking like my father’s clone. I nodded my head repeatedly, smiling when they did, laughing when they did, and crossing my arms in disappointment whenever my father did. I felt like a robot sitting at that huge mahogany table.
“Thanks for coming,” my father grumbled when the meeting was over. “It’s good for the board to know your face, see the family rallying behind me.”
“Right,” I said, shaking his hand. “I’ll see you later.”
“Where are you off to?”
“The mattress store,” I yelled as I walked away.
I was sure his face was twisted into confusion, wondering why I was going there, but I figured it was better than yelling out something vulgar or condescending since all the board members were still standing around. I was on a mission, a mission to find the best mattress for all my bedroom needs. Not thrilling at all, but necessary if I wanted to not have back problems the rest of my life. I should have let the hotel know again, but they didn’t like to deal with me, and I could tell. So there I was speeding through the streets of New York to a new store I saw an ad for over on Fifth. Apparently they had all the new designs and the place was pretty upscale. Hopefully they would have a good selection so I could go home and take a nap. The hotel mattresses all came from the same place, and no matter what edition they got me, it sucked. People could call me spoiled, that was fine, but I wanted something comfortable to sleep on and fuck on when the moment presented itself.
I pulled into the parking lot in the back and walked around the building to the front door. It was like every other mattress store with pictures of sheep and pillows in the windows. I walked inside and let out a deep breath, scanning the room. There were so many damn mattresses, I would be there all day. I was pretty shocked by how many people were in the store. I never imagined a mattress store would be the place to go on a Monday afternoon. It looked like something was going on, but I ignored it and walked over to the counter to wait for an associate. I would have much rather been drinking beer on my balcony or going swimming with some hot number from the bar the other night. Instead, there I was making my Monday office day even more exciting with a riveting day of picking out something to sleep on. Hopefully my Tuesday would be a little more exciting.
When I realized that no one was coming over to help me, I started to wander around, bouncing up and down on the different displays set out. They were all super springy, and I was looking for something that would swallow me whole when I collapsed into it at the end of the day. I approached the crowd and looked over, realizing there were models posing on different mattresses. The sign next to me said it was their “Ads Day,” and they were using it as a promotional tool for the store. I guessed having beautiful women lounging on mattresses would do the trick. I watched the girls pose for pictures and chuckled while turning to the other side of the store. I stopped in my tracks, staring over at another model, only this one was drawing me in like nothing I had experienced before. Slowly, I made my way to the center of the store and sat down on a bed, watching as she posed in different positions. I could totally see myself in that bed with her, but there definitely wouldn’t be any clothes left on her body. She was intriguing, and I couldn’t shake the feeling.
I got up, walked closer, and sat on the bed next to where they were shooting, acting as if I were checking out the mattress. I lay down on my back, looking to the side and watching her. She was absolutely gorgeous, probably one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. She had a tight body with perfect curves, toned legs and arms, and lips that were the perfect amount of pouty. I felt like I needed to touch her, like my hands would never forgive me if I didn’t feel that perfect skin on my fingertips.
I sat there twiddling my thumbs, trying to control my urges, but we were two magnets being pulled together. She looked over at me and smiled before turning back toward the photographer. I couldn’t take it any longer and figured, fuck it, you only live once. I got up from the bed and walked over to her, climbing across the mattress and taking her face in my hands. I leaned forward, closed my eyes, and pressed my mouth against hers, feeling her body lean into me. She smelled amazing but familiar, like cherries and vanilla. She leaned into the kiss and ran her hand up my arm, kissing me back passionately. I didn’t give a shit that the photographer was calling to me or that there were tons of people in the place watching, I was lost in her lips. It had to be the best kiss I had ever had.
Her skin was so soft under my hand, and her long, beautiful hair cascaded all around her. She squeezed my bicep with force as she kissed me like she didn’t care about everyone else watching either. I was kind of surprised she was going with it, but I wasn’t about to pull away from a kiss like that. I had kissed my fair share of women. Probably almost every night, my lips were pressed against someone’s mouth, even if nothing else came out of it. Between the girls at the bars and clubs, I had a lot of experience in that department, but this was completely different. There was a connection behind this kiss—even if I didn’t want to admit that to myself—a familiarity I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I felt like I had kissed her before, but how could I have?
“Excuse me,” the photographer shouted, getting our attention.
She pulled back and looked at him with confusion and then turned to me, realizing what had just happened. She pulled back and slapped me right across the face before turning to get off the bed. I grabbed her arm and swung her around, looking into her familiar face. I knew I knew her, but until that moment, I didn’t know how. My mouth dropped open.
“Ava?” I stuttered.
She closed her mouth and fire flew across her face. She jumped up off the bed and ran away into the back. I couldn’t believe that of all the girls in the world, I had just found Ava in a mattress store on Fifth.
Chapter 4
Ava
I climbed off the bed as fast as I could, unable to even speak. I grabbed my robe and ran into the back. My head was spinning, so I stopped and took in a deep breath, knowing I couldn’t run up to the boss in a complete panic. When I was calm, I walked over and forced a smile.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Richter. I’m really not feeling well,” I said. “I went as long as I could.”
“That’s no problem,” he said kindly. “Have a seat, and I’ll get the money to pay you.”
“Thank you, sir,” I said, sitting down in the chair.
My mind was all over the place, and I felt almost dizzy from what had happened. I leaned against the wall and tried to slow my heartbeat down. I hadn’t seen that coming, not even for a second. I had been so focused on my job that I didn’t think, and that was apparently a huge mistake on my part. I opened my eyes and let out a deep breath,
shaking my head. A stranger had crawled across the mattress and planted one on me. At first, I’d thought it was for the ad, another model paid to kiss me for pictures. I lost myself in the kiss, and at first I didn’t hear anything around me. It was like I was drawn to the person, and the spell wasn’t broken until the photographer yelled, pulling me back into reality. Then I looked into his eyes, and with fear running through my belly, I realized who it was. That kiss had felt so familiar because I knew the man.
I leaned forward and rubbed my face, not believing the kind of bad luck that had invaded my life to bring Mason into it again. Mason York not only walked back in, but he came running in at a full sprint, and he didn’t hold any punches. From the way he’d said my name, though, it had sounded like he didn’t recognize me either—until that last moment, of course.
So that was who Mason York had turned into: the kind of guy who thought he could force himself on a woman and have zero repercussions for it. He probably didn’t have any repercussions. It had been years since I had seen him, years I’d spent hating his guts. I should have known him before he even kissed me, but he’d shaved his beard and cut all his hair off. His body was more muscular and stronger, and his clothes looked like they had walked off a runway model and onto his body. He was so different, and I hadn’t recognized him, really, until I had looked deep into his eyes. They hadn’t changed, and neither had that charming smile, and I hated that it made my heart skip a beat.
I had spent years trying to find a way to get his family back, all the while staying out of the light, out of his part of town, and out of any place where I even had the remotest possibility of running into him. I hadn’t thought twice about the mattress store. Why would he be in a mattress store? But there he was, kissing me in front of everyone. I couldn’t believe it was him, that he had randomly run into me, and while I was working. If I knew him well enough, he was not going to let this go, and if I knew myself well enough, I would force him to.
