Text Appeal

by Lexi Ryan

  Riley clenched her fists and fought the urge to cover her ears. “Enough. Why are you pretending you want me when you only want my money?”

  His jaw hardened. “Have you been talking to Charlie?” he asked. “Is he putting ideas in your head?”

  She shook her head. “No. I’m just finally wising up.”

  He tried to smile but it didn’t reach the hard edge to his stare.

  “I’m not your puppet anymore. I will not be used for you to grow your savings account.”

  “You’re being stupid.”

  “Get out, Chaz.”

  “What?”

  She wrapped her arms around her waist. “Please. Leave.”

  “Don’t do anything you’ll regret, Riley. We could be good together. Think about your father’s company! He offered it to me, Riley. If I marry you. We could run it together—”

  “Never,” she said, knowing now what she’d suspected for two years and never let herself believe. Chaz had never been in love with her. He’d been in love with her father’s money.

  Chaz pushed to his feet, disgust evident on his face. “This is the biggest mistake you’ve ever made.”

  Riley nodded to a box she’d placed by the door. “I put your stuff in there.” She waved toward the DVD tower by the television. “I think some of your movies are in there too. Take what’s yours and let yourself out.”

  She turned on her heel and retreated to her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “What the hell do you want?” Charlie scowled at his ex-agent. The man had balls of steel, showing his face to Charlie before seven a.m., let alone so soon after screwing him over. The man’s persistent phone calls to let him up to the limited-access suite had dragged Charlie out of bed. Charlie was un-caffeinated, unrested, and last he checked there was a gaping hole in his chest where his fucking heart used to be.

  Under the circumstances, the guy was lucky he still had all his teeth.

  Rick pushed through the door and into Charlie’s suite, a big-ass smile on his face. “Have you seen the news yet?” He rubbed his hands together. “This was brilliant, man. If I’d known you had this up your sleeve, I wouldn’t have broken off our relationship.”

  Charlie groaned, following him to the TV. Rick grabbed the remote, and Charlie said, “What the hell are you talking about?”

  Rick let out a long, hard stream of air and clicked on the television, flipping to a local news station.

  “And Nevada unemployment rates dropped by a tenth of a percent this quarter,” the newscaster said with a nauseating amount of perk.

  Charlie looked to Rick who said, “Just…wait.”

  Charlie pulled a hand over his eyes. Hell, he was damned if he was going to wait without coffee. He padded over to the suite’s kitchenette and put the pot under the tap. He could kick Rick’s traitorous ass post-caffeine.

  The male newscaster said, “What does a hotel heir apparent known as Vegas’ Good Daughter have in common with a professional poker player known as the Devil? Apparently, a wild streak and access to this penthouse-level elevator.”

  Charlie dropped the coffee pot. As he swung around, he heard it shatter in the sink. “What the fuck?”

  “It’s beautiful,” Rick said.

  The male newscaster continued, “The Grand Escape Resort and Casino’s Annual National Poker Tournament begins tomorrow, bringing with it the best professional players in the country, among them Charlie ‘the Devil’ Singleton.”

  His female counterpart nodded. “Apparently ‘the Devil’ can tempt even the best behaved girls, or so it appears from security tapes anonymously released this morning that feature the couple in a compromising position in the resort’s public elevator.”

  “Jesus,” Charlie muttered.

  “The tapes are too graphic for our wide audience at WRBC, but you can—”

  Before she could finish, Charlie snatched the remote from Rick’s hands and clicked through the channels. He knew what station wasn’t above sharing the alleged tapes. Sure enough, when the dial landed on G! TV, he saw a still shot in the corner of the screen. The network must have taken this shot from the end of their time in the elevator. The picture showed Riley pressed against the elevator wall, her legs wrapped around his waist right above where they’d blurred out his bare ass.

  “Riley Carter, daughter of the shrewd Vegas businessman and hotelier Quinton Carter, has been in a serious relationship with Daddy’s right-hand man for a couple years now, and was reported to be engaged to her longtime beau, begging the question: Does her man know Vegas’ Good Daughter has been consorting with ‘the Devil’?”

  Charlie clenched a fist. “Jesus, would they get off that already?”

  Rick blew out a breath, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “It makes for good news.”

  “Our investigators are getting reports this morning confirming that the poker player is in the middle of a paternity suit with his high school sweetheart.”

  “Who isn’t this guy sleeping with?” her co-host asked.

  “Since Papa Bear Carter is sure to disapprove of her relationship with someone of Singleton’s reputation, that seems to be the multi-million dollar question.”

  Charlie’s stomach clenched. They were making this about Riley. Jesus, he’d been an idiot to be with her in such a public place. “How the hell did they get that tape?”

  Rick grinned. “So that’s how you’re going to play this, huh? Act like you knew nothing about it?”

  Charlie scowled. He needed to know so he could find the asshole responsible and castrate him. “How much is out there?”

  “The whole elevator ride through the moment you step out the doors. Charlie, it’s on TV, in the papers, and, for folks who prefer the uncensored version, all over the internet.”

  “Fuck.”

  Rick twirled a cigarette between his fingers. “The tape of you and Hollywood It Girl five years ago gave your career a kick in the ass. But that was nothing compared to this. This is huge. This is—”

  Rick stopped speaking as Charlie slammed him against the wall.

  ***

  Riley didn’t believe in conversation before coffee, let alone G! TV. The downside of having a roommate was that sometimes these decisions were out of her hands. Lacey’s guilty pleasure was celebrity gossip, and sometimes that meant waking up to news of a Paris Hilton scandal or the latest measurement of J Lo’s hips.

  Riley groaned but slouched toward the kitchen to pour herself a cup of get-up-and-go. “I don’t care who Jennifer Aniston is in love with today. It’s way too early for television.” Coffee would be her life force this morning. As she’d lain in bed, she’d contemplated rolling over and going back to sleep. She would have called in to work, but her aching heart had refused to let her mind rest, so it would have been a waste of a personal day.

  Riley took another gulp of coffee and narrowed her eyes at Lacey, who was glued to the TV and still hadn’t responded. “Lace? Are you awake?”

  When Lacey looked over her shoulder, she was worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, her brow wrinkled. What did Charlie call that? A tell?

  “Riley, I’m so sorry.”

  Riley frowned. Did Lacey know about her fight with Charlie? “About what?”

  “You and Charlie,” Lacey said. “It’s plastered all over the news.”

  “Those pictures are old news. So I went on a couple dates with Charlie Singleton. Who cares?” Riley waved a hand dismissively even as a dull ache gnawed at her chest. He’d set up those pictures. He’d used her.

  Lacey pushed herself off the couch and gaped at Riley. “You knew?”

  “Well, sure, I—” A flash of something on the television grabbed Riley’s attention. What was she watching?

  “Oh, my God.” Riley’s chest collapsed, too small for her pounding heart. Her throat constricted, too small to take in the air she needed.

  In a blink, Lacey was off the couch and at Riley’s side, takin
g the coffee from her hand and lowering her into a kitchen chair.

  “What—? Is that—?” She couldn’t breathe.

  “Shh.” Lacey pressed a hand against her back. “Put your head between your legs.”

  Riley did as instructed, her mind spinning. It just didn’t make sense.

  How did the paparazzi get that tape of her and Charlie in the elevator if Charlie was the only one who had a copy?

  ***

  When Charlie arrived at Riley’s apartment, Lacey met him at the door, her face a study of worry. Over her shoulder, he could see Riley curled up on the couch, knees drawn up to her chest, eyes glued to the television.

  “Has she been like this all morning?” Charlie asked.

  Lacey frowned. “Pretty much. I keep trying to turn off the TV, but she just turns it back on.” She sighed and eyed her friend. “I’m late for work, but I didn’t want to leave her alone.”

  Charlie squeezed her arm. “Get out of here. I’ll take care of her.”

  Lacey grabbed her purse. “Thanks. See if you can get her to talk. I’m worried.”

  Charlie nodded, but he waited until his sister pulled the door shut before her before he went to Riley. Settling on the couch beside her, he grabbed the remote and clicked off the TV. “Riley, I’m so sorry.” He took her hand in his and waited for her to turn into him, to wrap her arms around his neck. Something to indicate his presence was a comfort to her.

  Instead, she stiffened. “Why did you let it leak?”

  Her voice was thick with tears, and he wasn’t sure he heard her right. “What?”

  “The footage.” She put her palm to his shoulder, pushing him away. “You said yourself you were the only one who had a copy.”

  Charlie drew back. “You think I did this?”

  The way she wrapped her arms around herself was answer enough.

  He pushed to his feet and ran a hand through his hair. “You think today’s been a joyride for me?” He pointed to the TV. “You think I enjoyed this?”

  “I bet your phone is ringing off the hook now.” She chewed on her bottom lip, tears streaming down her pale face. “Sponsors are probably lining up outside your door with this kind of scandal.” She shook her head. “I don’t understand how you could do it.”

  He stared at her for a long minute: her bloodshot eyes, her dark hair, loose in ringlets around her face, her knees drawn to her chest like she was protecting herself from something. From him. The accusation that he had released the tape was bad enough from Rick, but from Riley it was the knockout blow to his already reeling heart.

  “I’m in love with you,” he said it softly. “I want a life with you. Why would I ruin that?”

  The front door flew open and Chaz barreled in. “Riley, I just saw. I can’t believe it.”

  “What’s he doing here?” Charlie growled.

  Chaz cocked his head, giving Charlie a once-over. “I could say the same about you.” He shifted his attention back to Riley. “You told me you were scratching an itch with your bad boy poker player, but I thought today’s developments might prove what a bad idea that was.”

  Charlie set his jaw. His fists itched to plow into the cocky son-of-a-bitch’s face. He looked at Riley. “You want me to get this asshole out of here?”

  Riley crossed her arms over her chest. “Chaz, what do you want?”

  Chaz’s dark eyes hardened. He might be a prick, but he wasn’t slow, and he knew he’d taken the wrong tack. “Riley, you can’t blame me for being worried. The woman I love is being exploited all over television.”

  Charlie’s fists clenched, but he refused to give Chaz the satisfaction of his response.

  “Chaz, enough,” Riley said. “This is between me and Charlie.”

  “You heard her,” Charlie said, taking a step toward Chaz. “Leave.”

  Chaz narrowed in on Charlie. “Lucky for you the numbers on her phone got mixed up. If she’d known it was you on the other end of the—what do the kids call it? Sexting?—you may have never gotten yourself into her pants.”

  Charlie took another step forward. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  Riley hopped off the couch and grabbed the back of Charlie’s shirt. “Don’t.”

  Chaz’s eyes lit up. “Oh! You didn’t know?” He chuckled. “When Riley was texting you, she thought she was texting me. It turns out our numbers were switched on her new phone.”

  Charlie turned to Riley, waiting for her to deny it. She stood stock still, saying nothing. Charlie wished she’d call Chaz a liar and tell the fucker to leave, but her silence was evidence enough things weren’t going to go his way today.

  “It’s true?” His stomach dropped.

  Riley winced. “I should have told you.”

  He didn’t wait for goodbyes, but pushed his way out the door. Flames of bitterness, anger, and resentment burned his stomach and licked their way up his chest.

  He was down the second flight of stairs when she called his name. His heart lodged in his throat as he turned around. “Unless you told Chaz to go to hell, you don’t need to waste your time.”

  Stopped on the stair above him, she blinked. He could lift his hand and touch her again, feel her soft skin under his fingers just one more time, and it was so damn tempting. But he didn’t.

  “You should have told me,” he said. What an ass he’d been. She’d never loved him. She hadn’t even meant to start this. He was nothing to her but some untrustworthy gambler, good for nothing but scratching an itch.

  “I know.” Sadness filled those sweet green eyes. “I guess we’ve both made some pretty big mistakes.”

  “When?” he asked, the word sticking in his throat.

  “When what?”

  “When did you realize you were talking to me and not him?”

  She blinked, then licked her lips. “Right before I came to your hotel. You said to come, and I didn’t know it was you. I went to his condo.”

  Each word was like a drop of burning poison in his blood, but his desire to know the truth outweighed his need to protect himself from it.

  Riley swallowed. “I found him with another woman, then you called and…everything kind of fell into place.” She looked at the ceiling. “I was foolish enough to believe you wanted to be with me—me, not what I represent to the media. I was foolish enough to believe I was more to you that some publicity stunt.”

  “Riley—”

  “Don’t!” She shook her head. “I don’t want to hear it, Charlie. I can’t…”

  I love you. She’d never intended those words for him, and he’d been carrying on as if they had been. “You love him.”

  She looked over her shoulder and back to Charlie. “No. Not anymore.”

  “And me?”

  “No one else had access to that footage. No one else stood to profit from this. What am I supposed to think?”

  “I guess that answers my question.” He shook his head. “Goodbye, Riley. Enjoy your life. I hope you’re satisfied because there’s a whole world out there you’re too much of a coward to enjoy.”

  Hurt flashed in her eyes, but he was too angry to take it back.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  She’d hurt him.

  Riley leaned her forehead on her knees and wondered why she cared so much about the man who betrayed her. The man who’d used her. After she’d gotten rid of Chaz, she hadn’t moved from her spot on the couch, and she didn’t have the physical or emotional energy to do so now. She’d been hollowed out.

  Charlie said he loved her. How was that possible? How could he have given that press the video if he loved her? Had he really thought she’d believe he had nothing to do with it? Just yesterday he’d admitted to setting up the first pictures of them that had been released to the papers.

  Her chest ached and her throat was raw, but more tears came.

  The couch shifted under her.

  “Lace,” Riley said, reaching for her friend’s hand. Lacey had found someone to cover her shift so she cou
ld be with Riley, and Riley had been grateful that she didn’t have to be alone.

  Lacey sat ramrod straight, frowning. “I just got off the phone with Charlie.”

  Riley withdrew her hand, another round of tears pressing against the back of her eyes. “I don’t want to talk about your brother right now.”

  “You think he did it?” Lacey asked, her voice low and disbelieving.

  Riley sniffed. “Who else? My father already talked to Griminski, and he swore he gave the only copy to Charlie. Griminski has worked for my father for a long time. I trust him.”

  “But you don’t trust Charlie?” her mouth contorted in an ugly frown.

  “If he didn’t do it—” Riley took in a shaky breath, her eyes filling again.

  “Of course he didn’t do it,” Lacey said. “Jesus, Riley, do you even know my brother?”

  “Charlie ‘the Devil’ Singleton, yeah, I know all about him. I also know what his agent told him about needing a new sex scandal. And I know that he’s responsible for the pictures the pap put in the paper. And I know that those pictures weren’t enough to save his career. But this will be. Won’t it?”

  Lacey’s only response was an angry tick at her jaw. Her hands gripped her knees.

  “I’m trying to be reasonable,” Riley explained. “Being naïve has gotten me nowhere.”

  Lacey stood and put her hands on her hips. “Do you even know Charlie, my brother, the man who loves you?” She shook her head. “Did you care about him at all, or was this just the rich girl having some wild fling with the bad boy?”

  Riley gaped. “Lacey, I wouldn’t…” She trailed off because she couldn’t say anything. That was exactly what it had been. At least at first. “How was I supposed to know he wanted more?”

  “You aren’t the first rich bitch to use him like that, Riley. And you’re not the first to take him at face value and assume there’s nothing beneath the surface.” Lacey dropped her hands and let out a breath, deflated. “You’re just the first to surprise me.”

  Riley gaped, the ache in her chest growing. “Lacey, don’t do this. I could really use a friend right now.”