by Low, JA
“Hey,” I interrupt his tirade. He stops and spins around quickly, his face like thunder before softening when he realizes who it is.
“Chloe…” pulling me into a hug, “… you made it.”
“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” I tell him.
“What do you think?”
“Haven’t had a chance to look around yet. Just wanted to check in and see how you were doing.”
He looks over at Stella. “Let me guess. I’m being a dick, and you’re here to make me stop.”
“Pretty much.”
“You know tonight’s a big deal for me.” I can see the vulnerability written all over his face.
“I know. It’s going to be amazing. But you also need your staff here to help you open, too. Last thing you need is a mass walk-out due to your temper.”
“They’re used to it.” He waves his hand in the air. “But I’ll try better.” He gives me a wink. “Come, let me show you around.”
We head back out into the restaurant area. “We’re after that cool New York loft vibe,” he states as he points out the industrial styling which is made up of reclaimed wood from the old abandon New York wharves, beautiful wooden tables with soft leather chairs. If people are after a more intimate dining experience, they offer booths further toward the back of the space. The kitchen’s open style, so you can see the chaos that goes into preparing your meal. Apparently, that’s trendy. If you don’t want to sit and eat a meal, there’s the bar area where you can grab a cocktail or some tapas before rushing off to a Vegas show.
The bar’s a concrete masterpiece with New York-style red bricks behind it, rusted looking pipes twisted around the bar in a sculpture. Black and glass industrial chandeliers hang from the ceiling, wrapped around old industrial cogs. It looks like a factory but way more relaxed and definitely more luxurious.
“This is so beautiful, EJ.” Wrapping my arms around him again, tears well in my eyes as I say, “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks.” Kissing my head, he hugs me.
“You know Mom and Dad would be so proud.”
He doesn’t reply because I know he’s choked up with emotion at me mentioning our parents. They would be so very proud of him, and they would be right beside him tonight celebrating his success with the widest smiles on their faces. It’s times like these I really miss them. I hate that they’re missing out on so much of our lives.
“Anyway. I’ve got to go, I have some television interviews to give,” Elliot tells me.
“Fine. Mr. Celebrity Chef, I’ll let you go do your thing. I’ll see you tonight.” He waves me goodbye as Stella ushers him to his appointment.
I take one last look around before it becomes too crowded and savor my brother’s success.
8
Noah
We’re late arriving into Vegas thanks to a meeting running overtime back in New York. We promised our good friend, EJ, that we’d be there to celebrate this momentous occasion.
I met Elliott a while ago. We had both been roped into a bachelor auction for a children’s charity. We were nervously waiting out the back in the green room when he offered me a swig of his tequila. By the time they called us, we were both very, very, tipsy and the best of friends. He’s a good guy, but we don’t get to catch up as much as we like due to our busy schedules.
“Oh, Vegas, how I have missed thee.” Anderson salutes the night sky.
“Don’t involve me in any of your crap this weekend,” Logan tells him.
“Me?” Anderson tries to look innocent, but we all know he’s not. Somehow, he gets himself into the craziest of situations, and usually, you’re dragged along with him.
“We’re only here for twenty-four hours. How much trouble can he get into?” As soon as the words fall from my lips, I realize that’s the stupidest statement I’ve ever made.
“Famous last words, brother,” Logan warns.
I think he’s right.
Damn! I’ve jinxed us.
We head to our hotel suite, quickly freshen up, then make our way to the event. There are people everywhere, standing behind a gold velvet rope watching guests arrive. The paparazzi are out in force too, standing on the other side, screaming at the celebrities posing on the step and then repeating the same out the front.
“Is there another entry?” I’m not in the mood to be photographed or harassed by them tonight.
“I don’t think so. Suck it up, princess,” Anderson jokes.
We head toward the entry, security ticks our name off of their list, and the paparazzi yell at us. We pose and head inside.
Wow! That’s my first thought. This place is amazing. It’s like we have stepped into a high-end New York loft but supersized. The place is packed with people. I search the crowd to find EJ, so I can congratulate him. A flash of red catches my attention to the side. Turning my head, I watch as a beautiful blonde passes by me. Her red dress is molded to her curvaceous body. I’m mesmerized, everything else around me ceases to exist. Who the hell is she? I watch her move through the crowd until she stops in front of EJ. My heart sinks as his face lights up when he sees the mysterious blonde, pulling her into his arms, and she goes willingly. Lucky bastard.
“There’s EJ.” Logan points out as he and Anderson head toward him, and I follow after them.
“EJ,” Anderson shouts graining his attention.
He leaves the blonde and rushes over to us. “You made it,” he greets us all.
“Man, this is fucking awesome,” Logan tells him.
“Congrats, man,” I add.
“Thanks, guys. And thanks so much for coming.” His smile is practically lighting up the room. “Come, let me introduce you to some important people.”
Suck it up, Noah.
Your fleeting crush is EJ’s.
“Boys, let me introduce you to my sister, Chloe.” Looking up and realizing it’s Chloe Jones—the woman in red—I’m blown away.
How?
What?
I don’t understand.
I’m confused.
Chloe is EJ’s sister?
Chloe stills when she realizes who’s standing in front of her.
“EJ.” Chloe grabs his attention. “Why are my bosses here?”
EJ looks at her confused, then to us.
“Chloe works with us.” Logan smiles.
“You work for them?” EJ points, then bursts out laughing. “What a small fucking world.”
Yeah, you can say that again.
“You never listen to me.” Chloe pouts at her brother.
“I do…” His words don’t sound too convincing.
“I had no idea you guys knew my brother.”
“Everyone knows EJ,” I tell her.
She nods her head in agreement.
“Gotta go.” EJ waves his hand in the air, and next thing he’s off.
“Lenna?” Logan notices our head of HR in front of us looking very different from the structured suit-wearing woman from our office. Who knew that body existed underneath those suits?
“Oh, hey, boss.”
She’s drunk. I’ve never seen Lenna drunk before, she’s so held together at any functions we’ve attended.
“First time in Vegas,” Chloe tells us.
“I popped her cherry,” Emma says cheerily.
“I looove Vegas,” Lenna declares. “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Shh.” She holds up her finger to her mouth as she says it.
“What exactly has been happening?” Logan asks.
“Oh, pretty boy… wouldn’t you like to know?” Lenna stumbles, pressing her finger into his chest. “Ohh… you’re hard.” She giggles.
“Okay, maybe that’s enough drinks for tonight.” Chloe places her arm around Lenna moving her away from Logan. “Come, let’s grab a water.”
“I’ll take her,” Logan adds quickly. “I’m getting a drink anyway.”
Chloe hesitates.
“It’s your brother’s night. Enjoy,” he states while he
places an arm around Lenna and ushers her away.
“You better not fire her over this.” Emma points the finger at me.
“Of course, not.” I’m a little taken aback by her comment, to be honest.
“Good.” Emma nods at me. Lenna’s worked for us since day one, she’s part of the Stone family, and there’s no way we would fire her over having a good time.
“You’re looking good, Emma.” Anderson gives her a heated stare.
“I know,” she tells him confidently then gives him a wink.
She’s not wrong, she’s dressed in a black leather dress with a dangerous V down the front.
“You’d look better spread out—”
“Okay. Well, that’s me done,” I cut off my friend before they start to fuck in front of us. “I’m heading to the bar.”
“I’m coming with you,” Chloe quickly adds.
Emma and Anderson are too lost in fuck-me eyes for them to notice we’ve even left. We push our way through the crowd and end up at the bar where I grab us both a glass of champagne.
“Here…” handing her a glass., “… to EJ.” Holding up my glass, we cheer, then take a sip. “I had no idea you were EJ’s sister.”
“I had no idea you knew my brother.”
“I’ve known him for a couple years. We’re both busy, so we don’t catch up as often as we would like.”
Chloe nods. I still can’t believe she’s EJ’s little sister.
“He didn’t put you up to hiring me, did he?”
That question takes me by surprise.
“What? No. I didn’t even know you existed, let alone do him a favor.” This seems to reassure her.
“It’s just a crazy coincidence then,” she says while twisting her glass in her hand.
“Chloe…” Gaining her attention, she looks up at me with those ocean blue eyes. “You earned this job. We hired you because of how good you are at it and for no other reason.”
The tension releases from her shoulders, and she smiles at me. “Thank you.”
“You’ve earned it, okay? And all the work you’re doing for us we’re thrilled with, too.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear that as I have a crazy idea.”
“I’m up for crazy ideas.” I take a sip of my drink.
“I was talking with Emma earlier, and one of her women’s brands is looking at shooting their summer catalog somewhere. And I suggested Stone, in Bali.”
Sounds interesting.
“They loved the idea. Not sure if you know, but Emma was a well-known model before launching her marketing business. She knows a lot of famous supermodels who’d be happy to jet set to Bali for a photoshoot.”
Okay, I’m liking the sound of this.
“I think if we ran a campaign in sync with the photoshoot, it would make great content—gorgeous women on the beach, walking through the resort. We could even stock their outfits from the photoshoot in the resort’s boutiques. Shop the look.”
This is something we haven’t done before with our resorts, but I like the idea. Showing it off to new clientele is fabulous, so I reply, “I like it.”
“You do?”
I nod. “Put something together so I can show Logan next week, and yeah, let’s do it.”
Chloe’s face lights up as she bounces up and down. “Thank you.” She wraps her arms around me.
We both still.
Feeling her warm body pressed against mine is sending confusing thoughts straight to my dick.
Chloe slowly untangles herself. “I’m sorry. I…”
I wave her concerns away. “It’s all good. I’m excited as well,” I reassure her.
9
Chloe
I didn’t mean to hug Noah like that. It’s the first time we’ve been close to each other in months, not since my fateful honeymoon. He was nice about it, but I could tell it made things awkward between us.
He got to talking to some people he knew, and I took that as my chance to escape. I’ve been searching for Emma and Lenna for some time, but they both seem to have disappeared, and Stella’s busy making sure EJ talks to all the right people.
Guess it’s just me and my champagne in our favorite hiding spot on the private, second-level mezzanine where I’ve been people-watching.
“Thought I’d find you here.”
Chills run down my body. That voice. The one I’ve known so intimately for so many years.
Spinning around, “What the hell are doing here?”
“We need to talk.” Walker moves toward me, but I take a couple of steps away, which unfortunately forces my back against the railing. Panic flows over my body instantly. Shit. Looking to either side of me, I notice there’s nowhere to go.
“We have nothing to talk about,” I spit.
“Oh, yes, we do.” His voice lowers with menace while he steps into my personal space. “You just up and left me. Then to top that shit off, you blocked me.”
“Of course, I did. You knocked up my best friend.”
His usually green eyes turn an almost black at the mention of Tracey.
“That was a mistake.”
“Yeah. A pretty big one.” Trying to shift to the side to get away from him, I realize I’m trapped.
“You need to get over it, Chloe.” What the? “Because you’re the one I love. Not her.” Is he serious right now?
“You just had a baby together.”
Does he not care?
“I’ll support him. But I don’t care about her.” Is he for real? “She’s not marriage material. She’s happy to spread her legs for any of my teammates. I can’t marry a woman like that. I don’t want a woman like that. Plain and simple.”
“But you can sleep with one?”
“That’s all they’re good for.”
Oh shit! I think I’m going to be sick.
I hate Tracey with every beat of my heart for what she did to me, but she just had a baby with this man, and honestly, with the words spewing from his mouth, I’m so happy she did because I dodged the biggest bullet.
“You disgust me.”
Walker lunges at me wrapping his hands around my neck. What the hell? Panic races through my body. My hands grab his wrists as I try to wriggle free. I’ve pushed him too far.
“Walker…” tears fall down my cheeks, “… you’re scaring me.” My heart is beating wildly inside my chest.
“Baby, I just want you to listen to me,” his voice coos. “You won’t listen to me.”
“I’m sorry…” Trying to calm him down, I placate him by saying, “I’m listening now.”
Walker’s fingers release from my neck as they move to my cheek. His rough thumb runs across my skin, sending vile goosebumps over my body.
“You humiliated me, Chloe.” His voice softens. “I woke up that morning feeling on top of the world.” Yeah, because you had your mistress in your bed. “And then…” His eyes darken as he remembers what happened next.
“I was hurt.”
“Baby…” he moves closer, caging me in, “… you hurt me, too.” Is this guy delusional? “When they told me your room was empty, and you were nowhere to be found, it crushed me. My heart broke. I never thought my Chloe would be capable of doing something like that to me.”
Seriously, is Walker that much of egomaniac that he thinks he has the right to be upset that his fiancée bolted from the wedding after he fucked her best friend?
“I love you so much.” Not enough to not cheat. “You’re my world. My everything. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.”
I can’t.
I just can‘t with this man.
"But you cheated on me.”
Those green eyes darken once more. “I said… it was a mistake, Chloe. You need to get over it.”
“I can’t.” I don’t know what else to say, so I try to move away from him.
“Then you better learn how because I’m never letting you go.” His words chill me to my bones as he grabs my wrist. “You’re mine, Chloe. Do you u
nderstand me?”
I shake my head and try to pull my arm away. Honestly, I’m scared for my life.
“Please, let me go, Walker.”
“No. Not till you understand that you’re mine.”
“I can’t. I won’t,” I tell him, hoping it might sink in. “What you did to me was unforgivable.”
“It’s going to take time, Chloe. But in the end, you will forgive me.” His hand grips my wrist tighter.
Then out of nowhere, Walker’s sideswiped by a body, and they land with a thump.
“Get your hands off her.”
The sound of fists meeting flesh echoes through the mezzanine level. What’s going on? The two men are wrestling on the floor, fists flying, and that’s when I realize it’s Noah. What the…
“Never put your hands on a woman,” he curses at Walker.
“Fuck you. She’s mine,” Walker hisses.
“Never,” Noah screams.
“Stop it,” I scream, worried they’re going to kill each other.
Security eventually turns up and separates them.
“This man attacked me.” Walker points to Noah.
“He attacked Chloe,” Noah tells them.
Security turns to me.
“Noah’s right.”
The look on Walker’s face is what nightmares are made of. His whole demeanor changes—face red with anger, fists clenched at his sides.
“You fucking bitch,” he screams while he tries to launch himself at me, but security holds him back.
“Let’s take this fucker away,” security mumbles.
“Get your dirty hands off me. Do you have any idea who I am?” Walker screams while trying to free himself.
“Yeah, we know who you are. We’re not football fans.” The two burly men haul him out of the restaurant.
“Are you okay?” Rushing to Noah, I look him over quickly. He has some bruises on his cheek and a split lip where there’s a small amount of blood.
