by Ashley
“No apologies necessary,” he replied. “Perhaps I have missed some time in the real world while creating this app.”
“I feel like an asshole,” she said, blushing.
“I’ve been called worse, trust me.”
Ashton glanced at her phone and sighed in frustration. “Great,” she muttered.
“Everything okay?”
“My Uber canceled,” she said. She threw out the bait knowing he would bite.
“I have a car. My driver can take you wherever you’d like,” Lathan offered.
“Oh no, I can’t ask you to do that,” Ashton stated. “I can call another Uber.”
I insist, she thought, his next words running through her mind before he got a chance to even speak them.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I insist,” he said.
Doesn’t matter if a man is black, white, or blue, they’re predictable as shit, she thought. She smiled graciously.
“Really? It’s not an inconvenience?” she asked.
“Not at all. A pleasure, in fact,” he said. He walked out of the building, holding the door open for her before leading the way to his car. A suited driver stepped out of a black SUV and opened the back door for Lathan. Lathan paused to allow her to enter first. When they were safely inside, he said, “You wouldn’t want to grab a bite to eat, would you?”
“Sure,” she agreed.
“I have my laptop with me. I just need to stop by my suite and put it away. If that’s okay with you,” he said.
“That’s fine,” she agreed.
Ashton was a stunning girl. She knew it. She had always known it and she used her beauty to lower defenses effortlessly. By the time they arrived in his suite at the five-star hotel, she and Lathan were laughing like old friends.
“This dress is soaked. Do you mind if I borrow a shirt? Maybe we could eat in,” Ashton suggested.
Lathan’s laughter faded and the room filled with tension as Ashton slipped the straps to her dress down. She peeled the fabric down her body, revealing skin so brown it seemed edible. She was the color of brown sugar and she exposed herself unapologetically, letting the dress fall in a heap at her feet. The lingerie she wore beneath was perfection. Lathan swallowed the lump in his throat.
“Wow, I … wow,” he stammered.
“Or you can eat out,” she said, lifting one stiletto heel onto the couch.
Lathan loosened his tie and blew out a sharp breath. He rustled his hair.
“It’s not JavaScript.” Ashton smirked. “It’s not hard at all. Just bend and lick. Come here.”
Like she had a leash around his neck, he came toward her.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked.
“I was sure when we walked through the door,” she answered.
Lathan kneeled and dove into her face-first.
Complicated isn’t always best. A little pussy makes a man weak every time, Ashton thought as she palmed Lathan’s head while he pleasured her.
He might have been a tech geek, but his tongue worked with the precision of a surgeon, bringing her to orgasm within minutes. A flash of guilt swept through her because she had someone who lived in her heart, but there was work to be done. Since she had sabotaged the lick her sisters were working on, she had to make up for it. Sex was a quick sell, so fuck it. A little trick always led to a treat.
“Why don’t you come out of that suit? Get comfortable,” Ashton said. She reached inside his jacket and pushed it back and off his shoulders. “I’ll fix a nightcap.”
She walked to the minibar and retrieved two glass tumblers. “These things are usually pretty limited,” she said as she looked over her shoulder at him. He was stumbling, almost rushing out of his clothes.
Eager ass.
She unscrewed the top of a bottle of vodka and killed it. She would need it to work up her nerve. She hadn’t fucked for profit ever. She was witty enough to outthink her mark, running game so well played that they never knew they had gotten defeated until she was long gone. She didn’t have time for a long con, however. She needed to microwave this lick to get back in her sisters’ good graces. So, pussy it was.
She pulled out two more small vodka bottles and poured one into a glass. She poured the other down the sink then filled the second glass with water.
He was eager. Sitting on the couch rubbing what she was sure were sweaty hands against his thighs and bouncing a bit on the cushions.
“Relax, Lathan, I don’t bite.” She smiled. “Unless you like that.”
“This is unbelievable,” he stammered. “Stuff like this doesn’t happen to me. You’re so beautiful.”
Ashton straddled Lathan and he planted his hands beside him.
“You can touch me,” she whispered. He awkwardly put his hands on her breasts.
Ashton smiled, handing him one of the glasses. “Okay, let’s talk. Relax you a little. You’re uptight,” she said. “Where were you born? Were you born into the world of computers and nerds or do you come from humble beginnings?” she asked.
“I was born in South Dakota, actually,” Lathan said as he took a gulp of the drink.
“Oh yeah? I have a college roommate from South Dakota. What parts?” Ashton asked.
“Aberdeen,” he answered.
“Oh okay, my friend was from Sioux Falls,” Ashton said. “Do you have siblings?”
“One sister, Emery,” he said. “How about you?”
“Only child,” she said. She took the water glass to the head and winced.
“It’s strong right?” Lathan asked.
“Brutal,” she replied. “Want another?”
“Hey, why not. Let’s party like it’s 1999, right?” Lathan asked.
Ashton chuckled. “Let’s,” she agreed. She walked back to the minibar and poured one shot, one water. She drank the water down before even walking back to him.
“Wait for me,” he said. She handed the glass over to him and he drank it without thinking twice.
“I think you’re so smart,” she gushed. “Like, computer science and coding and all that must be a heck of a challenge. It’s all numbers, right?”
“And some other things,” Lathan answered.
“I’m into numerology and astrology. I’m partial to the number seven. How about you? I can tell a lot about a man just by his favorite number,” she said.
“Threes and zeros,” Lathan answered, pointing at her. “Favorite numbers.”
“Any particular reason why?” she asked. “That’s very specific.”
“My father’s birthday is November thirtieth. He died on January thirtieth,” Lathan answered. “So I always remember those days, you know? The number thirty is significant to me.”
“Seven’s my number,” she said and moved closer to him. “You seem much more relaxed, Lathan,” she said, smoothing his hair. She stared in his eyes. “So, how long is it going to take you to kiss me?”
“Can I?” he asked.
She would actually feel a bit of remorse if she didn’t know who this man was and what he did behind the mask of social media. He went in for her lips and Ashton lifted her head. His lips landed on her neck.
“Lower,” she instructed. He kissed the valley of her throat. “Lower,” she repeated.
He palmed her breast and then took her nipple into his mouth.
She pulled a condom from her bra and handed it to him. He strapped up. She took little Lathan for the ride of his life. She over sexed him. Gave little Silicon Valley the orgasm of his life. He could barely keep his eyes open by the time she was done. Ashton showered and then slipped back into her dress. She scoffed as she looked down at him. He wouldn’t wake up until morning and by then she would be long gone.
Ashton grabbed his laptop and sat down on the couch. His light snores told her the coast was clear and she opened the machine.
“Password reset,” she said, clicking on the link.
Just as she suspected. The questions were cliché.
“City you were born in,”
she whispered. “Aberdeen.” She typed the answer. What was casual conversation for Lathan had been intel for Ashton. He had given it to her effortlessly. She logged into his laptop with ease and then quickly accessed the dark web through his browser. She emailed herself the list of gentlemen her sisters had been after, then she closed the laptop and headed for the door.
She wouldn’t walk into brunch empty-handed. She would prove her worth and show Sutton there was more than one way to skin a cat.
CHAPTER 3
“Somebody’s hungover,” Luna said as she pulled out a chair to the circular table, joining Sutton. The popular Sunday Brunch was filled with Houston’s elite. The cowboy-themed event took place each week and the sisters never missed it. It was girls’ day, a chance to reconnect, catch up, and put business aside to tap into their sisterhood.
“I finished an entire bottle of Brignac Brut solo last night,” Sutton said. Oversized Chloé sunglasses hid the evidence of red, regretful eyes as she leaned her temple against her finger. “I haven’t messed up a job in a long time. I’m meticulous about my shit. From start to finish, we plotted this thing out for months, again and again, and Ashton blows into town to tear it apart without thinking twice. I could kill her.”
“Ashton has always been known to do things her own way,” Luna said, shrugging. “Her way got Daddy locked up. There’s no telling what she fucked up down in Miami or who followed her back here. She’s here for a reason. She’s running from something. I don’t need her bringing whatever that is to our front doors.”
“At least we weren’t marked,” Luna said. “We got out. No harm, no foul, but we need to go back to the drawing board to figure out how to get that list. A bitch spent hella bread anticipating that bag. I just bought a Bentley coupe. I need to replenish my bank account. If I had known this job would be a bust, I would have gotten something a little more modest.”
Sutton chuckled. “Your black ass driving around in a Bentley coupe. You live for the stunt.”
“You know it,” Luna countered. She flagged down a waitress. “Can we get four lemon drop martinis?” She held up her Amex platinum card and the waitress swiped it from her fingers.
“Sugar rims as usual?” the waitress asked.
“You know it,” Luna answered. The waitress walked away.
“You really think she’s going to show?” Sutton asked.
“She wouldn’t miss it. She lives to get under our skin. It’s her birthright as the baby.” Luna looked up and as if Ashton had been waiting for an introduction, she walked into the room. The LaCroix girls had always been beautiful and as Ashton and Honor entered together, the men in the room turned to admire them. Honor’s size 18 body was full of curves and the spandex nude-colored dress hugged each one dangerously. She had always been a bigger girl, but her days in the gym and a little lipo in the right places had turned her into the thing fantasies were made of. She was beautiful and a whole lot of woman. Men ogled her every time she left the house. Even men who were seated with little metal bands around their ring fingers couldn’t help but gawk at the sisters with wandering and unintentional eyes. They just shined. It wasn’t just a physical beauty, which neither lacked, but they commanded a room. Their father had taught them to be as noticeable or as invisible as they needed to be depending on the predicament. This day, they had decided to be the center of attention.
“They seem to be getting along,” Luna said, noticing the smiles and laughter floating between them.
“Ashton knows Honor is soft on her,” Sutton said.
Luna reached across the table and grabbed Sutton’s hand. She rubbed her thumb lovingly across Sutton’s knuckle. “She’s our sister. Some rules don’t apply when it comes to her. It’s okay to forgive her, Sutty. Daddy wouldn’t want us to box her out.”
Before Sutton could respond, Ashton and Honor were taking their seats.
“I’m surprised you showed up,” Sutton said.
“I wouldn’t miss an opportunity to see that glowering face, Sutty,” Ashton said, sarcasm dripping from her tone. She rolled her eyes and pulled her cloth napkin from the table, setting it in her lap. “Hey, Gadget.” The warm tone came out of nowhere and a huge smile broke across her face.
“Hey, Ash,” Luna replied, blowing her baby sister a kiss. “I should be kicking ya’ ass, but I’m a little happy to see you, so I’ma let that shit you pulled last night slide. How long have you been in town?”
“A week,” Ashton answered.
“And you’re just getting in touch with us?” Honor frowned as she reached for her cocktail.
“I’ve been getting settled. I wasn’t avoiding you.”
“And we just happened to be in the same place at the same time last night?” Luna was skeptical.
“Who was your mark?” Sutton asked, cutting the small talk.
“Straight to the point,” Ashton scoffed. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
Sutton sat stone-faced and unmoved by Ashton’s return to town. It was an unexpected and uninvited reunion.
Sutton’s brow lifted in curiosity. “Well?” She had always been impatient.
“An athlete. An NFL prospect that went to school with Lathan Naples. He’s entering the Draft this weekend and I thought I would get my hands on him before his name is called as the number-three pick. You know? Give him that real shooting-in-the-gym feel,” Ashton replied. “Be real ride or die.” She shrugged and smirked as Honor shook her head, laughing.
“This damn girl is so cutthroat and I love it,” Honor said, snickering.
“I learned from the best,” Ashton said. Honor held up her martini glass and acknowledged Ashton with a toast.
“We aren’t out here fucking niggas for handbags,” Sutton said. “Social media has changed the entire game, Ashton. These hoes are out here fucking and sucking to get a coach flight and get clout on a nigga Instagram. There is no real money in using pussy as currency. That’s not what we do. That’s not our endgame. I run a business. We run a multimillion-dollar company. We’re publicly traded, Ashton. A lot of things have changed since you went to prison. You would know that if you had responded to any of my letters.”
“Prison isn’t a place where you hold on to what you miss outside those walls, Sutty. I couldn’t write you back. I couldn’t call. I couldn’t miss you guys. I couldn’t even think of you. My family didn’t exist as long as I was on the inside. You have no idea what I dealt with, what I’ve been through,” Ashton argued.
“And I never plan to learn,” Sutton said coldly, seeing the fire in Ashton’s eyes. The emotion. It was that quality that was dangerous. Ashton couldn’t turn it off. She made emotional decisions and took things personally. It led to errors every time and Sutton left no room for those. “We leave the tricks for the kids,” she schooled. “This is a sophisticated hustle, not amateur hour.”
“You want to explain to me how it works?” Ashton asked. “I’m all ears.”
“We’re problem solvers. Our company is a one-stop shop for investing, management, and public relations. Our clients are some of the richest in the world, and also the most problematic. When we see a solution to a PR nightmare, we handle it. We make sure our clients stay in the good graces of their beloved followers,” Sutton explained.
“Only they have no idea that we’re the ones who kick up dust for them in the first place,” Luna said, leaning into the table and lowering her tone.
“Plant the mouse then sell the trap,” Ashton said, scoffing. “Daddy taught me that when I was four years old.”
“Daddy taught us all,” Honor said.
“I just turned it into a business model,” Sutton said. “So that I didn’t have to see any more of my sisters taken away in handcuffs.”
Ashton leaned in and pressed a coffin-shaped nail into the table. “I want in,” she said. “I want in so fucking bad my pussy’s wet.”
Honor spit out her drink mid-sip as she and Luna burst into laughter. She used her napkin to clean up her mess, but she was
so amused that tears filled her eyes.
“I’m not bullshitting,” Ashton said.
“You have a stake,” Sutton said. “You’re our sister, we’d never leave you out. What you don’t have is a job at the company. You’re a felon and you’re a fucking liability. You’ll sit back, be pretty, and collect the money that we make, but you won’t be involved.”
“Sutty, I’m ready. I’m just as capable of hitting corporate licks as I am of hitting street ones,” Ashton said. “I just took down the fucking son of Carter Jones.”
“It would have been more impressive if it was actually Carter Jones,” Sutton responded, not even looking Ashton in her eyes. Her blasé attitude only angered Ashton. Sutton knew it. She didn’t care. She was pushing buttons on purpose to prove Ashton wasn’t ready for the big league.
“Sutty!” Ashton pleaded.
“My answer’s no.” The sisters paused as the waitress came back to the table.
“You ladies ready to place your orders?” she asked.
They took their time putting in their food preferences. Sutton could feel Ashton’s eyes marking her. As soon as the waitress walked away, Ashton was back on it.
“I think you’re going to let me in,” Ashton said.
Sutton scoffed. “Is that right, baby sis? Hell would have to freeze over for me to let you get anywhere near this company.”
Ashton reached for her jumbo Chanel bag and lifted the double flap. She pulled out her phone and AirDropped the file she had stolen from Lathan’s laptop.
Sutton’s phone buzzed on the table. Honor’s and Luna’s chimes went off next. The three grabbed their phones.
“What is this, Ash? It’s redacted,” Honor said.
“It’s the list of names in the secret trafficking group on Lathan Naples’s app. I have the file and I have pictures directly from his laptop,” Ashton bragged. “Your little sophisticated con was cute. I took a more vintage approach. Guess whose method worked better?”
Sutton’s nostrils flared and she scoffed. She hated to be one-upped. It didn’t happen very often, but when it did, she was the sorest of losers.
