Chapter 11

Rainier

I finally have to pry myself away from Ella and do something other than... find my life’s purpose, apparently. I take a shower at her villa, just because I’m in desperate need, and then I slip on the mask I had in my pocket so I can head back to my own villa.

“You can stay,” Ella offers, threading her fingers through her long brown hair and blinking up at me expectantly. “If you want to.”

I smile down at her and answer, “I know. Can I see you again tonight? On the beach in front of the main house?”

Ella purses her lips and nods. I know she’s nervous. Without knowing how I know, I know that she’s nervous about how things are going to be now. It was easier when we were just banging away on every surface. There was no future, no introspection. But now, when we separate, she’ll have the chance to clear her head. And so will I.

“What time?” Ella wonders obediently, and I tell her sunset. She says that she’ll be there. “I’ll just...” She giggles nervously. “Just lock all the doors and wait.”

“Don’t,” I say. “What happened with Rex was a fluke. That kind of thing isn’t supposed to happen here, and it won’t happen ever again. I promise.”

She bites her lower lip and nods, not asking me how I can be sure. My heart swells up. She just trusts me.

Outside of her villa, a valet passes, and I pull him to the side. “Excuse me, sir,” I say. “I invited a friend of mine to the Island, and he’s not... handling it very well.”

The valet grins. “Perhaps we can send someone to his villa? Or five someones?”

But I shake my head. “I witnessed him become forceful with a guest,” I explain. “He doesn’t understand that the women, even though they might be naked and wearing masks, can still say no.”

“That behavior is strictly prohibited, even and especially here,” the valet snaps, quoting one of the rules of the island. “We’ll have to remove him from the Island immediately and ban him for life, sir.”

“That sounds about right. I caught him assaulting an associate of ours, and I can only imagine what he might be capable of doing if he doesn’t know the woman at all. You know what I mean.”

These women are traipsing around naked because they trust our self-control. They trust that the island won’t devolve into some free-for-all rape fest and knowing how blindly determined Rex can be... it’s possible that other women on the island are also in danger.

“What is his name?” the valet asks.

“Rex McKenzie,” I answer. “I’ll come with you. I don’t want him to give you any trouble.” The valet, although physically fit, looks barely older than a teenager himself.

We walk together to Rex’s villa and his voice leaks out from the windows, clearly shouting. “Just put them on!” he demands, and the valet scrambles to use his skeleton key to unlock the door.

We throw it open to find him yelling down at a naked, masked brunette who is in the middle of sobbing, “But I don’t need glasses. This will make me sick.”

They both twist to look at us spilling through the foyer, the valet’s face panicked and mine stern.

“Are you all right?” the valet shrills at the brunette, who scrambles to her feet and runs over to us.

“I just wanted to fool around in the Jacuzzi,” she says, pointing angrily at Rex. “But he’s trying to force me into some weird roleplaying shit I am not into. I’m not your little sex secretary! I’m not into that stuff!”

I glower at Rex. “They’re going to kick you off the Island, man,” I warn him. “You know you can’t go around like this here.”

“It’s just a crazy sex club anyway,” Rex sneers. “None of it makes any sense. Women are strutting around naked but you can’t just fuck any of them however you want. I’d rather get a hooker. At least then I know I’ll be satisfied!” He shouts this at the brunette, who shrinks behind me next, not feeling sufficiently protected by the valet. “But back in the real fucking world, Rainier, you’re the one who’s going to be kicked off.”

I scoff. “Kicked off the real world?”

“That’s right! You breached your own contract, smartass. You’re going to drown in legal fees and I’m going to take control of the company.”

“Who’s going to sue me? Ella?”

“I am. I’m going to sue you for turning our company into your own personal brothel. Get Ella on the stand and tell me she won’t come clean about all this.”

Actually, I think she would lie for me but I don’t say this out loud. “I don’t think you’re thinking clearly,” I tell him. “For now, let’s just get you packed and home. We can discuss how we feel about the developments when I return the day after you do.”

Rex glowers. “You’re loving this.”

“Why would you think that?”

“I’m going to take Ms. A back to her villa,” the valet says, taking the shaken brunette and leading her away. Now it is just Rex and I, but I’m positive the valet will send back-up to ensure that Rex is removed. They take assault more seriously here than they do in the freaking States.

Rex and I stare back and forth, and then he commands, “I want you to fire Ella.”

“Never,” I reply easily.

“I can’t work with her,” Rex says.

“You don’t have to. In fact, I think that I might offer her a job in the private sector.”

Rex’s jaw clenches. “You wouldn’t.”

“I thought you didn’t want to work with her, Rex.”

“So, you’re going to just transfer her to your bedroom?”

Rex lets out a roar and charges at me. To me, it seems to happen in slow motion, because I’ve been waiting for this moment ever since the element of Ella was introduced. It’s the only way a love triangle can ever end—with violence. He telegraphs his offensive maneuvers readily with his glaring eyes and his roaring face, pouncing.

I take all of his forward momentum and step to the side, throwing him against the villa wall like he’s a ball. All the pictures frames along the wall come trembling down, and a nearby vase tumbles and shatters.

“Act right, Rex,” I snap. “This is a resort. We can’t trash this place.” Meanwhile, Rex is balled up on the floor, groaning like a bitch. His watery eyes squint at me through his fingers as he slowly sits upright. “This is exactly why you’re going home the second time you’ve ever been here, and now you’re banned,” I say. “Because you have no respect for other people and their things.”

“I have been working on Ella for months!” Rex cries, face twisted and beet red. He staggers back up onto his feet. I’ve never seen him get like this over a woman. We would both roll out and score over the years... It was meaningless. “You treat her like shit and she crawls to you!”

“What the fuck has gotten into you?” I ask him. “I never treated Ella like shit.”

“You did!” he snarls. “I’m sick of it. I’m so sick of it. Always getting everything you want. Always getting first pick of the women. I’m sick of it. Just because you’ve got that goddamn jawline. That’s all it is.”

“That’s not all it is,” I promise him. “I treat women with respect, Rex. That’s why they come to me. I’m not trying to get them into bed. They like that. I never came on to Ella... even though I really fucking wanted to. I treated her with respect because of the environment. And she responded to that. Women like a little space, a little freedom. Give them space and they’ll come crawling to you, too.”

“I want a sexy assistant,” Rex pouts. “She’s perfect. She’s, like, Maxim-level perfect.”

“Ella isn’t my sexy assistant,” I half-lie. “And she isn’t perfect,” I fully lie, just for Rex’s peace of mind. There’s no reason to lord over him the objective fact of how perfect Isabella Petit is. “She’s just a girl who likes to play that role... and you can find one, too. Ella is a person. And she’s special, anyway. She’s different.”

“How so?”

My shoulders soften and I confess the truth, the words I’ve been holding back from myself and from everyone else. “She was made for me,” I say. “You can’t just force that.”

The villa doors swing open and four valets enter, including the one from earlier. It’s obvious from the stern expressions on their faces why they’re here and I look to Rex without sympathy. He needs to go. He can’t handle this place.

“Sorry, Rex,” I tell him gruffly, slapping him on the shoulder as I saunter out. “I’ll see you on Monday.”