Chapter 14

Bentley

Lunch with Lex was nice, and it helped alleviate some of my worries about my brother. It was good to see him get out of the house. I’d even convinced him to go for a walk with me. Now, I was alone and focused on the asshole of the year, Gage Addison.

What a jerk! How could I have believed he was a nice guy? I usually wasn’t this bad at judging character. I’d actually missed him and wondered if I should ask Colin for Gage’s number on more than one occasion over the last couple of weeks. Thankfully, I hadn’t done that. While it might have been better to have him call me a whore over the phone instead of in a public place, I knew it would have hurt more if I’d put myself out there like that.

When I got home, I turned on my laptop to check my work email. Yes, I’m a workaholic. It’s one of the biggest reasons I’ve moved up in my job so quickly. Unlike what dickhead Gage Addison assumed, I didn’t need to sleep my way to the top.

My phone rang, but I hesitated to answer it since I didn’t recognize the number. It was likely someone selling something, and I normally sent those calls to voicemail. It said a lot about my mood that I answered the call because I wanted to snap at a telemarketer. How many times did I need to tell people I live in a condo and can’t have solar panels?

“Hello,” I answered.

“Bentley?”

Curse my stupid body! I actually shuddered with desire when I heard Gage’s slightly raspy voice coming from my phone. This was how Batman got all the women. They weren’t all over him because he had money; it was all about the voice. Everyone knows Batman can’t commit, but women still throw panties at him. Not literally. Though, I’m sure women throw their panties at Gage.

Oh. My. God. Gage Addison’s voice was turning my mind to mush.

“Are you still there?” Gage asked.

“Why are you calling?” I demanded. Work brain! I need you to focus on one thing—Gage is a jerk. Do not lose sight of that no matter how good he sounds.

“I wanted to apologize for the way I acted earlier,” he began. “I was a jerk.”

“Yes, you were,” I agreed. “How did you get my number?”

“It was in the file I got from the private investigator,” he admitted.

I said nothing at the reminder that he’d had me investigated. If he was standing in front of me, I’d slap him.

“Bentley?” he said cautiously. “Are you still there?”

“I’m still here,” I replied.

“Can we start over?” he asked. “I’m in town for the next three days. My hotel isn’t that far from your place. I can pick you up and take you somewhere nice. We can talk, and I can prove I’m not a complete jackass.”

I’m not sure why Gage having my address came as a surprise. If he’d gotten my phone number from the private investigator, it only made sense that he’d also gotten my address. Finding my address wasn’t even that hard since I was a property owner. It was a good thing he’d decided to call rather than show up at my door. I’d hate to see the headlines if I got arrested for assaulting the lead guitarist for Reckless Release.

“No.” I didn’t need more than that one word.

“You’re mad,” he began. “I get that, but I know I can make this up to you. There is a reason I acted like such a dick. Give me a chance to explain.”

Once more, I cursed my stupid body for reacting to his voice. It was completely unfair that he had a voice that made me want to beg him to talk dirty to me. If I was being completely honest with myself, I wanted a lot more than that. I wanted him to talk dirty to me while he did wicked things to my body. No! I was not going to think about sex with Gage, or even about talking about sex with Gage. Sex and Gage were two words I needed to avoid placing in the same thought.

“I’m not interested in spending any more time with you,” I told him, trying to keep my voice cold.

His sigh drifted through the phone line, and I imagined he was trying to decide if it was worth arguing. “I’m calling you from my cell phone, so you have my number,” he began. “If you change your mind, call me.”

“Goodbye, Gage.” I ended the call without giving him time to say more. There was nothing left to say.

After muttering about what an asshole Gage was, and cursing myself for reacting so strongly to him, I decided my work email could wait. Snatching up my phone, I called Cami.

“I was just thinking about you,” Cami said by way of greeting. “How did your lunch with Lex go? Please, don’t tell me he stood you up. If he did, we need to stage an intervention to get him out of the house.”

“Lex showed up,” I told her. “He even promised to meet me for lunch again next week. This time, he seemed serious.” In general, my brother promised to do stuff with me to get me to stop asking him. I usually got vague responses about him needing to check his schedule. This time, he’d pulled out his phone and told me the days that would work best for him.

“That’s great news,” she said happily. “Maybe next time we can all hang out. Lex hardly ever returns my text messages, and you already know he sends my calls to voicemail.”

Cami had been close to Lex at one time. Since she was a lover of all things music, they’d hit it off—not in a romantic way, but they’d been friends. Cami had even visited my brother in prison several times. Lex’s rejection since his release hurt her.

“Gage found me,” I told her.

“Really?” she asked. “How? This is so romantic.”

“This is definitely not romantic,” I grumbled. “I ran into the jerk when I was waiting for Lex.”

“Was he angry that you hadn’t called?” she asked, continuing before I could answer. “He can’t blame you for that. You didn’t ask to have your phone stolen.”

“He seemed angrier about me being a gold-digging whore,” I explained.

“What the actual fuck?” she asked slowly. “Did he seriously accuse you of going after him for his money?”

“No,” I replied. “He accused me of going after Colin for his money. The asshole even had me investigated. That’s how he got my number.”

“Why is he calling you?” she asked incredulously. “Is he threatening or harassing you?”

“Nothing like that,” I assured her. “He called to apologize for being a jerk earlier today and to ask if he could take me out to make it up to me.”

“Huh,” was her response.

“What do you mean by huh?” I asked. I’d known Cami long enough to recognize my friend had an idea she wasn’t sure she should share with me.

“You should go see him,” she stated.

“Are you out of your mind?” I demanded. “More out of your mind than usual, I should say. The man insulted me and had me investigated. He’s not just a jerk. He’s a creepy jerk.” With a super sexy voice, I added silently. No! I was not going to think about that.

“Gage Addison—super hot rocker—is in town for a short time. After that, he’ll be heading back to Los Angeles to get ready for a tour with his band. Why not take advantage of this?” she asked.

“He’s a creepy jerk,” I reminded her.

“I’m not suggesting you date him,” she pointed out. “Use his body a little. Use it a lot. You need to have an adventure, Bennie. You used to be my wild and crazy friend. I used to be the sane one. Lately, you’re stuck in a rut. Since Lex got arrested, you act like you have to be mature and responsible at all times.”

I resisted the temptation to point out that Cami had never been the sane one.

“Being responsible is part of being an adult,” I argued. “Lex is one of the reasons I don’t want to get involved with Gage. I know firsthand what that lifestyle does to people.”

The me of eight years ago would have jumped at this opportunity. I’d still been a workaholic back then, but I’d also been able to let go of my inhibitions. I’d gone to some wild college parties with Cami, and she was right about me having been much more carefree before Lex’s arrest.

Cami made her final argument. “Do you want to spend the next several months fantasizing about Gage Addison? Don’t try pretending you aren’t still attracted to him. Just get him out of your system, girl.”

She was right. I wanted to do this, and if I didn’t, I’d regret it. I’d spend months fantasizing about Gage. Hell, I’d spent the last two weeks fantasizing about him. Jerk or not, I still wanted him.

“Fine,” I relented. “I’ll sleep with Gage Addison.”

“Really?” she asked with obvious surprise.

“You’re the one who talked me into it,” I reminded her.

“I didn’t think you’d actually do it,” she admitted. “Good for you! Now, go get that rocker!”