CHAPTER 46
Theo
Winter slipped into the company car beside me with an unreadable expression. Her white hair was down, straight and around her shoulders, her oversized dark shades hid her eyes, and her complexion was absent of worry lines. As her assistant and bodyguards slipped into the row in front of us, Winter turned to me. “Your situation all squared away?”
I shot her a look through the shades that covered my swollen eyes—eyes that were now filled with rage for the woman I’d once called my friend. She had given me no choice but to hurt someone I cared about, and I couldn’t forgive her for that. “I already told you. It’s done.”
“Good.” She faced front, tensed, then faced me again. “Does she know I know?”
I narrowed my eyes. “No.” And that was all I would say. If Winter expected me to give her the dirty details of last night and this morning, she would be sorely disappointed. “Are we done now?”
Winter let out a frustrated breath. “C’mon, Theo. What is your deal with this girl? You told me it was already over. All I asked from you was to promise that you won’t be pursuing things further, and to keep my name out of your mouth. I don’t need her to know I’m involved and create drama with my Ravens. You don’t need that kind of drama either.”
“Lex doesn’t create drama.” I muttered it under my breath, but Winter sighed as if she’d heard me.
“This works out for all of us.”
I glowered at her. “How the hell do you figure that?”
She shrugged. “No distractions. A great tour. Lex gets to keep her job. And if you still have a hard-on for the girl by the end of the tour, then you’re free to act on it.” She smiled as if she’d just solved all the world’s problems, as if seeing Lex but not touching her would be easy fucking peasy for me.
I’d never felt so helpless in all my life. Resisting the urge to hold Lex close last night. Not telling her the truth this morning, especially when she’d assumed I’d slept with Winter. It all was slowly killing me. Hurting Lex was the last thing I ever wanted out of all this.
“Well, you get your wish.”
Winter let out a sarcastic laugh. “If I didn’t know you better, I’d assume you were in love with her.”
“And if I didn’t know any better, I’d think the reason you’re really doing all this is because you are in love with me.”
Her mouth wrinkled, and she turned her head away. “I’ve moved on, thank you very much. Not that I couldn’t have you if I wanted to.”
I chuckled over the fury that bubbled in my chest. “Not a fucking chance.”
She let out a frustrated growl and whipped her head in my direction. “Listen to me. Before we get on that plane, you better come back around to my side of things. I’m sure Reggie will be happy to take over your position and lead the crew if you’re going to continue being so … difficult. We’re supposed to be partners. This show is as much yours as it is mine. So start acting like it.”
Winter’s arms crossed over her chest, and she puffed out a loud breath of air. “Besides, we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place if you had obeyed the contract to begin with and kept your dick in your pants.”
“You certainly weren’t complaining when you showed up at my house and sucked that dick.”
I watched with satisfaction as Winter’s face grew red. Everyone in the car could hear us now. Our argument was no longer private, but I had nothing else to lose. She was silent for the rest of the ride, and when everyone started getting out of the car, I thought I was in the clear.
“Wait.” Winter stopped me before I could reach for the handle. “We need a second alone.”
Alison shut the door behind her, giving us the privacy I desperately wanted to avoid. Winter pulled off her glasses and turned to me with pleading eyes. “Theo, I need you.” Her tone was softer now, almost apologetic. “Not as anything more than what you signed on for. My producer, my choreographer, and my friend. You know it’s in my nature to eliminate any threat in my way, and that’s exactly what I did. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
I shook my head and looked toward the window, and the crew was already starting to board. My heart pounded furiously as I searched for Lex. I needed to see her. I wanted so badly to say “Fuck the contract” and tell her everything, but I couldn’t.
“I am sorry,” Winter continued. “I respect you. We’ve practically grown up in this industry together. The last thing I want is to make your life unpleasant, but you’ve given me no other option. I protect what’s mine. My business. My crew. And you’re part of that world.”
“Do what you need to do, Winter.” I reached for the door handle again. “But in six and a half months, when this gig is over, mark my words, I will never work with you again.”