Chapter Nineteen
Sapphire
What the hell just happened?
Sapphire watched, dumbfounded, as Tank stormed out of the house. An ache in her chest formed and she reached up absently and tried to rub it away, but it held on.
This was not how today was supposed to go. Her first day as President of the club and she was royally fucking it up. Tank was right. This was turning into a circus.
Flopping into her office chair, she explained what had happened to Sledge, but her mind was elsewhere.
Did Tank really leave?
Maybe he just went outside to cool off. Yeah, that was probably it. Earlier, he was too set on staying to just get upset and leave.
Taking a calming breath, she returned to the situation at hand.
“Okay,” Sledge said. “So you plan to ban her from the property?”
“Yes.”
“And what exactly started the brawl?”
“She said I would never be the leader my mother was and I snapped.”
“Well, she’s right. You won’t. But that’s to be expected because you are not your mother. You’re Stephanie “Sapphire” Kimber. Y’all are two different people. Your mother wouldn’t want you to operate like she did. She would want you to make this club your own.”
Sapphire thought back to the letter her mother had left her. That was what her mom had said — make it her own.
“You’re right,” Sapphire sighed. “I guess I owe Sable an apology.”
“No, you don’t.” Sledge said. “You don’t owe her anything. You want her out, then put her out, but you need to learn to keep your cool. If the house had seen you acting like a crazed loon, you would have lost their respect. Keep yourself calm — always, Sapphire. It is vital to the longevity of this club.”
“Got it,” Sapphire grumbled. She felt like a chastised child.
“Do you?” Sledge asked. “Do you really get it? Because I am trying to help you. Not take your club. But if you don’t listen, there is no point in me wasting my breath.”
“Yes!” Sapphire snapped. “I am listening. I get it. I royally fucked up my first day. Okay, we’ve established that. Let’s move on.”
“Okay,” Sledge said throwing his hands in the air. “I’m done. Figure it out on your own. If you want to be a bitch, you can do that shit to someone else.”
Sapphire stood watching Sledge and the others leave the room. She heard as he opened the door to the other room and ordered Diesel and Reaper out of the house. Still standing in the same spot, she heard Sledge give the order for the Henchmen to mount up and the front door slammed shut. It wasn’t until the rumble of bikes turned to silence that Sapphire finally collapsed into her chair.
She had no idea how long she sat there. No idea what would happen next. She waited for Tank to walk back into the room, but as the daylight hours slowly faded, he never returned. In less than twenty-four hours, Sapphire had managed to push away every person who offered her help. Every person who had her back.
A soft knock pulled her from her thoughts, “Come in,” she croaked.
“I brought you something to eat,” Scarlet said quietly, entering the room and setting a plate on the desk.
“Thanks.”
“I’m sorry about today.”
“Don’t be.”
“You really,” Scarlet said, fidgeting with a string on her shirt. “Tank was right. I talk too much. I need to learn when to shut up. Not everything needs to be told out loud.”
Sapphire didn’t know what to say. Tank was right. Scarlet had always had a bad habit of talking too much. The saying, some things are better left unsaid — never entered Scarlet’s mind. No, Scarlet said everything.
Staring out of the window situated behind her desk, she wondered how many times her mother had sat in that very spot and contemplated whether this was the life for her.
Probably never.
This was the life her mom had wanted. She built this clubhouse from the ground up. She made the rules, set its focus, and ensured that everything ran smoothly. And in one day, Sapphire had completely destroyed that.
What the hell was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she get this right?
Sapphire sat in the office long into the night. It wasn’t until the first rays of the sun started to touch the night sky that she finally went to bed. Maybe a few hours of sleep would do her some good. Doubtful. But maybe.
* * *
Two Months later...
So many things had happened in the last two months, and Sapphire was grateful. In the first few days of taking over the club, she floundered, badly. It wasn’t until Raven, Pope’s Vice President, came back from Florida that Sapphire finally started finding her way. With Raven’s help, Sapphire found her place. The stress of running the club seemed to lessen. With another person to keep her grounded, Sapphire grew into her new position.
“You have the Biker’s Ball in Austin this weekend,” Raven reminded her.
“Shit,” Sapphire sighed. “I forgot about that.”
“I figured you did,” Raven grinned.
The Biker’s Ball was a huge party that was thrown every year for numerous MC’s in the states. It was a great way to build new alliances and fortify old ones. Sapphire attended one several years ago with her mother, but this year was all on her.
“Also, Sable called again and would like you to call her.”
“I have nothing to say to her.”
“Sapphire, you need to let it go.”
“No,” Sapphire said. “What she did was unforgivable. There is nothing else to say. End of discussion.”
“Okay.”
Sapphire was still salty over the crap Sable had pulled. She knew she should move on, and in a way she had, but she still wasn’t ready to forgive her sister, yet. Sable’s mouth had caused a shitstorm to rain down and in the end, Sapphire lost not only her ties to the Henchmen, but she lost Tank. She knew that it was primarily her fault. Her actions in the aftermath is what pushed everyone away. She took full responsibility for that, but until Sable took hers, Sapphire had nothing to say to her.