Chapter 4

Ava

I climbed off the bed as fast as I could, unable to even speak. I grabbed my robe and ran into the back. My head was spinning, so I stopped and took in a deep breath, knowing I couldn’t run up to the boss in a complete panic. When I was calm, I walked over and forced a smile.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Richter. I’m really not feeling well,” I said. “I went as long as I could.”

“That’s no problem,” he said kindly. “Have a seat, and I’ll get the money to pay you.”

“Thank you, sir,” I said, sitting down in the chair.

My mind was all over the place, and I felt almost dizzy from what had happened. I leaned against the wall and tried to slow my heartbeat down. I hadn’t seen that coming, not even for a second. I had been so focused on my job that I didn’t think, and that was apparently a huge mistake on my part. I opened my eyes and let out a deep breath, shaking my head. A stranger had crawled across the mattress and planted one on me. At first, I’d thought it was for the ad, another model paid to kiss me for pictures. I lost myself in the kiss, and at first I didn’t hear anything around me. It was like I was drawn to the person, and the spell wasn’t broken until the photographer yelled, pulling me back into reality. Then I looked into his eyes, and with fear running through my belly, I realized who it was. That kiss had felt so familiar because I knew the man.

I leaned forward and rubbed my face, not believing the kind of bad luck that had invaded my life to bring Mason into it again. Mason York not only walked back in, but he came running in at a full sprint, and he didn’t hold any punches. From the way he’d said my name, though, it had sounded like he didn’t recognize me either—until that last moment, of course.

So that was who Mason York had turned into: the kind of guy who thought he could force himself on a woman and have zero repercussions for it. He probably didn’t have any repercussions. It had been years since I had seen him, years I’d spent hating his guts. I should have known him before he even kissed me, but he’d shaved his beard and cut all his hair off. His body was more muscular and stronger, and his clothes looked like they had walked off a runway model and onto his body. He was so different, and I hadn’t recognized him, really, until I had looked deep into his eyes. They hadn’t changed, and neither had that charming smile, and I hated that it made my heart skip a beat.

I had spent years trying to find a way to get his family back, all the while staying out of the light, out of his part of town, and out of any place where I even had the remotest possibility of running into him. I hadn’t thought twice about the mattress store. Why would he be in a mattress store? But there he was, kissing me in front of everyone. I couldn’t believe it was him, that he had randomly run into me, and while I was working. If I knew him well enough, he was not going to let this go, and if I knew myself well enough, I would force him to.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” my manager said, walking in and sitting down. “Does this have to do with what the photographer said just happened?”

“No.” I smiled. “Just some stupid guy. I’m used to it. I just really am not feeling well.”

“Hopefully you gave whatever you have to him,” he said, laughing. “He deserves it after that.”

“I know. He does. I’m so sorry if this causes a problem.”

“Not at all,” he said. “You did a fantastic job while you were here.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“You were here for three hours, right?”

“Yes,” I said, smiling.

“Here is fifteen hundred dollars.” He handed me an envelope. “I’d like to keep your number for the next time we do this, if that’s okay.”

“Absolutely,” I said. “I’m always looking for new gigs.”

“Great,” he replied, helping me up. “Go home and get some rest.”

“I will,” I said, and walked out of his office.

I was trying so hard to hold it together in front of him. The last thing I needed was even more drama than what had occurred when I was at a gig. I opened the envelope and counted the money, then sighed and stuck it in my pocket. It wasn’t the two grand I was hoping for, but it was close enough and would take care of the rest of my tuition. Forfeiting five hundred dollars to get away from Mason was well worth it, but I still had to get out of the building. Why did I feel like I’d done something wrong? Like I had to hide away from this guy? If nothing else, he should be hiding away from me, ashamed of what his father had done. But that wasn’t how life worked.

I walked over to the door leading into the showroom and peeked out. Mason was still out there, talking to the photographer. They were both laughing, so I knew he had used his charm to weasel his way out of that mess. I turned around and groaned, then looked up to find the back exit. Good. I could get out of there without having to talk to him again. I left the building and headed to my car, which was parked down the block. As soon as the fresh air hit me, my emotions erupted again, and I ran down the street and hopped into my car. I gripped the steering wheel, angry and upset at the same time. I reached down, grabbed my phone, and dialed my mom.

“Hey, sweetie. How was the gig?” she answered happily.

“It was fine until Mason York showed up,” I said.

“What? Are you okay?”

“Yes, no, yes, I don’t know.” I sighed. “I’m leaving now and coming over to see you.”

“I’ll be here,” she said. “I’ll put some coffee on. Just take a deep breath.”

“Thank you, Mom,” I said, then hung up the phone.

I pulled out and started toward Brooklyn where my parents lived. My mom was always there to talk to, but I knew my father would be livid. He was at work, though, and that was a good thing. After the hotels went down, he had gone out and got a job at a small grocer, and he managed the place. The pay wasn’t what he was used to, but it paid the bills, and that was all he cared about. They had used everything they had to try to pull themselves out of the mess the Yorks created when they sold the pieces of my father’s legacy.

I pulled up in front of the house and got out, waving at the neighbor as I jogged to the door. My mother had left it open and was standing there for a big hug when I walked through the door. She could see I was shaken up, so she took me into the kitchen and sat me down at the table, then brought two hot mugs of coffee over.

“Tell me what happened,” she said.

“I was doing the shoot, and this guy who I thought was a model came up on the bed and kissed me,” I said. “I pulled back and looked into his eyes and realized it was Mason. He realized it was me too.”

“What did you do?”

“I slapped him and ran off,” I said.

“Good,” she said angrily. “I cannot believe he would have the audacity to do something like that.”

“Me either,” I said. “I told the manager I wasn’t feeling well, and he was okay with it, but it caused me to miss out on an entire hour of shooting, which is a lot of money.”

“Do you need anything?”

“No, Mom.” I smiled. “Thank you, though.”

“Mason and his family have always stepped to the sound of their own drum,” my mom said. “I thought when Mason was young that he would be different, but he’s a product of his environment. I’m sorry you have to deal with that. I do want to say, your obsession with what happened in the past may not be healthy for you.”

“Mom, we’ve been over this,” I said. “It’s not an obsession.”

“Okay, but it’s not what you want to do, not really.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “The Yorks deserve to be taken down, and you and Dad deserve retribution. That is why I am doing it, and no one will talk me out of it.”

My mom had calmed my nerves, but she had lit that fire of motivation all over again. Mason and his family were worse than I had imagined. I had to forget about him and push forward. It was all I had.