Chapter 9

Zach

Fucking hell.

I didn’t know how someone who had been so responsive and hot in my hands the night before was nothing but a straight-up ice queen the next day.

It must’ve been because she didn’t want anyone knowing what happened between us. And I got that. She had a right to keep our hot night private. But when we were alone, she shot me down, threw me an excuse before I could even finish offering her a date. I guessed I should have taken that as the end of our little affair, but hell, that was hard after what we’d shared the night before.

I leaned back against the soft leather seats and glanced toward the spot where she’d sat. Surely, she couldn’t have wiped all that from her mind like it didn’t happen. I remembered our first kiss in this very car, the feeling of her soft mouth against mine, the moans that escaped that those lush lips as my hands traveled across her body. Fuck, she hadn’t even given me the requisite morning-after brush-off. She left while I was asleep. It was a trick I’d pulled on plenty of women before, but damn if it didn’t feel crappy to have that leveled at me.

It was still early in the evening, and I should have headed back home to catch up on some sleep and prepare myself for getting back into my business now that I was back in control. But the prospect of sitting around at home and thinking about Jessibelle for the rest of the night wasn’t exactly a turn-on. No, if I was in the city, then I was going to fucking enjoy myself, and I wasn’t going to let one little rejection get under my skin. I was single, out of the house, and I knew my name was big enough to get me into any bar I wanted. Time to use that to my advantage.

I headed back to the apartment, showered, changed, and sipped on the expensive bottle of scotch I’d stashed in the apartment months before. As soon as the time was right, I headed out the door and made my way downtown on foot. Time to see what this night had to offer.

I’d taken Jessibelle to my favorite club the night before, and I wasn’t ready to head back there quite yet, so I shot in the direction of this place I used to hang before Alana and I were together. It was upmarket enough to keep the paparazzi out, but the music was loud, the drinks were plentiful, and I was unlikely to run into anyone I knew there. The bouncer stepped aside as soon as he saw me, and I headed down the stairs and into a club pulsing with noise, lights and activity.

It was just as I’d remembered it, an enormous dance floor with VIP booths and tables lifted on small platforms above the fray. I headed straight over to one and was instantly seated by a gorgeous young woman in a tight dress with a grin so wide, I was surprised it didn’t split her face in two. I enjoyed the attention. It was an ego-boost after what had happened with Jessi, and it was the reason I’d come to this place. I didn’t come here because I wanted intelligent conversation. I came here for one reason and one reason only.

Suddenly, I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket. Though I couldn’t remember giving her my number, I thought it might be Jessibelle, and I scrambled to pull it out. My heart sank when I saw the name. Johnny, my younger brother. This was about business, no doubt.

I headed toward the smoking area where it was quiet enough to hold a conversation and took the call.

“Hey, Johnny,” I greeted him, pinching the bridge of my nose between my fingers. This wasn’t going to be a fun conversation.

My brother Johnny had come to us when he was just a few years old, after my mother had passed away. Dad always had this intensely compassionate streak, so he’d looked into foster care, and of course, when the social worker introduced him to Johnny and told him about the awful past he’d suffered at the hands of his blood relations, my dad couldn’t say no to him. He took him in at once and made him part of the family. We were raised as brothers, and I loved Johnny as much as Dad did. He’d stepped up to run a lot of the business when I retreated to the house. I appreciated it more than I could express to him. He could be a little uptight, but I knew he meant well, even if I was fully prepared for a lecture about how I was spending my evening considering what was going on at the company.

“Hi,” he replied, his voice already clicked to the “compassionate understanding” mode that so many people had learned to use around me. “How are things going with you?”

“Um, I’m actually out right now,” I replied, and there was a pause before Johnny spoke again.

“Where are you?”

“I’m at Club Z,” I replied, wincing slightly as I waited for him to chew me out for heading to a club over prioritizing the business.

“You’re out of the house?” He sounded surprised.

“I was in the office yesterday and today,” I shot back, already on the defensive. “Didn’t they tell you?”

“Wow. No, I didn’t realize.” He trailed off. “It’s good you’re actually getting out for a change, though. How are you doing?”

“I’m okay,” I replied, glancing back inside and wondering how long he was going to drag this conversation out. “What’s up?”

“I was calling to check if you heard about the real estate stuff.” He half-sighed the words, as though they pained him as much as they did me.

“Yeah, I heard about it.” I frowned. “I’m not worried, though. I mean—”

“I think it would be for the best if you were to sign the real estate over to me. Just for the time being,” he suggested, his voice soothing as though he were talking down a child in the middle of a tantrum. I frowned.

“But there’s nothing going on there,” I replied. “They can look into whatever they want. It’s not going to matter. Everything is in order.”

“But still,” he shot back, his voice more tense, a little firmer and less giving. “Don’t you think it would be for the best if I took control of it? Just to make sure everything is unfolding as we want it to?”

“We shouldn’t have anything to do with the investigation,” I pointed out. “It’s only going to make us look guilty if we try to get involved.”

Johnny cut me off once more. “I really think you should listen to what I’m saying.” I raked my fingers through my hair. I could really do without this shit on top of everything else I’d been dealing with the last couple of days.

“Honestly.” I spoke slowly, as though I thought the words were having trouble getting into his damn head. “I don’t want to do that. I want to stick with me in charge of real estate and prove to everyone else I’m not some crazy who’s going to fuck up the business. I want to get back to work as soon as I can, Johnny. You know that. I know it’s been a tough few months.”

I trailed off, not sure how to finish up because part of me knew he was right. When I realized I needed a break and had to step away from the business for a while, I should’ve handed over my assets to someone who wouldn’t let everything turn to shit like I had. But I was stubborn, and I wanted control of the business I’d helped build, and I’d be damned if I’d let go of it just like that.

“But I don’t want to lose what little I have left,” I finished up, and he sighed, a crackle of static rushing down the line.

“Fine,” he shot back. He sounded a little pissed, but swiftly soothed his voice to neutrality once more. “I’m glad to hear you’re up and about. Just don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, all right?”

“That doesn’t leave me a lot of space,” I shot back playfully, and we joked with each other for a minute, said our goodbyes, and then hung up. I turned to head back into the club, but as soon as I was through the door, I felt an overwhelming sense of something strange.

I looked around at all the women and men crowded out on the dance floor and felt next to nothing at seeing them there. Before, I might’ve felt a little thrill of excitement at getting in there, at the promise that being here meant something was going to happen tonight, but that evening I came up completely cold. I had nothing. Everyone was just there to be seen, to make themselves known, and I didn’t have to do that—nor did I want to. Suddenly, the music in the air became sticky, the flashing lights irritating, the smell of cheap perfume and aftershave suffocating. I grabbed my coat from the coat-check and headed for the street. This wasn’t my scene anymore, and there was no point forcing what didn’t feel natural to me.

It was a cool, clear night outside, the kind that could clear my mind of work as soon as I stepped into it. The only thoughts drifting through my head were of Jessibelle.

I had to find a way to get her to go out with me again. The chemistry between us the night before and in the office today—when she’d let it take over—was intense and real and impossible to escape. Not one of those girls in the club interested me the way she did. And I was going to prove to her I was worthy of a second chance.