He winked at me, before spinning around and walking away.
17
Domenic
“Why does everyone assume I’m not his type anyway?”
I stopped short, my hand frozen mid-stretch towards the door. Clearly Nico had neglected to shut it when she arrived home. I frowned at the door because it should have closed on its own once she let it go.
Gotta get that looked at, I thought absently even as I wondered who Nico was talking to. Morgan was still downstairs checking something with the SUV, so it couldn’t be him. I knew I should announce myself, but well, this was the first chance I’d had to eavesdrop on her.
Yeah, I know you never hear anything good about yourself when you eavesdrop, but I’m curious, what can I say?
“I expect it’s the absence of double Ds and presence of actual intelligence,” the other person –a man by his deep baritone– said.
Ouch.
“Thanks, Chaz.” Her voice was dry, and slightly amused.
“In any case, that is absolutely not the crux of the matter here. What do you plan to do about this?”
“Hey, I called you right? You’re supposed to tell me.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re my lawyer!”
My brow furrowed. Why was Nico calling her lawyer again?
“I’m a bartender who wrote your prenup for you because you’re too neurotic to walk into an actual lawyer’s office. That doesn’t mean I know what to do when a man offers you money to betray your husband!”
Excuse me! I stiffened up, pushing my head closer to the door.
“Yeah, well, it’s not like I can discuss this with anyone else, so suck it up.”
“I take it you don’t plan on telling Domenic about this?”
“I don’t know. This rich people shit is so confusing.”
“Hey, isn’t your brother like head of security or something? You should let him deal with this.”
“He’s also Dom’s friend and quasi lapdog. I don’t want to put him in a tough spot.”
“Well, you’re gonna have to decide.”
She gave a long sigh. “Why didn’t I just sit down and eat my food? Why did I suggest this stupid arrangement in the first place?”
“It’s not bad to want something for yourself sometimes, Nico.” His voice was very gentle.
There was a long silence in the room, as I listened keenly, wishing I could see her face. The elevator dinged and I knew Morgan was coming. It would be really awkward if he found me eavesdropping at my own door, so I pushed it open quickly.
“Honey, I’m home!” I called mockingly.
There was some rustling from the direction of the living room, and I took the two steps that brought me into view, a fake grin spread across my face. Nico looked up at me from where she was sitting next to a flamboyantly dressed gentleman who looked slightly familiar. To my condemning eyes, she looked guilty.
Quickly she got to her feet. “Dom, hey.” I wasn’t imagining it, her voice was definitely higher than usual and breathless too. “You remember Chaz, my lawyer.”
I stared at him with a raised eyebrow. He was sitting with his legs crossed, dressed in white shorts and a pink shirt. He wore blue plimsolls on his feet with no socks. His hair was done up in some upward swooping style and massively gelled. He had on one earring and thick black eyeliner that made his brown eyes pop. All that was missing to complete the picture was a rainbow flag wrapped around him like a sarong.
He was smiling at me as if we were old friends and for some reason, I wanted to make him stop.
“Have we met?”
His face definitely fell. “Yes, I came over to your place to discuss Nico’s contract.”
“Ah, yes,” I replied with disinterest before turning away to put my laptop down on the kitchen island. I walked past them to my room knowing I was being rude, but I couldn’t help it. It’s not true what they say about sticks and stones; words definitely hurt.
A lot.
I know because I’ve been fielding the pain of cruelly directed words all my life.
My mother was well versed with wielding them like a weapon. Her betrayal, I was used to –sort of– but I just never expected to deal with this from Nicolette. It felt like being stabbed through the heart – and I’ve actually been stabbed, so I know how it feels.
I slammed the bedroom door and flopped down on the bed, my head in my hands, breathing in and out and trying to make sense of things.
Someone offered Nico money to betray me? Who could it be?
My mind immediately went to Tank…but my former president didn’t throw around that kind of cash. The Lost Boys were not doing that well as far as my sources knew. That’s why Tank was so eager to get his claws back into me.
If not Tank, then who?
My mind was buzzing like a saw, unable to settle on any one thing. There was a tentative knock at the door.
“Dom?” Nico whispered, sounding very unsure. To me, it was more indication of guilt.
“What?”
“Is anything the matter?”
Suddenly I couldn’t be here anymore. I shot to my feet and walked past her without saying a word. Grabbing my coat, I walked out of the apartment, closing the door behind me. I heard her call my name, but I ignored her.
The advantage of having an apartment in the city was that there were plenty bars nearby. Still, I decided to head to the Red Lounge because I wanted to get blind drunk. Some habits die hard. I hesitated for a moment outside Morgan’s door, but then shook my head and kept going towards the elevator. If I went out with Morgan in the mood I was in, he’d want to know what was up. If I told him, he’d feel obliged to defend his sister.
I was not in the mood to hear any of that. I got into my car and drove.
Being a Monday night, the place was hardly packed. A few of the regular hardcore partiers and trust fund kids
