“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” she sighed in exasperation.
“I think what you mean to say is, ‘thank you, kind officer,’” Otis said pointedly as he stepped closer to her, the corner of his mouth turned up in that smug smirk she hated.
She glared at him again, then turned back to the cop. “Yes. Thank you, Officer,” she said quietly.
“You’re welcome. But you really need to be thanking Mr. Ivory.”
She turned and looked Otis in the eye for a long moment, hating the position he had placed her in. Why was he doing this? What did he really want from her? This man was obviously a skilled sexual predator like they were saying on the news, and she had just been strong-armed into having dinner with him.
“Thank you,” she said grudgingly.
“It was my pleasure,” he responded, smiling at her. “Or at least, it will be later this week. How’s Wednesday for you?”
“Perfect,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes at him.
His smile got bigger. “Perfect.”
Chapter Two
“I appreciate you coming to get me, man,” Otis spoke up from the passenger seat of Noah’s Porsche Panamera.
“It’s not a problem,” Noah replied. “Me and Benji were just trying to catch a meeting after we left the studio when you called.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, guys. I didn’t mean to pull you away from a substance meeting,” he said, looking from one to the other.
“No, it’s alright, man. There’s another one tomorrow at the community center in Beverly Hills,” Benji spoke up from the backseat.
“Yeah, and you being in an accident is a pretty serious thing, O,” Noah added. “Man, your baby got spanked!”
“Tell me about it,” Otis pouted. “Man, I’ll be shocked if they tell me the frame’s not bent and that she’s not completely totaled.”
“What are you going to do if it is, man?” Benji asked.
Otis shook his head in disgust. “Try to sell her for parts, I guess. Get what I can out of her and go find another one. I already know that I’m probably going to end up eating over half of what I paid for her.”
“And yet, you’re going to go spend that much again on another one just like her?” Benji asked with a puzzled smile. “Why do you do this?”
Otis smiled and then turned to look at him. “Because it brings me joy, man. It makes me happy. Life is meant to be lived, brother,” he smiled. “It should be enjoyed, savored and relished. Not squandered.”
Noah smiled at Otis’ words and he looked over at him as he drove. “Speaking of living life, man … did I understand correctly back at the crash site? Did you really ask the other driver out on a date?”
“Yes, I did. We’re having dinner on Wednesday,” Otis smiled.
“Okay, I’ve got to know,” Noah said, still smiling. “Why exactly did you ask her out?”
Otis looked at him with wide eyes. “Uh … did you see her?” he asked with a sly grin. “Baby girl is fine!”
“Yeah, well, she may be fine, but I have ask, man … what are your motives? ‘Cause she didn’t really look too thrilled about the big date,” Noah said, and Otis laughed slightly.
“Yeah, Otis,” Benji added. “If you want in those panties, man, you got some work to do, ‘cause she did not look happy with you at all.”
“She wouldn't even accept our offer of a ride home,” Noah stated. “I don't think she wanted to be anywhere near you, man!”
Otis smiled again as he listened to them and thought about the lovely Ms. McKenna. She really did look thoroughly pissed at him before he’d left the scene. And for the life of him, Otis had no clue why that amused him so much, but it did. He was completely fascinated by the way she seemed to jump from deep ire to sorrowful remorse to total indifference and back again when dealing with him. He knew that he tended to provoke strong feelings in women at times, but this was extreme, and it intrigued him. And as he thought about her, he suddenly couldn’t wait for Wednesday night to come around. But he had to admit, he was hoping that the night didn’t end with dinner. He was telling the truth when he said Brooke McKenna was fine. In fact, that was an understatement. She was gorgeous, and Otis wouldn’t mind one bit if their dinner led to some horizontal dessert.
The traffic out of L.A. was thankfully light, and combined with Noah’s heavy foot the normally forty-five minute drive took more like thirty-five. When he parked the Porsche in Otis’ long, circular driveway they all got out to go inside the house.
Otis had moved out of Los Angeles about two years ago, but he wanted to be close enough that the drive into the city wouldn’t be a hassle. He didn’t want to be so far out that he couldn’t drop in on his brothers or his parents any time he wanted to. Plus being this close made it easy to get to rehearsals, meetings and recording sessions with the guys. But he didn’t choose Malibu just for its proximity. He had always loved the ocean, and he loved the fact that he could simply step out his back door and have the beach at his feet.
They walked into the long, elegant entryway where the baby grand piano sat at the end of it, and continued through the formal dining room to the right, and into the spacious kitchen/living room area.
“Lourdes, please tell me you have some of your wonderful iced tea in the fridge,” Otis said, addressing his housekeeper as she worked in the kitchen. Lourdes was a slightly plump, very pretty, grandmotherly-type of woman in her sixties, and she had been taking care of Otis since he’d purchased the place two years ago.
“Yes, Mr. Ivory,” she smiled. Then she looked at Noah and Benji. “Mr. Ivory, Mr. Staffon. I’ll pour you all a glass.”
“Thank you, Lourdes,” Otis said as he flopped down on the L-shaped couch, rubbing his neck. Benji sat down beside him and Noah took a seat on the other side.
“Man, are you sure that we shouldn’t have taken you by the hospital?” Noah asked, watching his brother massage his own neck. “Just to get looked over?”
“Nah, I’m fine, man,” he mumbled as Lourdes set a tray of iced tea-filled glasses on the coffee table in front of them. They all reached over and took a glass, each of them eager for a sweet, refreshing sip.
“So what’s the objective here, O? To take Crash Girl out and try to seduce her or what?” Noah asked, still thinking about Otis’ plan to wine and dine the woman who just smashed up his car.
Otis smiled and shrugged his shoulders at him. And he was vaguely aware that the mere mention of her brought a smile to his face, but he read nothing into it. That was just his normal reaction to any beautiful woman, wasn’t it?
“I don’t really have a game plan, you know? I just thought she was hot, so I asked her out,” he smiled. “Hell, it was like I couldn’t help myself.”
Noah nodded his head at him and smirked. Then he took another sip of his iced tea, and shook his head as he bit his tongue.
“What?” Otis asked, instantly irritated at his brother’s attitude.
“Nothing,” Noah replied, not wanting to start an argument. He and Otis had been in a really good place lately, and he liked it when the two of them had a good closeness going on instead of butting heads all the time.
“You obviously want to say something, hot shot,” Otis prodded. “So go ahead and let me have it.”
“No, Otis. It’s nothing,” Noah repeated, still smirking at him.
“Oh, will you just spit it out already?” Otis said, rolling his eyes.
“Fine. I just …” Noah let his words dangle as he sat shaking his head. Should he tell him what he was thinking or just let it go? “You’re a grown man, O. You don’t need a lecture from me.”
“You’re right, I don’t need a lecture from you,” Otis agreed, staring him in the eye. He liked it better when they were close too. “But if you have an opinion, I’d like to hear it.”
Noah stared at him for a moment, raising an eyebrow at his choice of words. Otis wanted his opinion on his personal life? Since when?
He smiled and shook his head slightly. “Okay.
It’s just that Benji and I both witnessed Crash Girl giving you a very pissed off attitude at the mention of your pending date. But yet, for some reason she agreed to go out with you. Why is that? How’d you get her to say yes?”
Otis smiled again but said nothing. And Noah looked at him with curious eyes.
“Danny told her he was letting her go with a warning per your request. So what’d you do?” Noah continued.
“I didn’t do anything. I just told him she and I would handle it as if we’d never called the police about the accident,” he said.
“Mmm hmm,” Noah grunted. “That's illegal, O.”
“And I … may have promised him the pleasure of my company and an autographed guitar to auction off at the next LAPD fundraiser.”
“You bribed a cop?” Noah asked with wide eyes.
“I reasoned with an old friend in order to get him to let her go,” Otis answered. “And then I used that as leverage to get her to agree to the date,” he smiled.
“You’re joking.”
“You mean you blackmailed them both?” Benji asked.
“I did not blackmail, or coerce, or bribe,” Otis smiled. “I merely gave her the option of dealing with Officer Coe and having her car and license taken away from her, or having dinner with me. She chose dinner with me. So then I talked to Danny and made it work.”
“You bribed her,” Benji smiled. And Otis laughed.
Noah sat shaking his head. “See … I’m not even sure what to do with that,” he said, looking at Otis in disbelief. “You bribed the girl for a date! And then you bribed the cop to make it happen. Why? I mean, it’s not like you have any trouble finding women.”
“Yes, that’s true,” Otis happily agreed. “But this one is … feisty. Spicy. There’s something about her that fascinates me.”
“Could it be the fact that she hates you?” Benji asked with a smile, and Noah cracked up. And Otis couldn’t help his own laughter.
“You know what, brother … it just might be,” Otis said.
“Yeah, well, while you’re trying to figure it out,” Noah offered, “I want you to do me, and yourself, a favor.”
“What’s that?”
“Try to think about the situation you’re already in,” Noah replied, turning serious, and Otis sighed as he listened. “Otis … you are not above the law, man! I mean, that sex tape is still out there. It’s fresh and raw in everybody’s minds right now. Every move you make is under a microscope right now, O. And I just don’t want to see it get any worse for you.”
Otis snorted softly as he listened to him. Then he fixed him with a serious expression and said, “Noah, do you think I forget about the mess I’m in for even a second? I could be facing statutory rape charges any day now. I could be looking at jail time. You think that ever gets pushed to the back of my mind?”
Noah stared at him for a moment, feeling his pain. “No. I don’t think you forget about it. Not for a second. But what if Danny Coe suddenly decides it's not worth it, and he outs your ass for trying to bribe him? What if it hadn't been Danny at the scene? And the pundits on the entertainment shows, and the headlines on the tabloid rags … what do you think they'd be saying then? They’re already making you out to be some sex-crazed, commitment-phobic, asshole who never learned how to treat a woman. And all I’m saying is … you don’t know anything at all about Crash Girl. But I’m betting that she knows all about you. Or at least, she thinks she does. So just … be careful, man.”
They were all silent as they let those words sink in, and Otis had to admit that his brother had a point. He knew nothing about this girl except that she was gorgeous. That, and the fact that she now felt extorted by him. Perhaps he hadn’t thought this all the way through.
“Otis, do you realize that you are going to be thirty years old in another two weeks?” Noah asked quietly.
“Well, it is my birthday, so yes … I realize that.”
“And do you also realize that the last serious relationship you had was Joanie Thomas, your senior year of high school?”
Otis frowned at him. “Okay, you went way back for that one,” he smiled.
“I’m serious, man,” Noah continued. “Have you had a serious relationship since then? I don’t think you have.”
Otis was quiet for a moment as he thought about it. Noah was right. There hadn’t been anyone serious since high school. There had been a few girls in college before he dropped out, but nothing he would classify as a “real relationship.”
“You know, the more I think about it,” Noah said, smiling at him. “The more I’m starting to think that maybe the talking heads are right about you.”
“What does that mean?” Otis asked, frowning at him and beginning to feel a little uneasy about this conversation.
“I’m starting to wonder if maybe you can’t connect with a woman on anything but a sexual level,” Noah shrugged.
Otis stared at him with narrowing eyes. “What are you saying? That I don’t have anything to offer a woman?”
“No, I’m not saying that,” Noah answered. “I know that you have a whole lot to offer. I’m just saying that I think maybe you don’t know how to make a real connection with a woman. You know, something … deeper and more meaningful than just sex. That’s all,” he shrugged.
Otis didn’t respond as he sat watching his brother and listening to his unflattering assessment of him. And he hated himself for this, but part of him couldn’t help but wonder if Noah was right. Was that his problem? Was he somehow incapable of a real relationship?
He was inclined to think that Noah’s words were complete and utter bullshit. What? Just because they had different feelings when it came to women and relationships, he couldn’t “connect” with a woman? Just because Noah was a serial monogamist and had always preferred to go from one serious relationship to another in search of the one, while Otis preferred to spread the love around, never landing anywhere for any length of time in his flights of fancy? That suddenly meant he couldn’t “connect” with a woman?
“You’re full of shit, you know that, right?” Otis smiled.
Noah laughed at him. “Am I?”
“Yeah, you are.”
“Okay,” Noah smiled. “But I bet you couldn’t make a connection with Crash Girl if you tried. You couldn’t make a relationship with her last an entire month.”
Otis’ ears quickly perked up as his intrinsic competitive nature was suddenly piqued. Did his little brother just say the ‘B’ word? He smiled slowly at him.
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah, really,” Noah replied. “You couldn’t do it. You’d be bored within one day of getting in her panties.”
“What’s the wager?” Otis asked, fixing him with a pointed glare.
“What?” Noah asked, frowning at him.
“I said what’s the wager?” Otis repeated. “What are the terms? What’s on the line?”
“Otis,” Noah said, rolling his eyes. Why did he always turn everything into a competition? “Man, I wasn’t talking about an actual bet. That was just a figure of speech.”
“Why?” Otis shrugged. “You issued a challenge. Let’s make it interesting, hot shot.”
Noah shook his head for a moment as he watched him. He seemed determined to do this. Like he suddenly had something to prove. And Noah found himself thinking maybe this could do his brother some good.
“Alright, fine,” he said, looking Otis in the eye. “Let’s make it interesting.”
“Guys, come on. This is not a good idea,” Benji spoke up, looking from one Ivory brother to the other. The bassist knew already that there was no way this was going to play out well.
“What exactly are the terms?” Otis asked, ignoring Benji’s warning.
“The bet is that you can’t make a genuine connection with Crash Girl and maintain a romantic relationship with her for the entire month,” Noah said, spelling out the terms of their wager.
“Okay,” Otis smiled, nodding his head. “But first of
all … you need to stop calling her Crash Girl. Her name is Brooke.”
“Done.”
“Alright. What do you want?”
“If I win, I get your Rolex,” Noah answered, smiling at him.
Otis stared at him blankly. “I love my watch,” he said, glancing to his wrist.
“I know,” Noah grinned wickedly. “You’re the one who wanted to make this interesting.”
“Okay,” Otis nodded with a competitive snicker. Two could play at this game. “If I win, I want your Hendrix Fender Strat,” he said, referring to a guitar that used to belong to the great Jimi Hendrix. Noah had bought the Fender Stratocaster at an auction last year, and it was currently the prized specimen of his brother’s massive guitar collection.
“Ooh,” Noah sighed, shaking his head in mock pain. Then he smirked at him, and Otis smiled. “Okay. Alright.”
“We got a deal?”
“Yep.”
“This is not good,” Benji repeated, shaking his head as the Ivory brothers ignored him again.
They talked for a short time longer as they finished up their glasses of iced tea. Then Noah and Benji stood to leave, and Otis walked them to the door. They never mentioned the bet again, but neither one of them could put it out of their minds. Otis, for his part, was already in game mode. His mind already spinning with thoughts of how best to get this girl to open up to him. Noah had made it clear that he had to make a real and genuine connection with her. It was a key component if he was to win the bet. Now Otis had to figure out exactly how to do that.
Noah and Benji said goodbye to Otis and climbed back into his car. And as they strapped on their seat belts, Benji turned to him with a puzzled frown.
“Man, why did you make that stupid bet with him back there?” he asked.
Noah laughed slightly as he placed the key into the ignition and started up the car. And as he slowly accelerated down the driveway and out onto the street, he turned and looked at Benji with a smile.
The Essential Jagged Ivory (Jagged Ivory Boxed Set) Page 79