by Maia Dylan
When she’d left here the last time, she truly believed that she wouldn’t be seeing them again. Not really. Oh, she had left it open to them on the off chance they worked things out with their team, and thought to make amends to the tenants of Monticello, but she hadn’t thought they ever would. When the lights came up at Essentials, and the two men were sitting front and center staring at her in recognition, she’d been shocked as hell. She’d scampered off the stage as fast as possible, hoping she’d been mistaken, but Tiny had told her two men had approached him about her at the end of her set.
She stepped out of the lift and turned to the large reception desk to the left of the arrival foyer, expecting to see Brünhilda sitting behind the large and imposing reception desk. She ended up doing a comical double take at the young man who sat there instead. His expression was warm and welcoming, and Bella took another quick glance at the name of the business on the opposite wall, figuring that she had pressed the wrong floor in error.
Firestone Development. Nope, definitely the right floor.
“Good morning, ma’am,” the man said as he stood from behind the desk. “My name is Harry. How may I help you this lovely morning?”
“Um, hi,” Bella cleared her throat when her voice came out a little raspy. “Good morning to you, too. Where’s Brünhilda?” Harry’s face turned quizzical for a moment, and Bella shook her head. “Sorry, it doesn’t really matter. My name is Bella Strand, and I was wondering if I might be able to talk to Mr. Firestone.”
Harry smiled. “You might have to be a little more specific.”
Bella felt a spread of warmth in her cheeks. “Yes, of course, I’m sorry. Either of them would be fine, both would be even better.” When Harry’s grin widened, Bella ran that statement back to herself. Oh, good lord! “I did not mean that the way it sounded.”
Harry laughed and shook his head. “No, that’s okay. I was just teasing, and to be honest, I would say the same damn thing.” Harry winked at her, and Bella found herself smiling at him despite her earlier embarrassment.
Harry looked down at the desk in front of him. “They are both in the office at the moment, but let me just check to see if they have a moment to speak with you.” Bella’s tummy swooped again, but gathering her courage in both hands, she nodded.
Harry picked up a wireless headset. “Mr. Firestone, there is a Ms. Bella Strand in reception, and she would like to speak with you and Zac if you have a moment for her?” There was a pause, and his gaze flicked to hers. Bella felt herself blushing a second time. “Yes, sir, I can do that. Ten minutes? Yes, sir.”
Harry hung up the phone and smiled at her. “They will both see you now. If you would like to follow me?”
Bella almost had to run to keep up with Harry, who seemed to want to sprint-walk his way through life. She grimaced, as her lengthened stride jolted her side. She felt a slight sweat break out on her skin as they approached the door, and she fought the urge to wipe her brow. Harry knocked on the door, and she heard Hayden call, “Come in.”
Then the door opened, and she was entering Hayden’s office for the second time in a week.
Hayden was sitting behind his desk, and Zac was standing behind him, leaning on cabinets that lined the window behind him, the Chicago skyline an imposing backdrop. Both of them were wearing suits, Hayden’s was a dark grey pinstripe and Zac’s was a light grey, and they both looked uber-professional in ties. Bella felt her mouth dry up at how sexy the two of them looked, as they stared up at her with expressions she found hard to define.
“Nice to see you again, Ms. Strand,” Hayden said, with a smile in her direction that didn’t quite reach his eyes before he turned to Harry. “Thanks, Harry.”
Harry nodded as he turned to leave the room, and shot her a wink on the way out. Bella smiled gently at the friendly show of support, and then wondered if perhaps she shouldn’t have when she noticed that both the Firestone brother’s eyes narrowed at her slightly.
“Th-thank you for seeing me without an appointment,” Bella said quickly, cursing her initial stutter. That was something she had fought to overcome as a child, and it annoyed the hell out of her that it would come back every now and again whenever she was nervous.
“We figured you would just sit outside and wait, so why not get it over with now,” Zac answered, and his tone was flat.
“Well, there is that, I suppose,” Bella said with a small shrug. She pulled out the letter that she had received yesterday when she returned from work. “I got the letter yesterday, and I wanted to thank you.”
Hayden nodded and leaned back in his chair. “We would say you were welcome. But to be honest, you did us a favor. We didn’t know that we even owned that building. We have fired the building manager, and have someone moving in tomorrow. One of our building teams has been in to assess most of the apartments on the property, and they have a list of what needs to be done.”
“We’ve dropped the rent back to what it was before we purchased it,” Zac added. “Once the place is up to code, because a lot of it isn’t, we’ll reassess the rent situation, but it will be fair.”
“That’s all we ever really wanted,” Bella said, and went to push her arms into the pockets of her jeans, but stopped with a jolt when her side protested the move.
Zac stood up from the cabinet he was leaning back on. “Are you hurt?”
“No, not really, just … a little,” Bella looked around the room, not wanting them to see the truth in her eyes. She was such a shit liar. “Had a little accident at work is all.” She mumbled the last part and was thankful when neither of them asked her anything further.
“Was there anything else you wanted to say to us?” Hayden asked with a tone in his voice she had never heard before. The last time she had walked in, the two of them had been charming and warm, and she would have gone so far as to say flirty. Of course, there was concern over the allegations she had come with, but both men had been nice to her. Now their tone was decidedly cooler.
“Not really,” Bella hesitated, looking down at the floor. “Just that I am really glad that you have decided to keep the Monticello, and make it a nice place to live. The tenants that live there are all really lovely people, and they didn’t deserve to be treated the way they were.”
“We haven’t decided what we will do with the building long term,” Hayden continued in a flat tone. “As we mentioned the last time you were here, we are not residential landlords. We are commercial property developers.”
“But we will right the wrong that was done in our name,” Zac tacked on. “Despite the fact it was done behind our back, and without our knowledge or consent.” The two of them looked at her expectantly, and Bella had to fight the urge to fidget. When she had finally found the courage to leave her apartment and walk the three blocks to the bus that brought her here, she had harbored a few fantasies about their reaction to her, but this indifference had been one she had pointedly ignored. Probably because she had hoped they wouldn’t be so quick to judge her.
“Then I thank you for the second time, and will leave you to your day,” Bella said slowly, ensuring that she would not stutter. Then she turned to leave.
“Thanks for stopping by, Lulu,” Hayden called out, and Bella froze. The tone he’d used when he said her stage name made it sound like an accusation.
Her body filled with indignation, and she stood taller, hating the fact that she had drawn her shoulders forward and into herself when she had turned to leave. She put her shoulders back and lifted her head high. Turning, she leveled Hayden with a steady gaze.
“I believe I told you on my first visit, Mr. Firestone, that my name is Lucabella, and I allowed you to call me Bella.” Her tone was clear, and there was no sign of her stutter. She wasn’t nervous now. She was pissed.
Hayden crossed his arms over his broad chest and returned her gaze. “That is correct, you did. I do apologize. After seeing you at work Lulu seemed to fit you better, and let’s be honest here for a moment, we saw pretty much
everything you had to offer without having to pay for more, just like every other man in that club. And that’s what happens, isn’t it, Lulu? You go to whichever man has the largest bankroll for the evening and you’re theirs. It’s not enough to strip your clothes off for a living, is it? There’s more money in what comes next, I guess, so after that night, when I look at you, it is hard to see you as anyone but Lulu.”
Zac moved forward slightly. “Look, Bella, we—“
“Wow, look at you, Mr. Judgey McJudgerton,” Bella interrupted, stepping forward until she stood directly in front of the desk. Then she leaned down to place both hands on the hard wood. “So, you know that I am an exotic dancer, and what, that gives you the right to look down at me and cast aspersions left, right, and center? Never mind that there might be a reason or something behind it. No, you’d rather just look down your aristocratic noses at me and sneer. Yes, Hayden, I do happen to have a professional persona, and if you would like to visit the club again, Mr. Firestone, then pay the fee and feel free to call me Lulu, and I will call you whatever the fuck you want me to.” And now they had her swearing, and that had her seeing red. “Only the people I like call me Bella. I obviously made a mistake the last time I was here. As I predict this will be the last time we will talk face to face, if you ever speak to me again, you can call me Ms. Strand.”
Bella pushed up to stand upright and fought a groan, as the bruising along her side protested the move again. “Either way, I will refer to you both as sanctimonious assholes who sit in their glass offices in the sky, oblivious to those on the streets below you that have to actually work for a living. I’ve lived hand to mouth my whole life. I do what I do to make money to pay my bills and live my life. But I do not look down on, judge, or think myself better than anyone who does what they have to do to survive. Apparently, you do. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, and you can take this as my four weeks’ notice period. I will be out of your apartment in a month.”
Bella turned and strode to the doorway, ignoring the sound of her name behind her.
“Ms. Strand!”
She knew that was Zac, but she continued to ignore him. When she got to the reception area, she saw that Harry was beside the lift and had pressed the button to call the elevator. He frowned when he saw her, and she probably looked like she felt, seconds away from bursting into tears, humiliated and angry.
She stepped into the lift and punched the button for the ground floor repeatedly. She glanced up, and saw both Zac and Hayden walking swiftly in her direction. Both their faces were filled with concern, but Hayden’s was laced strongly with regret.
“Bella, please!” Hayden called out as the doors were closing. She shook her head and stepped back as it finished closing, and the elevator rushed her to the ground floor. She had come here filled with fantasies and imaginings that she had no right to even think, let alone entertain. And what did she find? Judgmental assholes, who not only ruined that fantasy, but made her feel like shit in the process. Bastards.
She took a deep breath and leaned her head back against the elevator wall. She wasn’t exactly a stripper, and there was a reason why Bella did what she did, but she was not ashamed of her reason for doing it, or the reasons she had for having those skills in the first place. But Hayden had made her feel ashamed, and that pissed her off.
When the elevator opened into the ground floor lobby, she hurried out into the busy streets and jumped into the nearest taxi. She gave the driver an address not too far away. Despite her desire to get gone quickly, she wasn’t stupid enough to waste too much money to do it.
As the car pulled away, she turned to see Zac and Hayden run out of the building, searching the street left and right. She made herself turn to face the front, and ignored the ache that had formed in her chest. Screw them. She was Lucabella Strand, and she was better off alone. She pointedly ignored the single tear that slid down her cheek.
****
Bella climbed the last set of stairs to her apartment four hours later, feeling a little better about things. It was amazing what a little self-imposed penance could do for a person’s soul. Her ribs throbbed, her legs ached, and her entire body hummed with fatigue, and she was looking forward to a hot shower when she finally got inside her apartment. She rounded the last corner that led to her apartment, admiring the fact that the hallway was well lit and the lights had all been replaced, and came to a sudden stop.
Hayden and Zac stood with their backs to her in the corridor outside her apartment, talking with Mrs. Thomas, her eighty year old neighbor, and from the sounds of things, she was grilling the both of them.
“Well, you’ve been out here for hours. Are you going to tell me what you want with our Bella?” Mrs. Thomas’s voice was a little raspy, something her husband Felix always insisted was a result of how many years she had spent yelling at him.
Zac held his hands up in a non-threatening manner. “Mrs. Thomas, Hayden and I are simply waiting for Bella to return home. All we want to do is talk with her.”
“Why?” Mrs. Thomas asked, as she stared at them accusingly. “What on earth have the two of you done that has you sitting outside her apartment for three hours?”
Three hours!
“That little girl is always working. I know she looked after her mom when she was ailing, and a woman who does that is all heart. If it turns out that you’ve hurt her in any way, I will get my Felix to smack the stupid right out of both of you!”
“Mrs. Thomas, I totally understand, and I cannot tell a lie. He did it,” Zac said, suddenly pointing at his brother, and Bella had to fight back a giggle. “Sorry, bro,” Zac said over Hayden’s spluttering. “I want everyone in this building on my side, helping me to win Bella over, so if one of us is going down, it has to be you.”
“What! Wait.” Hayden took a step back as Mrs. Thomas reached inside her door for her umbrella. “While it is true that I said some things that hurt Bella today, I’m here to apologize, and beg for her forgiveness.”
Bella had been about to step forward to save Hayden from an umbrella beating the likes of which he would have never seen before, but paused at his words.
“Where are your flowers?” Mrs. Thomas growled. “A man, or men, who have to apologize to a woman, they come with flowers. Hell, depending on what they’ve done, they might have to come with something shiny and sparkly as well!”
Hayden nodded. “You are absolutely correct, Mrs. Thomas. We should have stopped to get some flowers, and I promise you, an entire florist shop will be delivered here tomorrow for Bella. And, of course, for you for helping me see the error of my ways. A thank you for assisting me in trying to get another chance at courting Bella.”
Bella almost dropped to the floor in shock. They wanted to court her? Who the heck said that nowadays? Despite the words used, the sentiment had her melting on the inside.
Mrs. Thomas lowered her umbrella, but still stared at him with distrust. “Tulips.”
“Pardon me?” Hayden said in confusion.
“Tulips. I like tulips, and I like them in different colors,” Mrs. Thomas clarified.
Hayden nodded. “Then that is what you will have, I promise.”
“Good, now, Bella, come on over here!” Mrs. Thomas called out, and the two men spun in the hallway to look in her direction. “These men have been waiting all afternoon to speak with you, and have promised you flowers tomorrow. Let them in to apologize. But,” Mrs. Thomas smacked them both on the arm with her umbrella, and the two yelped before leaping sideways to avoid any more umbrella whacks. “If they get to be too much, or their apology is so shit it ain’t worth wiping off their hairy asses, then you bang on your wall, baby, and Felix and I will come running.”
With a glare in first Hayden’s direction and then Zac’s, Mrs. Thomas retreated back into her apartment, and she could be heard yelling out to Felix to “get ready” in case Bella needed them to open a can of whoop-ass.
Zac and Hayden turned to look at her with shock on their face
s. It was an expression most wore when meeting Mrs. Thomas for the first time. Bella couldn’t hold back the giggle. “What, you two couldn’t handle one little old lady?”
Zac grinned back at her, and butterflies took flight within her tummy. “Not that little old lady, no.”
Hayden sighed, and pointed back at Mrs. Thomas’s door. “She came out with an umbrella. I don’t think there would be many men in this world who could have handled her.”
Bella laughed again and moved toward her apartment door. “Felix handles her just fine, I’ll have you know. Besides,” Bella reached into her pocket for her keys and proceeded to unlock the door and the two dead bolts she had installed on it, “we have our very own version of the neighborhood watch in this building, and all of us have a weapon just inside the door.”
Zac frowned at the locks. “What do you have?”
“Louisville slugger,” she said over her shoulder, as she stepped into her apartment. “I played softball all through high school, and scored a college scholarship with it. If you are here to annoy me again, just think about that bat.”
Once she stood in her doorway, she turned, effectively blocking their way into her apartment. “Now, I thought it was clear this morning that we were done.”
Hayden shook his head. “Don’t say that, Bella. Please. Just let us in for a few minutes. We want to—” Hayden sighed, and shook his head. “No, this is all on me. I would appreciate the chance to apologize to you for my behavior this morning. I found out a couple of things about myself that I am truly ashamed of, and I beg you to allow me to make it up to you, and at the very least, assure you that I will not act like that again.”
Bella hesitated as she stared into his eyes, and was pleased to see nothing but regret in his expression. She turned to look at Zac and swallowed quickly at the intensity in his gaze. Knowing she would kick herself if she didn’t, she stepped back and allowed them to enter her apartment. She had no idea how this would go, but she knew the “what ifs” she would be plagued with would drive her crazy. She just hoped that whatever happened, she didn’t live to regret it.