by L.J. Shen
Pathetic, I know.
I decided to start at Rouge Bis the next day. No reason to wait until next week. Surprisingly he agreed to let Brock know my first shift would be tomorrow. I tried to fuel my excitement by talking about it with my Lucy and Daisy that night. They still thought I was in danger and demanded I call the police, but both of them knew better than to take matters into their own hands. Rumor was that Troy had a tight relationship with some of the cops around, and besides, they wouldn’t go against my wishes. And my wishes, apparently, was not to do anything about it.
Not because I didn’t want to, but because I wanted to make it to my next birthday.
The next afternoon, Troy double-parked in front of the alley that led to the side door to Rouge Bis, again blocking traffic, this time a delivery truck. I twisted my body, grabbing my backpack from the backseat, when I heard a thump on my side of the window. Brennan rolled it down, and Brock’s face appeared. He shoved his head straight into my side of the car, his lips bare inches from mine. Knocking twice on the car’s roof and the air out of my lungs, he attempted an easy smile.
“I see a tan wasn’t on the menu for the Brennan couple.”
That was an understatement. I was still as pasty as a freshly painted wall.
Troy’s face broke into a devious grin. “We were busy doing things far more interesting.”
Yeah, like getting drunk in separate wings of the hotel and hating on each other. I had no idea why he made it sound like we were a couple in front of Brock, but with all the shit he kept from me, I didn’t even stand a chance to figure out the reason for this behavior.
“Thanks for the ride,” I ground out, pushing my door open and not giving a damn that Brock was still on the other side. He took a step back, but his gaze fell to my thighs when he saw Troy resting a hand over one of them. First time he touched me since I’d refused to have dinner with him.
“Have a good day at work, Red,” he said.
Why was he acting weird all of a sudden? More specifically, like we were civil with one another.
I looked from his hand to his face. “Yeah, whatever.” And before he’d decided to accompany this little gesture with a goodbye kiss, I dashed out.
“Brock,” Troy barked, making him stick his head back into the car. A traffic jam formed behind Troy’s Maserati, and embarrassment heated my neck again. “You’re needed at the cabin.”
Brock groaned. “I have work here. I’ll be there in the evening.”
Troy glanced at me as he clutched the steering wheel angrily, and then he seemed to relax. “One hour and you’re on your way. I need you. Bring the kit.”
With that, Brock straightened and walked over to join me. Troy still didn’t budge.
Brock opened the side door for me and I entered Rouge Bis. I still had paperwork to sign before I started, and he led me down a back hallway, past the kitchen.
“Aren’t you going to ask where the cabin is? What’s that kit Troy was talking about?” he asked
“How do you know I don’t already know?”
A small smile tugged at his flawless face. “Because I know your husband, and he is very good at keeping secrets. Especially from you.”
True, Troy hid stuff from me. Mainly, he hid the reason why we got married in the first place. I knew that. And then there was Rowan…the thought of him made my spine stiffen.
I rolled my eyes, feigning boredom. “No thanks. I’m perfectly fine staying in the dark with this one. You guys can break the law as much as you like. No need to keep me in the loop.”
“That’s not what I do.” He stopped in front of a glass door. Behind it, I noticed a gray brick wall, trendy office desk, several paintings and leather chairs. “I never break the law.”
“But you break your promises,” I challenged, not sure where all this strength came from. Maybe I was sick of being pushed around by his boss. “You said it’d be worth my while to go to Miami. It sucked.”
“What I meant is I’d cheer you up when you got back. Sorry it didn’t work out for you, sweetheart.”
“Don’t sweetheart me.” I spun, marching into his office. I took a seat on the chair opposite from where he was supposed to sit. “Let’s just get it over with.”
Since I arrived a trillion years earlier than I should have for the dinner service, I was also the first to greet Pierre in the kitchen. The short, fat man walked in with a sneer on his face, smoothing his thick, black moustache with his finger. I jumped up on my feet from a milk crate I was sitting on and flashed him an enthusiastic smile.
“Hi!” I chirped.
“Well, if it isn’t Miss Nepotism. I thought you weren’t supposed to start until next week.” He made his way to the large stove, leaning against it and folding his arms as he somehow defied physics and, despite being even shorter than my humble 5'3", still looked down at me.
Cringing inwardly, I wiped off my smile. “I’m ready to work hard and to prove I’m not only here because of my husband.”
“No,” he agreed, pushing off from the stove and walking over to me. “You’re also here because of Greystone. He instructed me to let you pick a station. So you think you can rule my kitchen, do you?”
I wrinkled my forehead and took a step back. If Brock told him to give me my pick, it was all on him. I knew Troy would never offer me the easy way out. It was not his style. He was more the let-her-work-for-it type of guy. Brock, however, was the sweet let-me-help-you-out gentleman. The perfect man to bring home to mom. If I had one, that is.
“Station me wherever you want.” I raised my chin. “I’m not scared of hard work, chef.”
Pierre took a step toward me and smiled into my face, his breath reeking of cigarettes. “We’ll see about that.”
I gutted, scaled and cleaned dozens of fish, cutting myself several time with the thin-bladed boning knife just to keep up with all the work Pierre gave me. By the time my shift was done, I looked like I had just played rock-paper-scissors with Edward Scissorhands. Thoroughly bruised and cut, I helped cleaning up the kitchen, even scrubbed up the stove.
I got out of the place at eleven, and started walking the distance from Rouge Bis back to the penthouse. It wasn’t close, but the trip back home was on crowded, main streets and I needed the time to think. I wrapped myself into my navy fleece hoodie—this was the coldest June to be recorded in Boston for the last fifty years, perfectly orchestrated with the breakdown of my personal life—swung my backpack over my shoulder and started for Brennan’s building. My legs shook from exhaustion as I passed by the expensive stores and galleries, and I dug my hands into my pockets to brave the weird summer chill. Picking up the pace, I rounded the corner and immediately halted when I saw him.
He smiled at me and offered me his hand. I took it, despite knowing that I smelled like fish. Despite knowing that it was monumentally wrong. Despite knowing that by taking his hand, I was cooking up a disaster.
“How was your first day at work?”
“Brock.” I swallowed. What was he doing here? Wasn’t he supposed to be at home with his family, or at the cabin with my husband? Or anywhere else for that matter. We weren’t friends. I was mean to him. He wasn’t supposed to care.
Though, damn, he was still pretty darn beautiful. A pool of yellow light streaming from a streetlamp enhanced every handsome feature in his face, and he looked ridiculously Brooks Brothers in his blazer.
“Coffee?”
I shook my head. “No, thanks. I better get home.”
“Hot chocolate, then.” He reached over and placed his hand on my back, and it was only because of the shock that I didn’t pull it back straight away. “I know it’s your favorite.”
It was creepy, but I went along with it. Frankly, going back to the penthouse wasn’t that appealing. I was either going to be greeted with an empty house or with a house full of Troy, my arch enemy nowadays.
Besides, I couldn’t say no to hot chocolate on a cold Boston night after a hectic first day at work.
&nbs
p; Brock and I walked to a nearby diner and sat in a red vinyl booth. I drank my hot chocolate silently and messed around with the jukebox. He was beautiful, and nice to me. It was a lethal combination, and I knew it was wrong to ache for a married man, so I didn’t.
I stubbornly flipped songs, frowning as I stuffed coins into the jukebox at the side of the table. “Bizarre Love Triangle” by New Order blurted from the jukebox. By mistake, of course.
“So, tell me about yourself.” He leaned over the table and tried to catch my eye.
I couldn’t look at those grays without wondering how it’d feel having them scanning my bare body. Would it have as much effect as Troy’s icy-blues?
I huffed, focusing on the jukebox. “What for? You seem to know everything about me as it is. Why Troy married me, my favorite drink…”
This should have alarmed me, but truthfully, so much had happened the past few weeks, Brock was the least of my worries. He seemed harmless enough.
A middle-aged waitress with fake boobs and enough makeup to sculpt a small-sized vase brushed past us and eye-licked Brock, confirming he really was stupidly gorgeous. She leaned over to the table in front of ours, where a trio of teenage girls sat. Hunching over their tabletop, they kept stealing glances toward the man across from me and whispering. Couldn’t blame them.
“I’m just trying to be attentive. I want you to know you’re not alone when it comes to Troy. I’m here for you.”
I shook my head and snorted, yanking a few sugar packets from their holder and ripping them open on the table. “Why do you pretend to care, Brock? We don’t know each other, and it’s not like you’re hitting on me. You’ve got a wife and kid at home,” I reminded him.
His interest in me was starting to piss me off. It had no basis. Or future, for that matter.
Brock reached over and dragged his pointer finger through the sugar I’d spilled on the table. Leaning across the table, he put his sugar-dusted finger on my lower lip, pulling it slowly and letting the sugar sprinkle all over it. My eyes met his and he used the same hand that touched my mouth to yank me by the collar over the table to meet his face, taking my lips with his.
He kissed me hard, diving into my mouth and darting his tongue inside with no hesitation. My stomach dipped as he took my face in his palm and the sweet of the sugar exploded between our tongues. I heard the girls from the other booths gasping their amazement and jealousy. Time seemed to have stopped before I managed to twist away from his touch.
Springing to my feet, my head swimming, I pressed a palm to my cheek to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. “What the hell?” I breathed.
He just sat there, a serene smile on his face. “You said I don’t care. Well, I do. You also said that I’m not hitting on you. And well…I am.”
“Is this a good time to remind you that you’re married?” I stamped my foot, heat rolling off my body in waves. I wasn’t sure if I was angrier or hornier.
Angrier. Definitely angrier.
“Just for my son’s sake.” He arched one eyebrow. “Only for Sam. Cat and I are not a couple.”
“Yeah, well, I still have a ring on my finger.” I grabbed my backpack and shoved my cell and other crap into it in a hurry.
“Again, not a real couple,” he said, dragging his finger once more through the sugar and sucked on it, releasing it slowly. “We owe them nothing.” He enunciated every word. “We owe ourselves everything.”
I let out a low growl. My head was already a mess, what with Troy and his secrets. This was another disaster waiting to backfire in my face.
I didn’t want Brock. Even if he did have a great heart and a flawless face. He was Cat’s, and even more importantly, he was Sam’s.
“Touch me again and I’m telling your boss,” I said, turning around and storming toward the exit. I felt his gaze on my back as I pushed the diner’s door open, almost slamming it in a random jogger’s face.
Brock stayed put in his seat, knowing he’d done enough. He’d planted a seed. Knew I drooled over him like all the other women with functioning organs, and that now I knew I could have him.
Passing by the diner’s window as I bolted down the street, I saw him easing back into his seat with a stupid smile on his face, tapping his lips with his sugar-coated finger.
I ran all the way back home, not stopping to catch my breath, and had an ice-cold shower the minute I stepped in.
Brock was the last thing I wanted.
And the first thing I needed to get over Troy’s betrayal.
TROY
THE IDIOT ARRIVED in the middle of the night, just when Flynn Van Horn threw up all over my Derby shoes, crawling on the floor toward the wooden table at the end of the hideout cabin and trying to get to the phone on top of it.
“Damn junkie,” I muttered, stepping over his puke to open the door for my employee. Brock stood on the other side, looking stupidly smug. His car lights were still on, illuminating the hills around us.
Originally, my dad bought this place, in the middle of The Berkshires and faraway from civilization and Boston, to spend time with Robyn. When I inherited it, I used it mostly to take care of business. And right now I had a junkie to detox, only I didn’t know shit about shit when it came to rehabbing a drug addict.
But that’s what I had Brock for.
Flynn’s father, George Van Horn, had insisted that his son could not attend a regular rehab facility, where someone could find out about his loser spawn. I took him to the cabin because its walls swallowed the secrets of my clients. They were soaked with them, big and small, dirty and crazy. Secrets everywhere. The blackmailing mistresses I had to deal with. The coercing gang members I had to throw out of town. The rich people who needed to disappear for a while. I swear, if these walls could talk, Boston Metro Police would have enough work for the next three centuries.
“I said one hour, not nine.” I flashed my teeth angrily, and Brock pushed past me, walking into the cabin with his kit. He was looking all kinds of chirpy. What the fuck have you done now?
“Where’s our little patient?” he asked.
Just then, Flynn began to gag, reaching up for the table and trying to struggle to his feet. He fell flat, facedown and the sound of a bone cracking filled the air. I shook my head and sank into the squeaky yellow sofa my dad’s mistress picked. She had a horrible taste. Cozy braided rugs all throughout, a small, wooden kitchen and a bunch of deer heads mounted on the log walls. The cabin looked like a perfect place for a Stephen King character to murder his victims.
“I’m going to die!” Flynn yelled, just as Brock squatted down to take a look at him. He hovered over the frail kid and spoke to him calmly, explaining what he was going to do in order to determine his physical situation.
In truth, I believed Flynn. From the moment I stepped into his rundown apartment and yanked him off of his junkie girlfriend while he was trying—and failing—to nail her in their dirty sheets, he’d been shaking, purging and crying uncontrollably, muttering throughout the whole car drive to the cabin that he was sick and needed his next fix. I wasn’t a doctor, but the fact that he was blue didn’t leave me optimistic about his physical wellbeing.
“He needs to get to the hospital,” Brock announced, getting up on his feet from Flynn and yanking off a pair of disposable black gloves. “Immediately.”
Snarling, I kicked a nearby footstool.
I couldn’t take Flynn to the ER, and Brock knew that damn well. I was paid to handle him quietly and discreetly. Failing wasn’t an option. Never was in my line of work.
As if on cue, Flynn passed out on the rug, a trail of puke running from the side of his mouth and pooling beneath his cheek. Nothing but watery fluids. His eyes were shut and a coat of cold sweat began to settle on his damp skin.
“Oh, fuck me.” I kneeled down, pressing two fingers to his neck. He was still alive. The pulse was there. It was faint, but it was there. “No hospital.” I jerked my head to the heroin addict. “Do it here.”
“It’s
dangerous.”
“His dad would rather he be dead than getting well in a public hospital. We don’t make the rules,” I fired back.
“He could have a heart attack,” Brock argued, quiet and stern, staring down at me from where he was standing, leaning his shoulder against a wall. “We can’t just give him Imodium, a hot bath and a peanut butter sandwich. It’s risky. I don’t want it on my conscience.”
Frustrated, I rubbed my knuckles against my cheekbone. Taking two steps toward him, I wrapped my hand behind his neck and jerked him closer to my face. We were nose to nose now. “Your conscience is already tainted, pretty boy. Just do as you’re told.”
Eyes narrowed, we stared at each other before he shifted, moving sideways and walking back to Flynn. He unzipped his duffel bag—AKA his detox kit—and took out a syringe and a small bottle. I looked away, out the window, closing my eyes as I inhaled deeply. I heard Flynn gasping and Brock fiddling with plastic and pill bottles.
Yeah, rich kids had the tendency to screw around with the hard stuff, and Brock knew how to detox. At least he was good for one thing.
“How was Red’s first day?” I asked, not because I cared, but to remind him who she belonged to. My eyes remained fixed on his car outside the cabin, the headlights still on, illuminating the cold rain. I liked it when it was cold in the summer. It was like the universe was on my side.
“Why don’t you ask her?” Brock sounded amused. “Thought you were on good terms.”
I turned around to face him, and he motioned with his head for me to help him move Flynn onto the sofa. I took him under his armpits and Brock took his feet, and we laid his limp body on the yellow couch. Brock strode to the bedroom and came back with a blanket, swaddling Flynn like he was a baby.
When it was all done and dealt with, Brock took a seat on a stool near the couch and dropped his head to his hands. Lighting a cigarette, he threw the still-burning match toward Flynn. The match jumped on the young man’s skin, putting out slowly against his bare wrist. Flynn was too out of it to feel the burn. Yup, Brock’s good-boy façade always cracked around me.