I uncrossed my arms and walked briskly toward Joe. Just as he turned his head, I cocked my arm back and swung forward, punching him in the face.
Joe fell to the side and rolled off the desk landing on the floor in a ball.
Fuck that hurt. I shook my hand out and looked over at Paul who had an amused look on his face.
What the fuck was he smirking about? Was he happy I was participating?
Ignoring my thoughts, I turned back to Joe who was starting to sit up.
“Get the fuck up and get the ten grand, Joe, so we can get the fuck out of here,” I commanded.
Joe wiped blood away from his nose, and then looked at me as he stood up.
I would never admit it, but I felt bad for punching the old man. Especially since I was twice his size. But this needed to be done.
“I don’t fucking have it,” he grumbled and then gestured to Paul. “He took it last month.”
I let out an evil laugh. I could do this. This was like playing a part in a movie. I could act badass and make it believable.
I took a few steps, getting up in Joe’s face. “Get the fucking money,” I growled through clenched teeth, “or I’ll let Paul over here play with you.” I nodded my head toward Paul.
The look on his face could only be described as terror as his face paled. It made me sick that I was putting it there, but if I was going to be believable, then this was how it was going to be. This was my new life; at least, until I could get the fuck out of it.
“I only have fifteen and I still have to pay all my dues,” he whispered.
“That’s not my fucking problem. Get the goddamn money,” I spat.
He looked from me to Paul and then made his way to a big picture that hung on the wall. He pulled on it, making it swing from the wall showing a hidden safe.
I looked over at Paul to assess the situation and he still had that fucking smirk on his face.
There was something seriously wrong with this guy.
Joe punched in the code to the safe then turned the handle to open it up.
I leaned to the side to see what he had in there. From what I could see, it didn’t look like much.
Grabbing a wad of money, Joe begrudgingly walked toward Paul and handed it over.
“There’s ten thousand,” he said backing away. “I have Trev outside the door,” he pointed, “as evidence that you came for the money, so don’t come back saying that you didn’t just come back demanding more of it. Since I know for a fact I gave you twenty before.”
I stood there and watched as Paul slowly stood up.
Joe maneuvered his way back to sit at his desk, stepping over the paperwork that was knocked over when I punched him.
“Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, don’t go accusing people of lying, Joe. It’s bad for business,” Paul stated, and then turned toward the door to leave.
I looked over at Joe to see a defeated look on his face.
“Until next time, Joe,” Paul said as he opened the door and headed out without looking back.
I followed Paul back to the SUV. We were headed back to Frank’s to report in. I studied him as he started up the engine and put it into drive. I’m not sure what the fuck just happened in there, but something wasn’t right and I planned to figure out what that was.
Turning, I looked at the clock; it was eight on a Saturday night. Our first day at the new office was Monday. I was a little nervous about working in this new city, but the more I thought about it, the more I agreed that it was time for another change. Change could definitely be a good thing.
Getting up from my bed, I headed out to the living room to see Jules and the guys.
“There she is,” Jules said as she walked out of the kitchen toward the tan leather couch in the living room to sit next to Brent. His hair was styled in its usual mini Mohawk and he was wearing khaki cargo shorts with a white polo shirt. I’d never seen the guy dress down in comfy clothes.
I smiled at the group as I walked past the living room and headed into the kitchen to get something to drink. The apartment was nothing like the condo Jules had in Atlanta. It was a lot smaller, which I liked, and had more of a homey feel to it. The kitchen was still an upgraded model, but there wasn’t an island or bar like we had at the condo. It still had granite countertops, though, with white oak cabinets, which made it look really nice.
Grabbing a coke out of the fridge, I headed back into the living room.
We learned, when we were looking for a place, that California was way more expensive than Atlanta, and just because you spent more didn’t mean you got more.
I liked it though; it was cozy.
I walked into the living room to see Jules and Brent sitting on the couch while Dave was sitting on the love seat. Not wanting to be rude, I walked over to the love seat and sat next to Dave, but I didn’t sit too close. After that night at The Sinners’ Club, I had seen Dave a couple of times, always because Jules had set it up. It had gotten to the point where I had to tell Dave that I wasn’t interested in seeing anyone at this time. He was such a sweet guy and completely understood, so we worked on being friends. As good of friends as anyone could be with someone that wanted to date you.
I leaned over to the table and grabbed a slice of pizza out of the box.
“So, what are we doing for your birthday this weekend?” Dave asked as I took a bite of my pizza.
I turned my body and looked at him as I chewed. He was wearing a grey Henley shirt that had a little ‘v’ in the front and faded jeans with tears in them. His brown hair was a mess and it looked like he had a day’s worth of stubble on his jawline. Even though I wasn’t interested in dating him, he was still nice to look at.
“We’re definitely going out,” Jules stated before I could respond.
I swallowed my food and looked over at her. “Of course we are,” I said sarcastically with a smile.
“We could go to Club X if you want,” Brent said. He sat next to Jules with his arm on the back of the couch behind Jules’ head. She was leaning up against him. They were such a cute couple. If only they would actually admit to being one.
Jules smiled up at Brent then looked at me. “Yeah, let’s go there.”
I just looked at her as I took another bite of my pizza. Brent’s clubs were what I would call ‘special’, with their ‘special’ private rooms. I gave Jules the “I’m not so sure I want to go there” look.
“Come on, Letti. I’ll actually be able to spend a birthday with you where you can actually drink. You didn’t even get the traditional twenty-first birthday bash. We can bar hop and go to Club X last.” She looked at me with puppy-dog eyes and a pouty lip.
Rolling my eyes, I let out a laugh. “As long as I get birthday drinks.”
“Of course you will. We might even be able to round up some birthday spankings for you too.”
I watched her look over at Dave, then back to me. “Yeah … not going to happen,” I laughed as I set the rest of my pizza down with my napkin on the table.
She’s nuts.
“All right, you guys,” I sighed as I stood from the couch. “I’m beat. All this unpacking has worn me out, so I think I’m going to go to bed.”
“Already? It’s only eight thirty,” Jules stated as she sat up on the couch.
I walked toward the hallway to my room. “Yeah, I’m going to read before bed,” I said without turning around.
I laughed when I heard Jules sigh. I knew she was rolling her eyes at me. It was her normal facial expression anytime I told her I was going to read. She still thought I needed to get out more, but I was content with my books and going back to my old ways.
When I walked back into my room, I moved everything off my bed and tossed it on the floor; I would deal with all of it tomorrow. I changed into a tank top with matching sleep shorts and crawled into bed, grabbing my Kindle off my side table. There was nothing like getting lost in a world of make-believe romance, when nothing was going right with your own.
The next day, I woke to fi
nd the place empty. Jules left a note on the bar in the kitchen saying that she stayed over at Brent’s place and would be back sometime today.
I stood in the kitchen contemplating what I wanted to do today. It was nine in the morning and I really needed some coffee after a long night of tossing and turning. Looking through the cabinets and the opened boxes in the kitchen, I realized we didn’t have any. That was not a way to start out my day. Shopping would definitely be on the agenda today, but Jules and I were going to do that together. So I decided to go to the Starbucks that was about three blocks down from our apartment.
After getting dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a navy blue tank top, I put my long brown hair in a messy bun, grabbed my purse and headed out.
Walking out of our apartment, I headed straight toward Starbucks. In Westwood people drove to their destinations, so there weren’t many people out walking around. It wasn’t like in the city where people walked around to window shop. Here, every thirty steps you took, you passed another house. I didn’t realize it was so populated until we were looking for a place to live.
It was the middle of May so the weather was perfect. The sun was shining and I loved the feeling of its warmth on my skin. After living in Atlanta for over a year, my tan had faded. There wasn’t anywhere to lay out, but since we were in West LA, I was sure we would be frequenting Santa Monica, since it was only thirty minutes away.
I made my way into Starbucks and stood in line. When it was my turn, I placed my order with the cute guy behind the counter. After swiping my debit card, he handed it back to me with a smile and a wink. I gave him a small smile as a light blush flushed my cheeks. I rolled my eyes at myself as I moved down the counter to pick up my venti white chocolate mocha. It was sad that a smile and wink could make me blush.
Turning away from the counter, I walked to an available seat off to the side and sat facing the entrance. I liked being able to people watch. I would often wonder what was going on in the lives of the random people I saw.
What brought them to this Starbucks? What was going on in their lives at the moment? I would wonder if they were in love, if they were going through heartbreak, if they were going through the same thing I was at that moment.
I sat there sipping my mocha watching people arrive and depart. Then the door opened and three guys I never thought I’d see again, walked in.
As big as Los Angeles was, how in the world could I pick the one Starbucks they would walk into? Sometimes I wondered if fate was playing games with me.
I turned my head to look out the window. The twins had only seen me once, the night after their concert, so I didn’t think they would recognize me, but I knew Max would. I started to fidget in my seat and I tried my best not to look in their direction. I couldn’t help but wonder if Kade was with them though and my curiosity got the best of me. Picking up my venti, I took a sip and slowly looked over in their direction.
Max and the twins were standing in line. I could see that their hair was all wet and they were wearing t-shirts and board shorts. I could only assume they had just come from the beach. The twins were having a conversation while Max was looking straight at me. His wet black hair was combed back so I could really see the shape of his face. I also noticed right away that he wasn’t wearing his black framed glasses. I wondered if he might have gotten contacts. All I could do was look at him. The look on his face was almost humorous. He looked shocked to see me, which would be a good expression to have since they had no idea I moved.
I chastised myself for feeling disappointed that Kade wasn’t with them. But I couldn’t help it; I thought about him often and seeing them only made me think about him more. I could almost guarantee I’d be thinking about him for the rest of the day.
I put my cup down and started fishing through my purse to grab my phone. I wanted to send Jules a text and find out when she’d be home.
“Scarlett? Is that you?”
I looked up to see Jaxon, Lucas, and Max standing by my table.
“Oh my God, hi,” I smiled, looking at Jaxon, trying to sound as surprised as I could that he was there. He looked the same as I remembered him, except his blond hair was shorter and Lucas was growing his out.
Jaxon smiled back at me and I glanced over at Max who was still giving me a weird look. I felt awkward for a moment, not knowing if I should get up and give Jaxon a hug or just sit there and smile. But Jaxon made the first move and took a seat on the other side of the table with Lucas following behind him.
I looked up to see Max still standing by the table.
“I’ll go get our drinks,” he said to the boys before he looked at me, then he turned and walked away.
I looked back to Jaxon and Lucas. “How’ve you guys been?”
Jaxon looked over at Lucas then back at me. “We’ve been great, considering we really aren’t doing much right now with the band taking a break and all. But the real question is what are you doing in LA? Are you out here visiting?”
I smiled at him. I was waiting for one of them to ask me. “No, actually, Jules and I just moved here. Our boss opened up a new office here in LA and we got promoted.”
I picked up my venti, finished what was left and set it back down on the table.
“Wow, that’s awesome. How do you like LA so far?” Jaxon asked.
“Well, so far it seems really great. Everything is more expensive than what I’m used to, but it’s nice so far.” I looked over to see Max heading back to our table. “We’ve only been here for a couple of days though. This is my first time venturing out.”
I smiled up at Max and he came to sit next to me at the table and handed Jaxon and Lucas their cups. He didn’t smile back. I’m not sure what bug he had up his ass. He made me feel uncomfortable, like I should get up and walk out.
I diverted my eyes and picked up my phone that I had sitting on the table so I could text Jules.
Scarlett: You will never believe who I’m sitting with at Starbucks.
“Dude, Scarlett just moved here can you believe it? Just wait until Kade finds out,” Lucas blurted.
As soon as I heard Kade’s name my head shot up from looking at my phone. “NO!” I said louder than I intended. “He doesn’t need to know that I’m here. I don’t know how much you guys know about what happened,” I said, shooting a glance over at Max, “but things didn’t end well, and he probably wouldn’t care anyway.”
“Yeah he wou−” Lucas started to say, but Max cut him off.
“Just drop it, Lucas.” Max sounded annoyed.
My phone vibrated in my hand and I glanced away from their stare down to check it.
Jules: ?
Scarlett: Max, Jaxon & Lucas. I’m otw home. U there yet?
She replied back right away.
Jules: Yeah, u have to dish when u get home.
I put my phone back in my purse and smiled up at Jaxon and Lucas, deciding to not even look at Max. I’m not sure what his deal was, but I really didn’t think he liked me. “Well, I’m going to be heading home. I still have lots of unpacking to do.”
I stood up from my chair and grabbed my purse.
“We need to be leaving too. Did you drive? We can give you a ride if you need one,” Jaxon said as we all walked toward the exit.
“No, really, that’s not necessary. I walked here.” I smiled at him as we made our way outside. “My apartment’s not far down that way.” I pointed down the street.
“Okay, well, take care of yourself,” he said as they turned and walked in the other direction.
I smiled and waved catching Max’s small nod in my direction.
Turning around, I walked toward my apartment and prepared myself to give Jules every detail of our encounter.
It was Monday morning and the first day at the new office. I didn’t have to be in until nine because I was only calling our current clientele to inform them of our recent move. Jules had already left since she had some interviews to attend to. Although I was glad to sleep in, I was excited to see t
he new office. I didn’t have the opportunity like Jules did to go visit the building before we moved. Jules had offered to show me around over the weekend, but with all the unpacking we never got a chance. So, as soon as I walked into the office, I fell in love with it immediately.
It was an open-floor plan with five desks on each side that faced the front entrance. They were far enough apart that you wouldn’t have to hear your co-workers on the phone. The décor gave the office a beach feel, with a few palm tree and ocean pictures hanging in the front of the office. When I walked toward the back, I found the employee lounge and four offices.
I made my way down the hallway, looking into all the offices until I reached the last one where I found Jules. Her office was bare since she hadn’t had a chance to decorate it yet. The only things that were in there were her desk and chair, a computer, and a chair for the interviewees to sit in. I was sure she would be putting her own personal touches in there once we got things rolling.
“Hey, whatcha doing?” I asked, leaning up against the doorframe.
She looked up at me as she straightened out a stack of papers. “I’m going nuts, that’s what I’m doing.” She placed the papers on the side of the desk and reclined back in her chair. “I’m going to kick Matt’s ass for some of these people he called for interviews. The chick that just left was another Jessica. I swear to God, if her boobs were any bigger, they would have knocked shit off my desk when she turned to leave, and on top of that, she talked like a valley girl,” Jules huffed.
“Well, it is LA, Jules,” I laughed. “It’s bound to happen.”
“I know. I just hope we get some good candidates in here. This is a huge responsibility,” she said, looking up at me with worry.
I walked into the office and sat down in the chair in front of her desk. “Jules, you’ve got this. Don’t stress yourself out. You know what you’re doing. Obviously, Matt trusts your judgment or he wouldn’t have promoted you and asked you to take care of all the details.”
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