Bring It On (The Exes #5)

by Cheryl Douglas

  “Sorry, man. I didn’t mean to bite your head off.”

  “It’s okay, I get it. We all have our moods.”

  He rubbed his hands over his face. “This is more than a mood. This is a shit storm. I don’t even recognize my fucking life anymore.”

  His tone was low, but I looked around to make sure our conversation would be remain private. When I was satisfied no one was paying any attention to us, I said, “No pressure, but if you wanna talk about, you know I’m here.”

  “She’s leaving me.” He let me process that before he said, “For that dude she met at the gym.”

  “Shit.” I could only imagine how he felt. They’d been together a long time, were even talking about starting a family.

  “Yeah, apparently she’s taken a shit ton of money too. From our joint account. I guess she thought it would easier than waiting until the divorce was finalized. Means she’s been planning this a long time,” he said, drumming his fingers on his knee. “She’s been planning a life with this fucker for months, maybe longer, taking money from our account. And you know the worst part?”

  “No.” I didn’t know if I wanted to know. Christ, how much worse could it get?

  “We didn’t even have a prenup.” He looked at me out of the corner of his eyes. “My lawyer told me not to be an idiot, to get one. But I said I trusted her, that I didn’t need one. Five years of marriage and she gets half of everything I’ve busted my ass for. Since I was a kid, I’ve been working toward this contract, and this bitch comes along and takes half of everything.”

  I covered my mouth with one hand as I crossed my foot over my knee. A prenup. I’d never have thought to ask Jas to sign one either. Like Butler, I trusted my girl.

  “Take it from me, you can’t trust anyone,” he seethed, looking as if he’d like to put his fist through something. I suspected he’d be spending a lot of time in the penalty box tonight. “Don’t trust ‘em with your money or your motherfucking heart.”

  I stared straight ahead, knowing there was nothing I could say to make him feel better. There were no words when someone ripped the rug out from under you.

  ***

  We’d had a good game. It was tough, physical, just as I knew it would be. The team we’d played were our long-time rivals and Butler wasn’t the only one with an axe to grind. It felt as though we were all there to grind, to take out our aggression.

  By the time I fell into bed, I was exhausted, but I’d promised Jasmine I’d call her. I was sharing my room with a rookie, but he was still down in the hotel bar, trying to hook up, so I had some privacy. I needed to hear her voice. Butler’s news had shaken me. I’d always thought he and Jenna were so tight. If she could do that to him…

  No! I wasn’t gonna start questioning my girl just ‘cause his had fucked him over. Jenna was nothing like Jasmine. She’d never worked during their marriage, yet she’d wanted the best of everything. Jasmine understood what it took to bust her ass and make something of herself. She understood the journey to success and the hard work it took to get there.

  “Hey, babe,” she said, making me smile when she picked up after the first ring. Her voice was husky with sleep. “I’ve been waiting for your call.”

  “Really? Sounds like you were sleeping, sexy.” I wished I could be there with her. I’d never before minded the travel that accompanied my job, but I was suddenly looking forward to the off-season, when I could spend every night with her wrapped in my arms.

  “Guess where I am?”

  I’d called her on her cell, but that question made me uneasy. Where the hell would she be if not at home? “You’re not at your place?”

  “Nope, I’m at yours. I hope that’s okay?”

  Relief flooded me. I wanted her at my place even more than I wanted her at hers. Shit, I wanted my home to be her home. “Are you kidding? Of course it’s okay. I love that you’re there.” I’d told her to feel free to sleep over anytime she wanted, and I meant it.

  “I just missed you,” she confessed, sounding adorably shy. “And being here in this bed makes me feel closer to you.”

  Being in that bed had always made me feel closer to her too. Even when we weren’t together. That was where we’d made our hottest memories. “I love that you’re being real with me, telling me how you feel. You know that’s not something you would have said or done when we were together before.”

  “What can I say? I learned from my mistakes. You have my heart, Carter. You know that, right?”

  I could hear her unspoken plea… please be careful with it. “I know I do, sweetheart. Goes both ways.”

  “I love you.”

  I closed my eyes, letting those words sink in before I responded. This girl, who I’d been fantasizing about for the past three years, was in love with me. Damn, it felt good to know I wasn’t alone in this anymore. She was right there with me.

  “I love you too, Jazzy. I had that money transferred today. Should be in your business account by now.” I wasn’t trying to push, but the sooner she got rid of that guy, the better, as far as I was concerned. “So you can move forward with the buyout whenever you’re ready.”

  “You know you should have waited ‘til we signed the contract, right? It leaves you exposed, babe, handing over that kind of money without a contract.”

  My conversation with Butler flashed through my mind. No, hell no. I wasn’t going there. Jasmine wasn’t the kind of woman who would lie and cheat and steal. I didn’t need any guarantee that she would honor our commitment. Her word was enough for me.

  Just like Jenna’s word had been enough for Butler…

  Son of a bitch. I suddenly wished my best friend hadn’t shared his problems with me. At least not until the ink was dry on our contract. Or maybe our marriage license. The word prenup popped into my head. I knew my lawyers would try to insist on one of those, just like Butler’s had. But I’d shut them down… like he had. Wouldn’t I?

  “Carter? You still there?”

  “Uh, yeah, just thinking. So, um, did you talk to the dirtbag? Tell him he was out?”

  “He was out of the office today. I have a meeting with him in the morning.” She tried to stifle a yawn, but I heard it. “I’ll tell him then. My lawyer sent over our contract and highlighted the portion where we agreed I had the right to buy him out in the event we could no longer work together, so he can’t really argue.”

  “Good.”

  “Have you had a chance to talk to your lawyer about our contract? I know you’ve been busy today, but I told my lawyer to expect a call from yours.”

  “Uh, yeah, I gave him a basic overview of what we want in the contract. Your terms.”

  “Don’t you have terms of your own?”

  Did I? I’d have to think about that before the contract was a done deal. “I don’t know. Enough business talk for one day. I know we’re both tired, but anything interesting going on before I let you go?”

  Being able to talk to her before we fell asleep when I was on the road was another little thing we’d never done before and should have. If I’d made that effort, maybe she would have thought of herself as my girlfriend instead of just a hookup.

  “Oh my God! I am the worst girlfriend ever! I fell asleep during the third period of your game. Did you win?”

  I chuckled. Felt so good to finally hear her call herself my girlfriend. “You are not the worst girlfriend, you’re the best. But yeah, we won 2-1.”

  “Yay! That’s awesome. Congratulations.”

  Another little thing I’d craved. Someone who gave a shit whether we won or lost because they knew it mattered to me. Sure, my family was supportive and they watched all my games. But we only talked a couple of times a month, so when we did, we had more important things to talk about than the team’s record. They had lives too, and I wanted to hear about them.

  “Thanks, sweetheart. You didn’t say, anything exciting happen today?” I wanted her to know that I cared about her life as much as she cared about mine. I may not underst
and the minute details of her business, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want to hear them.

  “It was a pretty routine day. No surprises, so that’s always a good thing. Got a lot done.”

  “That’s good.”

  “Um, Carter, I did something. But now I’m worried I may have overstepped.”

  “What did you do?” I couldn’t think of anything she could have done that would piss me off. Unless she’d agreed to go out with someone else. That was my only real boundary where this woman was concerned.

  “I, um, noticed that nothing was hanging in the closet in your third bedroom, so I brought a few things over. God, I’m sorry. Just hearing it aloud, I realize how presumptuous that was. I’ll clear it out tomorrow.”

  I laughed at how nervous she sounded. Silly girl. Didn’t she know I’d move her in with me tomorrow if I wasn’t worried about rushing her? “I love that you brought some stuff over, baby. Bring us much as you want. And you don’t have to leave it in the third bedroom closet. I’ll clear out some space in the walk-in in my room.” Our room. God, I couldn’t wait for it to be our room.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, I don’t wear half that shit anyway. And there are already some empty drawers in there.” I grinned like an idiot, even though no one could see me. “And I like the thought of seeing your clothes next to mine.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Yeah.” I was so close to asking her to just move in with me, I had to bite my lip to keep the words locked up tight.

  “Okay, good. I’m glad you’re okay with it,” she said, sounding relieved. “It would just be a pain to head home and get ready for work every morning.”

  Every morning. Hell, yeah. I liked the way she was thinking.

  “So you, uh, remember Butler and Jenna, right?” I hadn’t been sure if I was gonna bring this up tonight, but it was kind of bugging me and I wanted her take on it. What I really wanted was for her to put my mind at ease, to tell me that Jenna’s behavior was abhorrent and she was disgusted anyone could do such a thing.

  “Yeah, sure. How are they? Any kids yet?”

  “No… which is probably a good thing since they split yesterday.”

  She gasped. “Oh my God! Seriously? They used to be so good together. What happened? Just a slow deterioration or—”

  “She cheated on him. And took a lot of money from their joint account. To start a new life with her lover, I guess.”

  “Oh no, poor Butler. He must be devastated.”

  The sympathy in her voice assured me she felt the same way I did about this. “Yeah, he’s pretty messed up. And I don’t know why she took the money like that. She would have gotten millions when they divorced. There was no prenup.”

  “No prenup?” she asked, sounding outraged. “Why the hell not? Is he crazy? He should have had a prenup!”

  “Then you’d want a prenup if we ever got married?” I asked, trying to make sense of how I felt about that.

  “Of course I would.” She hesitated. “Wouldn’t you?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t like the idea of going into a marriage preparing for the worst.”

  “Well, yeah, but you have to protect yourself. If I were marrying someone who had less than I did, I’d want to protect my assets.” Unlike Jenna, Jasmine stood to lose a lot if a relationship failed.

  “But your business is incorporated, so it’s not like it’s tied to your personal assets, right?”

  “Yeah, of course.” She laughed. “I wasn’t worried about myself, babe. I was thinking about you. Not that I’d try to take anything from you if we ever married and divorced—”

  “I don’t want to talk about this shit anymore,” I mumbled. Getting married? Sure. But divorcing her? Yeah, that was never happening.

  “Will you call me tomorrow night?” she asked, yawning again.

  “Of course. Good luck tomorrow.”

  “You too. I hope you guys win.” She laughed. “I’ll try to stay up long enough to watch the whole game this time… like a big girl.”

  “Stay at my place again? I want you there when I get home, Jazzy.” And every night from now on.

  “Sure. Love you.”

  “Love you too, sweetheart.”

  Chapter Ten

  Jasmine

  “Are you an idiot?” Alex demanded.

  I told myself I’d keep this professional, but he was making it difficult not to stoop to his level. “Your opinion doesn’t matter to me. Let’s just stick to the contract.” I pointed at the highlighted portion, which stated I had the right to buy him out. “I’ll pay you fair market value—”

  “And I guess I don’t have to ask where you’ll be getting that money, do I?” He practically snarled when he leaned forward, demanding, “How does it feel? Spreading your legs for favors from your rich boyfriend?”

  I was so tempted to clock him upside the head with my tablet, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he was getting to me. “It’s none of your business where I’m getting the money. Point is, I have it. And you’re out.”

  “You think it’ll be that easy to get rid of me?” He folded his arms. “I don’t think so.”

  I was afraid he’d put up a fight. He’d spent every day here, building this business with me. Now he would have to find a new purpose.

  I picked up the phone in the boardroom. “Let’s have a conference call with your lawyer and mine, so they can make you understand there’s no way you can fight this.” I pointed at our contract. “If you didn’t want it this way, you shouldn’t have signed.”

  “I never imagined things would go down this way,” he said, his features softening. “God, Jasmine, I put everything into this company. Same as you did. I imagined us running it together forever.”

  “I did too. But you had to know when you cheated on me that you sealed your fate. No way am I putting up with that shit.”

  “Would you have married me?” he asked, regarding me carefully. “If not for that one…” He cleared his throat. “Incident. Would you have really gone through with the wedding?”

  “Of course. Why would you even ask me that?”

  “Because I have to wonder… how much could you really have loved me if you’ve already moved on to someone else?”

  It was a legitimate question, but I didn’t owe him any answers. “You know Carter and I have history. It’s not like I just met him.”

  “Were you in love him, even when we were together?”

  I’d be lying if I said I’d never thought about him. I’d missed him, wished things could have been different. “Honestly? I don’t know. But that doesn’t negate the fact that you and I were well-suited to one another. We shared common goals.” And I’d believed Alex would be a good husband and father… until I found out about his wandering eye and lack of self-control.

  “You broke up with me because I cheated on you.” He smirked. “Think about it. You’re getting involved with a professional athlete. You really think he can be faithful?”

  He was trying to hurt me, trying to get me to question my relationship with Carter, but I wouldn’t play his game. “You think I’ll start questioning my judgment just because I thought I could trust you and you proved me wrong?” I crossed my legs, removing an invisible piece of lint from my skirt. “How weak do you think I am?”

  “I don’t think—”

  “You think I’m one of those women who’ll take the blame when my man cheats?” I rolled my eyes, clutching my chest dramatically. “Who’ll wonder if there’s something wrong with me, something I could have done to make you stay? You think I’ll start questioning Carter because there must be some flaw in my reasoning or judgment to have trusted you?”

  “I didn’t say that. I just—”

  “Do you really think I’m an idiot?”

  “No.”

  “Then why are you treating me like one? You think I’m too stupid to see what you’re trying to do? You want me to doubt Carter. You want me to be miserable because you
are. Well, that’s not gonna happen. Carter’s not gonna cheat on me, but if he does, I’ll tell him to fuck off.” I smiled sweetly. “Does that make you feel better? Knowing he wouldn’t get preferential treatment?”

  He just sat there like a sputtering fool, turning red and loosening his tie.

  I leaned forward, supporting my weight on my clenched fists. “Sign this and you’ll get your check. Keep dragging it out and you’ll hear from my lawyer.”

  ***

  I didn’t know why I was nervous to welcome Carter home. We’d talked on the phone every night. He knew my deal with Alex had been finalized in his absence and that I’d moved in a few more of my things, like he asked me too.

  Maybe it was the fact that I’d gone grocery shopping and was preparing a meal for him. His apartment was the perfect scene of domesticity: the fireplace on, soft music playing, a glass of wine waiting. It had seemed like a good idea when I thought of it. An even better idea when I treated myself to some new lingerie I thought he’d like. But now I was nervous. What if I was overstepping? Taking it too fast? Making it seem like I was desperate…

  When I heard a key in the lock, I took a deep breath and tried to relax. Uh oh, too late to turn back now.

  “Hey, babe. You here?”

  I rounded the corner, smiling when his jaw dropped. I was wearing a black lace chemise with demi cups over a black thong. “You like?”

  “Get the fuck over here,” he growled, grabbing me. I giggled as he cupped my ass and kissed my breasts, which were spilling out of the cups.

  “I have dinner in the oven,” I said, threading my hands through his hair as I tipped my head back so he could continue his exploration.

  “I plan to eat right here,” he murmured against my neck as he slipped his hand between my legs.

  “Oh, not part of the plan, but I’m flexible.”

  His dirty chuckle made me smile. “I know you are, baby.” His hands were on my hips, guiding me to the sectional.