The Artist (The Game Changers #2)

by Shealy James

  “So you called him out on it? What’d he say?”

  “First,” I held up a finger angrily, “he tells me that I’m doing well getting into my role of the nagging wife with a patronizing pat on the hand. I almost clawed his eyeballs out for that, but then he said, ‘Don’t worry. They know how to be discreet.’”

  “They?” Ward asked.

  “Exactly what I said. He nodded and told me they were professionals. She was a prostitute,” I whisper-shouted to Ward. I glanced around to make sure no one was listening as Ward laughed behind his fist. “Well, he then proceeds to tell me that he would ‘fuck his fiancée’ if she could handle it.” I whispered the f-word so the patrons around us wouldn’t be offended. Anger didn’t cause me to lose my manners. At least there was that.

  “What?” Ward asked a little too loudly.

  “Yeah, apparently we aren’t ‘fucking’ because I would get too attached, and my mother said there should be no additional emotional baggage. It was part of the deal.”

  “Thank God.”

  “God had nothing to do with it. My lunatic mother’s fear of unplanned pregnancy is my saving grace. That’s about the only thing my mother did for me in this whole mess.” I raised my glass to that. “There’s still more.”

  “I don’t know if I can hear any more and keep a straight face around him.”

  “You’re listening to the rest of this. I have to tell someone before I kill him or my father. I can’t go to jail. Although, I feel certain there isn’t a woman in America who wouldn’t want to have at least one crack at Alexander or Dick after this.”

  The waiter chose then to bring out our lunches, and I saw his eyes go wide when he heard what I said. Yeah, buddy, all women are this crazy. Good luck to you.

  “Carry on,” Ward nodded once waiter boy had speedily retreated from the table after placing our plates as quickly and carefully as he could.

  “After he tells me about my mom suggesting the no-sex rule, I suggested that maybe he could be a little more discreet in his endeavors to get laid. I may have added something in there about my father needing to trust his business to someone with more intelligence. Alexander then asked me who I thought told him where to find women that can keep their mouths shut.”

  “No!” Ward’s fork froze halfway between his plate and his mouth.

  “Yes!” I was back to whisper-shouting. “My father suggested that it would be in poor taste for Alex to be picking up his own companions before the wedding. He even gave Alex a number to call.” I downed the rest of my vodka and slammed my glass on the table, causing an ice cube to jump out onto the starched white tablecloth. Ward dropped his fork and waved to the waiter, indicating he bring two more drinks. It appeared he was going to join me in my lunchtime stupor.

  “Holy shit.”

  “That’s what I said,” I agreed, feeling much calmer now that someone else had heard the story. “Then I had to go play kissy face and smile for the damn photographers, all the while thinking about where his mouth had been the night before.”

  Ward shook his head with his eyes closed. He laughed a little then pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but I figured it was somewhere along the lines of shock and disgust. When he finally opened his eyes, I saw the one thing that hurt more than anything—pity. “You cannot marry that asshole, Katherine,” he said sadly.

  I let out an angry breath. “Right. What am I supposed to do? He’ll stop paying for Jack’s treatments, and if anyone should pay to save someone’s life, it’s Dick.”

  “I don’t disagree, but this has gone far enough. You cannot marry Alexander.”

  I looked him right in the eye and said the words I was so unwilling to say a month ago. “Then give me a way out, because at this point, I just might take it.”

  He watched me thoughtfully for a moment then said, “Let me think about it.”

  We went about eating our lunches quietly for a moment.

  “I can’t believe he let her spend the night,” Ward laughed.

  “I know! He looked like he got some sleep too, so I doubt it was a marathon. I’ve seen him after pulling an all-nighter at work. The moron needs makeup to cover those dark circles and brighten his pale skin when he doesn’t get his six hours of beauty rest.”

  “She must not be that great at her job, then,” he deduced with a wink.

  “I don’t know. I know where I can get her number if you want to find out,” I facetiously offered.

  “Bronywn would love that.”

  “Perhaps you could invite her. Maybe she could give the girl some feedback. Help her improve her performance for the next time she’s with my darling fiancé.”

  “Too far, Katherine. Too far.”

  “Truer words were never spoken,” I told him, referring to the whole situation, not just the inappropriate lunchtime conversation.

  He raised his glass to me in understanding.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  That evening, I was forced to have dinner with my mother. She was in town for a few days and wanted to fill me in on all the wedding plans she had made. It was neither what I wanted to hear nor my idea of a good time. Discussing my upcoming nuptials with my mother was more along the lines of torture. She told me all of my dress appointments were on the shared calendar. She also informed me that she didn’t think it would be necessary to have a bridal party. Bridesmaids were a distraction from the main event. Our honeymoon would be in Europe because my father had a potential dealing with a company there that Alexander could manage. “Two birds,” she said casually. I was wondering what the other bird was, because we certainly weren’t going to be having a normal honeymoon. In fact, I wondered if Alexander would bring along one of his call girls. Sadly, that wouldn’t surprise me in the least.

  “Can we talk about something else?” I practically begged.

  “No, Kitty. We need to get these details ironed out if you are going to be married by the end of summer.”

  “We don’t even have a venue yet.”

  “I haven’t narrowed down what would be the best fit for the press yet,” she reminded me, sounding exasperated. “I have been flying between two coasts while planning this wedding. You can’t expect it to be done in a day.”

  I’d be happy to be flying back to Seattle, but I wasn’t so much as allowed near an airport without Alexander. “I don’t expect it to be done at all,” I reminded her tersely. I wanted to remind her that we weren’t actually famous people, and worrying about the press was unnecessary, but her reminding me of how sought after Alexander’s family was could go on for hours.

  She dropped her fork and napkin onto the table. “What is going on with you, Kitty? You are being exceptionally difficult this evening. Are you on your period?”

  “Jesus. Why is that always everyone’s go-to excuse when a woman is in a bad mood? You’re a woman, Mother. That should offend you.”

  “Please. Nothing offends me except for poor people.”

  I glared at her. Challenging her on the topic of poor people was exhausting. She believed no one should be poor because everyone had the ability to work hard, as if she worked hard for her money. As if she would recognize hard work in the first place.

  “So, what’s your problem?” she asked again.

  “Nothing. I simply don’t want to discuss the wedding any further tonight.”

  “Then let’s talk about Alexander.”

  Absolutely not. “So, dress appointments. When are we going to Vera Wang?”

  “Oh, so now you want to discuss the wedding? Hmm…what’s happened with Alexander? Do I need to have a talk with him? He seems to be committed to this, but if he’s not holding up his end of the bargain, you need to let me know. I’ll handle it.”

  Eff my life. “No, Mother. Everything is fine. Continue about the wedding plans.” I waved her on tiredly. She stared at me suspiciously before continuing on like I wasn’t at the end of my rope. I let her speak without argument or interrupti
on until she dismissed me.

  That night, when I climbed into bed, I began my masochistic routine of staring at my selfies with Maverick and dreaming about him, like always. However, for the first time, anger overtook me. Why was I so hung up on him? He obviously didn’t feel the same. He didn’t fight for me to stay. Sure, he was disappointed, but that was probably because I hurt his ego, not to mention it was terrible timing with his brother and all. Even so, here I was pining away for a man that hadn’t even so much as tried to call me since I left him. If he cared that much about me, shouldn’t he have at least made some kind of effort to get me to stay?

  Rage spread through my body, and suddenly sleep was not an option. I sat up in bed and looked at the time. It was late in New York, but thanks to the time difference, it wasn’t too late to call Maddox.

  “Hey, Kit Kat,” he answered warmly. I could hear noise in the background fading as if he were walking away.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Nolan and I are at a party for Grant and Eve. Engagement thing, now that Iris is feeling better.”

  “Oh. That’s nice.”

  “You should be here, you know. Eve wanted to invite you and Adam.”

  “They knew?”

  “Penelope and Victoria tried to rub it in to Grant that you moved on with a hot artist. When I explained to Grant the hot artist was Adam, he was happy for you.”

  “You didn’t tell him what I’m doing, did you?”

  “Nah. I told him things didn’t work out between you two. Figured your fake marriage was to be kept quiet, though. Not that he won’t be able to figure it out when he sees who you’re marrying.”

  “Hmm…” I hummed, thinking about what Grant was going to think when I married Alexander. I wasn’t sure why I cared, but I did. I had known Grant since childhood. He was my first potential husband. I was collecting quite a crew, but I was sure that I was actually engaged to the worst possible choice. I would take Grant’s oversensitivity and Ward’s brotherly affection before Alexander’s ego any day.

  “Kitten, you didn’t call to check in at this hour. What’s on your mind?”

  “Why didn’t he try to get me to stay?” I blurted out.

  “Who? Adam?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I don’t know. He was obviously into you in more than a fuck buddy kind of way, but I don’t know why he didn’t fight to keep you.”

  I knew I sounded pitiful and weak, but I had to ask, “Is it because I don’t deserve it after everything?”

  “Every woman deserves to find a man who fights for her, babe. Even you. Especially you.”

  “Alexander is sleeping with prostitutes,” I confessed.

  “Classy.” Maddox laughed.

  “Is this my life?”

  “It doesn’t have to be.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I hear.” I sighed.

  “Tell me what I can do to help, Kit Kat.”

  “Just talking helped. Thanks, Mad. Go back to your party. Tell Grant and Eve congratulations. I really mean it. Those two are lucky to have found each other.”

  “That they are.”

  “You and Nolan are too, you know?”

  “Oh, I know.” I could hear his smile through the phone. I was thrilled Maddox had Nolan. They were truly a perfect pair. Jealousy stabbed at me, and I knew it was time for me to say goodbye.

  “All right. Have a good night.”

  “You too, Kitten.”

  I hung up with Maddox feeling drained from the emotional roller coaster I had put myself through that day. My body and mind were both exhausted, and sleep took me quickly without any need for dreaming of a love that was never going to happen.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  I should have known my mother wouldn’t let my mood from the other night go. That wasn’t her style. She had to meddle. After two failed arrangements, Violet Peters was going to make damn sure this one stuck. Like I said, I should have known better, but I hadn’t been thinking clearly at dinner the other night. I was too busy feeling sorry for myself.

  My mother had flown home, leaving me alone in the penthouse once again. Unfortunately, that evening Alexander had a business dinner that I had been committed to attend. I could have really used some time to relax and read or write and generally be alone for a night. I had started writing a novel, which had always been a dream of mine. Writing for the magazine had fueled my passion for writing, but I missed the outlet I had when I put words down on paper. One night while reading, I asked myself, why not? A few weeks later, I had written more than thirty thousand words of a novel about a girl who existed in two dimensions—reality and fantasy. The catch? She didn’t know which one was real.

  Instead of getting time to write tonight, I was dressing in a royal blue Altuzarra cocktail dress and carefully pinning my shoulder length hair into a classic chignon. Once I was painted to perfection once again, I headed down to the car to meet Alexander.

  “You look nice,” he said when I was seated in the back of the Bentley.

  “Thank you,” I said cautiously. Alexander never complimented me, so it was sort of out of left field. Either way, it was nice to hear, even if he didn’t mean it genuinely.

  We made it through dinner. I spoke with Cara, the investor’s wife, while Alexander schmoozed Roger Young, the CEO of Young Enterprises. His company was a technology firm known for creating innovative GPS technology. Roger was the business end of the company. His son and partner was the creative force behind it, and I had a feeling we would be meeting him in the coming weeks.

  After what Alexander considered a successful dinner, he took me back to the penthouse. Instead of dropping me off like he usually did, he asked if he could come up to talk.

  “Why?” I asked, taken off guard for the second time tonight.

  “I just think we got off on the wrong foot the other morning. We’re in this relationship together, so we need to be on the same side,” he explained sincerely. This was the first hint of the real Alexander that I had seen since the first night we had dinner at Gramercy.

  “Sure. Come on up.”

  We didn’t make it all the way into the foyer before he grabbed me and pressed me against the wall. His lips came down hard on mine as he tried to force his tongue in my mouth. My surprise allowed him enough time to slide one hand up my body to squeeze my left breast too hard while his other hand reached for my rear, pulling me hard against his body. I was sure I was going to have bruises from how hard his fingers were digging into me.

  Once I fully realized what was happening, I tried to push him off me, but my thin frame was no match for his strength. I did the next best thing—I bit his lip.

  “Ow! Fuck! What in the hell was that for?” he shouted as he touched his lip that was red and tinged with a little blood. I broke the skin. Good!

  “What in the hell was that?” I waved at him, shouting angrily in return.

  “Fuck. Your mom said you were pissed, and I needed to fix it. She suggested seducing you.”

  “That was supposed to be seduction? Are you high?”

  “Most women think that’s hot.” He pointed at the wall behind me. This guy was crazy and stupid, just as I had suspected after the prostitute situation.

  “First—that was assault. There has never been anything I’ve done to indicate you and I should have a passionate tryst against a wall in the foyer of my parents’ penthouse. Second—I’m not like most women you know.” I pointed my finger angrily into his chest while I watched it make an indention in his blue silk tie.

  He stepped back and frowned. “No. You definitely are not.”

  My eyes snapped up to his. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Come on, Kitty. What woman marries a guy she doesn’t even like because her father said so? If you weren’t such a frigid bitch, you’d find your own husband.”

  All tact went out the window. Frigid bitch! “Fuck off, Alex. You don’t know shit about me.”

  “You’re right. And I don’t need
to. I just need to know you’re going to show up and do what you’re told because I’ve worked my ass off for your father. He’s going to give me what I deserve, and you’re going to make sure of it.”

  “Or what?”

  “Or I’ll bury you both,” he threatened as he slammed out the door of the penthouse, leaving me alone.

  I stomped my foot and let out an angry scream. I was done. Done. Done. Done. I marched back to my room and packed a bag before calling a car and then Maddox.

  “Kit Kat,” he answered with his usual greeting.

  “I’m coming to town. Can I stay with you for a couple of days?”

  “Of course. You okay?”

  “No, and I can’t talk about it right now.” I was way too angry to have a chat after what transpired mere moments ago.

  “Okay. We’ll talk when you get here. When are you flying out?”

  “First thing in the morning.”

  “See you then. Text me what time your flight lands.”

  “Thanks,” I said and hung up.

  I sent Ward a message letting him know I was done and heading back to Seattle in the morning. My phone started ringing immediately.

  “Hi,” I answered.

  “What happened?”

  “I can’t talk. I just wanted you to know I was leaving.”

  “Katherine, tell me what happened before I go find the bastard myself.”

  “He attacked me.”

  “What?” he roared.

  “According to him, he was trying to seduce me. Too bad he ended up with a bloody lip instead of a happy ending.”

  “You hit him?” He sounded surprised.

  “No! I bit him. I couldn’t get him off me.”

  “Shit, Katherine. Are you okay?” The anger in his voice had been replaced with concern. I hated his concern. It made me want to cry, but there was no time for tears. I had to keep myself together a little while longer.

  Holding onto my anger, I shouted, “No! I’m done with all of this. I’m flying back to Seattle tomorrow.”