A third addition was added a year later, an all-male escort service.
The world of escorts was a lucrative one, one that offered her financial security as well as a respected name in the big world of business for her outstanding charitable contributions. She raised money for charities and sponsored fundraisers for children’s and woman’s shelters and held annual adult auctions to raise money for ‘Community Outreach’, a charity that fed the homeless. She made giving a part of who she was. To have someone trying to take away what she had built and worked so hard for, was something she wasn’t about to put up with.
Whatever evil bastard was trying to ruin her, she was ready to stand battle against. She was a force all her own. Crying herself into a puddle and caving was for other wimpy women without a backbone, not her. She wiped away the last of her tears and sat a bit taller. After all, she had put up with Mason abandoning her and had still remained somewhat strong and composed. Kicking this assholes butt was going to be a walk in the park.
Blinking to clear her vision and taking a deep cleansing breath, she sat at the red light and stared into the rearview mirror. “Fuck this dick and Mason too, I’ll be damned if I crumble into a ball and surrender!”
A cars horn blasted behind her when the light turned green, she stretched her arm out the window and with a huge smile slapped across her face, she flipped the impatient driver the bird yelling, “Fuck you too!” as she drove off.
***
Mason was immediately greeted by a tiny fist pounding on his chest when the elevator to Eden and Chase’s penthouse opened. He smiled down at Eden’s sullen face and scooped her into his arms.
“I missed you too, sweetheart,” he said, kissing her cheek before setting her back on the ground.
“I should be furious with you Mr. Reed,” she chastised, as she looped her arm through his and escorted him slowly across the living room. ”I hear you didn’t fare well with Mik.”
“Not at all and I don’t want to discuss it, okay?”
Eden stopped in her tracks and glared at him. “So that’s it. No wonder you struck out.”
“Sweetheart, let me tell you something,” he said, taking her chin in his hand and ducking into her view. “I said I don’t want to talk about it, I didn’t say I was giving up. You hear me? I’m not giving up.”
“Good,” she said, smiling up at him.
The queen of matchmakers, he knew she was on his side. Eden loved Mikala being with him.
“Come on, dinners just about ready,” she said, dragging him toward the dining room.
Voices became clearer as they got closer. Mason sucked in a deep breath when he saw Chase and Mikala sharing wine and cozy conversation. Her face was happy and jovial until her eyes met Mason’s and her attempt to stand was stopped by Chase’s strong hold.
“You rotten bitch Eden, I thought we were friends,” Mikala roared as she emptied her glass in a single gulp, which Chase immediately refilled, still holding her arm tight.
“I am your friend but Mason’s my friend too. I hate what happened to you two but you need to get over it, it’s time to move on. We’re all adults here and need to act our ages, you two are being stupid and immature. I love you guys, we’re family, surely we can have a meal together without things getting ugly.” Eden’s words were harsh and direct and as much as Mikala wanted to be anywhere but there at that very moment, she calmed herself and patted her hand against Chase’s with a smile.
“You’re right Eden, we are family and I apologize.” Mikala stood with her chin held high and shoulders back. “Let me help you bring in dinner.”
“That’s better,” Eden said, leading the way to the kitchen as Mason took a seat at the table and Chase poured them a drink.
“Mik, give the guy a bone,” Eden snapped.
Mikala stood with her hands tucked into oven mitts perched on her hips and her mouth hanging open. “That dog doesn’t deserve a bone. Are you suffering from a memory lapse or something girl?” She opened the oven and pulled out the large casserole dish of lasagna, “Mason fucking Thomas Reed walked out of my life eight months ago, he closed that door and I have no intention of opening it.”
Eden stocked a tray with extra napkins and fresh buns from the warming oven. “Mason needs to know how you feel, he needs to know what he did to you, how it affected you.”
“Affected me?” She spun round shooting daggers, “His leaving didn’t affect me, it just opened my eyes, gave me a side to Mason I wish I’d seen before I…” her words fell flat.
“Before what, Mik,”
“Nothing, we better get this served before it gets cold.”
That pitiful moment, had Mikala spilled out the words, ‘before I fell in love with him’, would have been a nightmare. Eden would have gone all gaga on her, messing lovey-dovey bullshit into the conversation that she didn’t want to have, and Mikala would have spent the entire evening sidestepping Eden’s matchmaker tendencies.
“Why can’t you say it, Mik? Why can’t you admit you still love Mason and you miss him?” Eden asked, moving cautiously to her side, sweeping her hair off her shoulder. “You had a child together.”
“Leave my Charlie out of this, you hear me?” Mikala’s voice warned of impending doom as she slammed the casserole dish onto the counter top. She didn’t discuss her baby boy with anyone. It was as if the day he was buried a door was closed, bolted and locked and only she was entitled to hold that key.
“I do not love Mason Reed and this conversation is finished.”
“But Mik,” Eden tried her hand at pleading only to be silenced by a stormy cold don’t-you-dare stare.
“Finished,” Mikala said, snatching the lasagna from the counter and storming to the dining room.
Eden added pats of butter to a fancy sculpted dish and set it on the tray. She shook her head, sad that Mikala was so infuriatingly unmovable and wouldn’t listen to reason. Then the wheels started to turn in the opposite direction. Eden wasn’t about to sit silent for long while her friends sat with gaping festering wounds. She would find a way to get these two to talk, maybe they couldn’t get back the love, but at least they could learn to be civil and be friends again.
Dinner conversation seemed to generate between Eden and Mikala regarding shopping for new furniture and drapery, while the boys talked sports and Mason’s possible prospects in the less than exciting world of security systems. The girls later shared coffee and cheesecake while Chase forced Mason to help clean up and do the dishes.
Mason stood with his arms crossed over his chest in that military stance he was so well fitted to, he watched as Chase put the last of the cutlery into the designated slots in the drawer and closed it.
“Yeah well, I didn’t think it was going to happen overnight. That woman’s got a dagger for you.”
“But she won’t talk at all,” Mason’s head tilted to the side, his brows narrowed, “Did you say she cried?”
“She was really drunk man, I mean really fucking drunk. But yeah, she cried.”
“Real tears?”
Chase raised a single brow in question. “Yeah, real tears. Why?”
“Mik doesn’t cry. When Charlie…” Mason ran his hand threw his hair, “She didn’t even cry then. I’ve never witnessed Mik crying.”
“Well she does and it isn’t pretty. That was the first and last time she talked about you and Charlie. Except to call you a prick, an asshole, a good for nothing…”
A fist slammed into Chase’s shoulder putting a sudden stop to the barrage of less than endearing terms used to describe him in his absence.
“I don’t know what else to do. I wrote dozens of letters that she returned unopened. She refused all my calls and eventually blocked my number. I sent flowers and gifts, I even tried singing telegrams. I’m turning into a pathetic whipped pussy, man.”
Chase gripped his friends shoulder and laughed. “You’re not a pussy, pathetic yes, but not a pussy.” He tipped his head to the side. “Back off for now, give her room
. Come on, let’s go see what new names they’ve come up with for you.”
“Funny, you fucker,”
“No, that one’s been used,” Chase laughed.
Chase and Mason ambled into the TV room where the girls sat huddled together on the sofa and joined them. Eden sank into Chase’s side, his arms wrapping her in a cuddle and he kissed her gently on the temple. Mason sat on the opposite side of the far sofa from Mikala, with a cloud of tension hanging heavily in the air.
“How long do think it’ll take to find a contractor?” Mikala asked Chase, breaking the silence.
“I can set you up with one as soon as tomorrow, but I advise you to wait until you hear from the insurance first,” Chase warned. “Then you’ll know what you have to play with. I can get you a great guy at a great rate I’ll call in a few favors, but let’s not jump in blind.”
Mikala nodded in agreement. “Okay, I’ll wait.”
“Maybe you can take advantage and do an entire makeover, change the dance floor and redecorate the private rooms with a fresh new look, the apartment has needed a makeover for years,” Eden rattled on.
“Back up the bus chick, any extra cash is going to help my staff while they sit at home without work. Most of them have mouths to feed and mortgages to pay. There’s only me and I don’t need much.”
Another kick in the head reminder that she was alone and it was entirely his fault, Mason thought, as he sucked back the remains of his beer and set the bottle on the coffee table. Listening to the three of them talk designs and fabrics and architectural changes, his mind drifted off to nights when he had trouble sitting in the same room with Mikala without tearing her clothes off and throwing it into her. Mikala loved it rough and he was always happy to make it happen for her. He’d forever get lost in her beautiful hazel eyes when he made her cum, he’d lose it at the sight and sounds that were pure ecstasy only she could supply.
Mason looked up when he heard his name.
“Mason?” Chase asked. “What do you think?”
“What do I think about what?”
“Surely if you could pay attention for five minutes instead of thinking only about yourself, maybe you could think of someone else and their needs for once?” Mikala snapped.
A quick slap to her knee from Eden startled her and her eyes met Mason’s. She thought she actually saw a pang of hurt there, “Sorry,” she said.
Mason bit the inside of his mouth and dropped his eyes to his lap. He stretched out his arms and latched his hands to the back of his neck working tension from his neck with a twist. He gave no answer, made no attempt to speak and when his eyes met hers again, he stared blankly without looking away.
Mikala swallowed hard, feeling terrible for being so nasty, it was escape time she surmised. She stifled a yawn with the back of her hand and stood stretching. “Better call it a night.”
“Me too, I have a meeting with clients in the morning,” Mason said.
“Where are you going to stay?” Eden asked Mikala. “You can’t go home.”
“I booked a hotel room. I’m staying at the Carlton down the street from the club. It’s nice and close.”
“But it’s not safe,” Eden cried, taking hold of Mikala’s hands and holding her attention, “Stay here with us, there’s plenty of room.”
“How can it not be safe?” Mikala asked. “You’re being crazy. I’m a call away, you’re a call away and they have security at the hotel. Besides I don’t want to be a bother, you two are still newlyweds and need your privacy.”
There was no arguing with Mikala because her head strong I’ll-do-as-I-please attitude always won in the end. Eden had hoped that if she stayed with them, Mason’s always-behind-the-scenes presence would help to melt Mikala’s frozen heart. Plan B needed to be strategized. She would discuss it with Chase after he was good and sexually satiated, then he would be more willing to interfere. A sneaky little smirk crossed over her mouth as she clamped her hand onto his ass cheek, and he looked down at her with a wink.
“I can drop you off if you like,” Mason offered, shrugging on his jacket and holding Mikala’s jacket for her. Even though his demeanor was now cold and callas he remained a gentleman.
All eyes watched waiting for the argument to ensue. Mikala rolled her eyes before she gave her reluctant answer. “That would be nice of you,” her voice was a quiet snarl.
The elevator doors closed and Eden rose on tiptoe and kissed Chase’s cheek. “They’re so in love, couldn’t you feel the sexual tension in the air.”
“Give it up, baby. Some things are just not meant to be.” He clamped his hand onto her ass cheek and squeezed until she squealed.
“We’ll see,” Eden tittered and screamed as Chase chased her up the stairs to their bedroom.
***
Mason’s truck rolled to a stop at the front roundabout entrance to the hotel. A bright smiling, greasy haired, acne ridden hotel attendant, held the door while Mikala climbed down from the cab of the truck and stood waiting.
“I just have a small bag, I can handle it thanks,” she told the young man as she threw it over her shoulder and tucked a folded bill into his palm. He gave her a gleaming smile and walked away.
Mason came around the back of the truck and stood for a moment in silence.
“The invitation to stay with me is still open if you change your mind.”
“I won’t. Thanks for the ride.”
Not waiting for a response she pivoted on her heel and walked through the sliding doors as they drew to the side.
With his hands tucked in his pockets he leaned back against his truck, watching through the window until she was finished checking in and disappeared into the elevator.
***
The minute Mikala got to her room she checked her phone for messages in hopes that there would be good news from the insurance company on her claim. Thanks to Chase, who had managed to wiggle her under the red tape as one of his VIP clients, it was very nice to be placed top priority at times like these.
Unfortunately for Mikala, as she poured vodka from a tiny bottle left in the bar fridge over ice, even the name Chase Dean wasn’t influential enough to sneak past a certain shade of red.
‘Miss Santino, my name is Roger. I am the claims adjuster assigned to your case regarding claim # 739872 said fire at one ‘Pulse Night Club’. Due to the circumstances of the fire and the suspicion of possible arson, there will have to be a full investigation conducted before we can process your claim. Your case will remain top priority status, but I’m afraid it’s going to be several weeks before a cheque can be issued, if at all, depending on our findings once the investigation is complete. I will be in touch soon. Do not hesitate to call me with any questions, you have my number. Good evening.’
“Well that sucks balls,” Mikala said, to the empty glass in her hand, proceeding to unscrew another tiny bottle.
Several tiny bottles later, she lay sprawled out with her chin hanging over the foot of the bed and her eyes fixed to the ornate design in the carpet. No matter how many times she ran the figures in her head, and she had an excellent head for math, there was no way she was going to survive by staying in a hotel for several weeks, as Roger had put it. And the idea of staying with Eden and Chase was a definite no.
Rolling onto her back, the view from upside down supplied a new concentration level. She needed to prioritize what was most important. Pulse ranked first, of course it did. It was her baby, her livelihood, all she had in the world. Her biggest fear at the moment was being vetoed by the insurance company.
She spent hours wracking her brain, trying to come up with ways to get extra money to rebuild the club, while taking care of staff and paying for a place to live. Since there were no rooms available for clientele use, even the escort service was taking a major hit. Perhaps she could get a loan, but cringed at the thought of the last time she tried and the bank manager had called it a strip club, and talked to her like she was a whore. No way was she going through that again.
/> Room service was quick to bring the mickey of vodka and chef’s salad she had ordered. As she scrounged in her wallet for a tip, she was struck with an idea, an ingenious idea. Taking a handful of change and dropping it into the young man’s hand, Mikala grinned at him and planted a big wet full on kiss to his lips. “Thank you!’ he chuckled, as she closed the door in his bright red face.
“Fuck!” she said, plunking her ass on the bed and uncapping the bottle when she discovered it was after one in the morning. Her idea would have to wait. At least part one.
With a quarter of the bottle down her neck, a braver, cockier Mikala dialed the phone and sat waiting for a connection. She panicked and hung up after a few rings and stared at the screen. Juggling with whether it was a good choice or a stupid one, she dialed again. It rang twice this time before her chest constricted and she disconnected. She place the phone on the bed beside her thigh and took a long draw from the bottle before dialing the phone yet again, this time the connection was made before the second ring.
“Hello? Sugar, what’s wrong?” Mason asked, sounding confused and groggy. She hung up without answering him.
“Can’t do it,” she told herself aloud, her heart was practically thumping from her chest, as she capped the bottle and set it on the bedside table. Her phone rang from beside her on the bed and she stared at it willing it to stop.
He was persistent she would give him that and snatched up the phone, nervously holding it to her ear without saying a word.
“Say something, sugar,” his voice was soft and sweet and low, just the way she remembered when he made gentle love to her and she would have given anything to be with him at that moment, nested under his hulking body where it was always safe and warm.
Mikala's Passion (Pulse Series Book 2) Page 3