I'd already let the doorman know that Lu was on my approved visitor list, so I didn't even check the video intercom before opening the door. I should have, because when I pulled the it open, I found that it wasn't Lu at all, but my mother. Instantly, a ball of tense uncomfortable energy formed in my gut, just like it always did when I was around either of my parents.
"Scott, honey," Mom said in relief as she rushed toward me through the open door before I could say anything.
My mother was perfectly put together as always, her tall slender body swathed in a tasteful designer dress with flawless makeup and precisely curled long dark hair. After all, you never knew who might be watching and judging.
She reached up to cup my face in her hands. "I didn't hear back from you today, and I was so worried," she said with a tight smile as she carefully studied my face with keen blue eyes that matched mine.
I stiffened under her perusal because I knew she was looking for any sign that I was high, and it pissed me off just like it always did. Even though I'd been clean for nine years, she still didn't trust me. I forget to call her one time, and she just assumes I'm off on an Oxy bender. I abruptly stepped out of her reach on the pretense of letting her step into my apartment.
"I was working all day, Mom," I explained brusquely. "I haven't had time to call you back yet." I should have made a point of calling her back after I let her call go to voice mail yesterday since I knew her showing up at my door would be the most likely outcome.
She pursed her lips, her subtly disapproving gaze taking in my unshaven face, ratty T-shirt, worn jeans, and the open flannel shirt that hid the shoulder holster that held my Smith and Wesson 9mm pistol. "Well, you're home now, and you could have called me."
I stifled a sigh. "I was still working."
She shook her head and turned to walk further into my penthouse. "I don't understand your fascination with this ridiculous job of yours." She said the word "job" with an obvious edge of distaste. "You could do so much better."
"It's my career, Mom," I replied irritably as I followed her. "Not a job."
She turned back to face me several feet into the great room. "Being a doctor is a career, working for your father is a career, being a lawyer is a career." She emphasized the word lawyer, using it as a subtle passive-aggressive dig to remind me that I'd flunked out of law school, thanks to my raging opiate addiction. "Not running around playing rent-a-cop all day."
I ground my teeth together at the reminder of the career as a police officer that I'd really wanted, but had cost myself because of the fucking drugs and booze that had taken over my life before I even knew being a cop was something I wanted.
"Those distasteful nightclubs you run with that addict friend of yours aren't much better either." She sighed dramatically with a mortified expression. If she only knew about Désir Dangereux, then she'd really be outraged. "Honestly, honey, you need a more appropriate hobby that fits our family's social status."
Now she was calling the profitable clubs I owned with Calder a hobby, and speaking derogatorily about my best friend like he was beneath her. It infuriated me. Calder had been clean for almost eleven years now, and had helped me struggle the rest of the way there for two years. He was a stronger man than me, a better man than me. He had a horrible childhood living in poverty with a heroin addict for a mother, and then ended up one himself, yet somehow survived it all to become a very successful business man. And to think I'd judged him similarly when we first met in rehab. I thought I was better than him since I snorted and swallowed my fixes, instead of using a needle, and came from a wealthy family. I'd been such a clueless and entitled asshole back then.
"Mom," I bit out gruffly. "That hobby paid for this penthouse, and Calder is drug free, just like I am."
"Well, I guess you wouldn't need it, if you hadn't squandered away most of your trust fund."
And by squandered, she meant spending it on drugs, and the lavish and irresponsible lifestyle I'd led along with them. I'd never live my past down in my parent's eyes. Hell, when I originally told my father about Calder's vision for our business, he tried to talk me out of investing what was left of my trust fund. Even though I'd been vindicated by R&C LTD's success, my parents still scoffed at my choice. In their mind, I'd always be that twenty-something douchebag embarrassing and disappointing his family while pissing his future away on pills, booze, and women. That was how they would always see me, even though I'd changed, and it just proved how little my parents knew me anymore.
I bit my tongue because I knew this conversation wasn't going to get any better or end if I didn't change the subject. Besides, I needed her out of here before Lu showed up. God only knew what Lu would think of my mother, but it certainly wouldn't be anything good.
"Where's Dad?" I asked, knowing the subject of my father would take the focus off me. "Is he working late?" And by working late, I meant who was he fucking right now while Mom lived in denial of her philandering husband and pretended to the rest of the world that her marriage was perfect?
"Oh, he is, honey," she replied in that singsong tone she got when she was trying to convince herself of the bullshit she was spouting. "He's a very busy man."
"I bet," I replied with a slight biting edge that I couldn't help using.
"Have you talked to Ethan recently?" she asked, changing the subject herself now.
"Not in a few days," I said. "He's a busy man too." And by that, I meant Ethan was picking up our father's slack while he cheated on our mother.
"So you know about the engagement party then?"
I nodded as the ball of tension in my gut grew tighter. "Rory told me about it." I knew where this conversation was going next and dreaded it.
"I know you usually go to any important social function alone, but I feel it's in your best interest to bring a date."
My best interest? Yeah, right. More like it would look good to all her fake society cronies.
"I was speaking to Anna Haverston over lunch yesterday, and she told me her daughter Avery is single right now, so I told her you were in need of a date for the party and-"
"No," I snapped out immediately. "Absolutely not." The last thing I wanted was some entitled self-absorbed bitch fawning all over me the whole excruciating night.
"But honey," she cajoled. "It's a very important event for your brother, and bringing a date would reflect well on our family."
"I said no," I reiterated vehemently.
"But-"
The doorbell rang, thankfully cutting off whatever she planned to say next. I immediately turned away from her exasperated expression to answer the door, grateful for the interruption, even if I was embarrassed for Lu to meet my mother.
"Don't you walk away from me, young man," Mom said in an incensed tone as she followed after me. "Why won't you do this for your brother, for your family?"
I whirled to tell Mom what she could do with her guilt trip, then paused as the solution to getting her off my back suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks. My next words blurted out before I could think better of them or worry about the consequences.
"Because I already have a date, Mom," I said as I watched her eyes widen in stunned surprise. "I'm seeing someone and that's her right now." I cringed inwardly as the desperate lie poured out of me, and hoped to God that Lu would play along and not have my fucking balls on a platter like I deserved.
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
____________________
Lu
I was fortunate enough to find an open parking space near the front of Scott's building, and stepped out of my baby to glance up at the sleek eight-story structure. I'd been interested in a condo in this very building a few years back, but it was a little too pricey for my budget. I was impressed. Scott must have been doing pretty well for himself to live in one of the condos here.
I draped my garment bag over my arm and hoisted my massive purse higher on my shoulder as I headed for the entrance. I'd purposefully insisted on meeting Scott at his place
tonight so it was clear what this night was all about. We were doing this for a reason, and it wasn't to feed my mutinous libido when Scott was around. We had a job to do, and letting us get distracted by anything else would jeopardize it. With that goal in mind, I ignored my body's simmering excitement at seeing Scott again, just like I ignored it last night as I lie sleepless in bed, then all day at work as lingering images of Scott standing in front of me hot and aroused in his boxer briefs kept popping unbidden into my head.
I entered a long foyer with clean and elegant decor, and walked across the gray marble floors past a few pieces of eye-catching geometric art on the walls. I approached the reception desk, and gave the kind-faced middle-aged doorman my name. He smiled and told me I was expected, then directed me to the private elevator that would take me up to the penthouse.
"Penthouse? " I blurted out in surprise, thinking I heard the guy wrong.
"Yes, ma'am," he replied with a nod. He pointed toward the bank of elevators nearby. "The far left elevator will take you directly to his floor."
"Oh...okay," I murmured out as I blinked in stunned confusion, then turned and shuffled slowly toward the elevators.
The penthouse? Who the fuck was this guy? Everything about Scott seemed to be a contradiction. From the casual clothes to the designer suit he wore last night, or the cocky unbearable sex god that became the sweet and funny gentleman the next minute, none of it made sense. Now I find out he lived in a penthouse? I was developing whiplash from it all.
I stepped into the wood-paneled elevator and pressed the penthouse button, then stood there with my mind whirling as the elevator rose swiftly toward the top floor. With a pleasant ding, the door slowly opened to reveal a small yet elegantly decorated foyer with a set of closed double doors directly ahead of me. I walked across more gray marble tile, then reached out to press the doorbell button on the nearby wall.
A moment later, Scott was opening the door in worn jeans and a flannel shirt over a simple black T-shirt. He smiled broadly at me with a strangely panicked gleam in his eyes that threw me off.
"Hi, babe," he announced warmly. "I'm so glad you're here." He reached out and took my garment bag, then took my hand. The next thing I knew he was saying he missed me and pulling me in close to plant a soft kiss on my cheek.
What the-?
Before I could even react to the unexpected kiss, his arms were around me, and he was hugging me against to his warm hard body. I ignored how much I liked being this close to him and that heavenly masculine aroma of his. His mouth brushed against my ear, making me shiver involuntarily. "Please just play along," he whispered with a pleading desperate edge.
Scott pulled away from me, and I stared up at him in confusion. That was when I noticed the tall older woman who was standing just behind him and watching me with sharp calculating blue eyes, eyes that looked very familiar. I took in her lithe frame and the tasteful yet obviously expensive dress and pumps she wore. She looked flawlessly put together, from her makeup to her dark hair to her perfectly manicured hands and massive diamond wedding ring. This woman clearly came from money, and wore it very very well. I looked at Scott again and realized with a jolt why her eyes looked so familiar to me. Holy shit, was this his mother? What the fuck had I walked into?
Scott stepped aside and answered my unspoken question.
"Mom?" he said. "I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Lu Tavarez."
Come again, what? I gaped at Scott like an imbecile as he met my eyes again.
"Lu, I'd like you to meet my mother, Sylvia Conrad." Once again, his eyes turned pleading and desperate.
I narrowed my gaze warily as I considered if I should humor whatever game he was playing at or follow my first instinct, which was to throw him under the bus and tell him where to shove what was probably just another one of his ridiculous and over-dramatic mind games.
"Lu?" his mother announced in a haughty tone that instantly had my hackles up. That, along with her stiffened posture and her judgmental expression, pissed me off and made my decision easy. Nothing pissed me off more than some holier-than-thou piece of work like this woman thinking she was better than me.
"It's short for Luisa," I replied in a haughty tone of my own as I directed a phony smile at the woman, noting the relief that swept across Scott's features. I stepped inside the apartment and approached Scott's mother with my hand held out to her. "It's nice to meet you, Sylvia." Not.
Her reluctant handshake was limp and cursory as her eyes traveled up and down my body, no doubt judging the simple gray pants suit that I'd worn to work today. It wasn't cheap to me, but to her, it probably was.
"And what do you do, Lu?" she asked politely, but with an undercurrent of disdain she couldn't hide from me.
"I'm a detective with the local police department," I responded confidently. I pulled my jacket aside to show her my badge that was attached to my belt, making sure she also saw my Glock 19 in its shoulder holster.
"You're...you're a police officer?" she asked in surprised and almost horrified disbelief as she eyed my pistol warily. I was instantly pissed. Why was it so shocking to some people for a Latina to be a cop?
"Let me guess," I said in an even tone, yet with an unmistakably snide edge as I gave her a hard stare, "you thought I would be a maid in a hotel somewhere, right?"
Sylvia gasped, her eyes popping back up to mine with a startled expression as she gaped wordlessly at me. I guess she wasn't used to my style of brutal honesty. Too bad. I heard a faint choking noise from Scott's direction, and briefly glanced over to find him watching me with very clear amusement sparkling in his eyes.
I'd half expected him to be angered by how I was speaking to his mother. It was yet more proof of how unpredictable I found this man. I looked back at Sylvia, and her gaze had begun to darken with anger. Her body straightened indignantly as she glanced at her son for a second before focusing on me again with disapproving eyes. Maybe she would insult me directly this time. Bring it, puta.
"This is who you're bringing to your br-" Sylvia began in a scathing tone.
"Well, Mom," Scott suddenly interjected, cutting her off before she could finish her sentence, and most likely escalate the situation. "Lu and I have plans tonight, so I'll let you get back to your evening."
"But-" she muttered in confusion as Scott stepped between us and began ushering her toward the door. "I-"
The next thing I knew he was practically shoving her out the door as he said, "I'll call you soon. Okay, Mom?"
"Oh...uh...okay, honey," she replied with a frown, blinking in confusion at her son as he blurted out a hasty goodbye and closed the door in her face.
Scott locked the door, then sighed in relief as he turned back to face me with a smirk that fell from his lips the instant he saw my hard and angry expression.
"What the hell was all that?" I snarled out irately. "You told your mother that I was your girlfriend? Seriously? What the fuck, Scott?" I gave him a baleful glare and crossed my arms as I waited for an explanation. I watched lust flash briefly across his eyes and tried to disregard my body's instantaneous reaction in kind. Goddamn this infuriating sexy man.
He gave me an apologetic expression as he ran a hand through his thick chestnut hair. "I was kind of backed into a corner and panicked."
"And?" I prompted with a pointed stare, expecting him to do better than that lame non-answer.
He sighed. "She wanted to fix me up with someone I have no interest in."
"Then you say no," I said heatedly. "It's not that hard."
"I know," he replied. "It was stupid, and I'm sorry, Lu," he added softly.
I let out a sigh of my own as my irritation evaporated at his honest words. "It's okay," I said. "Just don't do anything like that again."
He nodded, and I turned to move further into his apartment as I shook my head, wondering why I didn't just walk out of here and wash my hands of this man altogether. I jerked to a halt as a thought occurred to me. I turned to face Scott as he almost plowed int
o me.
"What was your mother talking about when she started saying something about you bringing me somewhere?" I asked him suspiciously with narrowed eyes.
"I...I...uh..." he began with a wary and panicked expression. "I may have told her you were my date for a party."
"What party?" I asked sharply with an arched brow.
"My...my brother's engagement party," he confessed with a chagrined expression.
My eyes flew wide as my anger instantly surged back to life. I was convinced now that this guy was deranged, and I'd be crazy to spend one more second with him, let alone go to his fucking sex club with him tonight, or anywhere else for that matter. I reached out and snatched my garment bag from his hands with a low growl, making him flinch, then stalked back toward the door, intent on getting the hell out of here as I gritted out, "You gotta be fucking kidding me," under my breath.
I reached out for the doorknob just as Scott's hand appeared palm down on the door next to me. I instantly whirled around, ready to verbally rip him new one, but stilled my tongue when I saw the pained and apologetic look on his handsome face.
"Please don't go, Lu," he said in a quiet pleading tone. "I know I shouldn't have done it," he began with a frown, then let out another beleaguered sigh. "But you have to understand my mother, and the world she lives in," -he grimaced- "the world I live in," he added bitterly.
"Then enlighten me," I prompted, my anger still simmering beneath the surface ready to ignite.
"I grew up in a world where everything is about appearances and social status," he answered gravely. "And even though I don't really belong in it anymore, my parents keep trying to force me back into it like a puzzle piece that doesn't fit. I didn't want to argue with her about it tonight, so I told her you were my girlfriend to get her off my back." A resigned sadness filled his eyes and pulled at my heart, making it hard to stay angry with him. "I made a mistake, and I'm sorry, Lu."
I blinked up at him, wanting to ask him why he didn't fit in his parent's world anymore, but knew it was none of my business. We weren't even friends, and I didn't want to get that personal with this man. I arched a brow and gave him a hard stare as I jabbed a finger into his chest. "Don't do anything like that again," I said threateningly, barely catching myself before I flattened my palm and rubbed it all over his firm muscular chest.
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