“I feel the same way about Quinn,” he says, and then looks at the box from Drago. “Is there an éclair in that box?”
“For you, boss, there just might be,” Matisse tells him, opening it up, and handing one over.
“Go take your break. I’ll clean up your station.”
She hugs him, and then leads me upstairs to the large employee space. Zane is insistent on his employees having a good time, so there’s a large living room like space with multiple couches, chairs and loveseats. That’s bordered by a few bathrooms and rooms where they can nap, study, and just be alone.
Matisse starts to lead me to one of the rooms, but I remind her that the rooms have been used by lots of people. She tells me anyone who uses the rooms for anything involving body fluids has to wash all the bedding, so I let her take me inside. Like I’m going to ever turn her down.
Chapter 8
Matisse
I don’t realize how much I needed this girls’ night, until I’m having the first sip of my whiskey and Coke. “So good,” I say, looking around The Griffin bar.
Yes, we’re here because it’s somewhat ironic, with the Griffin family being such a big part of the Society, but also because the drinks are good and the vibe is chill. Rose got here early and snagged us benches around a fire pit, and we’re getting our drink on before we go in the back and dance. Just the thing to top of an above-average day.
“How was your afternoon snack?” Harlow asks me with a smirk.
“Crazy, but good.”
I tell them all what happened, and how Zane threw the girl out. I don’t tell them what went on upstairs, but I let them know Kendrick made me very happy with his visit. So happy that I slipped on this sleeveless, and short, red dress and heels.
“I can’t believe the way some women act. They make the rest of us look bad,” Camari says.
“She’s young,” I tell her with a shrug. “She still has time to learn.”
“You’re being very forgiving,” Sierra says.
“Kendrick and Zane both stood with me, so why should I be upset. My guy is hella hot, especially in that tank top he had on.”
“Can we not talk about my best friend like that, please?” Waverly asks, looking pained.
“You had to have heard about how fit—I mean, fine—he is before us,” Jen tells her.
“Yes, but I wasn’t friends with any of those people, and Ken wasn’t with any of them.”
“I’ll try and censor myself for you, Wave. I hated hearing my friends talk about my brother, so believe me, I get it.”
“You never talk much about your brother,” Kalila says.
“He’s awesome, runs a roller derby rink in D.C. Women think he’s hot, he’s one of Aiden’s best friends, and I miss him. There you go.”
“When do we get to meet him?”
“He’s planning to come to Vegas to visit in the next couple of months. There’s a Roller Derby convention here every year, too. So, you’ll eventually meet him.”
“Are you trying to keep him from us?” Rhieve asks.
“Not at all. Like I said, he’s awesome. I just don’t like to talk a lot about him, because while I love it here, I miss him. I’m glad Aiden’s here, because he’s like my second older brother, but it’s not the same as having Haring here with me.”
“Haring and Matisse? Your parents must have loved art,” Camari says with a laugh.
“They did,” I tell her with a smile.
“You should go visit him. I know Reina would give you an extra day off,” Sierra tells me.
I sit up straighter. “That’s a great idea! I could go next week, maybe. We have the anatomy test, and that could be my celebration if I pass.”
“You are totally going to pass, but don’t you want to celebrate with your man? Oops, sorry Wave,” Nev says.
“I should just bring earplugs with me from now on,” Waverly says, admitting defeat.
“I do want to celebrate with him, but don’t worry Wave, I’m not going to be giving any details. I can do that first, and then get on a plane.”
I can’t wait to ask Reina tomorrow for the time off. I think she’ll be okay with it, since she lets Sierra go, and I haven’t asked for anything extra since I started. Now that things are going so well with Kendrick, seeing Haring will be the icing on the cake of my life right now. Plus, I need to tell him about my boyfriend and make plans for them to meet.
* * *
Kendrick
Every time I walk into the Laundry Room, I feel like I’m part of a second secret society. This bar is a “not so-secret” part of Downtown Las Vegas, and only seats twenty people at a time. You have to text ahead, see what dates are available, and then you go through the secret door to get in. Matt reserves it at least once a month because it’s got great drinks, a low-key vibe, and it’s heavy on the privacy—no phone calls or pictures are allowed inside. Sometimes our group takes the whole room, but other nights, like tonight, there are only a handful of us. We make sure to spend enough to make up for reserving more space than we need, but I’m pretty sure the other people here appreciate us for it.
“Spill,” Matt says, after I grab my drink at the bar and head over to the table where Aiden, Nate, and Theo are already sitting.
“I’m not talking about my sex life with you.”
“It better not be all about sex,” Aiden tells me, fixing me with a glare that would make most men shrink back. I’m not most men, so I hold his gaze until Nate waves a hand between us, forcing us both to look at him.
“We don’t expect to hear about you and Matisse having sex, but we are interested in you finally giving in to her. She’s been chasing you hard for a few months now,” he says.
“I’ve been wanting to be caught,” I admit.
“She’s like a sister to me,” Aiden reminds me. “If you’re even thinking this isn’t going to last, you need to back off. She has some history that’s not mine to tell, but I mean it. Don’t mess with her.”
His comment has piqued my interest, but since I’m not at a point where I can tell her my past, I can’t ask Matisse about hers. I can re-assure Aiden, though. “She’s amazing, and I know it. I tried to fight my feelings because I have a past, too, but I decided I wanted her more than I wanted to keep hiding.”
“What past are we talking about, Kenny? Your background check was pretty cut and dry,” Matt tells me.
“We all have a past, Matt.”
“Are you telling me you hid things from us? Because Ainsley and her team are pretty damn thorough, so if you did something like that, it has to be bad. My wife is pregnant, but hell, even if she wasn’t I’d be saying this. If you have a past that can come back to haunt us all, you need to come clean, and do it now.”
“My past is where it belongs—in the past. There is no reason for me to believe it will come for any of us.”
I’m not going to tell him that I’m afraid every day that Waverly and I are going to be found, because I still have the irrational fear that they’ll send us away. Despite what I’ve witnessed, that’s my biggest fear. Or at least it used to be. Now I don’t just fear losing the protection we have within the Society—I fear losing Matisse.
“Enough with the somber talk. I thought we were here to get away from work,” Theo says.
“You wanna talk about something else?” Nate asks him. “Then talk to us about Kali.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“At least tell us more about your past with her. She almost didn’t go into the recruit program because she saw you when she came in to talk to Reina,” Aiden reminds him.
“Let it go,” Matt says, making it obvious to everyone that he knows exactly what went on, or at least what Theo told him happened. Because, let’s face it, there’s never just one side to a story.
Theo leans forward and makes eye contact with each of us before speaking. “She was my first and only love. We were blissfully happy together, and then we weren’t. That’s all I’m going to sa
y.”
“You’ve been hooking up, though,” Nate reminds him. We’ve all seen them leave parties and dinners together.
“I said what I’m going to say.”
Like I told Matt, we all have secrets, and no one at this table is immune from that, which is why we all let Theo off the hook. The rest of the night is spent drinking, talking about their next fishing trip, which I agreed to go on, and just having a good time.
I resisted friendship with these guys for almost as long as I resisted Matisse, but I’m glad I gave in to both. They’ve kept me relatively sane these last few years, even if they have no idea they were doing it. Good friends, and an even better woman, make life much easier. Well, at least on the outside. Nothing can completely calm the storm that rages inside of me for very long, not even the woman I’ve come to crave like an addict.
Chapter 9
Kendrick
It was a long night with two multi-victim car accidents, and a victim of domestic violence being brought into the E.R. during my shift. I was able to help the other doctors save all of the lives, and I introduced Reina to the woman who was brought in, so I’m feeling pretty good even though I’m dead on my feet.
I’m showered and changed in less than fifteen minutes, and heading for the door when I’m paged to the Chief of Staff’s office. What the hell? I haven’t been to his office since I started here three years ago. I’ve seen the man at parties and Corrigan galas, but we don’t really interact.
As soon as I’m ushered into his office, I see the reason I’ve been summoned. The young girl from Zane’s shop is sitting in one of the chairs with a smirk on her face. And then I see the pictures behind her on the table behind my boss’ desk. Pictures with her in them. This is definitely not going to go well.
“Have a seat, Kendrick,” he tells me.
I sit down, linking my hands on my lap, and trying to appear calm. I cannot lose this placement. The Society can’t afford for me to lose it.
“I’m not sure why I’m here, sir.”
“You don’t recognize my daughter?”
“I didn’t know she was your daughter, but yes, I saw her in a tattoo shop a couple of days ago.”
“You had her thrown out of that tattoo shop,” he bellows at me.
“No, sir, I did not.” I may need this job, but I’m not ever going to be one to roll over and play dead when I’m being attacked.
“Your plaything and her boss embarrassed me,” the girl whines.
“My girlfriend felt disrespected by you, and Zane was within his rights to ask you to leave the shop he owns.”
“You’re fired.”
I expected it, but hearing him say it incenses me. “On what grounds?”
“Insubordination.”
“Since we’ve had almost no interaction in three years, that’s going to be a little hard to prove.”
“I don’t have to prove anything.”
“You can’t just fire me because your daughter got her feelings hurt when I turned her down.”
“I can, and I just did. Security will meet you at your locker.”
I stand up and walk out of the office. I want to punch something—I want to punch him—but it won’t do any good. I hate people who use their power for their own enjoyment, because I know that bastard enjoyed what just went down. He can look like the hero to his daughter, who basically called Matisse a slut. Real fucking classy, that one.
I turn the corner and lean my head back against the wall, knowing I need to go and get my stuff, but also knowing I should calm down first. “Kenny, what’s wrong?”
I turn to find Reina practically running to me. She places her hands on my shoulders as she looks at me. I was hoping to put this off a little longer, but I know I can’t. “I just got fired.”
“What? You just helped save those people, and brought that woman to me.”
“I also spurned the advances of a young woman who turned out to be the Chief of Staff’s daughter.”
“She hit on you here?”
“No. At the tattoo shop when I went to see Matisse yesterday.”
“And Teesy didn’t kill her?”
I have to smile at that. “She climbed on my lap and fed me a pastry, which apparently means she’s my ‘plaything.’”
“Who called her that?” Reina asks, her tone and her eyes going arctic.
“The daughter did, just now in the office.”
“Take me there, Kendrick.”
“I’m supposed to clear out my stuff,” I say, just as the Chief turns the corner and sees me.
“What are you still doing here?” the bastard asks me, not recognizing Reina, because she’s turned away from him. He and his daughter are with the Chairman of the hospital board, and if I thought things were ugly in that office, I know it’s nothing compared to what’s about to go down. Reina is a force you don’t want to reckon with.
“He’s speaking to me,” Reina tells him, turning around.
“Reina,” the Chairman says. “What a pleasant surprise.”
“Do you know how much money the Corrigan family donates to this hospital?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then tell me why my Foundation doctor, who keeps privileges here, and just helped save several lives, was fired because he turned down the advances of some spoiled little bitch who cried to her daddy?”
“You can’t call me names! My dad will take care of you!”
“Take care of me?” Reina asks, moving closer to her, as I fight the urge to hold her back. “He needs to take care of you. Hitting on a man who’s not interested, and then calling his girlfriend—who’s one of my interns, by the way—a plaything because she stood up to you? You need a reality check.”
“You don’t talk to my daughter like that,” the idiot says, not realizing he should be keeping his mouth shut right about now.
“I just did.”
“I’ll take care of you just like I took care of him.”
“I’d love to see you try.”
“Your husband needs to keep you on a shorter leash.”
“Excuse me?”
“People like you, and him, need to know your place,” he says, gesturing to me.
“What?” the Chairman asks, looking between all of us. “You told me Kendrick was insubordinate to you.”
“I wasn’t,” I say.
“Of course you weren’t! You wouldn’t even know how to be insubordinate,” Reina says.
“Reina, I’m sure we can work this out.”
“I think we’re way past working this out. And the tattoo shop this girl got thrown out of? It’s owned by Helen Wilson’s son.”
“Helen is a large donor,” he says, swallowing hard. “I’ll call her.”
“Forget calling her. You have a bigger issue to deal with here. How is this man allowed to make these decisions without any investigation?”
“He’s not. There’s a process.”
“I was told security would be meeting me at my locker while I cleaned it out,” I tell him.
“Please give me a chance to make this right, Reina.”
“There’s only one thing right now that will make this even remotely okay.”
He nods, and turns to the Chief. “You are suspended without pay until an investigation can be completed.”
“You can’t suspend me!”
“Actually, I can. Security will be meeting you at your office to retrieve your keys from you.” He then turns to me, “Kendrick, you are not fired, and I hope you will choose to stay on staff, as well as accept my apologies on behalf of the hospital. I can assure you we will be taking this seriously.”
“Yes, thank you. I will stay on.”
“Now that this is settled, Kendrick and I need to head to the Corrigan building. I’ll be waiting to hear from you about how all of this works out before we issue next month’s check,” Reina tells him.
“Of course, Reina.”
We walk out of the hospital, parting as we walk to our cars. I th
ank her, but my heart isn’t in it. I hate it when those with power use it for their own good, and yet I just let Reina save my job. What she did was in reaction to what the bastard did, but does it make it any better? No, in my mind it doesn’t, and now I have to figure out how to deal with it.
* * *
Matisse
I’m in Ainsley’s tech lair, getting some extra practice in, when I see Kendrick on one of the cameras making his way into the building. He had a shift at the hospital last night, so he’s supposed to be at home sleeping. Something’s wrong in the way he’s walking, and the look on his face is scaring me a little.
I log out of my session, grab my bag, and head to the hospital wing. When I get there, I greet Liz, who tells me Kendrick’s in his office. I thank her and make my way down the hall.
Opening the door without knocking, I find him with his head on his desk. “Doc?”
“Do you not know how to knock, Matisse?” he asks, raising his head to glare at me.
I force myself to hold my ground. “I wasn’t aware I had to.”
“What if I had a patient in here with me?”
“I saw you enter the building a few minutes ago, and Liz told me where you were. I don’t know when you would’ve have time for a patient to join you.”
“You were spying on me?” he asks, standing up.
“No,” I tell him, turning to close the door because this seems to be going downhill fast. “I was doing some practice monitoring in the tech lair and I saw you. Since I know you were supposed to be at home, I was worried.”
“Now you worry? Not when you climbed on my lap in the tattoo shop, but now?”
“I don’t seem to remember you complaining when I climbed onto your lap.”
“And that’s the problem. I don’t think clearly when you’re around.”
“What’s going on, Kendrick?”
“I almost got fired today.”
“Reina almost fired you? Why?”
“Not Reina, the hospital.”
“What?”
“The girl from the shop is the Chief of Staff’s daughter. She complained to him.”
“You weren’t in the hospital when that happened.”
Society Girls: Matisse Page 7