Egotistical Player: A Hero Club Novel

by Bella Emy

  I move back a little to give myself space. I should probably go home. I should try to get some sleep. Anything to get out of here. “Sweetheart, you’re beautiful, and if I weren’t such a loser, I would totally be grabbing your hand and leading you back to my car, but I’m not that guy anymore. I’m so sorry, Amber.”

  Surprisingly, she smiles. “Preston, don’t be sorry. I figured I’d try my luck one last time. You’re a good man, and if she doesn’t wake up and realize what she has, one day she’s going to be really sorry.”

  I could easily stay here and tell Amber how it’s not Harleigh who is running away from what they want. I could tell her it’s me who’s too stupid and too scared because of who her brother was.

  Instead, I nod my head, wave good-bye to Gage and Amber, and make my way out of the bar.

  PART SIX

  Three years later…

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Harleigh

  I must have backspaced about a million times since I’ve opened my document in Word twenty minutes ago. I can’t seem to concentrate on the piece I’m supposed to be writing for the column today.

  It’s not completely my fault, not fully anyway. I blame about ninety percent on it being Monday morning, and until I have a moment to enjoy my cup of coffee—dark black roast with only one teaspoon of sugar to get my blood kicking—I can’t focus. I’ve never been a fan of Mondays… Although I can’t imagine anyone would be.

  I love my job and what I do. I love this place. It’s truly everything I’ve ever wanted in a job. But the whole “getting up early after enjoying two days off, sleeping in, and doing whatever the hell I want” is a total drag.

  Mondays are rough.

  Then again, there’s the other ten percent that’s not allowing me to focus on the current task at hand.

  He’s sitting twenty feet away from my desk, staring at me with his ocean-blue eyes.

  Dixon Dallas, my colleague who started working here two months ago, is constantly looking my way. I always catch him staring, and when I do, he either quickly smiles and darts his eyes back to the screen in front of him or pretends he’s looking at something past me, which is usually the clock on the wall. I figured this out because he’d point and then flick his wrist, making it seem as though he’s checking the time.

  It’s cute. Even I have to admit that. After not being in a relationship for over six months, it’s definitely time to get back on the field. Eddie and I dated for a bit, but it didn’t last. Nothing ever does because I can’t trust anyone. Or don’t… or won’t. Whatever. I’m ruined for the whole male population because of one guy who I’ve been refusing to think about for the last three years. He doesn’t deserve any more of my thoughts, time, or tears. I locked them away in a shoebox with anything that reminded me of Preston Scott and placed it at the topmost shelf of my closet. And fuck, I’ve done it. I’ve said his name in my mind, and now I’m thinking about him once more. Well, except he’s been known as “Asshole” for quite some time.

  I shake my head and bring my white cup up to my lips to take a sip of coffee. I’ll wash him down with my thoughts of him if it’s the last thing I do.

  Where was I?

  I look up and see, once again, Dixon looking at me. This time, he smiles. I smile back.

  Like I said, before I was rudely interrupted by my ever-loving thoughts of Asshole, Dixon is cute.

  Wait, did I say he was cute? I said what he did was cute, but yeah, he’s cute too.

  Now I’m stumbling over my thoughts, overusing the word “cute.”

  I’m being a total ass. He’s not just cute. The man looks like he’s straight out of a magazine for gorgeous men. To put it lightly, he’s well over six foot with blond hair, crystal-blue eyes, a faded goatee, and, from what I gather, he looks like he works out. His shirts and pants fit him like a glove.

  For the last few weeks, I’ve been checking him out. How can I not? I’m not blind. Even if I won’t ever seriously date anyone because of the shit my heart’s been through with Asshole, it doesn’t mean I don’t want to get laid ever again. Of course I do. Why not start with someone as hot as Dixon? He seems like a nice guy too. I’ve only known him for the past two months, but I don’t take him for a jerk at all.

  I could totally ask him out.

  Ha, yeah right. Ask him out because I want a bone? I’m hopeless. Maybe I should go to his cubicle right before lunch and see if he wants to grab a bite to eat with me. Or he could just eat me?

  I smile to myself and bite my lip. I’m definitely due for a good tongue massage down there. I shake my head, trying once more to concentrate on my work and get words onto the screen.

  Who am I kidding? I can’t think straight right now. And to think, I wanted to ask him to lunch? Yeah, right. Me? Initiate a date? That will never happen. It’s not something I do. Maybe I can go over to him with an excuse instead and see if he’ll say anything to me. It’s obvious he finds me attractive. Jill thinks so anyway.

  Jill knows everything that goes around our office. She doesn’t snoop or eavesdrop, but because she is our receptionist and conveniently sits in the front of the office, she knows things. For instance, she sees when people come in and who they leave to lunch with, and she hears conversations they may be having on their cell phones as they walk in or leave work. She also makes sure everything is in place, so she goes around the office and picks up on things that a person like me, stuck at my desk for hours on end, wouldn’t be able to. There are also the days I work from home, which, lately, haven’t been many.

  What’s the point anymore? I’d rather come in, get my work done, and leave for the day.

  The vibrating of my cell phone on my desk brings me out of my musings, and a smile pulls at my lips.

  It’s Aubrey.

  I pick up on the first ring and insert my AirPods into my ears. Once it connects, I avert my attention back to the blank document before me. Well, blank except for the temporary title, which I’ll be changing as soon as I get some words written for this piece. “Hey, girl.”

  “Harls, what are you doing Saturday night?” She sounds as excited as a kid on Christmas morning.

  I giggle. “Let me check my schedule.” I don’t check, of course, and she knows it. “Yup, I’m free.”

  I can picture her rolling her eyes at me right this very second.

  “Good, ’cause we’re going out.”

  I place my index fingernail between my teeth. “What? What about Chance and the baby?”

  Chance, her husband, is a former Australian soccer player who stole my best friend’s heart a long time ago. To make a long story short, the two are meant to be. They met on a road trip years ago, fell apart, then reconnected and got married in Vegas where their love really first began. Now it’s Aubrey, Chance, baby Chance, and Pixy, their goat, living the happily ever after I’ve always dreamed about. No, I’m not jealous or bitter. After what she’s been through, Aubrey deserves all the blessings this rotten world has to offer.

  “My darling husband has gladly offered to be on full baby duty this weekend so I can come down to see my friend. What’s it been? Three months?”

  “Four, but who’s counting?” I have. I chuckle quietly to myself.

  Aubrey gasps. “See! Four months! I’m coming by Saturday afternoon, and we’re going out that night. No ands, ifs, or buts about it! I’ll see you then!”

  She ends the call before I have a chance to tell her it’s fine and I’ll be okay if she can’t come, but clearly she made sure to be available. I know she’s doing this for me. Aubrey worries about me. Since Cory’s death and then Asshole’s sudden disappearing act, she’s constantly on the lookout for me, even if now she’s two hours away.

  That’s another thing I don’t want to think about: Asshole’s disappearing act. One minute we’re in bed, pleasing one another, and the next I wake to an empty bed. I got up, thinking he was in the kitchen or maybe the living room, but as I searched the house, I quickly discovered he had taken all his things and l
eft. No note, no good-bye. Only his set of keys placed on top of the kitchen counter.

  To say I was devastated is being nice. He tore me apart like I’d never been before. After everything we had been through, and then coming back together, his leaving again destroyed me. It was like I’d never meant a thing to him.

  I was inconsolable for weeks. I just lost my brother a few months prior. Then I lost Preston too. He was the one person who had been there for me during the hardest and most devastating time in my life. Then he was gone. And he used me like an old rag, then casually threw me away.

  His pusillanimous attitude really ticked me off. He went and left me for the last time. From that moment on, I’ve hated Preston Scott with all my heart. And that will never change.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Harleigh

  Saturday makes its way faster than I could have anticipated. If Aubrey says she’ll be somewhere at a certain time, she will. So once two o’clock in the afternoon rolls in, my doorbell rings and she makes her announcement over the intercom.

  “I’m here, bitch!” her voice booms through the speaker.

  I chuckle to myself and press the button to respond. “Okay, come on up, woman.” I hit the other button to make the buzzer go off, alerting her to pull open the door to my apartment building.

  I adjust my top and open my door to wait for my best friend, whom I haven’t seen in some time now.

  “Hey, you made it!” I announce as soon as I see her walking down the corridor. It sucks that we don’t live as close to one another as we used to.

  “Harls!” Aubrey picks up speed and runs toward me.

  We embrace, and I’m suddenly super ecstatic she’s here. Of course, I was happy when she told me over the phone she was coming to visit, but actually seeing her here in front of me now, I’m so thankful. I guess I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed her.

  We part, and I invite her inside. “Sit down, make yourself at home. Would you like anything to drink?”

  Aubrey places her purse and sweater on the couch and takes a seat. “No, thanks. I’m good. How’ve you been?”

  I sit across from her. Aubrey is still the same girl from when we were kids, except now she’s a married woman with a baby boy at home. She went through quite a bit to get her happily ever after.

  “I’m doing okay… staying busy, you know?”

  Aubrey crosses her right leg over her left and rests her arm on her knee. “Yeah, I hear ya. And work is going well?”

  I shrug. “Work’s great. We got a new employee not too long ago. Dixon Dallas.”

  Her face lights up, as I knew it would. “Dixon Dallas, huh?” She raises her eyebrows. “Ooh, do tell. Do tell. What’s Mr. Dallas like?”

  I chuckle. “I knew you’d go there.”

  “Of course. How could I not? We’re talking fresh man meat here. Now spill, woman.”

  I roll my eyes as a smile pulls at the corners of my lips. “There’s nothing to tell.”

  She’s not buying it. “Right. So describe him then, and I’ll be the judge of that.”

  I furrow my brows. She can’t be serious.

  No. I take that back. I know my best friend, and she sure as hell is serious right now.

  Aubrey crosses her arms across her chest. “C’mon, Harls. Spit it out.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Everything!”

  I chuckle, but honestly, I don’t want to talk about Dallas. I should have never brought him up in the first place. I should have known she’d ask me more about him.

  “I don’t really know what to say, Aub.”

  She gives me a smug grin. “Okay, fine. You wanna play it this way, I’ll play along. Height?”

  “What?”

  “Mr. Dallas’s height?”

  I roll my eyes once more. “Dixon. And six foot two, I think? I don’t know!”

  She smiles. “Nice. Hair color?”

  I know she’s not giving up, so I might as well answer her damn questions. “Blond.”

  “Facial hair?”

  I nod. “Yep. Goatee.”

  “Oh, my. Nice body?”

  I throw my arms up in exasperation. “I don’t know! I’ve only seen him in the office, for cryin’ out loud!”

  “Yeah, but if he has a nice body, you should probably be able to see his physique through his work shirt and the way his pants fit him. You haven’t noticed? You’re going to lie to me right now and tell me you haven’t checked him out?”

  I stand from my seat and give up trying to convince her otherwise. What’s the point when she’s so set in her ways? I know she’s only doing this because she cares about me and wants to see me happy. She knows what I’ve been through and wants nothing but the best for me.

  “Okay, yes, I’ve noticed. He’s fit… he’s gorgeous… he’s so our type. And he’s been checking me out too.” There. I said it.

  Like I knew they would, her eyes widen. She lets out an elated shout as her hands clasp together. “Perfect! What’s your plan?”

  “Excuse me? My what?”

  Now she’s the one rolling her eyes at me. “Your plan, silly! You know, to catch your man?”

  “Catch my man? Oh, Jesus. Aubrey, he’s my coworker. We’re not going there.”

  “And why the fuck not?”

  “Um, because like I said, he’s my co-worker…” I can’t believe she would actually think I’d do something with my colleague. Of course, I had thought about asking him to lunch, but I would never really go for it. It was just my imagination.

  She looks at me with a serious expression. “So what?”

  “I can’t do that, Aubrey. It would make shit weird at work.”

  “Well, you can’t sit around at home moping over Asshole anymore either.”

  I tense. The mention of his nickname, which of course she knows as well, causes my heart to race. The image of his handsome face instantly takes over my brain.

  Dixon Dallas, who?

  “What makes you think I’m moping around over him? I’m not moping.”

  “You’re moping. You’re totally moping.”

  “I am not.” I’m not… I’m doing… stuff.

  Aubrey’s not convinced if the look she’s giving me right now is any indication.

  “Okay. I’ll tell you what, Harls. You don’t want to get involved with your coworker? Fine. I can respect that. But when we go out tonight, we are finding you a man. You’re not going to wait for Asshole any longer.”

  Right before I’m about to tell her I’m not waiting for him, she intervenes.

  “Don’t even try to tell me you’re not. Go wash your hair. I’m going to fix it and do your makeup for you. We’re going out to dinner later and then we’ll hit the club.”

  “But I was going to go like this.” I stand proudly in my black T-shirt and faded blue jeans. On my feet are a pair of white laced sneakers. I wasn’t really planning on going out like this, but it’s fun to see the horrified look on her face she’s giving me now as she looks me up and down.

  “The hell you are!”

  I want to burst with laughter, but instead of doing so and pissing her off further, I turn on my heels and head toward the bathroom.

  ***

  Dinner was a blast. Aubrey and I went to one of our favorite spots from when we were in high school. If I say it didn’t bring back memories, I’d be lying. How could it not? I’d gone there so many times with my family… my mother, father, and Cory. God, how could life suck so much? Why did they have to be taken away from me? And fuck, why all three? Why any of them?

  “Ready, girl?” Aubrey pushes the thoughts out of my head as she takes the last spot in the parking lot, beating another car to it, and kills the engine. We’re at this new club she was raving all about throughout dinner. Honestly, we could have walked here from the restaurant. It’s only a five-minute drive. This club just opened about three months ago, and she’s been dying to get out and go. Of course, it had been a damn near challenge. With u
s not living so close to one another anymore—and her having her own life, married, and raising the baby—it was a miracle we even managed to get out tonight.

  I nod my head and offer her a fake smile. “Yup.”

  She’s not buying it. Great. “You’re going to have to do better than that to convince me.”

  I roll my eyes and give her a real smile this time.

  “There, much better. Now let’s go, bitch. It’s time to shake our asses.”

  I follow her out of the car and toward the entrance to the club. The building, an exclusive-looking, black-stoned structure, with neon pink-and-blue lights, is obviously the new hit. The line to get in wraps around the side.

  When we finally round the corner, I notice there are still a good fifty people before us waiting to get in. “Aubs, I don’t think we’re going to get in here tonight.” I’m standing behind her, taking in my surroundings.

  Aubrey whips her head around to face me. She has a smile on her face the length of the Nile River. “You don’t think I came unprepared, do you?” She waits a moment to let that sink into my brain before she speaks again. “Watch this.”

  I’m afraid. My best friend is crazy—in a good way, of course—so Lord knows what she’s got tucked up her sleeve.

  I watch her as she strolls up to the 350-pound, seven-foot-two bouncer at the head of the line. The people she just cut off have smoke coming out their ears. I’m sure they’re wondering who the hell this bitch is and where the fuck she came from.

  She’s with me… That’s my best friend.

  I pretend I know nothing and sneak glances every once in a while to check on her. Right now, she’s on her tippy toes, and it appears she’s whispering something to the bouncer. Oh, Jesus… What the hell did she just tell him?

  Moments later, she’s turning around, expressionless. I guess he told her to get back in line and wait her turn like everyone else.

  “What was that about?” I ask as she squeezes back in line next to me.

  “Oh, nothing.”

  I smirk. “Nothing? Yeah, right. I know you, woman…”