Alicia poked her head through.
“There’s a car here for you, Mr. Steele.”
I got up abruptly and hurried outside. There was a driver with black sunglasses on and he opened the door for me.
As soon as I was inside, he slammed the door shut. I couldn’t believe it, but I was a little nervous. Not because I was meeting with a notorious sleuth, but because I would be finding out about Rosy.
Today was a day where I’d have no choice but to think about Rosy.
The driver sped through Vegas, down the Strip and out of the city. The journey reminded me of traveling to the cabin with Rosy, months ago, and my heart caught in my throat as the car pulled to a stop outside of a small, private office.
The driver opened my door, letting me out. As soon as I was out of the car, he sped off. I took a deep breath and headed to the building. I started to knock on the door, but a small window slit opened.
“Password.”
I froze. Elmer hadn’t given me a password.
“Don’t be absurd. I’m here for Elmer. Let me inside!”
The slit closed immediately, and the door opened quickly.
I stepped inside, still bothered that the doorman hadn’t recognized me, and the door slammed shut behind me.
I was in a strange room that resembled a club, with dark walls and lurid red lighting. There were several large seats filled with people speaking quietly to one another.
They didn’t even look up as I passed.
A hand clapped down on my shoulder and I knew it was Elmer.
“Good to see you, Steele. Right this way.”
I nodded and took a deep breath as I followed him to a table in the corner. There was a single flickering light above the table.
I sat down uncomfortably.
“Nice to see you as well, Elmer.”
Elmer grinned and shrugged out of his jacket.
“Sorry I couldn’t pick another place. This is the only place that allows for people like me to go unnoticed.”
“Whatever,” I said quickly. By now, I was too excited to think about anything other than Rosy.
Elmer nodded and slid a yellow envelope onto the table. My heart raced in my chest.
“You ready?” He asked.
I nodded with my hands folded in front of me.
Elmer untied the envelope and slid the contents onto the table.
There was several pictures tied together and also several paper documents.
“Where would you like to start? The pictures, or documents?”
“Documents.” Seeing her right away would be too much.
“Alright.”
Elmer pulled the documents from the pile and spread them out.
“This is an unofficial transcript with her grades so far. Looks like she’s doing fairly well, and it also lists that she’s joined the biology club.”
I clenched my jaw to keep from smiling. I was beyond elated that Rosy was doing well in school.
“That’s good,” I murmured. Elmer shrugged.
“Yeah, I suppose. But the pictures tell a different story.”
I looked up quickly, blood rushing to my face.
“What do you mean?”
Elmer sat back with a sly look on his face.
“Let’s just say she’s been getting rather acquainted with other guys.”
Elmer’s words were like ice to me. They cut into me deep. I tried to keep my cool, but I was seconds away from snapping.
“Let me see the pictures.”
Elmer flipped the pictures over and I felt my breath get caught my throat. There were several pictures of Rosy being with some tall, blond kid. He was mildly attractive and well built, but obviously not me.
“Who the hell is this kid?” I growled.
Elmer cleared his throat and pulled out another document.
“Cris Lovington the Third. He father’s got some business managing cocktail clubs back in Miami, but they reside here to keep a watchful eye on Cris. He’s got a lot of rugby teams looking at him.”
I gritted my teeth. I knew that name sounded familiar.
“Cris Lovington as in Lovington’s Loveseat? I’ve heard of that asshole…”
His father was a piece of shit who overworked his employees and blew his money on pointless things. It was no wonder that his piece of shit son went after my Rosy.
“Yeah, his father is quite the bull. But he’s big sponsor for Hudson, so Cris is quite the catch.”
I rolled my eyes.
“He’s an athlete, of course he’d be a catch.” I was growing more and more angry by the second.
“Well, Rosy also seems to post a lot about him on her social media sites,” Elmer continued. He flipped more pictures over, revealing Facebook posts of Rosy and Cris.
One picture they were kissing, and in another he was holding onto her breast, and she was looking up at him. He was grinning like he’d just won the big lottery prize and I felt a strong urge to rip the photo into shreds.
Rosy, on the other hand, looked perfect. Her eyes looked happy and full of life. She was blushing and gnawing on her fat lower lip, just like she’d done back at the cabin.
“I want this fucker far away from her,” I growled.
Elmer chuckled.
“That’s not my area of expertise. But look, she’s in college. It was bound to happen.”
I shook my head.
“No, Rosy isn’t like those other bimbos. She has substance.”
“She’s eighteen years old. What type of substance could she possibly have?”
I paused as rage flooded through me.
She was supposed to be loyal to me. She was mine. I had given her so much and she throws that all away for some mediocre rugby player? I didn’t know the kid, but I knew he was nothing compared to me.
“She’s…” I trailed off, the words crumbling to dust in my mouth before I could even start to explain. How could I? Rosy was beyond perfect. Her sweet innocence, those big trusting eyes. She wasn’t a normal eighteen-year-old girl.
She was a goddess, and there was nothing I could say to make Elmer understand.
I reached into my pocket and slid an envelope of money to Elmer.
“Thank you for your services.”
Elmer nodded and quickly collected the money. He cast a stoic glance my way before sliding out of the chair.
I was left with my vengeful thoughts.
I wasn’t sure if it was my fault for abandoning her, or if Elmer was right.
She was very young. She was bound to hop from guy to guy.
It had been nearly three months since I last saw her. She looked so different. Her hair was longer and her hips seemed even more curvaceous. I was glad to see that she’d kept her healthy appetite. Suddenly, an image of Rosy bustling around her new kitchen filled my head.
I wondered if she cooked for that little shit, Cris Lovington.
I sighed and got up, heading back outside. Now that I’d met with Elmer, there was no mystery left. The air of secrecy had gone and I was left alone with my miserable thoughts.
The driver took me back to The Grand, and when I got out of the car, I felt incredibly empty.
I had been so sure that leaving Rosy behind was the only way.
But I was enraged when I saw her with someone else. And I hadn’t been prepared for exactly how that would feel.
Rosy was a catch, all right. She was beautiful and young. It was natural that men would want her.
But I had claimed her first. I taught her everything.
“Hello, Mr. Steele. Would you like to head out for lunch? Or should I order something for you?” Alicia asked me.
I shook my head and hobbled back into my office.
“No. I’m not hungry. Cancel all my meetings for the rest of the day. Tell them I’m sick.”
I shut the door before I could hear Alicia reply. My chest felt so hollow and I had to close my eyes and breathe forcefully through my nose, just so I wouldn’t vomit.
&nbs
p; Why was this happening, and why did I care?
I could have any woman I wanted, yet Rosy was the only one that made me feel alive.
Red hot anger was boiling through me. I wanted to give Rosy a piece of my mind. I wanted to know why she cheated on me.
That alone was a ridiculous thought. When I’d left, I’d made sure that Rosy knew we were over. She couldn’t cheat on me if we weren’t together…and yet I cared so much that I was sick to my stomach.
Hudson University was so far away. It would be ridiculous if I showed up to see Rosy.
Or would it?
I sat up and took a bottle of mineral water from my desk, uncapping it and taking a long swallow as I thought.
I was determined to find out what was going on with Rosy. We had something special. I knew that the day I laid eyes on her. We’d shared things that I hadn’t even thought possible. Rosy had turned me from a cold man into a man with feelings, a man with a heart.
I quickly got up and grabbed my phone. I was going to have to pull some strings.
“Alicia,” I said after dialing. “Get Hudson University’s dean on the phone. I have business to discuss with him.”
I walked back to my chair and sat in it swiftly. Rosy was the light of my life and I’d do anything and everything to keep her there.
Even if it meant going through drastic measures.
She drove me wild, but I loved every second of it.
***
Finding out about Rosy's private life was infuriating.
I knew we technically weren’t official or ever a couple, but she still was mine. I felt so possessive over her and finding out that some hot-headed jock was fucking her was almost too much to handle. I’d taken her and I’d shown her curvy body just what she needed.
She was mine, and she’d always be mine.
I decided that the only way to settle my worries and doubts was to get the truth from Rosy herself.
It was risky but I had no choice. I needed clarity and room to figure things out. Maybe it would give me enough closure to finally forget about Rosy once and for all.
But before I headed to Hudson, I needed to gather more information from other sources.
Elmer gave me the basic information I’d needed, but I wanted to speak to people who had actually seen and spoke to Rosy.
So, without telling anyone, I went to the apartment complex.
The main reason I put her in that apartment was because I knew the receptionist, Rebecca. Her father was a colleague of mine, and we used to golf together.
Rebecca really had no business being a receptionist, especially since she was just a rich man’s daughter who grew up doing nothing important. But she saw Rosy everyday.
She was my best bet.
Despite me not liking Rebecca, I’d be lying if I said I had never fucked her.
Because I had. A lot. She had a hot body and loved to suck my cock when I was on the phone with her father.
She was a dirty slut, but I’d loved it. At the time, at least.
When I came to the apartment she looked pleasantly happy to see me. I was sure she thought I had come to fuck her.
“Rebecca.”
“Steele.” Her eyes looked me up and down hungrily as if she had been waiting for me to walk through those doors.
I greeted her with a soft smile and pressed my palms on the counter.
“I can’t stay long, but I just need to ask a few questions about Rosy.”
Rebecca sighed and rolled her eyes, which I figured would happen.
Rebecca was always the jealous type.
“What about her?”
I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out the picture of Cris. Elmer said he had been in the apartment a few times, so I was hoping she could recognize him.
I placed the picture on the counter and slid it over to Rebecca.
“Have you seen this guy?”
Rebecca peeked at the picture and shrugged.
“I can’t give away information about residents.”
I sighed and stuffed the picture back in my pocket.
“So, you’re playing that game now?” I asked with a smirk.
Rebecca avoided my gaze but I could see a little smile creeping on her face.
We used to do that all the time. Act like animals and fuck the daylights out of each other.
She loved hot, heavy, rough sex, and even enjoyed being slapped from time to time. I didn’t want to fuck her though. Not anymore. And while I could look at her and see that she was attractive, it held nothing for me.
Blondes were no longer my taste. Rosy was the only taste I had.
But I still knew what I could to do to get her to talk. She was a pretty easy prey.
I slowly walked behind the counter and grabbed Rebecca by the throat, running my thumb from her collarbone to her lips. She laughed and bit her lip.
“What are you gonna do to me, Mr. Steele?”
I pulled at her skirt, bringing it down to her knees then slid her pink panties to the side. I could smell that she was wet for me, and I felt a trace of disgust form in my mouth.
“Mr. Steele,” Rebecca gasped as if she were in shock. “What are you doing?”
Ignoring her request, I held her firm. “Tell me,” I growled in her ear. “Tell me right now!”
Rebecca trembled in my arms. When I released her, she sagged against the counter.
“He’s her boyfriend,” Rebecca breathed as she pulled up her panties.
I shook my head. I knew the pictures Elmer had were revealing, but I just couldn’t accept that they might be dating.
“There’s no way. He’s not her type,” I mumbled with my back turned to her.
“Are you fucking the little college slut?”
I turned back and glared at Rebecca.
“That’s none of your business.”
Rebecca chuckled and stood up.
“Maybe not, but it sure is questionable. I mean you bought her one of the nicest apartments, and luxurious clothes...what else would it be?”
I sighed and stood in silence.
I knew Rebecca had always wanted to date me, but she was nothing like Rosy.
The Dirty Hotel King: A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance Page 20