by Ali Parker
I shrugged. It wasn’t really, not in contrast to the money sitting in my bank account or my parents’. I came from a long line of wealthy Coopers, who had been passing down their millions through seven generations. The family business was mafia on the down-low, but another part of the family ran Cooper Industries and kept it clean. The good side of the business had existed for over one hundred years. I still had no clue what exactly the business was. I doubted any of the women in the family did. It was run by the men and the men only. Us Cooper ladies were primarily trophies or home keepers. Our lives were lavish yet unfulfilling.
I had spent my teenage years basking in money. I enjoyed all the luxuries my father bestowed upon me: a new car every summer, a credit card with no limit, vacations whenever I so desired an escape from all the hard work of being a rich female Cooper.
But shortly into my twenties, all the glitz and glam lost its appeal for me. I wanted something more. I wanted something that was mine and mine alone. My passion for writing was where it started, and I studied journalism at California State University. I had worked as a temp at the Los Angeles Times for two years before I was able to write and publish my own pieces.
After three years of working in the journalism industry, I landed my dream gig. I received a call from the New York Times, and a week later, they gave me a job offer.
I hadn’t needed to think about it, but I told them I needed time. They gave me a week to sort through my thoughts. They knew I’d be moving across the country if I accepted the job. All I really needed with that time was a way to convince my parents to let me go.
I was twenty-three and still needed approval from Mom and Dad.
It had taken a lot of convincing and, unfortunately, a fair amount of lying. I wanted this more than anything, and I would be damned if I let my Cooper name hold me back from seizing the opportunity to live in New York City and work as a journalist.
I told my parents that I had been keeping a secret from them. I wove an intricate web of lies and confessed that I had been seeing a man who lived in New York City for six months. After they wrapped their heads around that doozy, I hit them with the real jackpot lie: he was actually my fiancé. After they believed me, and after a lot more persuasion and whining and pleading, they agreed to let me go with a few conditions.
I would stay at the penthouse they purchased for me. I would talk with them on the phone once a week to fill them in on how things were going. And, lastly, I would have to introduce them to this new boyfriend of mine at my cousin’s wedding in a week.
Now, as I stood with the movers my parents had hired for me, I felt extremely lucky. I was the first Cooper woman in seven generations to pursue a career. There was stress and pressure associated with that, of course, but I had never been the kind to crumble when the going got tough. I excelled. The New York Times wouldn’t be any different.
The movers interrupted my thoughts and asked if there was anything else I needed help with. They offered to arrange my furniture for me, but I told them it would be fine.
“I’m quite picky,” I said, polishing off the rest of my beer. I put it down on the dining room table and realized it was the first time I didn’t have to use a coaster. Freedom. “I’ll arrange things on my own. I’m stronger than I look.”
“All right,” the older mover said. “Your mother has our number if you need us to come back.”
“Thank you, but I won’t need you.”
The two men shared a quick glance, then nodded and made for the door. I walked them out, wished them a good day, and closed and locked the door behind them.
Then I spun to soak in the sight of my apartment.
My apartment.
“Hell-fucking-yeah,” I breathed before going back to the fridge for another beer. There was no one to tell me no. There was no one to tell me beer wasn’t a lady’s drink. I didn’t have to sit in the corner sipping lemon water anymore. I didn’t have to wear pastel colored dresses and pink lipstick and wide-brimmed hats. I didn’t have to wear makeup if I didn’t want to.
I could just be.
I popped the top off my second beer the same way I did the first, and then I kicked off my heels and left them sitting on the kitchen floor. I walked away from them and ignored the tug at my stomach that I was breaking a rule. I went to the living room, where my sofas and chairs and coffee table were all wrapped in plastic, and cut into them. I tore everything open, creating a massive pile of garbage in the corner by the windows.
Moving boxes were piled up beside the fireplace, and I cut into those, pulling out items as I went and placing them on surfaces as I had space. I found my speaker and set up my music and blasted it as loud as I could as I danced around the apartment and unpacked and drank beer.
I made it through one pack in four hours and decided to order pizza.
I continued setting my place up. I unpacked my makeup vanity and found my two makeup boxes. I unloaded them and filled the drawers of the vanity. I found all my beauty and styling tools and placed them where they should be, deciding right then and there that I would not even use half of them.
I paused to look at myself in the mirror.
My long blonde hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. The diamonds in my right ear winked at me all the way from my lobe to the top of my cartilage. My parents had been furious when I came home with an ear full of piercings. They had become even more livid when they saw the one in my navel. They didn’t know about the one through my clit, and they never would. That was for my enjoyment only. And the enjoyment of my partners.
I pulled the elastic out of my hair and let it tumble around my shoulders.
I needed a change. I wasn’t just the tanned, blonde, beautiful daughter of Weston and Leslie Cooper anymore. I was a journalist for the New York Times. I was an independent woman. I was finally me.
I went on the hunt for my phone and had to stop looking when the pizza guy arrived. I padded barefoot down the hall—something I never would have been allowed to do back at the Cooper Estate—and opened the door.
The pizza guy was young, probably no more than eighteen. He was tall and gangly, like many teen boys were, and when he saw me, he began stuttering over his own words.
I took the pizza out of his hand and placed it on the still-wrapped table in my entranceway. “Hey,” I said, giving him my best smile. “How much?”
“Uh.” His eyes flicked back and forth between mine before doing a not so subtle up down of my body. I was wearing practical clothes for moving, so I wasn’t sure what he was getting so worked up about. My black pants were tight, sure, and my tank top showed a bit of midriff and a whole lot of arm, but my tits weren’t hanging out on display.
“Will twenty dollars cover it?” I asked, trying to help him out.
He nodded.
I passed him a twenty-dollar bill, which crumpled in his clammy hand as he tucked it into his pocket.
“Okay, well, thank you.” I began closing the door. “I order a lot of pizza, so I’ll probably see you around.”
“S-see you around,” he called as I closed the door.
I grabbed my pizza and took it into the living room. I turned off my music and searched for my phone. I found it near some of the moving boxes by the fireplace. I left the pizza on the dining room table as I went and grabbed the bottle of champagne from the fridge. I popped it—something I had never done before—and poured myself a fizzing glass before bringing it to the table with me.
The champagne and pizza didn’t necessarily complement each other, but the fact that I was alone in my own place eating whatever the fuck I wanted overrode what my taste buds were telling me.
Not only that, but I was feeling a bit tipsy, so I didn’t care.
I began making a To Do list on my phone. I needed to stay organized.
Chop hair off
Get groceries
Finish unpacking
Find the pool in the building
Satisfied with my list of mundane priorities, I cranked the
music back up and ate the entire pizza myself. Then I spent the rest of the evening walking around and unpacking and drinking my champagne straight out of the bottle.
Around midnight, I ran myself a bath and filled it with lemongrass oils and bubble bars. I stepped in, and the hot water danced around my knees. I sank deeply into it and leaned back against the cushioned side. My champagne was beside me. It wasn’t cold anymore, but I didn’t care. I sipped it as the water warmed my body and eased the ache in my back and hips from all the moving I had done during the day.
As I lay in the water, I thought about my brother. He was here in New York and had been for a long time now. He and my parents had cut ties when I was still in high school when he moved out here. The lifestyle he chose was a stark contrast to what my father had expected from his only son. He had wanted my brother to take over for him at Cooper Industries when he retired. My brother had other plans. He wanted his own life where he could live by his own rules.
As soon as I turned twenty, I finally understood that desire of his.
I leaned over to grab my phone from where it rested on the ledge of the table. I should visit him. I knew where he worked. He had told me last time we spoke on the phone a few months ago. My parents didn’t know we were still in touch. There was no sense in telling them. Just because they cut him from their lives didn’t mean I wanted to lose my brother. He had kept me sane in that house when I was a young girl.
I opened my To Do list.
Surprise Axel at work.
Chapter 3
Sabian
Mia Salvega had caught my eye primarily because of what she drove. Her custom purple Lotus Elise was parked in our shop, and Jax had his head under the hood. He was checking the oil and transmission fluids after we had done a full service to the vehicle, while I was crammed in the passenger seat vacuuming the interior.
It smelled like sunscreen and cigarettes.
“So, she’s picking this beast up today?” Jax called from where he stood at the front of the car.
I switched the handheld vacuum off and leaned out the door. “As far as I know, yeah. Jamie says she’ll be here sometime after noon.”
“Well, it’s noon now,” Jax said as he wiped the dipstick on a rag and plunged it back into place. “Can’t wait to get a good look at her for myself. Figure out what all the hype is about. I hear she slapped you at the end of your date?”
“Those girls can’t keep their fucking mouths closed,” I grumbled.
“Are you talking shit about me?” a familiar feminine voice said from outside the car.
I peered behind me to see Ellie stepping in through the door at the side of the shop. She pushed her aviators up off her nose and into her hair.
“No, he wouldn’t ever say a bad thing about you, Ellie,” Jax said slyly.
Ellie stomped over to where I was tucked in the passenger seat and bent down. She wore a cocky grin, and there were beads of sweat on her upper lip. The day must be a scorcher. “Is the lovely Mia picking this beast up today?” She rapped her knuckles on the roof.
“As far as I know,” I said.
Jax closed the hood and shared an amused look with Ellie. “I think Sabian should be the one to give her the keys back and take the rest of her payment,” Jax suggested innocently.
“Hell no,” I said as I turned the vacuum back on and proceeded with cleaning the already immaculate interior. I would give Mia credit for one thing: she kept a clean car.
“Oh, come on,” Jax said loudly over the hum of the vacuum. “You’re taking all the fun out of it.”
“Ryder would be pissed if she sent in a complaint. I’m not playing with fire like that.”
“Fair,” Jax said as he wiped his hands on the rag again. He nodded to Ellie. “How was your morning off?”
“Lovely,” she said as she swept her hair up into a ponytail. “I slept in. Axel drove Ava to school then came back with coffees and breakfast. I couldn’t ask for much more than that. Besides getting to see Mia deal with Sabian again.” She winked at me.
Jax laughed and gave her a high five as he walked by. He went to the bay doors and rolled them open, letting in bright sunlight and warm, fresh air. The shop was stuffy and hot, and in the summer, there was no escaping it. One had to simply endure the heat and keep working.
I finished vacuuming out Mia’s car and got out. I closed the door behind me as Jamie came out of the reception office. “Hey,” she called. “Ms. Salvega is on her way over. Fifteen more minutes she says.” She tossed Ellie a pair of keys. “You meet her out front and bring her to me to process her payment. When she gets here, I suggest you hide out in the bathroom, Sabian.”
Jax snorted and looked at me. “Damn, she really hates your guts, hey?”
I ignored Jax and turned to Jamie. “Did she say something about me?”
“Oh yeah, she said a few things,” Jamie said, trying to stop herself from smiling. The dimples pressing into her cheeks gave her away.
Jax laughed harder and clapped me on the shoulder. “Don’t sweat it, man. Rich girls like her aren’t made for wild ones like you and me.”
“Pfft.” Ellie shook her head at us. “Wild ones? Please. You’re more domesticated than all of us, Jax.”
Jax slipped his hands into his pockets and leaned against the side of the Lotus. If I had actually liked Mia, I would have told him to move his ass. But I didn’t, so I kept my mouth shut. “Domestication is the essence of life,” Jax teased.
“I’m not disagreeing,” Ellie said. “Breakfast in bed this morning, remember? Who could turn their nose up at that?”
“You want to come over and make me breakfast tomorrow morning, Jax?” I asked, crossing my arms across my chest.
“Fuck off,” Jax said. “Take another shot at Mia. Maybe she’ll fall for it.”
“Yeah, right.” I shook my head. “Besides, if that girl made me breakfast, it would be tofu and gluten-free bread. We just weren’t a match.”
“Don’t fuck with Sabian and his meat.” Ellie chuckled.
I waved her off and faced Jax. “Enough about me and my pathetic love life. How are you and Holly? And the kids?”
The smile that crept across Jax’s face made me happy for him. It also sent off a flare of jealousy in my gut. He shifted around and crossed his ankles, still leaning against the Lotus. “They’re great. Everyone’s great. I mean, fuck, man. You know when things are going too good, and you’re just sitting around waiting for the other shoe to drop?”
No, I did not know. But I nodded like I did anyways.
“It’s like that,” Jax continued. “I keep bracing myself for things to change. Nothing this good ever lasts as long as you want it to. At least, it doesn’t in my experience. Except for Holly. And Luke is so gentle and protective with Austin.”
I caught Ellie watching me. When we made eye contact, she looked back to Jax. “Good things do last,” she said. “You’re just not used to it because of the life you lead in the MC. All it takes is two people who want to make it work.”
“Yeah,” Jax said. “I know. We’re lucky.”
Ellie nodded.
It got a little quiet and uncomfortable after that. They both realized they were discussing how happy they were in love while I was there and very clearly not in love. I’d never felt it, or wanted it, or not wanted it. It seemed to be this elusive thing that in my mind may or may not actually exist. It wasn’t tangible. Not for me anyways.
My mother had loved my father, and he went to prison for assault and theft.
I had loved my brother, and he was killed by an asshole who used his car as a weapon.
Love didn’t seem to work out for my family.
Maybe that was why I kept going for girls like Mia. They were guaranteed to shoot me down at the end of the night because I was guaranteed to push them away and be an asshole.
Just then, my ears pricked to the sound of tires rolling across gravel. I looked up to see a shiny silver sedan come to a stop about twenty feet from o
ur bay doors. The passenger door opened and a tanned goddess with long black hair stepped out.
“That’s my cue to leave,” I said as Jax pushed himself upright and off the Lotus. “Come knock on the bathroom door once she leaves.”
“That’s her?” Jax asked incredulously.
“Yeah, try not to sound so surprised.” I scowled as I hurried to the back of the shop. As I closed the bathroom door behind me, I caught Jax looking the Latina bombshell up and down as she walked across the gravel in strappy gold heels, a skin-tight skirt, and a flowing copper top. Her lips were full and red, and designer sunglasses covered her dark eyes. She was beautiful, that was for sure, but she was also a good hitter.
I wasn’t going to give her another opportunity to slap me.
I was waiting in the bathroom for just over fifteen minutes. Finally, Ellie came to get me, and I emerged tentatively. I didn’t believe them when they told me Mia was gone. They were the sort of people who would see this as the perfect opportunity for a practical joke.
“Oh, don’t be such a pansy,” Ellie said as she grabbed my elbow and pulled me forward. “She’s gone. Like you said, Ryder would chew us all out if he got wind of bad customer service. And she was definitely the sort to call and complain.”
“Did she mention anything?”
Ellie shook her head. “No, but she’s a real princess. Looked the car over and tried to haggle us on the price. With those shoes and that car, she wasn’t convincing anyone that she couldn’t pay full price for the service. I’m glad you two didn’t hit it off. She would have annoyed the shit out of me.”
I laughed. “You and me both.”
“Now come on, let’s make the most out of Jax being here today. We need to get started on that engine swap for Ryder’s customer. Three sets of hands are better than two.”
I followed Ellie’s lead as she talked Jax into staying and helping out. He agreed, begrudgingly, on the condition that Jamie ran out to get us beers and sandwiches. Jamie leapt at the offer because she was roasting hot and eager to sit in her car for twenty minutes just to enjoy the air conditioning.