by T. L Smith
“Did they actually believe Hawk was your fiancé?” Ricky asked, laughing.
“Your fiancé?” Mom asked, puzzled.
Ricky filled them in on the events.
“Well?” Mom raised her brows expectantly. “Did they believe it?”
“They did,” Hawk answered for both of us. “We played our roles convincingly.”
“Just how convincing?” Brock muttered.
“Good,” Mom exclaimed. “I hope you rubbed his nose in it. That slimy bastard.”
“Mom!” we all admonished.
“What? I could’ve said worse, you know.”
As the various plates of food were passed around the table, I was asked more questions about the wedding. Across from me, I could see Hawk hanging onto every word, a small smirk occasionally playing on his lips.
“Rebekah wants to meet with me,” I said more to Mom as the others started talking among themselves. Her eyes went wide.
“What did you say?”
“I said it could be a possibility.”
“Even that’s generous.”
“Only because I don’t have many female friends, you know. She was my main one, and it hurt that she used me to get to my fiancé.”
Mom patted my hand in reassurance.
“Woman are bitches, honey,” she started, and I couldn’t help but smile. Mom never swore except for when it came to someone interfering with her family. Then all bets were off. “Stick with your brothers, love, they’ll protect you.” She always said that to me, about my brothers. And they have always protected me.
“Sooo,” Ricky began, leaning forward in his chair while ripping a piece of bread. “Slate tells me you had a man at your place this afternoon, sis,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows in amusement. While my brothers were extremely protective of their only sister, they also made me the subject of their jokes.
I looked to Slate who was suppressing a laugh.
“You knew?” I asked him.
“Of course, I knew.”
I glanced quickly at Hawk who was rubbing his jaw, hanging onto every word.
“So, who was it?” Ricky asked. Before I could respond with a lie, I was interrupted.
“Damn, so you dropped off Hawk after the wedding and then went and picked up?” Harry shook his head, teasingly. “That’s harsh, sis.” People around me giggled, and I could feel my cheeks turning beet red.
“You know whoever it is we have to meet him.”
“What? I think you’re jumping the gun a little bit.”
“Really?” Ricky asked, amused. “Is that why your voice has gone high pitched?”
“No, it hasn’t!”
They all laughed, and I had to admit, I did sound like I had something to hide.
Time to change tack. “It was no one,” I shrugged indifferently, hoping they’d get off my back or change the subject. They shook their heads, and Hawk finally chirped up and asked Ricky how business was going. When everyone was engrossed in their new conversations that didn’t involve me, I sat back and exhaled slowly.
My mom passed the wine, but I was too tired for any alcohol.
My bed was calling my name and possibly a hot bubble bath to soak my sore body.
There was never a quiet moment around the dinner table at the Valentino residence. Throughout dinner, Hawk offered me reassuring glances and each time my stomach butterflied. When the boys migrated to the living room with dad, I helped Mom with the clearing of the table. I listened while she told me about her and dad’s plan to travel when he retired.
When I could barely stand, I kissed my parents goodbye and snuck past the living room where the boys were engrossed in a football game.
Forty minutes later, I was home.
I promised myself a bubble bath, and as I lowered myself into the water, my aching body thanked me. Putting a towel behind my neck, I sunk deep into the bubbles, closed my eyes and worked through the backlog of questions that had been taunting me for answers.
Questions like...
Was this just a one-off weekend, or were we both expected to just sweep it under the rug?
Do we both pretend like it never happened?
Was it going to make working with each other super awkward?
Do I start looking for another job?
That question made me sad. I loved my job and I enjoyed working with Hawk. I couldn’t imagine myself anywhere else. But what if things turned sour between us? It would only be expected I find some other employment.
And then there was the issue of my brothers. Despite them all knowing I was at the wedding with Hawk, and Slate hearing someone in my bedroom, the last person they’d ever suspect it to be was Hawk. Because they didn’t want it to be him. The idea seemed preposterous to them.
When the water turned cold, I dried myself off, made a cup of tea and headed to my bedroom with the latest edition of Suave. It was a fashion magazine, and Hawk Carnage had a feature article on the rise of his lingerie company. Getting comfortable, I flipped through the pages, and my cell phone rang.
I sighed heavily when I saw the name glowing on the screen.
“Hello,” I managed without much enthusiasm.
Why hadn’t I let it go to message bank?
“Britta,” Rebekah greeted like an excited child. “Hi... wow,” she continued, almost caught off guard. “I’m kinda surprised you answered my call, so thank you.”
What could she possibly want? Shouldn’t the woman be on her honeymoon?
“Everything okay?” I barely managed, unsure of the angle I should take.
“Yes, fine. I was just calling to see if you might be interested in meeting with me tomorrow? You know... like we discussed at the wedding?”
“Umm...”
“Because, well... Roman got called back into work, so that kind of spelled the end of the honeymoon. Who chooses to go to work on their honeymoon?” She laughed awkwardly, and I couldn’t help but cringe.
“I don’t really know what you expect me to say to that, Rebekah.”
“Shit, I’m sorry...” She paused. “Old habits.” I was hoping she’s referring to the old habits as in being able to tell each other anything as friends, and not the old habit of being a lying cheating bitch.
“I’m not sure about tomorrow, I am working.”
“Oh... oh sorry,” she nervously stumbled. “Why does it feel like I’m apologizing a lot?”
I wanted to say ‘because you slept with your best friend’s boyfriend, then married him,’ but I was working on becoming a better person from it all. “You’re right, I know. I just want to talk to you. I miss you, believe it or not.”
“I can do lunch,” I finally caved, and she squealed into the phone.
“Thank you!” She sounded super excited, and I wondered about the sincerity of it all. “I’ll see you then.”
We said our quick farewells and I turned my phone on silent in case she was compelled to call again. Lying back on my bed, I wondered if I should call in sick tomorrow. I pulled the pillow closer, sliding a hand underneath. My fingers touched something cold and metallic.
The ring.
I was sure I’d placed in Hawk’s hand before we left.
That sneaky...
I stared at its beauty before sending him a message.
You left something behind...
His reply was instant, and I watched as the bubbles showed up when he was typing.
I did, and she’s in bed right now, isn’t she?
I smiled despite myself and placed my cell on the bedside table. I lifted my hand and held it against the warm light and admired the glittery diamonds.
I didn’t know what games he was playing, but Hawk Carnage was quickly winning me over.
Chapter 14
Hawk
She had managed to avoid me all morning.
I’d been so busy I hadn’t had the chance to pull her aside and call her out on it. I caught an elevator down to the lower floor to spy on the latest photo shoot. Fortunately, all models were in a
ttendance, and even better, they were all our top line.
The wide-open space was almost in complete darkness except for the bright white photographer lights. While I hadn’t yet been noticed, I stared around the room of attendees but stopped when I saw her face. Britta was standing on the far-right side of the set. She was laughing at whatever the male model Jaxon was saying to her. That wasn’t the problem. She was smoothing a bronzer over his muscled chest, and he seemed to be making the most of the situation. He was flexing his muscles as her hands moved over his skin. He was also peering down her blouse, watching her cleavage as she moved around him.
I wouldn’t care, except it was Jaxon.
He was some hot-shot model notorious for bedding other models under my employment, treating them like shit and leaving them in tears. I’d had a handful of top beauties quit because they refused to work with him on set. Now, on probation, it seemed Jaxon had moved from models to those further up the corporate ladder, namely Britta.
Walking straight through the set, I met Britta on the other side. She didn’t see me coming, and when I appeared by her side, she seemed startled.
“Isn’t that the job of the makeup artist?” It was a genuine question.
“Kathy’s running behind with the girls so I said I’d help out.”
I look to her hands frozen on Jaxon’s chest and back to her wide-eyed stare.
I took the tube of bronzer from her hand and held it to Jaxon’s chest until he took it.
“Meeting in my office in ten, Britta,” I said before walking off.
“Wait,” she called after me. “I can’t, not today. Tomorrow?” She looked around the room, conscious of everyone watching our interaction. I had just disrupted their shoot after all. “Can we talk upstairs?”
I nodded, and she followed me.
Inside the elevator, she seemed tentative, nervous. I wanted the confident Britta back and halfway to our floor she delivered.
“How’s your ass?” she asked with a cheeky grin.
Fucking unicorn.
“It would be better if you looked at it, then proceeded to the front with your lips around my cock.”
She shook her head at me in mock disgust.
“Is that all you think about? Fucking me?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “But I’d be lying if I said it didn’t take up a great deal of my time.”
“So...” she started with some hesitation. “What exactly are we?”
The elevator stopped to let someone in from the finance floor. When the doors opened, I waved them away and told them to get the next one. They did so, wide-eyed and stunned.
Britta shared the same expression. The elevator took off once more, and I hit the emergency stop button. The elevator bounced to a sudden halt, Britta’s hands gripping the metal railing behind her.
“Hawk... what are you doing?” She was starting to freak out, claustrophobia taking hold. Slate and Harry all had the same problem.
“What are we?” I repeated.
She squeezed her eyes closed. “Start the elevator. Please just start it.” She opened them and stared at the button.
“Can we not be two friends who fuck?” I asked, hoping to distract her. I didn’t want us to be just that. But Britta was a take-it-slow type of girl and scaring her off wasn’t on my agenda.
In response, she nodded her head and slowly reached out to press the release button, but I stopped her with my hand.
“Answer me, Britta, and I’ll start it.”
“Yes,” she nodded her head fast. “We’re friends who fuck. Now, please, start the fucking elevator.” I pressed the button, and it jolted into motion. Britta instantly relaxed and as the elevator slowed to our floor, she exhaled. When the doors opened, she was first out. Taking two steps away, she turned to me and gripped my cock in her hand.
Despite it being a threat, it turned me on, and my cock started growing in her hand. Her cheeks flushed when she felt the sudden hardness in her grip but didn’t relent.
“Don’t ever do that again, do you understand?”
She was so fucking sexy when she was fierce. When I didn’t answer straight away, she applied pressure.
“Yes,” I said with a wink.
“Good,” she replied, unsure whether the threat had the desired effect. She released, smiled to compose herself and turned down the hall as if nothing had just happened. The receptionist, who witnessed it all, lowered her head to hide her smile.
It seemed we’d be common knowledge before we both even knew about us.
THE DAY WAS ALMOST over when I started packing up some paperwork I’d take home. There was a knock at my door, and I yelled for whoever it was to come in. I was picking up my pen from the floor when I heard the voice that didn’t belong to the blue-eyed beauty who’d earlier threatened my junk. I looked up and met the seductive gaze of the infamous redhead. The same redhead from Jarod’s party, who’d launched herself into my arms, and the same redhead who Britta saw being fucked by Roman.
She looked at me like we were old flames, but for the life of me, I couldn’t place her. She sauntered in, hips swaying, manicured fingernails dragging across my desk.
“You don’t remember me, do you?” she asked as if reading my mind.
I think about lying to her, but know I’ll be caught out.
“No,” I admitted.
She raised a hand to her heart feigning offense. “That hurts. That really hurts, Hawk.” She rounded the desk stopping just short of me. Her large green eyes met mine which remained expressionless. “You and I... we had a powerful night, and it breaks my heart you don’t remember it.” She stepped closer, so her breasts grazed my chest when she exhaled.
“I never forget a memorable lay,” I said cruelly. “Now, please, leave the same way you came in.”
My office door opened once more, and we both turned to see Britta strolling in. Her smile quickly faded when she saw the lady with red hair who tried to kiss me, in my personal space. She paused a moment, looked between us and then about-turned to leave without a word.
“Britta, stay...” My voice stopped her in her tracks. She turned back around, eyes nervously wandering the room. “She was just leaving, weren’t you...?” I raise a brow in wait for her name.
The redhead looked to me, eyes traveling the length of my body before responding. “Rita,” she said, finally revealing her name.
“Yes... Rita who I don’t know... or even know why she’s in my office right now... is about to leave.” The redhead bit her plump red lip, but unlike when Britta did it, it did nothing for me. She smiled wickedly at me before turning to face Britta, moving with calculated steps in her direction.
“Britta, is it?”
Britta’s eyes narrowed. “Yes?”
“You dodged a bullet with Roman, didn’t you? Lucky you got out when you did.” She turned back to me and smiled like we’re old friends. “I’ll see you around, Hawk. Thanks for the chat.” And with that, the strange woman sauntered her way back out, leaving the air in my office thick with confusion.
“Who was that?” Britta asked, both shocked and appalled. “How does no one know her? Or am I the only one being kept in the dark?”
“Her name is Rita... apparently.”
Britta shook her head. “So, you didn’t know her?”
“Not a clue, but she insists on knowing me.”
Britta folded her arms across her chest. “Well, that’s not a surprise.”
I smiled at her insinuation. “See you tonight?” I asked.
She shook her head again and sighed. I knew that sigh. It usually meant Britta was trapped between a rock and hard place. She always had a way of getting herself into these predicaments. Too fucking lovely for her own good.
“Who’s the asshole taking up your time and stopping you from being in my bed, naked with me in you?”
Britta smiled, and I knew she was replaying some of the scenes from the last two nights. And then the smile faded, and the conversation turned s
erious once more.
“I’m meeting with Rebekah. It was supposed to be over lunch, but Kathy needed help with the makeup, so I pushed it to dinner. I’m already having anxiety about it.”
“Do you think it’s wise going to meet her? Especially after we just had Roman’s new floozy in here?”
“All seems coincidental, doesn’t it?”
“I’m not sure what the hell is going on, to be honest.”
“Okay,” she announced, clapping her hands together. “I’m off so I can get it over and done with.”
“Make it quick,” I added. “Being deprived of you for too long sends a man crazy.”
She laughed on her way out, jiggling her ass by the door for the added tease.
“Keep wiggling, and I’ll make that ass mine.”
Chapter 15
Britta
That redheaded woman seemed to be appearing everywhere, first with Hawk then with Roman, and then back with Hawk. I didn’t know how I should feel about that. Either Ms. Redhead wasn’t all there, or Hawk was hiding something from me.
And then it struck me that I shouldn’t even care.
In Hawk’s own words, we were ‘friends who fucked.’ Nothing more. We had no claim to each other, no reason to be jealous. Both Hawk and Roman were serial womanizers, and she just happened to maybe have had them both. But unlike Roman, Hawk was more business orientated now, and his womanizing ways had decreased over the years.
Walking out of the office and across the street to the restaurant, I saw Rebekah already seated and waiting for me. It was late and I was hungry, so hopefully, this meeting wouldn’t take too long. She spotted me from across the room and stood to greet me. We didn’t hug or kiss the way we used to. Instead, there was an awkward exchange of hand and shuffling before we both sat down.
“Thank you for coming,” she said, laying her napkins across her lap.
When I went to pick up the menu, she stopped me. “Oh,” Rebekah said, looking shy. “I hope you don’t mind but I ordered for us. I figured you still like the same things.”
Before I could respond, a bowl of carbonara was placed between my knife and fork. It smelled absolutely divine and my stomach grumbled loud enough for Rebekah to hear.