by H. Q. Frost
IAN: Even smartass is sexy on you.
MY FREYJA: Know what else is sexy on me? You. Get home at a reasonable time.
IAN: Come to the apartment tonight. I have a few things I need to do around there.
The apartment he once partially shared with Karen was the last place Lilith wanted to go.
"You okay?" Tash asked when Lilith shoved her phone into her purse.
"Yes, and I want to tell you, I really look forward to working with you, Tash." Lilith offered a kind smile before excusing herself to the bathroom.
An idea began to brew in Lilith's mind as she walked over to Ian's apartment. She fished her phone from her purse.
"Hi, Aunt Carol, it's Lilith, is Richie home?"
"Lilith honey, how are you? It's nice to hear from you."
Lilith rolled her eyes. "I've been busy with work."
"Modeling?"
"No, actually I've become a manager at my fiancé's company."
"Oh! What's the name again?"
"Luxe, it's all cosmetics. Is Richie home? I'm in a hurry."
"Sure, sweetheart, one minute."
Lilith cringed at the word 'sweetheart'.
"Lily?" Richie answered confused.
"Richie, do you have a cellphone? I really don't want to call your parents' house for you."
"No." He chuckled. "I don't even got a job. I'm 'bout to be outta house too. My 'rents are gettin' kinda pissed I'm not in college."
"Can you come see me? Stay the week."
"What?" He nervously laughed; they weren't that close.
"I might have a job for you."
"Seriously? In the city?"
"Do you have plans for college, Richie?"
"No, fuck dat shit—"
"Rich," Lilith huffed, rolling her eyes. "Can you come tomorrow?"
"I don't have a car, Lily." He laughed again and she exhaled with annoyance that he'd become such an underachiever.
"I'll have you picked up, okay? Pack for the rest of the week. Think that'll be okay?"
"Totally." He laughed and Lilith winced at the annoying sound. "This is gon' be bitchin'!"
"Richie, don't say that." She cringed at the expression. "You sound ignorant. I'll have you picked up at one."
"One? I usually get up like three."
"I'll have you picked up at one. Don't piss me off!" she snapped and he laughed yet again. "This is only trial. I'll know by the end of the week. Also, Ian will be your boss, not me, so you have to try."
"Awe, man, me and Ian are tight. Lily, you the coolest."
"Bye." She hung up almost regretting her decision.
When she entered the apartment, she looked around, not wanting to be there. As Ian emerged from down the hall he was smiling until he saw the discomfort on her face.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Her shoulders lifted in an unconvincing shrug.
"Lily." He put his hand on her arm. "What's wrong, baby?"
When she looked into the concern on his face she wanted to ease it. "I don't want to be here," she blurted.
"Where?"
"Here. Your apartment."
"Why?" Concern turned to confusion and hurt mingling on his features.
"I don't have good memories of this place, Ian. All I think about is her." She scowled.
"Okay." He glanced around. "We'll go." He walked into the kitchen.
"Baby." She followed. "You stay. Take care of what you wanted to take care of and I'm gonna go home."
"No, I'll come."
"No, Ian. Stay."
The inclination she didn't want to be around him pissed him off. "Seriously?" The expression he gave her was like she were insane.
"Yes. What's the big deal? We used to do it all the time."
"But now we don't have to," he harshly reminded her.
"We do still need to be discreet, Ian. I'm gonna meet up with Caesar for a drink. Have you spoken to him?"
"Not yet."
She put her hand on his shoulder, quickly kissing him. He stared at her bewildered, not sure why she wanted away from him.
"I love you." She waited for a response.
"I love you too, Lily," he muttered, watching her leave.
Sitting in a hole-in-the-wall bar, Lilith was receiving unwelcoming glances thanks to her Coco dress and four inch heels. The bar was picked at random and supposed to be a contrast from the bar her and Caesar hung out at that Saturday.
He was running late and she began to wish she had waited to go in until he arrived. As she pulled her phone out to text Justin, whom she hadn't spoken to in three days, Caesar's voice made her smile with a bit of relief and she pushed her phone away.
"Hottest bitch in Chicago. The new Mrs. Luxe. Sugar means business, don't fuck with her."
Renee was tucked behind his back and Lilith fought the discontent caused by her presence. She wasn't supposed to be there. Lilith wanted to find out more about Heidi and Ian.
Standing to hug Caesar, she didn't offer Renee the same greeting. She smiled sweetly. "Hi."
"What's up, sweet lips? You missed me after our meeting, which you fucking owned, Lily."
"I miss you every moment I'm away from you, Caesar." Lilith giggled and got satisfaction out of Renee's uncomfortable glance toward him.
"Did you order beer?"
"No. I was waiting for you. How are you, Renee?" She tried to redeem herself.
"Great, thanks." Renee nodded and awkwardly looked around, clearly put off by the bar.
"Caesar, you know I wanted to talk, right?"
"About..?" he drawled.
"About Ian and Heidi." She put her hand on the table, making sure she was displaying her ring.
"You talk to him about it?"
"Renee, why don't you tell me what's going on?" Lilith smiled through her annoyance.
Caesar looked at Renee, fully expecting her to spill everything.
"You told her?" Renee scoffed.
"No, Caesar didn't tell me. Ashley told me." Lilith attempted to cover his ass.
"Then why aren't you talking to Ashley?" Renee snickered.
"Well, she says one thing and Ian says another. So since you're here, which I didn't know you were coming and I was just going to ask Caesar what he might know, you can tell me what you know."
"I don't think it's my place." She stood dauntingly, but Lilith wasn't intimidated.
Lilith looked at Caesar with a challenging stare, silently threatening if he left. "I didn't even think of this. I'll call Heidi." She grinned.
"Yeah, that's probably best." Renee sat back down. "I don't want to be involved in this shit."
Lilith smirked, only growing more annoyed, and she pulled her phone out.
"Lily?" Heidi answered with surprise.
"Hi. Can you meet me, Caesar, and Renee for a drink?"
"Sure, when?" She sounded intrigued but confused.
"Now. At McGregor's."
"Where's that?"
Lilith smirked knowing Heidi would be disgusted when she arrived at the dive bar. Keeping an eye on Renee, she made sure she didn't text Heidi to warn her about the point of the get together.
When Heidi arrived, she entered the bar in front of a group of men who were obviously laughing at her. Recognizing one of the dominant laughs, Lilith glanced behind Heidi then quickly turned her head, pretending to look through her purse.
It was Justin.
"Why are we here?" Heidi asked with thick disgust then kissed Renee and Caesar.
"She wants to ask you questions." Renee pointed at Lilith.
"About?" Heidi sat warily.
"You and Ian." Lilith glanced toward the door no longer seeing Justin. She didn't want him to spot her. She needed to get to the bottom of the Heidi Ian thing and Heidi and Renee knew she was engaged to Ian…Justin didn't.
"But why here?" Wearing a beauty depreciating cringe, she looked around.
Lilith heard their laughter again and briefly closed her eyes. She knew they were laughing at the stuck up
bitch who wandered into a bar she didn't belong in.
"I don't know," Lilith muttered, really regretting her decision since the arrival of Justin.
"What'd you want to know?"
"Are you fucking my fiancé?" she demanded, wanting to get it over with and get out of there.
"What?" Heidi chuckled and eyed Renee. "Why would you think that?"
"That's what you're saying," Caesar spoke up. He no longer cared if Renee knew he told; he'd always be on Lilith's side over a piece of ass.
"I did? When?" Heidi snickered, looking at Lilith like she were insane.
"Hey, hey." A man in a backwards hat approached the table with a beer. "My friend wanted to buy you a drink." He set the drink down in front of Heidi.
The group of guys standing at the bar laughed louder. Lilith stared at him with dagger eyes. He glanced at her a few times, realizing he'd met her before, but unable to place her from the night they played paintball together.
"No thanks," Heidi said condescendingly.
"Thanks, man," Caesar quickly said and looked at him, making it clear he needed to leave.
With a chuckle and one more look at Lilith, he walked away.
"I'm not drinking this." Heidi pushed the beer forward as if she were offended.
Expressing her annoyance, Lilith snatched the beer and set it to the side. "What did you tell Renee about Ian?" she quietly snapped.
"I didn't tell her anything."
"Oh, girl, please!" Caesar blurted then looked at Renee, wanting her to admit it.
Still keeping her voice down, Lilith barked, "Are you fucking him?"
"I'm not." Heidi's flabbergasted response made Lilith roll her eyes.
"Did you tell her you were?" Caesar pointed at Renee.
"No." With genuine confusion, she looked at Renee.
"You told me you met up with him and he wanted to fuck you!" Renee bellowed.
Lilith lowered her head and put her hand to her face because she knew that outburst got everyone’s attention in the bar.
"I didn't tell you that!" Heidi retorted just as loudly. "I met up with him about Ashley's birthday!"
"You bitch!" Renee screamed. "You did tell me that!"
"Renee, you're delusional!"
"You girls need to calm the fuck down," Caesar growled quietly. He too was embarrassed and saw the looks they were drawing that Lilith blocked out by covering her face.
The man with the backwards hat approached their table again saying, "Sounds like both you girls need a drink." He set two mixed drinks on the table then slid in next to Heidi. "This is my favorite bar and I love a good catfight, but I'm betting you two aren't going to fight, so you should take your argument outside before you're thrown out. You," he pointed to Heidi, "don't even want to be here. You're too snobby for us. You," he pointed to Renee, "have a really loud mouth and I can hear everything you're saying clearly, standing over there. And you," he pointed at Lilith with an inquisitive stare. "I know you from somewhere."
"It's nice of you to send your drugged drinks over, but no thank you!" Heidi snapped and pushed the drinks back toward him.
"Drugged?" He laughed and stood. "Hey, guys, she thinks we're trying to drug her," he called over to the group of his friends standing at the bar.
"Oh god," Lilith muttered, dropping her head down lower. The high back of the booth hid Lilith from the view of the bar so Justin hadn't spotted her yet.
"We should go." Caesar stood, staring down the man in the hat.
Turning toward Caesar, he puffed his chest out and cockily said, "Yeah, you probably should."
"Bitch, I'm not afraid of you," Caesar scoffed.
"We're drugging your women and you're out numbered, my friend. You should be."
"We ain't friends, and I'm never out numbered. You can drug the bitches, the only one I'm walking out with is her." He reached over the table and grabbed Lilith's hand, pulling her to stand.
"Caesar!" Renee bellowed, hitting his arm.
"Honey, you're a lying ass bitch, and as far as you." He looked at Heidi. "You're just a desperate whore."
The man in the hat laughed at Caesar's insult then looked at Lilith. "I do know you. I know those tits." Wanting a fight from Caesar, he reached out and squeezed Lilith's right breast.
"What the fuck, man!" Caesar pushed him and before he could swing, the hat guy twisted Caesar's arm behind his back.
The loud clank of a beer bottle being angrily set down on their table startled Lilith. She looked up in time to see Justin punch his friend in the face, laying him out cold.
"Excuse me," Justin barked at Heidi and she quickly stumbled out of his way. Putting his hand to Lilith's side he asked her, "You cool?"
"Why, out of all the bars in fucking Chicago, are you and your asshole friends here!"
"We're here most nights. Why the hell are you here?" He grinned at her, turned on by her anger.
Justin's friends made their way over, each one of them eyeing Caesar.
Justin dropped his hand from Lilith's side and directed his attention to Caesar. "You alright, man?"
"No, man! Fucker coulda broke my arm. I should sue his bitch ass for assault."
"I'm a lawyer." Justin gave a smartass grin pulling a card from his inside coat pocket.
"Fuck off, Borg," Caesar grumbled.
"You're the pizza man." Heidi pointed to Justin and he chuckled.
Lilith wasn't amused. She wanted out of there. Away from all the testosterone of Justin's piggish friends. A loud snap brought Lilith's attention over to Caesar caressing the burn on his cheek from Renee's slap before she stormed out of the bar.
"Where ya goin'?" one of Justin's friends called out.
"Lay off, man," Justin warned.
The hat guy started coming to and Justin's friends helped him up and sat him in a chair.
Ignoring his friend, Justin told Lilith, "These aren't drugged."
"Good." She grabbed the mixed drink and gulped it down. Drowning out the cheers from Justin's friends, she grabbed the second drink and did the same.
A man with blue highlights in his black hair said, "Fuck yeah," and put his hand to her back until a threatening glare from Justin made him pull his hand back and step away.
"Lily." Caesar gave her the 'let's go' look.
Lilith's eyes drifted to Justin's friend who grabbed her breast; she wanted out of there. Seeing the unsettled look she gave hat guy, Justin watched her take Caesar's waiting hand and step around him without saying a word. Heidi ran ahead of them and out the door.
Surprised and pissed, Justin watched Lilith walk away. When she walked out the door without so much as a look back, he punched his friend with the hat in the face again, tipping his chair from the force.
"Whoa, man!" His friends restrained him.
"Settle down, Jackass."
Justin pushed past his friends angrily and went to the bar where the bartender had a shot of Goldschläger waiting. He snatched up the shot and looked at her compassionate smile, furrowed his brows, and threw back the drink.
"Renee was my ride," Caesar told Lilith as she practically ran to her car a few blocks away.
"I need you to pick up my cousin tomorrow."
"What?" he scoffed.
"It's for the company. You'll use a company car." She unlocked her car and quickly got in.
"What's goin' on with you and Justin?" Caesar asked as soon as the car door closed.
"He's a client!" she snapped.
"There's more, Lily. Don't fuck me around."
"He's a client, we've become friends. It's not what you're thinking and before you go telling the world I'm trying to date and fuck Justin Borg you should get your facts straight," she snarled at him.
"Lily, she fucking told me that shit about Ian! You saw them bitches, they're both crazy!"
"Obviously," she muttered, quickly darting into traffic.
When she pulled up to Caesar's mother's house, the frustration flowing through her was enough to make her scream
.
Instead, she lashed out. "Why do you live here?"
Caesar laughed at her rude question. "Me and Ashley made a pact not to spend money on a place to live."
"That's just stupid!" she scoffed at the childishness.
"I have that much more money. How much do you save on rent?" He grinned at her but it quickly faded. "I guess you don't pay for yours either though." When offense showed on her features, he rubbed her arm. "Hey, sweet lips, if he's willing to do it, take advantage of it. My mom's willing to board me. I actually haven't been here in a week."
"Where have you been?" Her dissatisfaction with him was apparent.
"Renee's," he huffed.
"Caesar, you didn't have to do that. I didn't know you were bringing her." Her indignation toward him began to lessen while guilt for breaking them up started taking over.
"Fuck 'er. She was mad when I told her I was meeting you for a drink so I had to invite her just so she'd shut the fuck up."
"Oh god." Lilith rolled her eyes. "Does she know we would never fuck?"
"Never say never, sweet lips." He winked, leaning in and kissing her cheek.
She thought about going back to Ian's apartment but the thought of being in that bed was nauseating, and the two sugary drinks she slammed added to her sick stomach.
When Richie arrived at Luxe, he walked up to the desk and pulled the apple Lilith was eating from her hand, taking a bite. Annoyed, Lilith looked up at the tall lanky kid but smiled.
"Jerk." She chuckled then gave him a hug.
"I'm starvin'."
"This kid is hilarious!" Caesar pointed to Richie.
"Caesar, Mr. J wants to see you in his office," Tash told him.
"This place is so fuckin' cool." Richie looked around.
"For one." Lilith pushed her finger into his chest. "Watch your mouth. You are surrounded by women. Have some respect. Two." She poked him again. "You sound ignorant and that's not who I'm looking to employ for this job. Pull up your pants," she scoffed at him, confused by the kid who was acting nothing like she remembered from Peachey's party.
Richie quickly pulled up his pants while Tash stared at him, appalled by his appearance. Lilith was embarrassed; all morning she'd been telling Tash about him and how much of a good kid he was. He was top of his high school class, graduated with honors, and accepted into the most elite colleges across the state. He was utilizing none of his opportunities.