The Sculptor's Seduction (The Gentlemen's Guild Book 2)

by Dr. Rebecca Sharp

  “I was just about to call you, girl!” Terri exclaimed, bursting into her room. “I’m like… Cyn better remember that she still works here. Gosh, I feel like I haven’t seen you in for-ev-er.” He kissed both of her cheeks.

  “Terri, I was just here last weekend.” She laughed, quickly starting to disrobe since she was running late. “But…” She trailed off, pausing her movements to look at her friend. “I think tonight might be my last night here.”

  “Excuse me?” His eyebrows raised at her. “I’m sorry. I thought I just heard you say that tonight was your last night.”

  She laughed softly. “Yes, that is what I said.” She sat down in the chair by her vanity. “I’m sorry that there’s not more notice, but I’ve just had a lot of things happen recently and you know I’ve been thinking about this for a while. I just… I just realized that it’s time.”

  He nodded slowly and for the first time since she’d met him, Cyn realized that she’d finally made him speechless.

  “I know Nikki has been bugging to take some of my shows and has been filling in the days that I’m out. I know she’ll be great and I’d be happy to work with her one-on-one if you think that she needs it.” He just continued to nod. “Say something… please.”

  Terri blinked rapidly and she realized that he was trying to hold back tears. “I’m sorry. This is just so unexpected.” He began to wave his hand in front of his face, fanning himself as he continued to be overwhelmed with his emotions.

  “Ter, you know I’ve been thinking about this for months. You also know we will still be friends, right?” She stood and moved in front of him.

  He gave her an offended look. “Of course, we will still be friends. My God. Why would you even say such a thing? Can’t a man just have a dramatic moment every once in a while?”

  Terri’s definition of ‘once in a while’ was very, very loose.

  “You can.” She chuckled, blinking back some tears of her own. “I wanted to give you more notice, but… I have my own studio, Terri.” She beamed at him. “Right by Central Park. It’s finally real… I’m finally…” She broke off as tears streamed down her face.

  “Damn woman, always stealing my moment,” Terri grumbled jokingly as he pulled her into a hug. “I’m so happy for you, gorgeous. You deserve it and you don’t worry about us here. Nikki will be more than happy to hear that she’s being promoted.”

  “Thank you,” she said, her voice watery.

  “Ok, no more crying – for either of us. This is a good thing! We need to celebrate, but not now because you have to get ready. So, while you do that, I want to know how all of this happened. I’m dying of suspense.” He dabbed his eyes with his paisley handkerchief before handing it to her to use.

  “Sloane is leasing it to me. It’s in one of his buildings.”

  “Wait.” He put up both of his hands. “Sloane. The guy you told me didn’t want you. The same guy who showed up here with Mr. Lane and looked like he wanted to murder every other man in the room, including my very gay self, for watching you perform the other night.”

  “That’s the one…” She grinned at him.

  “Oh. My. God. I told you that he couldn’t resist you, but no… don’t listen to me because what do I know about men…” He rolled his eyes.

  “Terri! You were the one who told me that you knew nothing about straight men!” She burst out laughing.

  “I did?” He looked puzzled for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. “Well, what can I say, you shouldn’t always believe everything a gay man says when he’s having an emotional moment.”

  She laughed harder, as she picked out a simple white corset and thong for the evening – nothing like the very provocative, jeweled set that Terri had insisted she wear last week. Out of all of her options, the white was probably the most concealing, which suited her for tonight. For the first time since she’d started there, she really didn’t want anyone besides Sloane to see her naked. More importantly, she didn’t crave that feeling of power over the men watching her because none of them mattered.

  “Ok, I’ll let you get ready. You have— Oh Lord! Ten minutes. I hate to rush you on your last night, doll, but hurry your sweet ass up!” And with a flourish that Cyn suspected was in part an attempt to disguise any further waterworks, he left her dressing room. She curled a few stubborn pieces of her hair and reapplied the mascara that had run off after talking to Terri.

  “Cyn!” Terri barged back into her room, startling her and ending all self-reflection for the night. “The girls want to know if you are leaving right afterward, they want to go out.”

  “Yes.” She had a sculptor to see. “But, I’ll come back next weekend before you open to get my stuff; I don’t feel like taking it tonight. We could all have a drink here then, if that works?”

  “What Terri says, goes, darling. So, drinks next Saturday it is.” He partially shut the door behind him before continuing. “I’m just preparing you. First Cam and Sebastian are here; I guess he thought that we were filming again this weekend. Anyway, they were going to leave, but I told them it was your last night; so, they are staying. The other thing… there’s a bachelor party here that looks like they’ve already had some fun downstairs. So, I’m just warning you because they seem a little unrestrained.”

  “Great.” Cyn rolled her eyes – just what she wanted to deal with on her last night at the Paradise. “Well—” She stopped as her phone began to vibrate on the counter. She glanced over at it, not recognizing the number, and was about to ignore it when something inside of her pulled her to answer. “One sec,” she murmured to Terri as she slid to pick up the call. “Hello?”

  “Hello. Is this Miss Cynthia Rawling?”

  “Yes…” Her brow furrowed.

  “Hi, my name is Lucy. I’m a nurse over at Lenox Hill Hospital. We have a Miss Natasha James here and she listed you as her emergency contact.”

  Her hand flew up over her mouth. “I… umm… yes, that’s me. I mean, that’s Tash— Natasha is my roommate.”

  “Ok, wonderful. Well, Natasha has a broken ankle and a fair number of bumps and bruises. Would you be able to available to escort her home?”

  “What happened?” Terri was staring at her with concern now that her voice became heightened with fretfulness.

  “Well, she says she slipped getting out of the shower, but I have to be honest with you Miss Rawling, I’ve never seen anyone fall in a shower and end up looking like this. Don’t worry, she’s going to be fine, but I just wanted to prepare you. We have her on some pain medication since she is pretty banged up and she’s on crutches. Would you be able to come for her?” The woman asked again.

  “Yes… yes, of course.” Cyn looked around frantically for the clock. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Thank you.”

  She hung up the phone and looked at Terri. “Tash is in the hospital. She fell and broke her ankle. They said she’s pretty banged up.” Her hand came up to her face and she realized that she was crying.

  “Oh my God. Is she ok?”

  “The nurse said she would be fine. I just don’t understand…” She wasn’t sure what, but something didn’t sit well with her; something wasn’t right. “I have to go pick her up. They have her on pain meds…”

  Terri waved both of his hands at her, shooing her. “Well, go! Of course, go! I’ll tell Nikki she’s on for tonight and I’ll let the regulars know that next Saturday will be your last day for whoever wants to come and wish you well.”

  Cyn nodded, still in shock over what the nurse had said. Why would Tash lie about falling in the shower?

  Then she went into high gear, throwing on her yoga pants and tee back over her show-lingerie, not even bothering to change out of it. Grabbing her bag, she kissed Terri on the cheek as she rushed out the door. “I’m so sorry, Ter. I’ll text you once we’re home!”

  “Yes! Let me know what happened!”

  Cyn just waved at him as she scrambled down the stairs, praying that there would be a cab readily
available when she got outside.

  “Hi, I’m here to see Natasha James.” Cyn tried not to tap her foot as she waited for the receptionist to quit staring at her and look in the computer for what room her friend was in.

  “Third Floor. Room 314. Elevator is down the hall. Turn right once you get to the third floor and check in with the floor nurse there.”

  Cyn barely got out a ‘thank you’ before she was jogging to the elevators, punching the button frantically as though it would make the contraption come faster.

  Finally, she was standing in front of the nurse’s station, waiting for the woman sitting there to get off the phone.

  “How may I help you?”

  “Hi, I’m Cynthia Rawling. I’m here to pick up my roommate, Natasha James. I was told she’s in room 314 if you could point me in that direction, I would appreciate it.” The nurse’s eyes widened and look of concern spread over her features.

  “Ahh… yes. Let me… let me walk you there, dear. Just give me a moment.” She stood and turned to grab a clipboard and some papers that were sitting on the desk as it curved behind her. Making her way out of the space, she gave Cyn a sad smile. “My name is Peggy. I’ve been the nurse helping Natasha since she’s been here. I was wondering, does she have a boyfriend?”

  Cyn was startled by the question, but answered anyway. “I mean, not a steady one. Why? Does she have an STD? Is she pregnant?” Oh no.

  “Oh, no. Nothing like that.” Nurse Peggy shook her head, sighing deeply. “Do you know if she has any other relationships that might be having a negative effect on her?”

  Cyn swallowed trying to think through who she knew that was in Tash’s life, but Tash didn’t really have anyone close besides her and Terri. “Not that I know of. Why? What’s going on? What happened?”

  The nurse stopped, her eyes darting to the end of the hall which told Cyn that Tash’s room was coming up soon.

  “Your friend came in limping on a broken ankle; she’d taken a cab to get here and was pretty distraught. She told us that she fell in the shower and that is why she… looks the way that she does. I’ve asked her several times and I’ve tried to discreetly question her about certain aspects of her injuries but her story remains the same. However, like I said on the phone, these injuries are inconsistent with a fall like she described.” Oh God… Tash… “I don’t want you to be alarmed when you see her, but she looks like someone beat her up bad.”

  Cyn clapped a hand over her mouth in horror. How… Why… Who…

  “I don’t understand. Why would she lie?”

  “Fear.” Nurse Peggy didn’t have to say the word for Cyn to know the answer to her own question.

  Tash…

  She couldn’t believe it. Tash had always been strong and independent; she didn’t take shit from anyone – which was exactly why Cyn had been drawn to her from the start.

  “I’ll take you in. She’s been dying to go home so I’m sure she’ll be glad to see you. I just wanted you to be prepared…”

  Cyn nodded trying to regulate her breathing, trying to pretend like a bomb hadn’t just been dropped on her.

  But if she thought that was bad, nothing could have prepared her for what she saw when she walked into the room.

  “Oh, thank God! I told them not to bother you, I figured you were at work. I’m really totally fine to go home,” Tash began immediately. “Look – I have crutches and all sorts of stuff to hold me together. I could have just taken a cab.”

  Cyn barely registered the words coming out of Tash’s swollen, purple lips. One eye was black and blue, the eyelid partially swollen shut. There were cuts and scrapes on both sides of her face. Even though the hospital bracelet partially hid one wrist, both of them looked discolored, with bruises continuing up her arms underneath her shirt. Almost subconsciously, Tash reached for the ends of her sleeves, trying to tug them farther down.

  “Seriously. You’ve looked much worse than this after several nights of drinking that I can recall,” she continued sarcastically, but Cyn was hardly listening.

  “What happened?” Cyn couldn’t help herself from asking.

  “I was getting out of the shower and I slipped and fell. No big deal.” Tash shrugged her shoulders. “Can we get out of here? I’m getting hungry and I refuse to eat hospital food.”

  “Yeah, of course.” Maybe Tash would talk once they were somewhere more private that she was familiar with. Cyn looked around. “Let me grab your stuff.” She picked up Tash’s purse before turning back to the nurse.

  “If you or she need anything, please call me. My extension is 3005,” the nurse said with a concerned smile.

  “Thank you,” Cyn murmured, following her battered friend as she hobbled through the door.

  As they walked out of the hospital in silence, Cyn felt like every set of eyes was on them. All she wanted to do was get Tash alone and ask her just what the hell had happened because that shower story was nowhere near the truth.

  “Tash, stop,” she finally said after they walked out of the building and Tash looked like she was prepared to walk back to their apartment. “Let’s get a cab back to the apartment. There’s no way I’m letting you walk there.”

  Her friend took another step before stopping, her shoulders slumping and her head dropping down in front of her chest. Cyn rounded on her, putting her hands on her shoulders.

  “What. Happened. You have to tell me.” She couldn’t stop the tremble in her voice, the urge to cry – seeing her friend like this – was painfully strong.

  Tash’s face drew up to meet hers and Cyn saw the tears that stained her black-and-blue blotched face. “I’m sorry, Cyn,” she whispered. “I can’t go home.”

  The dam broke.

  Cyn wrapped arms around her friend. “Shh… it’s going to be ok; don’t apologize to me. Everything is going to be fine.” She tried to soothe her even as her own tears began to fall. “Just tell me what’s going on. Let me help you like you’ve been there for me all these years.”

  Tash just cried onto her shoulder for several more minutes. Thankfully, most people were walking on the other side of the street, not right by them. Although, Cyn was sure that they were drawing at least some stares.

  “Why don’t we go back and you can tell me all about it?” Cyn asked again softly, not wanting Tash to keep standing on her injury for much longer.

  “No!” she exclaimed, pulling back; her eyes open wide with fear. “We can’t go back to the apartment; he’ll find me.”

  Cyn felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. She knew that someone had done this to her friend, but hearing her admit it made what seemed like an unreal situation, very, very real.

  “Tash, what is going on? Who will find you?”

  Tash finally looked up at her; her one eye now almost completely swollen shut from crying.

  “Julian,” she whispered as though she thought he could hear her. When Cyn just stared, confused, at her, she elaborated. “The one with the boat…”

  “I don’t understand. You’ve seen him off and on… for a while now. What happened?” Cyn watched as her friend looked around in fear. “Alright, let me think for a second.” Her head was pounding with adrenaline. Tash didn’t feel safe here; Cyn had to get her somewhere that she would be safe. “I’m calling Terri. We can go to his place and talk.”

  She pulled out her cell, dialing Terri’s number and prayed that he would see her call come through even though it was almost ten o’clock and the club would just be starting to get really packed.

  “Hey, Cyn! I was wondering if you would forget to call me. How’s our girl? Are you guys home?”

  “Terri, we need to use your apartment.”

  “For what? I don’t understand. What’s up?”

  Cyn turned away from Tash for a second, saying in a hushed voice, “Terri, something bad has happened. We can’t go back to our apartment. Tash is in bad shape.”

  “Oh my God! What… No, I mean. Ok, of course. Go ahead. I’ll text you the c
ode to get in. I should be able to slip out early in an hour or so and meet you there.”

  “Thank you.” Cyn hung up with a sigh. “We’re going to Terri’s. You’ll be safe there.” She held her hand up to catch the taxi coming up the street as Tash just stared vacantly out in front of them.

  Cyn practically sagged against the back of Terri’s door when they made it safely inside. They hadn’t spoken a word in the cab; Cyn wasn’t sure she would have been able to hear anything over the pounding of her heart.

  “Let’s get you onto the guest bed,” she said, wrapping her arm around Tash’s shoulder and guiding her friend into Terri’s spare room.

  Tash sat on the bed gingerly, wincing as the slightest touch aggravated her bruised body. Cyn took the crutches from her, setting them against the wall, and lifted Tash’s cast-foot onto the bed. Grabbing a pillow, she propped it up, making sure Tash was comfortable.

  “I’m going to grab you a bottle of water, I’ll be right back.”

  “Any chance you could make that a bottle of wine?” Tash requested, but quieted after Cyn sent her a disapproving stare.

  She returned quickly, opening the cap and handing it to her friend, expecting her to drink some. Climbing onto the foot of the bed, Cyn crossed her legs and met Tash’s gaze.

  “What happened?” she asked softly. “You’ve known Julian for a long time…”

  Tash shook her head, a harsh laugh beginning to escape her lips until she winced as her top lip split open where it was the most swollen.

  “I guess I never really knew him.” She grabbed a tissue and dabbed her lip where it was bleeding. “You know I never ask where people get their money, especially very wealthy people. I thought he was in shipping or something. Well, I guess he is…” She sighed. “The other week when he took me out on his boat, I went below deck to grab more of my tanning lotion. Well, I prop my leg up on the couch and go to put in on and as I’m rubbing it in, I see a piece of plastic sticking out from beneath the seat cushion. I thought maybe the seats had been wrapped when he bought it and whoever took the plastic off missed this piece.”