by Violet Paige
“It doesn’t work like that. It takes time, but it will be paid back.”
He nodded. “Good. Good to hear you’re finally worth something.”
The anger rushed through her. “Worth something? I’m worth more than you know.”
“Oh, you think because you’re some hot shit executive that you’re better than me now? Is that it? That you can talk down to your family? I took you in, you little shit. I raised you.”
Lily glared. “You didn’t raise me. You barely kept me fed. And you only did that so social services wasn’t breathing down your neck.”
He moved closer and she could smell the alcohol on his breath. She knew better than to let the argument escalate. When he drank, he was a devil.
“You’ve always been ungrateful. Just like your damn mother.” He shook his finger in her face. “You’re in that job because of me. Don’t forget that.”
She couldn’t stop herself. “I’m in that job because Sawyer and Jack want me there. And I’m not leaving. Not ever.”
He almost stumbled backward, but caught himself. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? Jack and Sawyer? Don’t you mean Mr. Kincaid and Mr. Rivers?”
“It means I’m wanted at KR. It means I finally have two men who care about me. That respect me. That know I’m worth something because I am an educated, smart woman. They don’t talk to me the way you do. They don’t treat me like utter shit.” The words kept pouring out. “You know where we went over the weekend? To Napa. To their estate. You know where I’m going? To New York and they are putting me in the most expensive room at the Waldorf. Yes, the Waldorf. You know where I live now? In the KR penthouse—with them. I am with them. Not you. Not ever again. You and I are not family. They are my family.” She was out of breath. “Get the hell out of my way.”
She pushed past him, dragging the suitcases behind her. She knew if she didn’t make it to the elevator, her knees would give out from either fear or adrenaline.
The doors closed behind her as he uncle stood motionless in the hallway. His mouth was agape. She leaned into the wall, finally exhaling.
She did it. She stood up for herself. And it felt fucking amazing.
Thirty-Four
Lily
“I don’t like that I’m so far away,” Lily pouted over FaceMessage to Sawyer and Jack. They took turns passing her back and forth on their tablet.
“Two nights, sweetheart,” Jack reassured her.
She fell onto a pile of silk pillows. “My room is stunning. I’ve never seen anything like it. Want a tour?” She held up her phone.
“Sure.” Sawyer had the screen now.
She walked through the rooms in the suites. “You know I didn’t need so many rooms for only me. I think Penny went overboard.”
“Don’t you know by now we do everything overboard?”
She giggled. “I do.” She walked into the kitchen. “See, you could cook for days in here, Sawyer.”
“I see that.”
She walked to the living room. “And there are three TVs in here, so you two don’t have to fight over what to watch.”
Jack yanked the phone from his friend. “Too bad we can’t be there tonight.”
“I know.” She frowned. “But I checked in early for the conference and it looks amazing. I’m going to make sure by the time I leave here everyone knows how epic our launch is going to be.”
“That’s our girl,” Sawyer called over Jack’s shoulder. “We have complete confidence in you.”
She grinned. “I guess by tomorrow night I’ll be too tired to miss you. And then I’ll be home the next day.”
“And in your own bed.” Jack winked.
“With both of you?” she teased.
“Did you have other boyfriends in mind?”
She laughed, falling back onto the bed. She loved them—her two boyfriends. It was perfect what they had.
“Of course not.”
“Hey,” Sawyer chimed in. “We have another wedding next weekend.”
“What?” She sat forward. “Are you two perpetual groomsmen?”
They both chuckled. “I think so. But maybe we could do something about that.”
Her skin tingled. “Jack, what does that mean?”
Sawyer punched him in the arm. “Don’t listen to him. We’ll talk when you get back.”
She twisted her lips together. She wanted to know what Jack was talking about. Was he saying they wanted to be the grooms? Was that it? A wedding of their own. Oh God. How would that work? Did it really matter? As long as she got to spend the rest of her life with them she didn’t care about the details.
“Baby, we have a call from France coming in. We need to take this.”
“Ok. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She hung up and thought about all the things they didn’t say on the phone. Her hands traveled to her flat belly. Was their future already sealed? Maybe it was. Maybe they had already given her the miracle she always wanted.
Lily held a cup of coffee as she walked into the first seminar of the day. The room was crowded. The only seats left were the ones in the front row. She walked down a long aisle, before finding a place front and center.
She smiled at the man next to her. He was texting someone and didn’t notice.
She wondered what Sawyer and Jack were doing at the office now. Penny was probably getting their coffee ready and prepping the staff for a board meeting.
She had checked in with Jones before leaving the hotel this morning. He was running things for her while she was in New York.
The lights dimmed and Lily focused on the speaker. She turned her phone to silent.
“Good morning and welcome to New York.” His voice was clear on the speakers.
The audience clapped lightly as if they were on a golf course.
“Global marketing is something I have been speaking about for over twenty years. And wow, has it changed,” he continued.
Lily listened, but the more he spoke, the more her mind wandered. She tried to follow him as he walked back and forth across the audience. She tried to take mental notes of his assessment of the global climate on marketing. She zeroed in on the mouthpiece he used. She watched his multi-media presentation. But no matter what she did, her mind always traveled to the same place. It was unavoidable. She might be a global force in marketing, but she also knew she was a woman in love. All she could think about was Sawyer and Jack.
By the time the conference ended for the day Lily wandered to the conference lobby.
“Hey, you going out for drinks tonight?” She recognized one of the girls from the working lunch session she attended.
“No. I think I’m going to order room service and watch a movie,” she answered.
“You should come with us. The theme party at the bar is the Love Boat.”
“Oh?” Lily didn’t know how to say politely that she wasn’t interested in mandatory fun. It was a requirement she was glad didn’t exist at Kincaid-Rivers. “I’m afraid I didn’t bring my cruise ship wardrobe.”
The girl laughed. “I don’t think we dress up, just the bartenders and wait staff. It will be fun. My parents loved that show.”
“Thanks, really. But I’m tired and it’s my last night in New York. I think I’m going to get some rest before I fly back after the conference tomorrow.”
The girl shrugged. “Ok. But if you change your mind I’ll be there.”
“Thanks. Have fun.”
Lily walked outside where her driver was waiting for her. Penny had every detail covered on this trip. Maybe it was a waste to spend her last night here locked inside her suite, but she couldn’t wait to call her guys. She wanted to see their gorgeous faces on the screen and hear their sexy voices.
Tomorrow night she’d be back at the penthouse. She bit her bottom lip, wondering what the reunion would feel like.
“We’re here.” The driver deposited her outside the Waldorf.
“Thank you.” Lily climbed from the car.
As soon
as she walked into the hotel, she felt a strange sensation. It was as if there were eyes on her, but not from the lobby passers-by. She walked through the lobby and couldn’t shake the feeling. Her skin prickled.
She tapped the button for the elevator and waited for it to carry her to her suite. She even took her shoes off inside the elevator. Her feet had been sore all day. High heels and walking through a gigantic conference center were not a good combination.
As Lily pulled the key card from her bag she heard the doors open behind her. She spun around.
“Uncle Gino?”
“Surprised to see me?” A nasty grin spread across his face.
Thirty-Five
Jack
“Something is wrong. I’ve tried her phone three times and it keeps going to voicemail.” Jack paced in Sawyer’s office.
They were splitting a bottle of bourbon. Both decided there was no point going home if Lily wasn’t there.
“You know how those conferences are. People grab dinner and drinks all the time. Knowing her she is collecting as many contacts as she possibly can so she can take over the world.” Sawyer tipped his bourbon back.
Jack couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to it. It was after nine. They should have heard from Lily by now. She always checked in.
“I’m flying out there,” Jack stated. “I can’t sit around here like nothing is wrong.”
“What the hell?” Sawyer looked at him.
“We sent her to New York. There’s no telling what could have happened. I’ll bring her back on the jet. We shouldn’t have sent her without security. What were we thinking?”
“Jack, you are way overreacting. Lily is a strong independent woman. She’s proven that over again.”
He shook his head. “She might be strong and independent, but that doesn’t mean something didn’t happen to her. Why don’t we both go? We can surprise her.”
Sawyer reached for the crystal decanter to pour them both another round. “I’d like that. She’d fucking love it. But it wasn’t the point of the trip. We said we’d give her a body a chance to rest.”
Jack huffed in his chair. “Damn, she’s in my head. She’s all I can think about.”
Sawyer slapped him on the back. “Don’t I know it, man. She’s in mine too.”
Jack jumped when he heard a phone ring. Sawyer’s was vibrating on the desk.
“Is it Lily?” he asked. He looked anxious.
Sawyer nodded. He accepted the video message. “Hey, baby.” Sawyer chuckled. “Jack has been—” But his smile dropped the instant the screen came into focus.
Jack rushed to his side, something was fucked up. He could tell from Sawyer’s expression. What was wrong?
It wasn’t Lily. It was her uncle Gino.
“Where’s Lily?” Sawyer barked. “Why do you have her tablet? What’s going on, Gino?”
“Hey boys.” Gino smacked his gums. He looked smug.
Jack growled, “Where is Lily? Why are you calling us on her phone?”
“Turns out this sweet little niece of mine is worth a whole hell of a lot more than I realized. She has done really well for herself since you hired her.”
“Gino,” Sawyer warned, gritting his teeth. “Where is Lily? Put her on now.”
The screen pivoted and Jack’s lungs seized when he saw Lily sitting on the bed crying.
“Lily?”
“She’s fine. Calm down. You think I’d hurt my own flesh and blood? I’d never touch her. Never.”
“Damn it, Gino. What is this about?”
They waited for a response.
“This is about finally getting what I deserve. Finally getting what is mine.”
“What you deserve?” Sawyer’s tone grew increasingly more hostile. “You fucked us over, you bastard. You are lucky you have Lily in your life. Lucky I didn’t come after you with the full force of our global company. We let you bargain for your debt, and this is what you do?”
The man sat on the bed next to his weeping niece. “Honey, tell your boyfriends what they need to do.” He handed her the phone. “Go on.”
Lily wiped the tears from her eyes. “I’m sorry. So sorry.”
“No. No. Don’t say that. You didn’t do anything,” Jack tried to comfort her. “Are you ok? Has he hurt you? Just talk to us.”
She shook her head. “I’m fine. He hasn’t hurt me.” She sniffed. “But he wants five-million dollars.”
Sawyer pressed his lips together. “Done.”
Jack looked at him. “Are you crazy? We aren’t paying him.”
“What else?” Sawyer asked. “What else does he want?”
She looked next to her toward her uncle. “Residual annual fees for my dowry.” The tears fell from her cheeks.
“What the fuck is a dowry?” Jack roared. “This is not the damn 1700s. What the hell is wrong with this man? He is a snake. The worst kind of sewer rat.”
Gino snatched the phone away. “If you want in on my family. If you want my niece, that is the price. Five million upfront and I’d say half a million each year after that should take care of it.”
“No,” Lily sputtered. “Don’t do it, Sawyer. Don’t even think about paying him. I’m not worth that much. Just let me go.”
Sawyer looked over at Jack. There was no doubt what they were going to do. Lily was worth more money in this world. Some shitty gangster wasn’t going to hang a price tag over her head.
“Tell the pilot to chart us for New York.”
He nodded. “Got it.” He would fly them himself if he had to. Jack pulled out his phone for the hangar and listened as Sawyer continued the call.
“We will be there tonight. If you hurt her, or even consider touching her, you’re going to regret it, Gino.”
Gino shot him a glare. “Get me the money.”
He hung up and the screen went blank.
Thirty-Six
Lily
The next few hours were torture. Uncle Gino ordered trays of room service while she huddled on the bed and waited. She listened to him eat with his mouth open. He had always been a slob. The kind of man who walked around with a stain on his shirt leftover from something smelly at lunch.
“Finally, you’re good for something, Lily. Good for something. I knew I did good taking you in.”
“Shut up,” she shouted. “This is completely illegal what you’re doing. It’s called extortion.”
“It’s money. Money you owe me. I deserve every fucking penny they are paying me.” He reached into a silver platter for a handful of French fries. At least if he was going to order room service at the Waldorf, he could have tried the lobster or something refined, but that was never who her uncle was.
He was the man who thought everyone owed him something. His deals would go sour, but he never could see the role he played in it. There was another person to blame. Someone else to take responsibility. He even blamed his sister for dying and leaving her child behind. That’s the kind of man he was.
“No one owes you anything. My parents left me money, which you could have used to pay for a roof over my head, or food on my plate, but you gambled it. You didn’t pay for me to go to college. I earned scholarships and worked two jobs to get through school. There was the time you had to pay something when I broke my arm. But I could write you a check for five hundred dollars. No one owes you a damn thing. You are insane.”
“That’s enough. Just like your mother, trying to talk down to me.”
Lily stood from the bed.
“Where are you going?” He eyed her.
“I have to use the restroom. Is that ok with you?” Her question dripped with sarcasm.
He waved her off. “I don’t give a shit. They’ll be here soon with my money.”
Lily locked the door behind her. She washed her face and brushed her teeth. It revived her in some small way.
How had this happened? How had things gone so far? She blamed herself for bragging to him the other night. She never should have mouthed off ab
out how close she was to Sawyer and Jack. If he hadn’t known, he wouldn’t have been able to use that leverage to extort more money from Sawyer and Jack.
God, what had she done?
She pressed her palms onto the coolness of the marble countertops. What would she say to Sawyer? To Jack? Did this ruin things between them? Would her family ties change their opinion of her? Would they believe she was somehow mixed up in her uncle’s scheme?
There was a pit in her stomach from all the questions. All she could hope for was a chance to explain.
She jumped when she heard her uncle pound on the door. She hadn’t expected him to interrupt her time in the bathroom.
“I need some privacy,” she shouted at the door.
“I don’t care. They’re here.”
She threw open the door. “Where? Sawyer and Jack are here?”
He wiped his greasy fingers on the front of his shirt. “You go to the door. Let them in. And make sure they’ve got my money.”
Lily ran through the suite. She couldn’t get to the front door fast enough. All she wanted was to throw herself in Sawyer’s and Jack’s arms. She wanted to tell them she never meant for this to happen. She never intended for her crooked uncle to threaten them this way. To steal from them. She was ashamed. She was embarrassed. But more than anything, she was scared she was going to lose them both. She couldn’t blame them if they broke up with her. She had put them in a terrible position.
There was a second knock on the door. She reached for the handle and as soon as she opened it, she spotted Sawyer’s deep look of concern. He pulled her into the corridor.
“Shh.” He pushed his fingers to his lips. She looked to the left and the right, and counted seven police officers.
“Oh my God,” she mouthed.
Jack held her waist and whispered in her ear. “We’ve got this.”
She nodded as Sawyer walked in first. She wanted to pull him back into the hallway with her and Jack. What if her uncle did something crazy?