I crept out of his bedroom on my tiptoes, closing the door behind me. With every step, I was reminded of the best sex I’d ever had in my life. My entire lower body was sore in the best possible way. Once I was down the hall, I gathered my clothing from the spot on the floor where we left it. I slipped my panties back on and then dressed quickly. Grabbing my clutch, I tiptoed out of Colton’s apartment within five minutes of waking up.
Dammit, dammit, dammit, I cursed as I closed the door behind me. Twisting the handle to ensure it was locked, I made my way out of the apartment building. Each step that I took reminded me of each time Colton’s body came in contact with mine. Each step that I took made me clench tight in memory of what my body had just experienced. Each step that I took caused my dress to move against my skin just like Colton’s hands. And I craved it. I’m not addicted, I told myself as I walked a little faster. And I won’t allow myself to become addicted.
HOURS LATER, AFTER A LONG, hot bath and a much needed nap, I couldn’t stop thinking about Colton. My entire lower body was sore and the soreness was a constant reminder of him. When I limped through the front door of Duke & Duchess for my shift, I was still actively trying to suppress thoughts of him. Just thinking about his hands on my body or his voice in my ear made my body react.
I need to get him out of my mind. It was a one-night stand, I thought before sliding the sunglasses off of my face and stopping in my tracks. The bar was completely transformed. Instead of the usual dark hues that adorned the place, white fabric was draped everywhere.
What is going on? I thought as I looked around before my eyes landed on two women who were covering couches with white covers. I surveyed the room again and I didn’t see anyone I recognized.
“Hi… Hello?” I called to the women. “What’s going on?”
The blonde glanced at me briefly before continuing what she was doing. With a dramatic sigh, she loudly grumbled to the redhead, “Jessica, I thought you locked the door?”
“I must not have closed it all the way or something,” Jessica responded, throwing her red hair over her shoulder. Looking back at me, she gave a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry. The bar isn’t open today because of a private party.”
“You should’ve locked the door. You’re making idiotic moves already. I don’t know how long this is going to work out for you,” the blonde chastised Jessica.
Is she serious? I thought, gaping at them as the blonde continued to work, ignoring me. Jessica smoothed her red hair down and I saw her pale skin flush.
“It was a mistake,” Jessica stated meekly.
“I don’t give two flying fu—”
“Don’t talk to her like that!” I yelled, glaring at the back of the blonde woman’s head.
The blonde quickly spun around and put her hand on her hip. The room became so silent, it sounded as if the air conditioning had even turned off. As we glowered at each other, I could hear the faint sound of feet pounding against wood.
“What did you say to me?” she sneered.
“You heard me. But in case being a bitch negatively affects your hearing, I’ll repeat myself. Do not talk to her like that.” I spoke slowly and deliberately, folding my arms across my chest.
“I was having a private conversation,” she started, before shaking her head. “I don’t have to explain shit to you. Why are you even in here? The bar is closed for a private party so you’ll have to find somewhere else to shake your fat ass.”
My face immediately scrunched up and my hands balled into fists. Who does this bitch think she is? I thought, feeling myself getting angry.
I opened my mouth to really let her have it when Nicks and Stephen loudly entered the bar from the basement door.
“Mya!” Stephen and Nicks cheered in unison, dropping boxes and cases on the bar top with a thud.
Marching over to them, I snapped irritably, “Who the hell are they?”
Nicks eyebrows shot up, but he pretended he didn’t hear the tone I used when he lowered his voice to answer, “Jessica and Rhiannon. They are our two new bartenders.”
“Well, the blonde one—”
“Rhiannon,” Stephen interjected.
My head snapped to him. “I don’t care what her name is. That bitch has to go.”
Nicks eyes widened as Stephen laughed.
“What’s going on?” Nicks asked in a whisper, worry etching his face. He glanced over at the two new bartenders and back to me.
“I just get a bad vibe from her. I don’t like her and I don’t see this working,” I explained, not bothering to whisper.
“Please chill. You two must have just gotten off on the wrong foot. Let’s just see how it goes for tonight. And then I’ll sit down and make sure we’re all on the same page. Bad Girl Studios called and secured Duke & Duchess for the A Dangerous Affair wrap party so I need all hands on deck. We’re going to be packed to maximum capacity.”
I pursed my lips and tried to calm myself down. I could tell Nicks was mentally trying to prepare himself for the event tonight, but I had to get my point across.
“For the sake of the event, I’m going to let it go for now. But if she says anything else to me, I’m taking that bitch down.”
Stephen laughed again and I saw a smile playing on Nicks lips. Rhiannon looked to be almost six feet tall and towered over my five-foot seven-inch frame. Before I could elaborate, Kelsey ran through the front door excitedly.
“Bring on the celebrities!” Kelsey screamed as she ran up to the bar comically. Once she got close enough, I saw her eyes shift over all of our faces as she read the room. “What’s up?” she asked slowly.
“There are two new hot bartenders and Mya is pissed—”
“Stephen, shut your ass up,” I cut in, pushing his arm with both hands. I looked back over at Kelsey and continued, “The tall bit—”
“Hey Jessica, Rhiannon, come here please!” Nicks shouted, interrupting me and ignoring the bickering he had grown accustomed to over the last two years.
As the two women made their way over from the far end of the room, Kelsey walked around Stephen to stand next to me. Communicating with just our eyes, I raised my eyebrows, giving her a pointed look. She smirked and then turned to Nicks. “What’s wrong with them, Nicks? Clearly, they’ve pissed off my best friend.”
Nicks cleared his throat. “We’ll talk about it later,” he mumbled under his breath, waving the two new bartenders over as they got closer to us. “I’m glad all of you ladies are here early,” he started. “Mya, Kelsey, I’d like you to meet Jessica and Rhiannon. They are the newest additions to the Duke & Duchess family.”
“Hello,” Kelsey greeted them with a cheerful smile.
“Hi,” Jessica replied shyly, looking from Kelsey to me and then back to Stephen and Nicks.
“It’s so nice to meet you, Kelsey,” Rhiannon bubbled with so much forced sweetness, I did a double take. Her tone was completely different than when she was berating Jessica earlier.
She is laying it on thick, I thought with an eye roll. Putting my hands on my hips, I looked at the blonde in disgust. I hate phony people almost as much as I hate bullies.
Rhiannon looked at me and narrowed her eyes before giving me a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Hi Mya… it’s nice to meet you.”
I just looked at her blankly. It was not nice to meet her and I’m not going to stand here and tell that lie, I thought as I could feel everyone’s eyes on us. Her smile dropped into a smirk as the silence enveloped us momentarily.
Cutting the tension, Nicks spoke up quickly. “Tonight is going to be huge. Apparently the cast of A Dangerous Affair had scheduled a wrap party at one of the ritzy Manhattan hotels, but the lead actor—Liam, Leo, Lenny, whatever his name is—allegedly trashed the place last night so they’ve been barred from having the event there. They called and here we are! So I need all hands on deck tonight. The caterer will be here any minute now and the guests will start arriving in an hour. The cast will arrive sometime after that.”
>
Nicks’ laid-back demeanor would have convinced anyone that he was calm, but the speed in which he was talking alerted me to how much this event meant to him. The last time a group of celebrities descended upon Duke & Duchess, profits tripled. But with increased revenue, Nicks seemed stressed about the spotlight the bar was under.
“Everything will be fine,” I assured him, giving him a warm smile. “We could just do our zones. Kelsey and I can take Jessica for the beginning of the night and then you and Stephen can take Rhiannon to end the night.”
Nicks gave me a relieved smile and I could see his face visibly relax. “Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks, Mya. I’m also going to have Devin with you three so it’ll be at least one man in the mix.”
“That means I get you two handsome men to myself tonight,” Rhiannon interjected flirtatiously.
My eyes immediately found Kelsey’s and her facial expression was priceless. Giggling to myself, I pulled my long hair back into a ponytail and subtly motioned my head toward the staff lounge area. “Kelsey and I are going to put our stuff away,” I said, turning to head to the staff lounge area.
Once we were in the lounge area with the door securely closed behind us, Kelsey started in with the questions.
“What the hell was that?” she wondered as she opened her locker, putting her bag in the small space. “What happened before I walked in? And why does Rhiannon seem so…” She trailed off, making a face.
“Right! The phoniness was dripping off of her,” I answered, not at all downplaying my dislike for her. I glanced at her through the reflection in the mirror. “But I just didn’t like the way Rhiannon was talking to Jessica. And when I said something to her about it, I didn’t like the way she started talking to me.”
“I knew something was up as soon as I saw your face.” Kelsey slammed her locker shut and plopped down on the nearest chair. Looking up at me, she shrugged. “Rhiannon seems completely fake to me. But what concerns me is how un-phased Nicks seemed by it.”
“Right?!” I exclaimed, turning from the mirror to face Kelsey. “I don’t see how she’s going to fit in here. No matter how much Stephen and Devin grate on our nerves from time to time, they are one-hundred percent themselves at all times.”
“Nicks usually has better judgment than this. She’s pretty. A complete fake of a person with bad energy surrounding her, but she’s pretty. They both are. Maybe that’s all Nicks was seeing when he hired them.”
“Probably. Because I can guarantee you that it wasn’t that bitch’s personality that got her the job,” I grumbled.
“You’re in a mood,” Kelsey laughed. “So I’m assuming you’re still bent out of shape because you spent the night with your one-night stand turned cuddle buddy. By the way, I need more details than…” She pulled out her cell phone so that she could read the text message verbatim. “And I quote: ‘Sorry I’m just now responding to your text. I messed up big time. I accidentally fell asleep with Colton (the sexy guy I left with last night) and we were all cuddled up when I woke up… and you know I don’t do cuddled up. I’m just now leaving his house and I’m on my way home. I should’ve left right after we were done, but he fucked the will to leave out of me. Don’t judge me.’”
I shook my head and laughed as she read my early morning missive. “I don’t even know where to begin with that situation.”
“Start with the ‘he fucked the will to leave out of me’ and then work your way backward,” Kelsey said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
“I don’t know what to say.” Still laughing, I shrugged. “You’ll have to excuse my post-coital ramblings.”
“I can’t excuse this,” Kelsey exclaimed, holding up her phone with my text message opened on the screen. “I need details! My best friend leaves with the sexiest guy in the bar and sends a text gushing—”
“I didn’t gush!” I protested, hands on my hips and eyes wide.
“For you, this is gushing. So I’m guessing it was good.”
I paused before I admitted the truth. “Best sex I’ve ever had.”
“Even better than Graham?”
“Graham who?” I joked with wide eyes.
Jumping to her feet, Kelsey jumped up and down excitedly. “That’s what you needed to get back on the horse! Will you see him again? You should. Especially if he was the best you’ve ever had.”
“I don’t think so,” I answered uneasily. I looked at the slight chip in the paint of my thumbnail to avoid eye contact. My stomach dropped and I realized I should’ve waited to have the conversation with Kelsey when we were alone and not at work. Kelsey was a born counselor and although she never pushed, she always had a way of getting me to open up.
And today I’m not in the mood to open up, I thought as Kelsey moved closer to me.
“Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face,” Kelsey warned me, placing her hands on my shoulders.
“What?” My tone echoed my confusion at her idiom.
“If the only reason you’re not going to have sex with him again is because you don’t want to get close—”
The door swung open and Kelsey and I jumped, halting all conversation. “The caterer and event planners are here. Let’s go!” Nicks announced before turning on his heel and returning to the front.
“We’ll talk more about this later,” Kelsey informed me before walking out behind Nicks.
I rolled eyes and sighed, “I know.”
The time flew by. A few minutes after setting up the food, guests started arriving. As usual, the bar filled steadily and then suddenly, it was packed. The time seemed to move at warped speed as the cast and crew trickled in. Working effectively together, I maintained my end of the bar and Kelsey maintained her end. Jessica floated between the two of us, learning to make the signature drinks from Devin.
“I got it,” Jessica said as she whipped up a Grasshopper on demand. Jessica had been bartending for the last five years and she was good. Although the splattering of freckles over the bridge of her nose made her look at least five years younger, she was actually a year older than me. “Here you go. I made it special for you,” she flirted demurely, batting her eyelashes at an A-list celebrity that I couldn’t remember the name of.
“Thanks, Red,” he said, winking at her. “I’ll be back for another…and your number.” And as smoothly as the words fell from his lips, he turned and walked away.
“Jessica’s a little flirt,” Kelsey teased playfully.
“I’m just following the lead of my gorgeous coworkers,” Jessica countered, tucking her red hair behind her ear.
I smiled. “I think you are going to fit in well here, Jessica,” I complimented her before taking the drink order of the director.
Devin quickly made the drink I needed and handed it to the director. He turned around and stared at us. “You got that right. If there’s one thing Nicks does well, it’s hire beautiful women.”
“Awwww,” we said in unison, wrapping our arms around Devin in a four-way hug. Devin’s black Mohawk was combed forward, giving him a long bang and covering his almond-shaped eyes as he laughed.
“Okay, okay, okay… I don’t want any of these famous actresses to think I’m with any of you so…” He laughed as he squirmed out of the hug.
When Nicks, Stephen and Rhiannon swapped places with us, the four of us split up and worked our way through the VIP sections at each corner of the room. I had just finished talking to and taking the order of R&B superstar Chambers, when I heard a deep voice call my name. I turned around and my stomach plummeted.
“Mya! I thought that was you,” Eric Black bellowed, roughly grabbing me and pulling me into a quick hug.
Giving him a tight smile, I couldn’t figure out my next move. I was caught off guard and I was completely lost. Staring at Eric, it made me uncomfortable. But then again, Eric always got under my skin.
I knew it was only a matter of time before I ran into someone from the past. I figured it would be a college classmate or something. I didn’t exp
ect it to be someone from the neighborhood. I didn’t expect it to be someone who knew my family, I thought as anxiety-fueled energy swirled around me.
I scanned the crowd to see if I could spot Kelsey nearby, but I didn’t see her. I shifted my weight from one foot to another anxiously and I knew deep down in my gut that the nerves I felt weren’t derived from the fact that he weirded me out even as a child. Uneasy, anxiousness stemmed from the fact that I hadn’t had to talk to anyone except Kelsey about my family since I moved to New York. And I could already tell the conversation with Eric was going to go south—fast.
If I walk off, he’s annoying enough that he’d follow me. If he follows me, he may start running his mouth about me and my family. I don’t need anyone in my business so it’s probably my best bet to just be civil and then walk away, I decided, squaring my shoulders.
“It’s so good to see you, Mya. It’s been a few years now. You look exactly the same,” Eric said expectantly, his eyes creepily darting down my body and then meeting my eyes again.
“I’m working, Eric. But it’s nice seeing you too,” I lied flatly, crossing my arms over my chest. “I hope you’ve been enjoying your evening at Duke & Duchess. And I’ll be sure to tell my father I saw you.”
Ignoring my tone, comment, and general disposition, Eric smiled as he said, “I heard you moved to New York, so I had a one-in-three shot at guessing the right triplet’s name!” He laughed at his own joke.
I just stared blankly at him.
“But seriously,” he continued in a self-important tone that grated on my nerves. “My mom mentioned a few months ago about your mother dying. I’m sorry. And I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to the funeral. We were shooting and I just got hired to work as the assistant director of A Dangerous Affair so, you know, duty called. But my parents were worried about you and your sisters. Especially after your dad proposed to—”
Love Discovered in New York (The Washington Triplets) Page 5