Corruption - Leigh Lennon Page 0,16
a miserable man, chasing my next high. Eve is my high—the only thing that makes sense in my fucked-up brain. Maybe your girl is it for you.”
I don’t respond to him, and hope that if I stay mute on the subject, the lecture will be over, and I can forget he read me the riot act. “So,” he begins, and there goes my hope. “Are you going to ignore me? That’s mature of you, Maddox.”
He stays, moving from the bar to the living space I’d arranged between the four small apartments up here. He plants his ass in the comfortable chair, clearly not leaving.
I join him, bringing the cheap stuff and my tumbler. “Where is everyone else?” I question, mainly speaking about the girls. His girl, in particular.
“All the women went shopping; they wanted to go to Pike Street while we’re here. I mean, I’ll do anything for my kitten, but when she told me it was a girls’ only trip? Fuck, was I relieved.”
I pop one brow higher than the other. “Yeah, I have someone with them for safety and my peace of mind, my Navy SEAL friend turned private security.” He’s a controlling SOB and has to know he can hold as many cards in his life as is possible. Having security with Eve and the rest of the girls helps the Dom in him, a little with his power struggle to give Eve time to herself, but also understanding she’s safe. He sits back, thumbing for his phone with a loud chuckle. “Ah, be ready, they just pulled up, so I give them ten minutes before they find us up here.”
“And the others?” I ask, speaking of the guys.
“Jared has taken over your office. Gio’s down at the bar, enjoying a one-on-one meeting with one of his VIPs from the New York club who’s here on business. Greer is playing with one of his playboys he keeps in Seattle, Cord is on a business call with his dungeon master over an incident from last night, and I have no earthly idea where the fuck Anton is. He left in an Uber and has not been heard from.”
I lean forward with my elbows on my knees. “Yeah, Anton has kept hush-hush about someone, who he’s gotten quite close with. He won’t share anything with me.” This isn’t my top concern, though. “What happened with the LA club?”
A vein in the side of his neck pulses, and he locks his jaw tight, barely able to move it. “I’m trying to delegate. I can’t have my hands in every facet of all five clubs. And as Eve reminds me, I have some pretty stand-up guys I trust, looking out for my assets.”
“Oh, when did you come to this conclusion?” I question, remembering the ass chewing we received today.
“When I was balls deep in my girl this afternoon. See, she makes me a better man. I would not give up your girl who has you so twisted. I think she can make you a better man.”
I close my eyes as I imagine the way Drake touched Jewel today.
“Are you not going to acknowledge what I just said, asshole?” he asks.
“Nope.” My return is quick and curt, and I have no intention to sit and listen to his happiness compared to my decision. I push to my feet so fast, I knock over our drinks and the coffee table.
He pulls at my suit jacket, and it physically stops my departure. “Maddox, Cheryl Berrins was over ten years ago. She did you wrong, there’s no doubt, but to let her rule your life…”
I won’t talk about Cheryl Berrins, and I won’t stick around as he does. Pushing as close to his face as I can get without kissing the asshole, I lower my voice, my tone deep and my words harsh. “I’ve listened to everything you said. I don’t get a happy ending. It ended with Cheryl Berrins, and any chance I had with her died that day.”
He doesn’t challenge me or grab me by my collar or have a reply to what I’ve just almost spit into his face.
He lets me go as I storm to the stairwell with the laughter of all the girls below, but I don’t escape quick enough. “You’re wrong. You know that, Maddox? You deserve a happy ending just as much, if not more, than the rest of us.” I stop just enough for his words to hit me, but I’m down the stairs before the girls