Crave (His Second Chance with Heiress Bryn Christmas Duet #1) - Z.L. Arkadie Page 0,17

The act wasn’t satiating, though. I needed more from her—the total Bryn Christmas. But at least I got a few hours of shut-eye. Before my flight landed, the stewardess’s voice came over the intercom, asking whether I was ready for her to clear the cabin for landing.

With a woozy head, I said yes. I wasn’t a slob, so other than a general walk-through, there wasn’t much to clean. The stewardess avoided eye contact. I was fine with that. I’d probably never see her again. As I was disembarking, she stood by the door to say goodbye, in customary fashion. Before I made it out, she stepped in front of me and grabbed my cock.

“One day, after you marry your boring, pretentious, uptight wallflower, you’re going to want to fuck for real. I just slipped my card into your pocket. Call me. I want you.” Then she walked past me. I didn’t turn to get a look at her.

I wondered why the hell she’d said that to me. What did she overhear while servicing Boomer? What does she know?

I had to get independent faster than I’d planned. Landing Pedro as a client was more than a wish—it was a necessity. I had a feeling my father was cooking up some sort of scheme with the Lovells. I never wanted to see any of them again, especially Jimmy. And Bree left a bad taste in my mouth too.

Before I’d made it down the ramp, my phone rang. I was certain it was Boomer. I couldn’t put him off any longer. He wouldn’t stop calling until he got ahold of me. I knew he wanted to know how Newport had gone.

“Hello,” I said.

“Is this Jamison Cox?”

I stopped before my feet hit the concrete. I knew the voice because it was my job to recognize it. “This is he. Is this Mr. Santiago?”

“It’s me.” He sounded weary, and that worried me. “Sorry, but I’m going to have to cancel our meeting in the morning.”

I stood straighter, but that didn’t feel like the right position, so I tilted my head back to gaze up at the overlit LA sky. “Well, do you want to reschedule?”

“No. That won’t be necessary.”

My jaw was so tight it threatened to lock on me. “I don’t understand.”

“Thank you for thinking of me, but I can’t use your services.”

His words felt as if they punched me in the gut. “Can I ask you why?”

Pedro paused for a few beats.

“Is it because of Mr. Christmas—Jasper Christmas?” I asked.

“Who’s that?”

I rubbed my eyes, experiencing some relief. Pedro was a young and idealistic candidate, with good ideas and the energy to fight for them. He wasn’t familiar with those who were woven into the establishment. That was why I needed him. He would be my first step in a different direction. And because old candidates wanted to appeal to new generations, they would seek me out too. Boomer would get pissed. He would want to cut and run, and I would let him. Peace the fuck out, old man.

“What is it, then? Because, Pedro, we can win this. I can win this for you.”

“It’s your father,” he said abruptly. I heard bitterness in his tone.

“My father? He’s not in this. It’s only me…”

“Just, I’m out. Let it be.”

“Wait. What happened?” I asked.

“Good night. Good luck.” Pedro hung up.

I wanted to wring Boomer’s neck. The driver in the motorized cart sat behind the wheel, waiting to take me to my hired car. I needed a moment to figure out what to do next. I was back to square one. It would take months to find another viable candidate. Then it hit me. I knew what I needed to do.

I talked to the pilot. We couldn’t fly out to Colorado that night, but we could head out at eleven o’clock in the morning. I took that deal and stayed in a hotel near the airport. Once I got settled in my room, I saw that Bryn had sent a huge gift—the address of where she was staying.

Chapter Seven

Bryn Christmas

The echo of our footsteps in the hallway disturbed instrumental music that sounded like indie rock playing in the background. I was trying to think of something to say. We’d gotten all the formalities out of the way at the airport the other day. Even though Jamison was his usual drop-dead-gorgeous self, I could sense something had changed since we last saw each other. I was contemplating asking if everything was okay when we made a right and