The Weekend Proposition - Ella Jade Page 0,42
as they pulled away. Her heart felt heavy and her stomach nauseous. All because of the stupid little piece of paper she held in her hand. The money she had agreed to take in the first place. The same money that led her to Spencer.
Chapter 12
Spencer punched the bag with everything he had, causing Tyler to stumble back from the force.
“Are you going to hold it still?” he yelled. “Or do I need someone else to train with me this morning?”
“What the hell is your problem?” His brother held the bag steady. “It’s bad enough you pulled me out of bed while it was still dark outside to meet you here. Now you’re beating the shit out of me through this bag.”
“I don’t have a problem.” He set up for a round kick, spun around, and slammed his foot into the bag.
Tyler let go and fell back. “Christ!”
Spencer shrugged. “What?”
“I’ve had enough.” He held up his hands.
“Do you want to spar instead?” Spencer pointed to the ring.
“No fuckin’ way.” Tyler got up off the gym floor. “You’ll probably end up breaking my ribs with the mood you’re in.”
“I’m not in a mood.” Spencer chugged his water. He hadn’t slept all night. Coda had been on his mind. He replayed every minute of the time they had spent together, including their unpleasant goodbye.
“What happened with Coda?”
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit.”
“What? I paid her for her services and we left it at that.”
“Ah, man. That’s cold.” His brother shot him a disgusted glance. “You don’t mean that.”
“You don’t know anything,” Spencer hissed. “Mind your business.”
“I know you like her more than you thought you would. I know she was more than a decoy. I know she likes you. She told me.”
Spencer didn’t want to hear about the weekend. He had enough reminders.
“See, I know a lot. I also know you screwed up.”
“Yeah, I did.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know how to fix it.”
“That’s what you do, you fix things. You find a solution for every problem. That’s why you’re in charge.” Tyler rubbed his elbow. “I went down hard.”
“Don’t be such a girl.” Spencer noted the time. “It’s too early to call her.”
He should have called her last night, but he let his stupid ego get in the way. When she gave him that bracelet, she’d hurt him. That had never happened before. No woman ever had the power to render him speechless or make him feel so much emotional pain that he couldn’t function.
“But it wasn’t too early to call me?”
“Let’s hit the showers. Pierce and Grandfather will be looking for us soon. Have you heard from Vince?” They walked to the locker room. “I’m getting worried.”
“He’s been pretty quiet. I’m hoping that means he’s figure out that logo. He should have it on your desk this morning. He said he was trying to contact someone about the design.”
“What does that mean?” All the artists were in-house. They had no freelance designers he knew of. “Who did the design?”
“I don’t know. He told me to leave him alone and let him work.”
“I want this resolved today or I’m cutting this client loose. I’m not jumping through any more hoops. We have other campaigns that need my attention.”
As they walked to the locker room, Tyler stopped and picked up a local rag sheet someone had left on the lounge table. His family did their best to stay out of the tabloids but sometimes it couldn’t be avoided.
“Ah, shit,” Tyler said as he read the article.
“What? Pictures from the wedding in there?”
“Yeah.”
“Big deal.” He shrugged as he finished his water. “It goes with the territory.”
“I don’t think you’re going to like this.” He held the paper up for Spencer to see. Under the pictures of Spencer and Coda arriving to the hotel read the headline,
Cannon and Carrington’s CEO slums with Brooklyn waitress. Exclusive pictures of the two and an interview with Spencer Cannon’s disgraced fiancée.
“Ava,” he mumbled. “Fuck!”
CODA STARED UP AT THE ceiling. She hadn’t slept all night. She thought about the events leading up to yesterday. Why had she gotten so offended over Spencer giving her that check? Just because they slept together didn’t wipe out the initial proposition. Spencer was a businessman. He would never go back on an agreement. He’d made that point clear.
“Hey,” her mother said as she came into the bedroom.
Coda sat up and pushed her messy hair from her face. Her mother had been using her cane more often in recent weeks. They had an appointment