Blended (Redemption #1) (38 page)

“We’d like to order something,” Reagan says to Isla, and I watch as Isla’s eyes bug out.

“What? A glass of water?”

“Uhm, no. We’d like two whiskeys.”

“Yup, your little ass needs to go.”

“Excuse me?”

“Do you even know who Waylon Brass is?”

“Him,” she says as she looks up at me with innocent eyes.

“No shit. He’s also the owner of Blended.”

“He is? You are?” she asks me, and I nod down to her. She’s nothing like Hadley, and her fake platinum blonde hair does not do anything for me.

“Get her a drink, Isla. I’d like to speak to you in private.”

“Wait, I thought we came here together.”

“He’s taken, little girl. Run back to your frat boys.”

“Fuck you,” Reagan spits out, and I step toward Isla.

“Reagan, I believe it would be in your best interest to leave. Jacobs is still outside; he’ll take you home.”

She rolls her eyes at me and walks out of Blended while she shoots daggers at Isla with her eyes.

“What the fuck, Brass? Who was that? You’ve been back for a total of six hours, and you’re already fucking a new piece?”

“You know that I’m not. I was grabbing a bite to eat where she works, and she was telling me that she was coming here afterward. I offered her a ride.”

“Good because I still think that you should save that ring for Hadley.”

“That’s what I came here to talk to you about.”

“Yeah? And?”

“I’m going to need to return it. Would you mind doing it for me?”

She’s silent for a few seconds before she takes my hand and leads me to an available couch. “What’s going on? You were hell-bent on getting her back, Wade. You’ve had that ring since before Liam opened his big mouth.”

I pull my coat off and set it on the top of the couch before slowly resting my back against the cushion.

“I spoke with her earlier. She seems content, and she was with another man. I kept her locked up, and she now despises me for it. I won’t pressure her into anything or even ask her for more. For a future.”

“Brass, you’re being too hard on yourself.”

“No. I’m being honest with myself for the first time. I have to accept this reality and keep moving on. Brass Global and subsidiaries cannot go another day without its CEO, and that is where I plan on spending my time.”

“If it’s any consolation, Brass, I love you.”

I chuckle and tug on her earlobe. “You know that I feel the same about you. Come now. Shut down the library and get home before the roads get too bad to drive.”

“Yes, boss,” she says as she jumps up and starts to collect the empty tumblers from the room with the other two librarians. I watch them clean up before pulling my phone out and replying to a few work emails.

Isla dismisses the other two employees before the weather turns too bad for them to head home. I get up and walk to the back and into Isla’s office to use her laptop, seeing as I cannot answer these fucking emails on my phone fast enough.

My mind strays to the ring that I bought while I was confined to the suite in Australia. I was certain that I wanted to be with her for as far as I could see into the future. I got into contact with a jeweler, and they had the ring made to my specifications. When Isla flew out to Sydney, she went to pick it up and when she brought it to me she was stunned and elated all at once. I had no plans to get down on one knee for a while, possibly a couple of months, but when I figured out that there wouldn’t be another woman other than her, I had already made up my mind.

Thirty minutes have passed when Isla returns. “All set?” I ask.

“Sure am. I could do with your fireplace and your whiskey stash. The weather app on my phone says that we’re in for the long haul.”

“You’re welcome to come over. I’d prefer it, seeing as your place is farther away. I’ll let Jacobs know that we’re ready.”

The door chimes and Isla sighs before she gets up. “I must have forgotten to lock that shit. Hold on.”

I watch her back as she retreats from the office. “Hey guys, we’ve closed up shop due to the weather . . . Oh hey.”

I don’t hear anyone reply. “No, he’s not here.”

Silence.

“Yes, I know. He sent Jacobs to drive me home. Have you seen the roads, Hads? It’s hell out there. You should head back home.”

I stand at the mention of her name, intending to go to her, but then I hear a familiar male’s voice. “We’ll find an open bar, babe. Let’s go; I’m sure I’ll see him later.”

I stop as I’m about to walk out of the office and into the main room of Blended.

“Bye, Isla. Will you tell him that I stopped by? He didn’t answer my call earlier today.”

“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea. You need to let him heal, especially since you’ve let your lady balls drop and decided to bring a man into
his
safe place.”

“What? No. This is Lawson Stafford. He works under Wade.”

“Sure he does.”

“Uhm, all right.”

I walk back to the desk and pick up my phone, searching through my emails until I find the one that I’m looking for: Adriana’s reminder that I have a meeting with Lawson Stafford in regard to the hotels expansion in the morning.

Isla walks in and gives me a false smile. “Ready?”

“Lawson Stafford?”

“You heard,” she states.

“Yes. What did they want?”

“I think that they just came in for a drink. I’m unsure, though. I’m going to grab a bottle before we leave.”

“You may as well grab one for me as well.”

“Deal.”

Lawson Stafford figured out that I was in Chicago. It must have been when human resources called me about my new mailing address for my W2 that would need to be sent out in January.

Holden was over when he arrived on my doorstep earlier yesterday morning and I argued with Stafford about his reason for being in Chicago. He told me that he had a meeting with the owner of Brass Global and that he missed my pussy.

How nice.

On top of Lawson dropping by yesterday, Wade called me earlier this evening, and right after that, yup, you guessed it, Lawson was at my doorstep again once Holden left. I wanted to go somewhere that I knew that I would be safe, so I decided on Blended in hopes that possibly that is where he’d called me from earlier.

I remember him thanking someone so I assumed that he was out, but I must have been wrong, and now I’m stuck in the bar next door with Lawson who’s trying to figure out how to get me naked.

I pull my phone out and decide to text Wade:
What are you doing?

His reply takes a lot longer than I’m used to, and I’m about to give up on receiving one when my phone vibrates in my hand.

Holed up in the penthouse with Isla. You?

Oh. Are they a
thing
now? I frown as Lawson orders me another tumbler of cheap whiskey. I’ve managed to drink two-thirds of the first one, and I’m feeling rather queasy. I won’t have the strength to keep him away from me, and by the looks of it, he’s already pushing me too far. I’m out of my comfort zone, and I don’t know how to get rid of him.

I went by Blended hoping you’d be there.

Yes, Isla informed me of the man you brought in.

I sigh and slouch in the booth; he’s being too formal with me. It’s as if he’s drawn back into himself and he’s once again uncomfortable with showing me his true self. I know that it’s my fault, but it still stings. Today is the first time that we’ve actually spoken to each other in two months, and it’s not off to a great start.

It’s Lawson Stafford, Wade. He somehow got hold of my personal address here in Chicago and tracked me down to my doorstep.
I type out as Lawson gets distracted by the attractive bartender refilling his glass. I’m thankful for her flirtatious behavior as it has provided me with a few moments to text him back.

Are you safe?

Am I? I look back up from my phone to Lawson staring at me. He reaches for my thigh and squeezes me there to the point of bruising.

No.
I manage to respond as he leans over and nuzzles the crook of my neck.

Where are you? I’ll send Jacobs.
I swallow hard as Lawson’s lips meet my skin, and his hand that was bruising my thigh has now moved up to the apex of my thighs.

Why won’t
he
come for me?

Because you left him,
I remind myself.

The bar next to Blended.

The second that I hit send, Lawson snatches the phone from my fingers and tosses it into my purse as he continues his assault on my neck with his lips.

“Lawson, please stop.”

“What? Why? Did you find a new cock to toy with?”

“No. I simply don’t want you,” I say as I push my elbow against his side to try and get him off of me.

He pulls back and grabs my jaw in one of his hands, forcing my eyes to meet his. I can feel the power that he has in his fingers as they dig into my skin. “What the fuck did you just say?”

“Nothing. I-I need to get home,” I stutter, unable to get the words out the way I want to get them out.

“I’ll let you go back once you’ve swallowed my cock. How does that sound?”

He pushes me up against the wall that the booth sits against. I’m trapped and completely at his will now. My hands start to shake as intuition tells me that I’m in more trouble than I thought was possible with him.

“I’m not interested in anything like that. Please, just . . .”

He squeezes his fingers between my top and bottom jaw, forcing my mouth to open for him. I watch him remove something from his wallet with his available hand before placing it in my mouth and clamping my jaw shut.

“Swallow like a good girl would.”

I don’t know what he just gave me, but I know that it will ruin me. I can feel the small pill start to dissolve as it sits on the top of my tongue, threatening me with its almost undetectable bitter taste.

“What is this?” I manage to avoid swallowing it, but it’s now when I try to push him off of me that I realize that there must have been something more than whiskey in my tumbler. My body refuses to cooperate with what I want it to do, and I’m fighting to deal with side effects of his first attempt of taking me away from reality.

The force of his hand increases and I whimper from the pain. “A little sedative to take the edge off.” He tilts my head back and slaps my cheek hard enough to be heard over the sound of the music in the bar. My eyes snap toward the bartender who quickly looks away from me as she counts out a stack of cash.

A tear falls from my eye as I realize that he’s going to use me as he pleases. I should welcome the distraction that the pill will provide, but I know that Colin will be here soon. I need to hold on until then.

“You can either swallow that shit, or I can hold you like this until it dissolves on your tongue.”

That’s what he does because I refuse to allow myself to become a victim.

It takes ten minutes from the time he placed it in my mouth until I’m unable to feel it resting on my tongue any longer. He applies more pressure in the right place again to check if the pill is still on my tongue, and when he lets me go, I know that it has finally dissolved.

“You’ll forget your own name soon enough, Hadley, and then you’ll be wanting to scream mine out from pleasure.”