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“Do you think that you could come pick me up? I’m outside Juke’s.”
I tense up immediately, knowing exactly where she is - a place she should never be. Who the hell roped her into this shit?
“On my way.”
I hang up before she can say anything else and she better know that I’ll be badgering her with questions as soon as she gets into my car. First of all, she’s not even twenty-one yet. Second of all, that place is crawling with the wrong crowd and I don’t want her mixed up in any of their shit.
My only plea as I rush to the nightclub downtown is that she’s not doing anything illegal, besides the obvious of drinking at the damn club in the first place. I can handle a drunk underage Lila, but I wouldn’t be able to handle it if she's mixed up in all the hard stuff.
My tires screech when I step on the brakes outside of Juke’s and make Lila jump. She catches my eyes, then walks to the passenger door. She’s barely got herself in the car before I’m trying to give her my best dad glare, but she only rolls her eyes at me.
“Yes,Dad?” she asks sarcastically, knowing it will grate on my nerves.
As soon as she clicks her seatbelt into place, I stomp on the gas and peel the car from in front of the bar.
“What the hell are you doing?” I ask, nearly shouting at her.
She straightens her shoulders, sending me her own glare that looks identical to our mother’s. Scary. But I won’t back down.
Instead of answering me, she crosses her arms over her chest and stares out the window as we pass through the city.
“Lila, just tell me what you were doing there.”
She huffs, but turns to me and says, “Just wanted to go out, Ry.”
Okay, great, so maybe it’s not as bad as my mind immediately thought. This is good, but I still don’t want her there. My gaze softens when I look back at her for a split second, then I bring my hand to her knee and give it a squeeze.
“I’m just looking out for you. It’s not a good crowd there, okay?”
She smiles sweetly at me before nodding and turning back out the window. I figure she probably doesn’t want my parents to catch her like this, so I make the turn toward my penthouse and pull into the parking garage. She jumps out immediately, then heads to the elevators.
She stays here more often than not, so I know she went to her guest room when I walk in and she’s out of sight. She’ll also be gone by the time I wake up in the morning, probably to get away from any more questions about tonight.
I’m okay if she wants to have fun, but who would she have gone with there specifically? I’m not sure.
I grab a glass of water before shutting the kitchen light out, making sure the alarm is set, then double-check that all the locks are in place. The TV casts a bright glow around the living room, until I find the remote and power it off. Then the only light is from the wax burner sitting on an end table. I choose to leave it on, knowing that Lila likes when I have them on and get the house smelling good.
Before I can relax into my mattress, my phone pings with a text from my dad asking how the party is coming along. Since he’s the one who approved for me to have a day or two off a week until the party gets here, he knows what I’ve been doing today. Should’ve been doing at least. I could probably have all this done while also working in my office, but I won’t tell him that and lose out on these free days.
Instead of replying with the truth, I tell him that everything is going good. Because as much as I think being honest is the best thing, I don’t think he needs to know that the two people I suggested he hire are probably about to stir some shit through the workplace.
I’ll get a handle on it. Not today, maybe not even tomorrow. Hopefully, I’ll figure something out before the party gets here, though. If I could ban one of them from coming, I would, but that would cast our company in a bad light, and I don’t want to do that. There’s no reason an employee shouldn’t be able to come.
Sleep doesn’t come easy for me, knowing Alex will probably bother me again like he has every day for the last month.
Chapter3
Ava
The material of my romper is scratchy, but I don’t mind because I know once I have a few drinks in me I won’t care. When I woke up this morning, Millie was already gushing about the party we are going to tonight for the company. Apparently, this is the first time they’ve decided to have a New Year’s Eve party, and it’s private for the employees, save for the dates any of them choose to bring.
I tried getting out of going to it, coughing into my shoulder and telling Millie I was too sick to be around everyone else. Of course, she saw through my bullshit and reminded me that I made a promise to go with her to the party. We already RSVP’d and everything, so I knew she had me right where she wanted me.
Now, hours later, I’m sporting a romper that barely covers my ass and has a deep V that I’m not used to, while Millie rummages around her bedroom for a pair of heels to go with it. I have to admit, the romper makes my ass look good even if itisbarely twenty degrees outside. When Millie brought this outfit to her room, telling me it was what I was wearing, I thought she was joking and laughed it off.
She wasn’t, clearly.
I guess as long as I’m walking from one building just to go into another that she’s sure will have heating, I can bear the winter chill for a few minutes. Millie, on the other hand, gets to be cozy with a pair of gold sequin pants and a long-sleeve black top. I’m officially jealous every time she walks past me, but she thinks this is the best way for me to prove to Alex that I’ve moved on.
