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“I, um…” I was stammering. Lost. Confused. Thrown for a fucking loop.
“I want to hire you on as my assistant,” Cecily further explained. “I have a baby to take care of now, and I can’t be here as much as I’d like anymore. And while Chelsea is certainly capable of managing this place, I don’t want to put that kind of pressure on her. She has her own life to live, too. You’ll get paid exceptionally well, and I’ll make sure your pay is higher than what you make working the stage.”
I didn’t know what to do. I was…stunned. No one had ever offered me anything like this, and I was almost ashamed—and certainly embarrassed—that my eyes welled with tears, a lump forming in my throat.
“You barely know me,” I rasped, choked up.
Cecily stood from her chair and came around her desk, squatting in front of me. Adler rested a hand on her shoulder, steadying her. She grasped my hands in hers, gently squeezing them. A tear ran down my cheek, and I swallowed a sob. I hated that my lips were trembling.
“The moment Seb fell in love with you, Athena, you became family. And knowing Seb loves you is all we need to know, you hear me?”
Tears streaked down my cheeks as I nodded. She wrapped me up in a hug. “I miss him,” I cried, clinging to her shirt, suddenly so overwhelmed, I couldn’t hold in my fear for Seb anymore. “I’m so sorry I’m such a mess. I’m not normally like this, but I’m so fucking worried about him.”
“He’ll come home,” Adler assured me, understanding in his eyes as he met my gaze over his wife’s shoulder. “He just needs time to clear his head. That’s all.”
I knew that, but it didn’t make the ache in my chest any easier to breathe through.
eight
Seb
I rolled to a stop in front of the business we were working on remodeling in downtown and slid my helmet off my head. I’d ridden most of the night and crashed early this morning in my apartment at the clubhouse. I’d told Athena I’d come see her when I got to town, but fuck, I couldn’t face her yet. I needed just a little more time before I saw her face. Because I knew the moment I saw her, my chest would cave in.
There would be nothing but misery in her eyes.
When I finally turned my phone on and saw how upset she was, my hands had shook. I’d put her through this, and for what?
I just needed time to figure out how to handle her and these intense feelings between us since I was still feeling so fucking raw myself. I didn’t want to lash out when she laid into me and accidentally say something I didn’t mean. I never wanted to hurt her like that.
Maybe getting some work in would calm me and help me rebuild that layer of armor around myself so I didn’t feel so weak and defenseless anymore.
“Good to see you, brother,” Elliot said, stepping out of the building to light a cigarette. “Glad you’re back home.”
I clapped my hand to his shoulder. He drew me into a one-armed hug, clapping me on the back. I walked inside after, nodding once at Adler. He walked over to me, running his eyes over me, and when he deemed I was physically okay, he began to explain what was going on, quickly catching me up to speed. It was like I hadn’t disappeared for days. Like nothing had ever happened.
Just how I needed it to be.
“By the way, your girl isn’t stripping anymore.”
I swung my eyes to his. “What?” I snapped. Had she really fucking quit because of what happened? Goddammit, I never meant to make her feel like she was backed into a corner. I didn’t want to change her. If she wanted to strip, I’d never stop her. Did she feel like she had no other choice if she wanted to keep me?
My skin crawled, and it felt like someone was pouring salt over the raw parts of me. She hadn’t mentioned any of that in her messages to me. Just her concern and hope that I was okay.
“Easy, brother. She didn’t try to quit. Don’t go there. Cecily thought it might be best, and she wanted to give Athena something stable, too. All of us were worried, brother. You never lash out like that. Haven’t in a few years, anyway.”
I shook my head, my bike keys digging into my palms. “That wasn’t Cecily’s decision to make,” I snapped, turning on my heel to storm out again. I needed to find Athena. Goddammit, was everything fucked up now?
I wanted Athena to be happy. That was all I goddamn wanted. And if stripping made her happy, then so be it. I’d never force her to change.
