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It’s early, only eleven in the morning and the burlesque tavern isn’t even open yet, but I knew she would be here. We’ve been friends for too many years to not know each other’s habits. There’s a reason I hired her to assist me in interviewing members. She’s an excellent judge of character and as a woman, offers so many more different opinions than myself. She’s invaluable, but right now, all I want to do is cut all ties.
Fucking introducing my daughter to that conceited bag of dicks.
“Oh hello, Maverick. Do come in and make yourself known and comfortable. Can I get you something? A drink? A goddamn lobotomy? Because nothing short of needing a brain adjustment could explain why the hell you barge in here as if you own it. Did I suck and fuck you for the money to open this place? No, the fuck I didn’t so show a little goddamn respect.” She sneers at me and she’s not fucking wrong. If the situation was reversed, I would feel the same sense of indignation and disrespect that she is right now.
I take a seat at the bar directly across from her, steepling my hands and staring at her.
“I deserved that, but I also deserve to know why you put October into Turner’s orbit. You know how he is.” I cock my head at her, and she mimics me.
“I do. I also saw October at Opal the other week, entranced by everything. She fit in almost too well. Almost like her dad. She’s an adult and a woman, so when we had lunch last week we talked.” The words are said innocently enough, but nothing about Monica Sinclair is innocent. She’s been having lunch with October at least once a month since I was dealing with her teenage angst. Monica was a safe woman she could talk to, and I welcomed their friendship until this moment. Now it’s coming to bite me in the ass.
“Come off your high horse, Maverick Davis. You’re just mad because you thought for a moment that Brandon was going to do every wicked thing that you want to do to her. I saw her as she left your office, and she told me about the little couch scene a few days later. If you weren’t going to give her what she wanted, well, I was going to give her the power to get it from somewhere else. Say whatever you want, but she was never in any danger. You are well aware he’s safe, otherwise he wouldn’t be a member. Your jealousy is showing. I never thought I’d see the day.” I hate her. She’s right and we both know it, but she doesn’t need to be so smug about it.
She slides a cup of tea in front of me, and now it’s my turn to quirk an eyebrow at her.
“I’m not giving you liquor this early. The tea should help mellow your ass out, you grumpy bastard.”
Sipping the hot liquid, I inhale the citrus scent, letting the lemon notes calm me down. Looking around, it amazes me how different this place looks in the day compared to at night when it comes alive. I’m proud of Monica and what she’s built here. She’s a woman that O can look up to while her mother is off wandering every corner of the world.
“So, the real question is, what are you going to do about it, Mav? You love her. You want her. When have you or any of us really given a flying fuck what society thought of us? Two consenting adults should never have anyone but each other in their own personal business.” She stops speaking and I can see the gears working in her head. She’s contemplating her next words before she utters them.
“You are a triangle. Sharp angles but steadfast, always the same shape. You don’t waver on who you are, you never have. October, well Mav, she’s a triangle also. The two of you are the type of people that everyone strives to be. Unapologetic in how you live your lives and what you do. Owing no one but the people you care about, any explanation. The two of you coincide.” I’m dumbfounded as I hear what she’s saying. I open my mouth to speak, but she cuts me off with a shake of her head.
“Coincidence doesn’t mean it was by chance, like you assume. Coincide. She is you and you are her. Two triangles fitting together perfectly. On your own, you are a complete picture and so is she. Coming together, you are once again a complete picture, just in a different format. She belongs to you and you to her. You’ll see it. I believe that with everything.” Stunned doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel right now. No other words are spoken as we both sit there in silence, finishing our drinks.
Knocking my knuckles against the bar top, I stand up and walk round the bar to give Monica a hug.
“I’m still fucking mad at you, but thank you,” I tell her before walking back out.
I’ve got a lot to think about, but everything Monica said replays in my head. She makes sense and I never would have thought about it in that context.
Goddamn devil woman with her sharp wit always putting me in my place.
CHAPTER20
OCTOBER
Things have been awkward for the last few days since Thursday when I left and spent two days at Justina’s. He called me but I didn’t answer, instead choosing to text him, letting him know where I am and when I would be back.
Space and time. Two things I needed at that moment, and I think he did as well. Everything that has happened has overtaken us, and I don’t think either of us can think clearly.
It’s like being high and you keep smoking, elevating your high and you can’t come down enough to see through the haze yet. We need to let the haze dissipate some so we can see the truth splayed at our feet, figuratively.
I smell the Dior Sauvage before I see him. He’s rolling the sleeves of his burgundy dress shirt up in the bathroom mirror when I peek into his room. He’s already got on black slacks and knowing him, those shoes cost more than my phone.
Such a contradiction, dressed in expensive clothes that million-dollar CEOs wear but tattooed heavily with multiple rings adorning his hands. My thighs clench and I feel my panties dampen because this man is exquisite, and I’ve felt him between my legs. I’ve had those hands on me, touching and stroking. Gripping and bruising. Those teeth biting and that tongue licking. I’m lost in it all.
“You gonna be okay because I’ve been staring at you in this mirror as you stare at me and let me tell you, wildcat; I’m surprised there isn’t a puddle on the hallway floor right now.” His voice cuts through, bringing me back and chasing away the haze. Fuck, I thought I was doing better.
“I’m sorry, October.” Shock must display on my face, because he smirks ruefully before walking out and coming to stand in front of me. He never apologizes. I mean, he does, but not like this.
“I lost my mind, and I took it out on you, and that is not okay. I knew. I knew it was an out of the blue text, but I let it consume me and, like poison, it ran rampant through me. The thought of him. The way he touched you, in my club. I could have killed him. I wanted to, desperately. But I wanted to fuck you even more, and that desire won over my rage.” He sinks to his knees before me and now it’s me gazing down at him as he asks for forgiveness in his own way.
No one else may understand it, but I do. I understand everything he’s trying to convey, and I drop to my own knees, mirroring his exact position. Tipping my head up so he can kiss my lips, he says, “It’s Saturday night. Do you want to come to Opal with me?”
“I have to work.” He smirks at me before I see his eyes roll just slightly.
“Any other time, I would commend your work ethic, but I think your boss will give you the night off. Before you even protest, you aren’t leaving them short-staffed. Serena asked for extra hours if they come available and would be happy to take them. So, if you want to come to Opal, the invitation is there.” He stands up and walks to his dresser, sliding on his watch and fiddles with the face of it until it sits just right.
