Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 68249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
“Riley, what the hell are you talking about? You’ve got to take risks in business. If you don’t, you don’t get the payoff. You know that.”
She shook her head, mute now, her lips pressed together so tight they went white.
“This is your opportunity. Take it.”
“No,” she said. “No, thank you. And next time you make a decision like this, talk to the person you’re trying to help first. If you’d just asked me, I would’ve told you that—you know what? It doesn’t matter. I guess this works out for both of us.” She was changed. Something about her was different.
She’d carried burdens on her shoulders these past four weeks. When she’d lost the studio, I figured at least one burden would have lifted. But it hadn’t. She was heavy—in the strictly metaphysical sense.
“Riley, this will help you live your dream. This was what you wanted.”
“What did I know?” she asked. “Nothing. I knew nothing. There are no dreams, Jax. There’s cold, hard reality. You have yours, and I have mine. Look, I’m going through some stuff I need to work out. I’ll call you sometime soon.”
I blinked. That was unexpected. If anything, Riley’s rejection should have meant a total shut down of communications between us. “Call me?”
“Yes,” she said and opened the front door. She stepped inside and turned around holding it ajar. “I’ll call you, not the other way around.”
She expected me to hang around for her call and do nothing? “Riley, whatever is hurting you or worrying you can’t be bigger than your dreams. Let me help you.”
“Let you help me? I don’t want any help right now. Just keep doing what you do best. Hiring strippers and dominating. I’ll keep doing what I do best,” she said.
“And what’s that?”
“Avoiding you.” She closed the door with a curt snap.
Nothing about tonight had been what I’d expected. The anger, yes, that had been there, but this? Why would she fall into my arms, kiss me like she’d done two weeks ago if she was so good at avoiding me?
Something was up. I walked to the door and knocked again. “Riley, open up. Talk to me about this, now.”
Silence.
“Riley!”
“Go away,” she hissed, against the wood. “Everyone’s sleeping. I told you, I’ll call you soon. Just go. OK? Just go.”
I considered camping out on my sister’s doorstep. I’d do it if it meant Riley would fucking talk to me. Or listen. But she wouldn’t. Riley wasn’t ready, and buying the studio had been a mistake. She was fixated on the fact that I was someone who worked with strippers, even though I’d shown her that Club Queen wasn’t some bubbling pot of filth and sleaze.
“Just go,” she whispered, one last time.
I didn’t obey the order. I walked off only because I’d come up with another plan. A way to help her help herself.
My life would blank out without her. The minute she’d left, everything had lost flavor.
There wasn’t a chance I’d let her get away again.
Chapter 26
Riley
“Riley? We need to talk.” Veronica’s voice carried through the bathroom door. It was superior déjà vu, except now, I already knew what the verdict was regarding my pregnancy, and this time I actually was on the damn toilet.
“Uh, I’m kind of in the middle of something here, Ron,” I called out, clutching my cell in my hands. “Can it wait?”
“No? I have to talk to you now.”
I sighed. “All right, give me a sec.” I wasn’t anywhere near the point where the baby would be lying against my bladder or, god forbid, kicking me in it, but I’d noticed an uptick in the amount of times I needed to pee a day.
I placed my phone on the edge of my bath—yeah, I liked doing a little research while I had a pee, so sue me—and finished up. I flushed, washed my hands, and checked my reflection in the mirror.
Not showing yet, obviously, that would take a few months, but I had dark circles under my eyes, I hadn’t washed my hair in two days, and the chocolate stain on my shirt was…bizarre.
Total class act, ladies and gents. I so have my shit together.
“Riley!”
“I’m coming, dammit, keep your panties on,” I said, and shuffled over to the bathroom door. I opened up then backpedaled a step. If I looked a little haggard, it was nothing in comparison to Ron. Her hair was stringing around her shoulders, and her skin was waxen.
“Whoa,” I said. “Do you need to use the bathroom? Wanna shower?”
“Yes, I do,” she replied. “But first, we gotta talk.”
“Your hair.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. I had a late shift. I haven’t had the chance to shower yet.”
I’d stayed home and watched movies with Nessy until her bedtime to keep her company, tonight. I couldn’t begrudge Ron her state—gosh, she worked damn hard.
I’d been on a few job interviews the past week, but I hadn’t heard back yet, and while I couldn’t buy too many groceries for Ron at the moment, at least I could help her save on babysitting fees.