Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 131209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
I stared at him, confused and then back at Madam, by the look on her face she was as surprised as I was.
“I’ll leave you two alone. I will be right outside,” I announced, walking out of the room, and shutting the door behind me to give them privacy.
It took everything in me to not call Devon. I wanted to so desperately just to hear his voice, to have a shoulder to lean on. We hadn’t spoke since the day he ran out of my condo. I sat in the waiting room, and my head fell back against the headrest.
I closed my eyes and tried not to think about it. I focused on the fact that Ysabelle was coming home.
Back to VIP.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
<>D<>
I saw Ysabelle’s face light up my cellphone screen. “Hey, Kid,” I answered, placing my phone on my shoulder and angling my head to hold it. “What’s up?” I asked, looking over the liquor shipment.
“I’m here.”
I looked around the bar. “Come again?”
“I’m in Miami.”
“Okay… is Sebastian with you?”
“No.”
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
“Where are you?”
“Sitting outside your bar in one of Madam’s cars.”
I awkwardly laughed. “Are you going to come inside?”
“Okay.”
I heard the sound of the call ending, and a few seconds later she walked in. I hadn’t seen her dressed like that in years. She looked like Brooke; she looked like a VIP. Straight hair displayed all over her face, heels sky high, tight jeans, and an off the shoulder blouse. The outfit probably cost more than my mortgage. No longer the carefree island girl with crazy curly hair, running wild and free.
“Do you want a drink?” I asked as she sat on the stool in front of the bar.
“Water,” she simply stated.
I grabbed a glass, sprayed some water in it and handed it to her.
“Are you okay?”
She shrugged, still looking in front of her in a complete daze.
“What’s going on?”
“I have not a fucking clue.”
I nodded. “Kid…”
Her eyes met mine.
“Start from the beginning.”
She chuckled. “Devon, if I knew where the beginning was, I would gladly tell you. Madam got assaulted and she’s in the hospital. I’ve been here a little over a week. I came back to help Brooke, but I also left Sebastian. I don’t know which side is up or down anymore.”
“You’re not like working, working, right?” I blurted.
“Of course not. I’m just helping run the business side of things. I’m not a VIP. I have no desire to become one again either.
“Does Sebastian know that? And does he know you’re here?”
She raised her eyebrows, reminiscing. “Oh yeah. That didn’t go so well. He showed up at The Cathouse. It was bad, but he knows I’m only here to help. I need a break… you know? I just need some space. Everything is so intense; too intense. I went from my piece of shit mother; to you, to VIP, to Sebastian, back to VIP, and then back to Sebastian. I never thought he would come to me, not after how we ended things with our fucked up affair. But there he was… almost two years later on my island. For me. And now one year later… here I am. At VIP.” She took a deep breath, contemplating what to say next.
“I never thought I would be back here, Devon. The day I walked out, I never looked back. Now I’m here, and it feels like home. How the fuck does that make any sense?”
I thought about Brooke. VIP had a hold on both of them, and I didn’t understand why.
“I love him, Devon. I love him so much. I’m never going to be Julia, his ex-wife. They have a child. She was perfect. She is perfect. I don’t think I want to get married, and with the genes I have running through me. What if I’m just like my mother? I would never bring a child into that.” She laid her head on her arms that were on the bar.
I rubbed her head, not knowing what else to do. “Kid…”
She turned her head to the side to peek up at me.
“You’re going to be okay. I know you will. Sometimes it takes for us to get lost until we can find our way.”
“You sound like a fortune cookie.”
I smiled. “How’s everything else?”
“Madam is… well, Madam. She wants me to take over, like indefinitely. Brooke is… I don’t fucking know.”
I lowered my eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
“She’s being weird, evasive. I feel like she’s hiding something from me. I know it hurts her that Madam wouldn’t offer VIP to her. I don’t really understand why she would offer it to me. I’ve always had a special place in whatever she calls a heart, but so has Brooke. It’s a very confusing time for all of us,” she half-joked.
I cleared my throat. “So… Brooke, hasn’t said anything to you, about anything?” I casually asked.