Sak’ tears herself out of my grip, wiping under her eyes and goes around to the other side of the porch. I have no doubt about it that she doesn’t want Zoe to see her upset. Kids are perceptive like that. “He’s inside munchkin,” I smirk, getting a giggle in response from this lil’ diva.
The door to the club comes bursting open and Widow comes through, kneeling on the ground so Zoe can come crashing into him like always. “How’s my favorite baby girl?!” He chuckles.
“I’m great! Papa Nikolai just got me ice cream. Wanna see?” Zoe asks.
Widow’s smile turns into a scowl really quick. “Papa what, honey?” He’s trying to be nice, but the anger is evident.
Rebel’s smirking from behind Zoe, standing beside her husband, who’s also smirking in a devilish manner.
Zoe busts out into a hilarious giggle. “See! I told you both he’d get like this!”
Widow’s expression goes to Nikolai and Rebel before it shifts back to his daughter. “Ah, how funny.”
“Nikolai didn’t think you’d find it funny, but I told him you would!” Zoe smiles, wrapping her arms around her father. She pulls away quickly and goes rushing inside, surely to see what Santa left here for her.
“Thanks for bringing her, I really appreciate it, considering it’s not my day and all.” Widow says, rising.
Shit, he and Rebel have come a long way. In the beginning, they were some of the two most toxic people I ever saw. I’m just so glad they put their differences aside to give their daughter the best life possible.
“No need for thanks. Just promise me you won’t let her eat an entire bag of frosted animal crackers on the way back to the house. Shit, I think I still smell her vomit on the carpet.”
“Drama queen,” Nikolai mutters underneath his breath, getting a chuckle from Widow.
I’m not trying to eavesdrop, but it’s kinda hard to avoid it. Rebel’s phone starts to ring in the SUV, so she goes to open the door and taps something inside. Suddenly, a voice comes over her Bluetooth speaker system. “Rebel, I need a favor.” A woman’s voice says on the other end.
“Sure, babe. What’s up?”
“You think Gia would still be game for me becoming a OneEye ambassador? Things have changed, and I . . . I need a place to live and all that.”
“Why wouldn’t she?” Rebel laughs.
“You know why. Exes. Stuff gets messy sometimes.” The woman tells her.
“Pfft, whatever. It’s water under the bridge. I’ll text her now. Everything okay?”
“Blow up with my family. I’m at Sorin’s right now, but . . . I don’t wanna put him out for too long. You know? Gia have room at the building?”
“Of course, she does. We have plenty of room.” Rebel tells her.
“Chaz,” Sakura says, pulling my attention away.
I turn back to face her. “Yeah?”
“Thanks for being my best friend.”
“Don’t thank me for that shit. Without you, I don’t know if I would’ve made it through.” I say, genuinely speaking from the bottom of my heart.
Sak’ grabs my hands, tracing my scars and looks directly into my eyes. “You would’ve, because you’re resilient.”
Chapter Two
Resilience is not about overcoming, but becoming
~ Sherri Madell
Crina
Inhaling deeply through my nose, I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing . . . or why I’m here. God. This is a mistake. I could’ve gotten a job anywhere, but instead I chose to call in a favor to my good friend, Rebel. I just had to see if there was an opening here at Crave, LLC . . . and in doing so I re-opened the can of worms I barely shut in the first place.
It wouldn’t be such an issue if my ex-girlfriend, Gia, wasn’t one of the owners. I’m sitting in her office wearing a high waisted pencil skirt with a deep sapphire blue blouse. Gold bracelets adorn my wrists and a matching gold chain necklace is around my neck.
Thinking about my outfit I probably chose gold because it’s one of Gia’s favorite colors and I need this job. I’d rather work for my ex than be a puppet in my father’s show, that’s for damn sure. I look across her white marble desk where her Apple desktop sits and then past it through her floor to ceiling windows, showing me one of the most beautiful views on the Strip.
Her chair is pleated with gold buttons and it has a deep purple velvet like finish. Everything about this room is simple, yet loud. Just like Gia.
The clicking of heels coming up from the hallway signals to me that someone is coming in this direction. It feels so odd, to be here. I glance over to the makeshift bar Gia had installed when we were together. The matte black bar causes the gold to pop as it’s pressed right up against it. She has tequila on the top no doubt, while scotch and other hard liquors sit on the bottom shelf with the glasses.
The door pushes open with a light creak and the clicking of heels grows louder. “I thought this was a joke when Rebel asked if I’d meet with you today.” Gia states in her thick accent.
Shutting my eyes for just a moment, I gather myself and turn to face her. As I do, I see she’s perfect, just like she always fucking is. The woman embodies power and that’s what kills me. Even in her worst moments, she’s far better than me. “I need a job, Gia.” I push down my ego and tell her what I need, the sole reason I’m here and keep our personal shit buried.
I was the first relationship she had after she broke up with her boyfriend a couple years ago. His family found out what she did for a living, and then they reconciled. Add in his parents figuring out who exactly Gia was, and who her family is and well, they weren’t accepting of the criminal affiliations. We sort of fell for each other on a whim, something that shouldn’t have happened, but did. It was fast, hot, and we both fell hard.
Unlike Gia, I don’t do everything my father asks of me. Ultimately, it caused the two of us to have intense fights, resulting in our demise.
Gia crosses her arms over her chest in her bright cherry jumpsuit and smirks. “This is almost as good as seeing you beg.”
I roll my eyes. “If you’re not even going to entertain the idea, I’ll leave right now. I’m not here to waste time.” I growl, rising from the chair I turn my body toward hers and keep the distance between us.
She slides her hands into the pockets of her jumpsuit, smirking like the devil. “What would you suggest you do here, be part of the girlfriend experience, OneEye? We have many different platforms these days. Many different . . . options for women like you.”
Women like me, blah, blah, bullshit. “OneEye would be preferred.” I state, trying to keep the emotion in my voice at bay. OneEye is an adult subscription service where women take exposed photos of themselves and get an astronomical amount of money. Essentially, it’s not only nudes, but you can get tokens for typical photos as well. Lingerie, dresses, it doesn’t matter. The people who pay for this service just want to see you dress up, or dress down. Luckily for them, I love to do both.
“I see,” Gia murmurs, keeping her eyes on me.