Will is right. The party isn’t a social gathering to have a few drinks. There are drugs. There are dancers teasing bouncers. Rhonda is having a discussion with Max that seems to be leading to a trip behind the curtain for something other than a lap dance. I’m out of my element. I can count the number of times I’ve been drunk on one hand. I don’t need a single finger to count the number of times I’ve done drugs.
I watch everything. I feel like a voyeur witnessing something taboo and forbidden, but it isn’t. It’s everyday life for my co-workers, my boss—the world I walked into willingly because it was the best route to a financial solution.
“I think I’m going to call it a night,” I say to nobody in particular. “I need to get some sleep.”
I’m ignored. I assume I’m pretty boring to them. I’m not partaking in anything interesting. They don’t notice when I leave my glass of wine on the counter and head for the door. Will normally watches me until I’m out of sight when I leave the club, but he’s too busy with drugs and the stripper who is showing him the kind of attention he’s looking for.
The city is dangerous, but my route home isn’t that bad. I normally walk to the bus stop, and there is a stop pretty close to my apartment. Something feels off. Almost like the spidey-sense my brother used to talk about when he was younger, when comic books were more interesting than gambling more money than he had in his pocket.
“Kiana.” A voice nearly makes me jump out of my shoes, but I recognize it before I freak out.
“Mr. Diaz.” I turn toward the older Hispanic man who steps into the light that surrounds the bus stop.
“I believe your next payment is due.” He narrows his eyes, and if I didn’t know any better, I would swear that the hazel in them was glowing red.
“I…” My hand moves to my purse. “I have it… I was going to bring it to you tomorrow.”
“Lucky for you.” He takes a step forward. “I was in the neighborhood.”
My blood is ice cold and molten at the same time. I fumble with my purse and pull out the money Max gave me at the end of my shift. I’m not brave enough to count it. I just use it like a shield, bait that keeps Mr. Diaz from taking another step toward me.
“Good girl.” His finger slides along my knuckles before he pulls his hand away. “I hear you’re quite popular at Max’s club.”
“Am I?” I ask, but it’s hardly a question.
“I knew you would be.” He laughs under his breath. “That’s why I suggested it in the first place.”
I don’t know how to respond. I’m at his mercy, and I just want him to be satisfied with my payment and walk away. The bus approaches, and Mr. Diaz gives me a nod—permission to leave. I scurry toward my bus so fast I almost trip over my own two feet. I’d prefer to meet Mr. Diaz in the daylight. He’s scary enough without the cover of darkness that somehow makes him even more sinister than he already is.
I’ve bought my brother another day. That’s what truly matters.
I need to make sure Bram doesn’t call my father. I don’t know how to get in touch with him, but I have to try something.
Even if I have to tell him the truth about why he saw me on that stage.
Chapter Four
Bram
One hand lingers on my phone. The other holds my whiskey. I’ve been stuck in this position since I got back to my house. One quick tap with my finger will call Kiana’s father, but I don’t know if I’m ready to have that conversation.
There’s so much we would have to talk about before I would be able to tell him the real reason I’m calling. We haven’t spoken since the day he asked me to buy his stake in the company. I don’t know if his intention was to sever our friendship in the process, but it sure as fuck felt like it.
The worst part was that he didn’t even tell me why he wanted to cash out. Things were going smoothly, and we were making money, but not nearly enough to buy his share. I could have made my exit as well and sold the company outright, but it didn’t feel right to abandon all of the people who trusted us with their livelihood.
No man left behind. Our philosophy in the desert. He let go of it. I didn’t.
How do I tell him that my first call in five years is because I saw his baby girl taking her clothes off for money?
What if he already knows?
“Fuck it.” I down my whiskey and toss my phone on the counter.
I’d rather just drink.
I wake up the next morning with a hint of a headache, and I barely get a moment of peace before I remember why I had more to drink than usual.
Kiana.
Sweet little Kiana who used to sheepishly watch me when I would come to visit, always around the corner where she thought nobody could see her. She was nothing more than a teenager with a crush back then who got upset every time I brought my girlfriend with me. It was comical in a way. Completely harmless.
I never expected to see her on a stage, six years later, with curves that made my dick throb before I realized who they belonged to.
Thinking of her like that makes me ill. Or maybe it’s just the whiskey that still hasn’t left my system. I feel like a scumbag for not knowing which one it is.
I should call Lawson. I know that. I just don’t know how. Thankfully, I’ve got other things to distract me. I need to get to the office and make sure Jack’s check is going to clear. I’ll be scraping to make payroll if it doesn’t.
Yeah, I’ll take the easy way out. Avoidance. It may be the first time in my life than I haven’t ran headfirst at a problem with every intention of wrecking what stands between me and the solution. Is there a solution to a problem like this? It’s going to cause heartbreak if he doesn’t know. If he does, and has come to terms with it, then I would just be reopening a wound.
I think it’s time for some hair of the dog.
“Good morning, Mr. Ward.” My secretary, Joanna, greets me as I walk into the office.
“Morning…” I say with a sigh. “I need you to call Dan and have him come to my office as soon as possible.”
“Yes, sir!” She nods and reaches for the phone.
Dan is in charge of our biggest accounts. Jack has just become the largest stakeholder, so it will be Dan’s responsibility to build a portfolio. Jack strikes me as the type who will invest his money poorly without Dan’s guidance, and probably still have too much input than needed, but it’s the boost my company needs to get things going.
Every time I look at a financial report, I’m reminded how much shit Lawson left me knee deep in when he cashed out. He was the one who was good at investments. He would have gone to college for it if he hadn’t knocked up his girlfriend in high school and joined the Army so he could take care of his family.
My path to the service wasn’t one fueled by obligation. I wanted to be my own man, and eighteen seemed like the right age to buck the future that was decided for me the day I was born with the last name Ward.
Funny thing is, I still ended up at the head of a company with my family’s name on the building, even after my detour through the desert.