Unlocking the door, I walked inside and disabled the alarm. Inside, everything was pure luxury. The main bar area was fitted with state-of-the-art modern furnishings, plush sofas and Italian marble surfaces. We were fully booked each and every night. This wasn’t the type of establishment you could just turn up at and expect entry. Bookings were made months in advance, with only a handful of patrons extended the privilege of regular entry. Those were our VIP clients, and more often than not, silent investors.
My entire savings had gone into this place, and a nice little wad of money I didn’t have. Getting involved with Carlos Petrotrov might not have been the safest move, but it had been the only one I had available. I’d needed the cash so they’d supplied it when the banks wouldn’t touch me. Apparently, a juvenile record will upset a lot of things in life. But, I had the cash, and the means to repay the loan. How could things go wrong?
The answer was very fucking easily.
My office was located down the back, away from the main bar. I flicked on the lights in the office and grabbed the folder of unpaid invoices I’d come down for. It had been days since I’d made an appearance here, and I knew I’d need to put one in soon. Many of the members came here expecting to see me. Not only that, but I enjoyed it—not as the owner, but as a participant.
I also liked the staff to know I was around, and that I had control of things. Because a place like this could so easily spiral out of hand. I had a good team, but that didn’t mean mistakes couldn’t be made—or that they hadn’t been made before.
My mind briefly wandered back to Louisa. Sweet Louisa. Fuck! They say everything happens for a reason, but I lost faith in a lot of things that day. Louisa had been special, and then she was gone.
There had been something about her that had drawn me in from the first day we met. It wasn’t love at first sight—because who really believes in that shit?—but she had definitely stopped me in my tracks, with her long dark hair and sad blue eyes. I reached up and wiped the film of sweat that had formed on my brow, and unclenched my fists.
If there was one thing I’d learned the hard way, it was always maintain the illusion of power, even if inside you feel as helpless as shit.
Chapter Eight
Beth
Putting the incident with Roman out of my mind was actually much harder than I’d thought it would be. After an afternoon of going to the gym, I was waiting for a doctor’s appointment when I finally broke down and texted him. I wasn’t used to guys backing off from me the way he had.
So, am I going to be seeing you again?
My phone buzzed a few minutes later. Smiling, I pressed answer without checking whom the call was from. Rookie mistake.
“Beth?”
Shit. Fuck. Coop.
My heart dropped. I had no idea what to say. I stopped, and I nearly fell off my chair. My heart was beating furiously, as if it were about to break out of my chest.
Hearing his voice brought back all of the emotions from that night. I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t speak to him. Running into him the other day had been hell.
“Coop.” It didn’t even sound like me. Scratchy and about five notes too high, my voice sounded like a squirrel being strangled. I took a deep breath and rubbed the back of my neck as the woman two seats down gave me a sideways glance.
“Why the fuck have you been ignoring me, Beth? I’ve been texting, calling. And then the other day . . .” He stopped, as if he was having trouble believing I’d actually answered. “What the hell is wrong? Let me come over.”
“Oh, are you sure your little girlfriend won’t mind?” I asked bitterly. “I can’t see you, Coop. I can’t explain, but I just need space. Can you give me that?”
“I’ll give you all the space you need once I’m sure you’re okay.” Fuck. He sure was persistent.
I sighed, wondering what it was going to take to get him off my back. I couldn’t cope with this. Not right now. Thinking about him made me think about what had happened, and I’d worked too hard to block that out to fall apart now.
“I’ll email you.” Email? What was I, in high school?
“Email?” he said dubiously, echoing my thoughts.
“Yes. Email. I can’t put this all into words—it’s too embarrassing, okay?” The only way to get the space I needed from him was to admit half of the truth, and I was fucked if I was going to do that over the phone in the middle of a packed doctor’s office.
“Fine. But if this doesn’t happen today, I swear I’m going to start showing up in public. I’m worried about you.” His tone was serious. And he would do that, too. In fact, it surprised me that he hadn’t already.
“I’ll do it today, okay? Bye.” I quickly hung up, and saw a message waiting
from Roman.
Are you asking me out?
I bit my lip to fight a smile as I replied.