I stick around to receive well wishes and answer any lingering questions before heading to my office to finish clearing it out.
This place holds such a battery of mixed emotions for me, but one thing’s for sure. At the end of the day, I won’t miss it. The cold, stark walls of this place hold nothing for me anymore.
For the first time, I’m in love, and fuck I can’t have the one thing I want more than life. Bailey makes me feel and I’m actually afraid that no matter how strong our love is, we can’t be together now and possibly not ever.
I finish packing the last of my stuff and head down to elicit some help from the barbacks. When I get to the bar, Carter and Austin are going on about something.
“What’s up, guys?”
“Not much. Just don’t go into room four. They are definitely fucking. I walked in and right back out.” Carter is nonplused, but I’m majorly disgusted. Doesn’t surprise me, though. I’ve been there, done that in another life.
“Jesus, well make sure to sterilize the shit out of that room before tomorrow.” Shaking my head, I look at room four just in time to see the culprits walk out while adjusting their clothes. It takes a second for everything to register, but when it does, I see red.
Cal Loche, Harper’s fiancé, is the culprit along with someone other than Harper. I don’t even think. I just stalk toward him and grab the collar of his shirt. I’m up in his face before he can even register me.
“What the fuck, Drew? Get your fucking hands off me.”
“You son of a bitch. Harper’s off taking her sister, who almost died, to rehab, and you’re out fucking around? You’re a piece of shit.”
“Like I care about her druggy sister. I’d have left her to die in the club.”
My arm flies up, and my fist connects with his nose, sending blood splattering all over the whore who is just standing there idly watching. She screams as the first drops hit her.
“What the fuck, Drew? You fucking hit me!”
“If you ever talk about Bailey like that again, you won’t walk. Are we clear?” He doesn’t say anything. “Are. We. Clear?”
“You have some balls, man. I’ll press charges.”
“Good luck.”
The girl finally speaks. “Excuse me, but you owe me money. I did my job, now I want to go home.”
“Shut the fuck up, slut. I’ll pay you when I’m good and ready. You’ll stay put until I tell you otherwise.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” He’s spending his time with a prostitute.
At those words, Cal’s head jerks to me with eyes wide as saucers. “Drew, man, you can’t say anything. My parents, they’ll cut off my trust if they find out.”
“Break it off. I don’t care what you need to say, but you and Harper are officially done. You get back together, and this whole interaction will be plastered on every tabloid in New York. You feel me?”
“Drew. I-I can’t. I love Harper. I just need to switch it up sometimes. I’ll change. I’ll be good to her. I can’t break off our engagement.” He’s hysterical at this point, and I love being in control.
“Take it or leave it. Mommy and Daddy take the trust, or you man up and let Harper be happy with someone who deserves her. Your call, but you better make it quick.” I pull out my phone and act like I’m dialing.
“Okay-wait. Fine. I’ll-I’ll do it. Shit. This is going to break her.”
“You should’ve thought about that before you fucked around with a whore.”
“Hey, I’m right here,” the prostitute says from the side.
“Get out of here, and if I see you again, I’ll call the police and turn your skank ass in myself.”
She huffs off leaving me with the sniveling Cal. With his head hung low, he groans, “Fuck this call to Harper is going to be a shitstorm.”
I watch him slug off in satisfaction. Harper may hurt for a while, but she’ll be much better off in the long run.
50
Bailey
Harper and I arrive in Arizona on Friday afternoon. The heat is sweltering, and I hope to God that this place has air-conditioning.
As we pull up, I see that Drew spared no expense. I can tell this place is amazing, and I haven’t even walked inside yet. He clearly forgot I am a commoner. It looks like it was made for Hollywood royalty. I can’t imagine many people could afford the opulence of Serenity Vista.
“Wow,” Harper says beside me. “He hooked you up.”
“He sure did. This place is incredible.” My gaze lingers across what will be my home for the next thirty days. A large terra cotta house spans the distance, stretching out against the Arizona horizon. Cactuses and flowers that I imagine are indigenous to the locale are scattered across the property to make up the peaceful ambiance.