He let the press take plenty of pictures, because he had a message to broadcast.
The alcohol flowed and the scotch settled into his stomach, and soon the room was spinning. He somehow got glitter all down the front of his suit and women were pawing at him for attention. He danced them around the room and ground his cock into the back of their asses. His hands fell onto as many of them as he could, and then he threw his hands into the air.
“Shots for everyone!” he exclaimed.
And the entire club erupted into shouts and exclamations of approval.
He drank until he couldn't remember the color of her eyes. Or the feel of her skin. Or the way her lips danced along his cock. He drank until the only memory he had was of his beach island bungalow. With the wind pouring through the open windows and the surf nipping at his ankles. He was ready to get back. Ready to run back to his safe haven and coop himself up there for the rest of his life. New York City had chewed him up and spit him out not once, but twice.
He’d been played by a woman he loved and he’d been played by a city he loved.
He finally pulled away from all the dancing, his suit soaked with sweat. He settled his exorbitant tab and left an outstanding tip for the barkeep, then he made his way to flag down a cab. He somehow stumbled up to his apartment and made his way inside, kicking off his shoes and hopping around as he tried to take off his socks. He managed to get one off before he shrugged his coat off, but his fingers were too drunk themselves to get his damn tie off.
“Fucking necktie. The fuck. I hate these things.”
He fell onto the ground trying to get out of his pants before he climbed up onto his couch. The pillows felt soft against his cheek. The air-conditioning kicked on and it sent chills of pleasure down his spine. Drying the sweat on his clothes as his pants sat around his ankles. He face-planted into the decadent materials as the room spun. Tilted. Jostled. Shaking him until his stomach turned and his mind finally succumbed to sleep.
Sleep.
That would make everything go away.
A very long, very deep sleep.
Chapter 26
Kallie
Kallie felt sick to her stomach. She couldn't eat. She could barely sleep. And everywhere she looked, there were reminders of Ash. Her bed. Her walls. Her windows. Her bathroom. Hell, even her damn office. He had touched every part of her life, both physically and metaphorically, and she couldn't shake him. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to blink. It hurt to think about doing anything else other than lying in bed and being depressed. But she had a job to do and clients who were still there, despite the news being run on her. So she got up and dragged her depressed ass into the office.
She walked into her place of work and tried not to remember the time she and Ash had made passionate love there. She tried not to recall when he pinned her to the wall and bent her over her own damn desk. The cum stains were still etched into the facade of the desk. The area a little darker than the rest of the wood around it. It was the first time she had admitted to herself that she loved Ash. The first time she was truly convinced she had moved on from James and made the right decision.
The right choice.
Kallie sat down at her desk and forced herself to work. She took telephone calls and booked times to go give quotes and she had videoconferences with people who needed help with all sorts of things. Rearranging their schedules. Managing their money. Rebuilding their finances. The works. It was one phone call and one videoconference after another, and for a moment there she forgot all about Ash. All about the violent storm raging outside the walls of her pathetic office.
But it was a storm she would weather alone.
Because Ash wasn’t there any longer.
She breathed a sigh of relief when all of her meetings were done for the day. Despite the media storm and the fire blazing all around her, she had nine people call for her services. Nine in one day. That was a record for her business. But that still didn’t erase the reality of the life she was leading. It still didn’t erase the heartache she felt deep inside.
Kallie sat back and stared at her computer, moping as her mind ran away with her.
She couldn't concentrate. Every time she pulled up something to do, her mind would wander to Ash. To the island. To the storm they had gotten stuck in and all the lies that led them to this point. She forgave him when he wasn’t what he seemed. She trusted him after blatantly lying to her about some incredibly important things. Had he forgotten about that? Had he forgotten how she initially reacted to him having money? Was he being that opaque about all of this?