Claim Me (Stark Trilogy 2)

“You?”

“Lucky me, huh? She said she was too upset to talk with you yet, but that she—oh, fuck, Nikki. What the hell do you care what she thinks?”

“I know what she thinks,” I say. “That I’m a disappointment. That I’ve ruined the family name. That she didn’t raise a whore.”

I can tell from Jamie’s silence that I’m right. Damien is watching me carefully. He doesn’t come to my side, though. I have a feeling he’s afraid I’ll shatter.

I won’t. Just thinking about my mother—about the fact that she cares more about what the tabloid press says than about what really happened—pisses me off and makes me strong. Well, stronger, anyway.

“So it’s all over everywhere?”

“Yeah,” Jamie says. “They don’t waste any time. The tabloids, social media, even the legitimate news, too. You get a million dollars from a guy like Damien for posing nude and even CNN is going to be reporting it. I mean, talk about the ratings.”

“Jamie.”

“Sorry! Sorry! So, are you okay? I mean, what are you going to do?”

“I’m okay,” I say. My cheeks heat as I glance at Damien and think about exactly how I went from being a complete wreck to feeling relatively normal. “For now, anyway.” I haven’t turned on the television. I haven’t even checked my email. Considering what might be in my inbox from my mother, I’m certain I don’t want to.

I catch Damien’s eye and I know he’s wondering the same thing that I am—will I still be fine once I step back into the world?

“You’re staying in today, right?” she asks.

“I can’t. I have to go to work.”

Damien shakes his head. “Take the day off. Bruce will understand.”

“I heard that,” Jamie says. “Listen to Damien. He’s smart. And you need to call Bruce before you go to the office, anyway. He called here looking for you.”

“I’ll call him, but I’m going in.”

Except, apparently, I’m not. Because when I call Bruce, he tells me that he thinks it would be in the best interest of the company if I took a leave of absence. “I’m sorry,” he says, “but this is more than a few photographers looking for a photo of Damien Stark’s girlfriend. They’re swarming around this story. And I can’t have the press hanging around the building trying to get a shot of you. Not now.”

“Now?” I repeat. “What’s special about now?”

I hear him exhale loudly into the phone. “Giselle and I are getting a divorce. I haven’t wanted to mention it before, but the point is that I need to be squeaky clean, and my lawyer thinks that—”

“I get it,” I say. “I’m fired.”

“Leave of absence,” he says. “Please.”

“It’s shaping up to be a crappy day, Bruce. Can we at least call it what it is?”

There’s a pause, and then, “I really am sorry, Nikki. It’s a lovely portrait and it’s unfair you’re getting this kind of blow-back. And I really could use a talent like yours here at Innovative. But you’re going to land on your feet.”

“Yeah,” I say, looking at Damien. “I know.”

“I think I’m going to take the day off today,” Damien says when I put my phone down.

“You don’t need to coddle me.” I point to the back of the apartment where there is a private door to his office suite. “Go. Earn money.”

“I’m in the fortunate position of having made enough excellent investment choices that I don’t have to actually do anything in order to make money.” He cocks his head to the side as if listening. “There. Did you hear that?”

“What?”

“The clink of coins as I just earned a few thousand more.”

I roll my eyes. “I’m serious. If you take the day off, I’ll just feel like a burden.”

“Maybe Switzerland. Or Greece.”

“Damien.”

“Hawaii’s nice, too, and I actually have a house there. We talked about getting sushi the other night. We could go to Japan.”

I’m laughing now. “I think if I want sushi we can just go to that little place on Sunset that we like.”

“Fair enough. But I’m serious about the vacation. Reporters are like sharks. Once the chum is out of the water, they go away. There will be a new scandal by Monday, and you can come back to a much calmer Los Angeles.”

I can’t deny that it’s tempting. But no. I don’t want to be the girl who runs. “I ran from Texas to get away from my mother,” I say. “I ran to LA because this was the place I wanted to start a new life. I picked it. I’m here. I’m staying.” I shrug. “Like you said, it’ll blow over. I’ll keep a low profile.”

Damien is looking at me with an odd expression.

“What?”

“You’ve been tossed in with the sharks, and yet you’re digging in your heels and facing them. If you ever tell me again that you’re not strong, I’m going to turn you over my knee and spank you.”

“Promises, promises,” I trill, then slide off the barstool. “If you’re determined to take time off, too, then I thought of something we can do today.”

There is undeniable hunger in his eyes. “I can think of all sorts of things we can do today,” he says.

“Not that,” I say. “Although I have a feeling what I have in mind gets you hard, too.”

“How you tease,” he says. “So tell me, how are we spending our day?”

“Well,” I say, “I was hoping we could talk about money.”

“It really depends on your goals,” Damien says to me, tapping the end of his pencil against the figure-covered sheet of paper.

I nod, wanting to learn as much as he can teach me. As it stands, I’m currently without income, but Jamie’s right. I do have a million dollars. And if I’m going to be gawked at and gossiped about because of it, I’m going to damn well use some of it.

“The million is for my business,” I say. “You already know that, but I want to make sure we’re clear. I don’t want the million to go away.”

“The principal,” he says.

“Yes. The principal needs to be there—and liquid—when I need it. But if I’m going to be out of a job, then I want to be able to live on the interest and dividends. I’ve got a little bit of money coming in every month from my smartphone apps, and I’ve got a couple more that are almost ready to go.” I grimace. “I haven’t launched them because I haven’t had time, but I guess that’s not an excuse anymore.”