Sean and Axel excused us after winking at Tara and throwing compliments her way.They disappeared into the back rooms the bottle girls left for, and I suspected they were up to some mischief. “You were saying?” I turned my full attention to Tara, now sitting next to me.She smiled, and took her time opening her purse to pull out a large cigar. She lit it and took two puffs before she spoke again.“Is she my replacement?” She asked gently, offering me her cigar. I waved it away. “I don't have the mental bandwidth for this.” I exhaled, my patience beginning to chafe. Tara was the most erratic woman I knew.She could be the calm Al-Sayiyda one minute, onboarding Velora escorts and managing them, and then a crying mess the next minute, asking me why I could not love her and threatening to kill herself.A sudden moan filtered into my ear. And I stared lazily at the wall on the other end.That had to be the room Sean and Axel just got into. “What's going on with Velaro? Our data secur
“The Connor boy can hardly stand you, it must needle him to death that you surpass him even in the business world.” Axel said. “But few people know I own Velora,” I said, totally unconvinced.“He must’ve found out somehow,” Axel shrugged, “Think of it, we’ve had almost a decade of smooth operations. And suddenly we get attacked right after your disagreement with him?”“Regardless of who’s behind this,” Sean cut in. “We have to nip it right now. Besides our reputation being at stake, we’re dead meat if our client list is published.”I cursed, grabbed the bottle of Macallan, and drank a glass of whiskey neat. I'll worry about the race later.About a decade ago, I started Velora with my friends, as a subsidiary to the business my mother left solely to me. And in all these years, Velora has remained the best place to get exotic escorts.This birthed our enviable clientele. I’d lost count of how many world leaders were returning customers. Besides the quality of women we provided, confi
I quickly stepped out of my car, congratulating myself for having a full conversation with Colt that did not escalate into him fucking me in the backseat.The sound of his bike made me glance back, and I saw him taking a quick spin, driving back the way he came.Looking forward again, I sighed in relief.I needed time to think, and that would be impossible with him around me.Suddenly, I got an eerie feeling that I was being watched. I glanced back, but the entire sidewalk behind me was empty. I pulled Colt’s shirt tighter around me, and quickened my footsteps. The Pilates studio was just right there.I could see the women in their leggings stretching on the studio floor.But I could not shake off the spooky feeling of being watched. I glanced back again, wondering if it was wise to be out alone by this time.But it was barely 8 pm, it was not so dark.I stopped, looking around at the flowers that fenced a shop to the left of the sidewalk.As I turned around, I bumped into somethi
For the next couple of minutes, neither of us said anything. I wanted to take his hand, but I feared he wouldn't like that. So I folded my hands in my lap.“The first few months were difficult for me, but more so for Dean,” he continued. “He was the new heir and just twenty-one. He was up against business sharks, men who’d been older than dad.”I stared at him sadly, finally realizing why he never spoke to anybody back in school.We thought he was being a cool kid, but had no idea he was just broken.“To unwind, Dean would take me to our clubs, and we would drink and...” He shrugged. ”Sometimes do drugs.”“Aunt Sienna was worried, but since we always appeared normal every morning, she never raised dust. But Dean lost it one night. He said Stefan and his mom were the cause of everything, and we had to teach them a lesson.”“Under the influence, we drove down to their home, but Stefan was home alone, and in bed.” Colt inhaled now, his words shooting out faster. “It was all very quick
“Stop it.” I lashed out, stepping back. “All these devil’s whispers. Be a man and fucking shoot him already if you hate him so much.”Colt’s eyes flamed, and his stance changed.I immediately felt unsafe. He must have seen this because he took a step back.But this move managed to distress me even more. Why could he not just stop acting the saint?“Stop!” I yelled, without a care for the passersby. “Stop acting. It's unconvincing. You have betrayed me a thousand times in the last twenty-four hours.”“What?” he frowned. “I told you I did not plant the camera.”“The dress. The bloody dress.” I yelled at him. “You said you'd handle it, and then it gets into Dean’s hand?”“Are you blind?” he yelled back.I flinched.“Can’t you see what he’s trying to do. Dean is trying to pitch us against each other. He is the good actor.”“So you gave him the dress to make his role convincing."“Olivia!” I swallowed.“I gave that dress to my friend at the lab. Can’t you see how easy it would be for any
I froze, feeling like I was about to pass out, or throw up. Or both.Colt pushed past me to stand in front of Dean. “What?” Dean staggered backward like he had been shot.“You heard me, I..Fucked..Your..Wife.. Brother.” Colt repeated calmly, his legs apart and braced.“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I screamed. “I don’t believe you,” Dean said, shaking his head. He stumbled, his hand blindly searching around for support.For one second, I actually got worried. The man looked like he was about to have a heart attack.Dean obviously did not care for me, so why would this affect him so much instead of merely igniting rage?“You don’t,” Colt continued. “Why?”“You cannot do that to me.” Dean shook his head stubbornly. “I don’t trust the whore, but you… We’re brothers.” He beat his chest with his fist now. “You can never do that to me!!” Dean roared, just as the doorbell rang.We all ignored it.“Then why did you insinuate it?” Colt stared at him clear-eyed. And the relief that rus