Page 7 of Heartless

I couldn’t believe her.

No, that wasn’t true. I could. She’d been this way for as long as I remembered. Nothing was ever good enough.

What I couldn’t believe was that some part of me still thought there’d come a day when I would finally do something that would make her proud.

Why did I still yearn for her approval?

After the uncomfortable silence, Mike spoke up again. “So, you’ll be staying here for a while, then? If you’re planning Annie Foster’s wedding?”

“Yes,” I nodded. “I’ll stay for a while.”

“You’re staying here?” My mother sounded outraged. “What about your clients in New York?”

“They have Dorothy.”

“And she’s okay with that?”

My mother had never met my boss, but she talked about Dorothy like she knew her better than I did.

“Of course she is,” I lied.

“Hadn’t she stepped down from the day-to-day?”

“She hired someone to help.” At least that part was true. “I know it might seem strange, but this is the right move for me. Annie Foster’s wedding is a huge step forward.”

“I’m just worried it’s too much for you. And working with Parker Wilson, after everything that happened...”

“I can handle both the wedding and Parker Wilson, Mom. Don’t worry about it.”

I should have been used to this by now - her unique ability to take something as monumental as planning Annie Foster’s wedding andreduce it to nothing. How could I still crave her approval after all these years? Every success I achieved, every client I left impressed, none seemed to measure up. And yet, here I was, bristling under the weight of her doubt in me.

But maybe that’s what I needed. Fuel. Annie Foster’s wedding was my chance to show everyone - my mother, Parker Wilson, Dorothy, and everyone else who thought I wasn’t up to it - what I could do. I would handle this wedding flawlessly. And when it was over, my mother would finally be proud.

Chapter Three

Parker

Hours after Madison left, my blood still pounded in my ears, a result of her surprise visit and her refusal to disappear once and for all. When Ryan texted, asking me to head to The Sapphire, our most secluded villa, currently occupied by a certain world-famous rock star, it only got worse. The need for my presence meant one thing: trouble.

As I entered the villa, I followed the voices toward the living room.

“The good news is, it wasn’t transmitting live,” I heard Ryan’s calm voice.

So, we had another security breach.

“And how the fuck do you know?” our guest shouted. “My dick is probably all over the internet by now.” He caught sight of me and pointed in my direction. “I’ll sue you.”

I ignored the threat and turned to Ryan. “What happened?

“A drone circled The Sapphire. No one knows how long it was up there. It landed in the pool. That’s when our guests here noticed it.”

I glanced at the two young women curled up on the couch. Wrapped in robes with The Gemstone logo, they looked shaken, and the raging middle-aged man did nothing to sooth them.

“They filmed my dick! My wife will see my dick entering another pussy!” He spat out the words, a spray of saliva punctuating his anger. “You probably work with those scumbags,” he pointed towards the ceiling. “How much did they pay you?”

I ignored his rant for the moment and focused on the girls.

“Are they of age?” I asked Ryan.

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