Page 8 of Crossed By the Stars
“I have meetings today atViolette. With Violet gone and me in New York for the last three weeks, I need to put in an appearance. We left Joel in charge, which means everything could have been given away by now,” I told Dax, trying to lighten the tension in the air with a jab at our overly bubbly lab tech who’d grown into our operations manager. Joel was the gentlest, kindest man I knew, but he didn’t know how to say no.
“We don’t need to be at the boat show until four. We can stop by the office first.”
“Why are you pushing this?” I demanded, frustration leaking into my tone for the first time.
“Dawson and Violet will never forgive me if I let something happen to you.”
It hurt, stabbing at old wounds—the dark, secret part of my soul that longed for him to say he couldn’t forgivehimselfif something bad happened to me. Forget Dawson and Violet. I wanted him to need me safe because it would destroy him if I wasn’t. I could admit that much to myself, even if I couldn’t admit why I wanted those things from him. Why was Dax the only one to push those buttons deep inside me?
I knew he cared for me more than most of our so-called friends in the social circle we’d whirled around the globe with. But caring would never turn into something more. It would never be enough for him to forget I was Tsuyoshi Mori’s daughter and he was ÉtienneArmaud’s son. It would never be enough for us to lose ourselves to the refrain our bodies sang to one another, but I still couldn’t resist him.
I hated that, out of all the things in my world that had tried to undo me, he was the one that actually could.
Dax
IT’S YOUR VOODOO WORKING
“Round and round same old thing,
Heartache misery trouble and pain.”
Performed by Imelda May
Written by Charles Sheffield
From the moment the drape haddroppedto reveal our yacht elegantly displayed at the show alongside the McLaren 720S that had been perfectly matched to it, the press and the crowd had been clamoring at me. As I answered questions about theConquistaline, my gaze kept darting to the sidelines where Jada waited with Cillian and Rana in tow. Both bodyguards were eyeballing the crowd as if they were ready to pounce.
I’d been surprised when Jada had acquiesced to my request, leaving me to wonder if she was more shaken up than she’d let on. We’d first gone to her office, where the staff ofForce de la Violettehad been giddy to see her. Their operations manager, Joel, had directed flirtatious looks at me the entire time he’d been in her office, discussing a new scent he was working on—something called Romeo. The name had made me want to laugh, but I knew better. Jada hadn’t held back. She’d rolled her eyes at the name, made some suggestions about the ingredients, and then sent him scurrying back to the lab while she filtered through stacks of messages, emails, and sales numbers.
Then, she’d graciously accompanied me to the convention center. Without a fight. Without more boulders thrown down as reasons not to come. And now, she was waiting for me on the sidelines with her sexy curves still screaming at me like they had all day long. As they had for a lifetime.
My assistant, Cara, finally put a hand over the mic and looked out to the crowd. “That’s it for today. If you still have questions, message me at Armaud Racing, and I’ll get back to you.”
Cara was a tall, willowy redhead who dressed in the latestÉclairstyles. Her wardrobe was part of her compensation package, and she took full advantage of it. In truth, it was as good of an advertisement forPapa’scompany asme wearing his newest fashions.
Cara matched my stride as we stepped away from the podium and headed toward Jada and our bodyguards.
“Did you get the reservation I asked for?” I asked her.
She nodded. “Yes. Seven o’clock in the booth at the back, like normal.”
“Thanks, Cara.”
As I reached Jada’s side, Cara took off. Discretion was one of the things I paid her for. “Do you want to look around before we leave?” I asked Jada.
She eyed the crowd streaming through the aisles of the boat show. It definitely wasn’t a Jada-like event. Before I’d met Dawson, I hadn’t cared about these things either. I hadn’t had a business dependent on how our yachts compared to our competitors. Not that we had much real competition. Our yachts were unique, custom-built, and cost more than most people had in their retirement accounts. They weren’t for the average Joe taking in the sights at the boat show, but the unveiling would draw the eyes of the Bay Area elite—semiconductor, telecom, and social media gurus who had enough change in their pockets to buy our yachts without blinking.
“It’s not really my thing,” she said, “but if I don’t get food soon, I might pass out.”
“I have reservations atEn Feu,” I told her as I took her elbow to guide her through the crowd. Not that she needed it. Jada could storm her way through an angry mob, but it was how I’d been raised. The problem was, touching Jada sent more flames through me than would be on display at the restaurant when we got there.
As our bodyguards led us to the back entrance, Cillian took up the rear and Rana the front. Our vehicles waited for us in the alley. Black. Unmarked with tinted windows. Cillian was driving the Escalade, and Rana’s team was using a Cadillac that sat behind it. They weren’t subtle cars. They screamed “dignitaries” or “someone important.” I barely noticed it on most occasions. It was just my life. Dawson had teased me once about going from leather to leather to leather as if my ass was too good to sit on vinyl. While it was true, I also didn’t feel like it defined me. If I didn’t have those things tomorrow, I wasn’t sure I’d miss them.
After assisting Jada into the SUV, I slid into the back seat next to her. The doors shut behind us, cutting off the sounds of the city streets. My eyes drifted to her legs. The white skin was illuminated against the black fabric like moonlight.
“How many yachts do you have in production already?” Jada asked, bringing my eyes up to her face. Her lips were twisted sardonically because she’d caught me staring.
“Five. And another five will be ready by spring,” I told her.
