Page 64 of The Red Zone
“So, you came up with your own company in retaliation…” The pieces were all starting to fall together.
“Something like that.” She nodded sheepishly. “Except for the part where Gordon has been trying to blackmail me and continues to drag my name through the mud, hoping I’ll dissolve the company.”
“Damn it, Mae…” I released a breath, poking my tongue into the side of my cheek. This guy was beyond lucky Abel knocked him out with one clean hit, because I wouldn’t have been as pleasant. “Why didn’t you let me have my way with him?”
“You don’t have to do that you know… stick up for me, or whatever.”
“You should know me well enough by now to know that I don’t do anything unless I want to do it.”
She gave me a weak smile before resting her head against my pecs again. “You’d really do that for me?”
“There’s not a whole lot I wouldn’t do for you,” I muttered in a low voice.
We stayed like that for a few minutes, her head on my chest while I stroked her hair.
With a big sigh from her, she hopped up to her feet, and I followed suit. We stood face to face as I wiped the black smudge marks out from under her eyes with my thumbs, before her face in my hands. As much as I wouldn’t mind staying locked in this closet with her all night, she had a show to put on and money to raise.
Mae drew back her shoulders and puffed out her chest. “I can do this,” she said matter-of-factly.
“I’ll be around if you need me.”
This time, she was the one who reached for my hips, drawing me in closer as she leaned in. Her lips crashed against mine sending passion and desire inching through my veins.
The handle of the door rattled behind me and Scarlett’s voice piped up as the door whipped open. “Mae, are you in there? They need you—"
I broke apart from Mae’s lips and the two of us turned our faces to see a wide-eyed Scarlett staring back at us. Ever so slowly, her smile broadened in approval.
She grabbed Mae’s wrist and tugged her out of the closet, whispering loudly as the door began to close behind them. “We’resogoing to talk about that later.”
Just before the door slammed shut, and I was left alone in the closet by myself, Mae turned over her shoulder mouthing a “thank you” with a hint of a smile.
Standing in the tiny room alone, I realized I knew two things:
Life changes fast.
I was a goner.
TWENTY-TWO
OCTOBER
Rain poundedagainst the roof of the pool house.
I hadn’t looked at a clock in hours, but my guess was that it was somewhere between midnight and two in the morning. There was no telling how long I’d spent lying in bed after the fashion show, replaying the image of seeing Mae so anxious and defeated in that closet.
Every time the thought popped into my head the only thing I could think of was how deeply I wished I was the one who took Abel’s place. What I wouldn’t give to lay out the fucker who was responsible for making Mae fall apart like that.
Any man whose presence made a woman burst into tears while shaking in fear? Scum of the fucking earth.
As angry as I was about the whole situation, the part that hurt the most, was watching silently as Mae breezed through the rest of the night without so much as a slip up in her demeanor. Smiling and shaking hands with attendee’s and donors like she hadn’t been sobbing in my arms two hours earlier.
I couldn’t help but wonder how many times she’d done that before. Enough to make it look effortless, and that thought alone ripped my heart right down the middle.
Setting up I threw my legs over the side of the bed, gripping firmly at the sheets as I replayed the nights events once again. Nope, I couldn’t do this. I needed to get up and find something to distract me long enough that I could push this entire night out from the forefront of my brain. Otherwise, I’d drive myself mad until sunrise.
The rain began thumping harder against the roof as I stood up off the bed, around the same time a faint knock sounded on the front door.
Recently, Mae and I had gotten into a comfortable nightly routine. At approximately ten o’clock while I was winding down for bed, I’d unlock the front door. Then, without fail, around eleven I’d hear the pool house door creak open, immediately followed by Mae’s footsteps as she tiptoed down the hall. In my half-woken state, I’d peel back the covers and she’d crawl into bed.
