Page 80 of The Desire

“Too bad I’m still in the same situation I was when I arrived.” I gulp down water that my body desperately needs to replace what I just lost in sweat.

“That’s where you are wrong, and you know it,” she says, pointing her finger at me with a serious look.

Letting it sink in, she continues, “If you had tried to speak to Elouise before you came to me, it would have ended badly for you both. And if you found this internet scum, you would have beaten them within an inch of their life—if they were lucky. Instead, you can leave here and now go to her, talk rationally, and tell her how it made you feel to think of her even pretending to be with another man, just to keep some stupid secret.”

I drop my head into my hands in exhaustion. That workout would have drained me on a normal day, but without any sleep, I can feel the fatigue hitting harder than normal.

“And as for Flynn, when you find the fucker responsible for this, give me a call. I’ll happily have your back as you take them down like they need to be. But more importantly, send Flynn to me. I’ll make sure he doesn’t end up falling further than he already has. He might think this will break him, but I can show him that he’s got strength he didn’t know he had. Just like you did, and we both know that letting out your fears and anger in a controlled environment is far better than being a ticking time bomb, just waiting for someone to light that fuse.”

Chuckling out loud, I sit back up. “Not sure I could see Flynn in the ring with anyone, let alone you.”

“What do you mean with me, what’s that supposed to mean?” Cherie sits forward in her chair, getting ready to give me a mouthful of retort for whatever I’m about to reply.

“Only that he’d be shit scared of you, and I’m not sure the counselling session would work too well if he can’t talk from fear or in between the blubbering because you have hurt him.”

I’m picturing my friend, who is so bold and cocky but who’s never been into boxing, facing off against a woman who does this all day every day and never even looks like she breaks much of a sweat.

She smiles at me like a Cheshire cat. “All the more reason to get him in here, I’ll make a man out of him.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, he’s all man, and there are hundreds of women who can testify to that. He’s tall and built, but I just have a feeling behind the manly persona is a big softie.”

“You know I need to meet him now, right? Regardless of if it’s in here or not. Make it happen, Rem. He sounds intriguing, and I bet I could get him to agree after one meeting to take me on in the ring.” She loves a challenge, and Flynn must sound like one to her.

It must be the delirium from lack of sleep or the few beatings to the head I just had every time I hit the floor. “Do you own a dress?” I ask before I think this through.

“Fuck off, asshole, of course I own a dress. I don’t wear this all the time,” she says, waving her hand in front of herself. “Damn, I might not be rich like you, but I still have some class.” She huffs like I have insulted her.

“I didn’t mean that how it sounded, I meant a glam dress, or evening dress I think they call it,” I say, trying to dig myself out of the hole and not really succeeding.

“Oh, so you aren’t talking about the mesh one that just covers my ass, and you can see my nipples through the holes. A different one than that?” She throws her gloves at me to make her point.

“Okay, got it, you own an evening gown, then have it on and be ready at seven pm on Friday night. I’ll have my driver pick you up, and you can be my plus-one for the dinner. And if you can behave, I’ll sit you next to Flynn and watch you crash and burn. I’ll bet fifty quid he will never box you on this mat.”

Reaching out with my hand, she is quick to take it and shake on it.

“Challenge accepted. I’ll message you my address. But can I just say I’m not sure me being your plus-one is a great idea.”

In my head, I probably agree with her, but it’s too late now. Because part of me can’t wait to see two of the cockiest people I know meet up, and it may be just what Flynn needs right now. A distraction from all the crap that is around him.

By the time I reach my car, which is still sitting perfectly fine on the street where I left it, I hadn’t noticed how long I had been here. Two hours is a long time to be offline when we are in the biggest crisis for the company since Nic was falsely accused of drug possession in Rome. At least we had his innocence on our side in that one, but this is clearly Flynn and Felisha, and there is no getting out of that. He just needs to own it and hope like hell someone does something even more stupid in the next few days and his hairy white ass on camera becomes old news.

I sit in my car for another forty-five minutes answering messages, emails, and checking on how bad the media reports are, until finally, I’m on the road. Instead of going home, there is one more place I need to visit.

“Rem, I wasn’t expecting you.” Nic’s tired tone hits me as he stands in front of the apartment door.

“Yeah, sorry, I knew you were at home by the tracking for your phone.” Something I have had on all our devices since the beginning but have very rarely looked at them. But I needed to be able to talk to Nic on his own and away from the office.

“Must be serious for you to track me. And if it’s anything worse than last night’s drama, I’m not sure I want to hear it today.” Walking in his bare feet back to the large lounge that looks over the London skyline, I can tell he is trying to relax amid the chaos.

“Yeah, it is, but nothing like last night, although it does have to do with Flynn.” And the sound of his friend’s name leaving my lips has him stopping dead in his tracks and turning back to me, with tight lips and a look that tells me I need to start talking now. We might all be friends, but there is a special bond between Nic and Flynn that comes from years of friendship before we even knew them.

There is no easy way to say this, and I’m sick of holding it in any longer.

“Elouise and I are together and have been since Scotland. But if I’m being honest, I first slept with her on Christmas night in Rome.”

“Fuck, Rem, I fucking knew it.” Clasping his hands, he reaches up to the top of his head. The annoyed sigh coming out of his mouth tells me he’s not happy. “Why? I told you all she was off limits! Fuckkk!” he yells loudly in the air to nobody and turns away from me, walking to the window, and I can see his fists down by his side, clenched so tight, and the muscles in his shoulders and neck are now tense.

But as much as I’m trying to tread lightly, I’m not about to sit back and not stand up for myself or Elouise.

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