I shoot him a skeptical look, still seething with anger.
“I’m done,” Eden says, her entire face red with fury. If I thought I was seething, she’s about to go all banshee on us. “If you want all this bullshit. Take it, guys. But I can’t. I have way too much integrity for such garbage. I’m sorry.” She pushes her chair back, and Jagger grabs hold of her forearm firmly to stop her.
“We’re all done. We’re a team. I can take the sexual insults aimed at me, but no one talks to Eden in such a disrespectful manner. Cards are off the table.” He then turns to Oliver. “You’re fired, mate.”
He joins Eden, and we all follow in solidarity. As much as Callum and I want to fucking punch the living daylights out of Aiden, there are way too many witnesses, and that prancer will have his LA lawyer up our arses in no time.
Not worth my time.
“It’s fine, siren,” Callum says as we take the lift to the basement parking to collect our car. “Jagger’s a hundred percent right. No one talks to you like that and thinks it's okay.”
“For the record, I think your neck ink and entire look is sexy as hell,” she tells him and grins.
Haze’s hand strays down her back and grips her arse.
“You’re sexy as hell, princess, even as an angry lioness,” he whispers, his voice laced with a velvety smooth desire.
“So, regarding this gangbang,” Callum asks with a mischievous grin. “Are you with Jagger and Haze now?”
“It’s not a gangbang,” I say. “It’s a disrespectful terminology.”
“Actually, I don’t mind if you four want to use it, but not outsiders,” Eden quips with an amused grin. “And I’d like to include Asher, but I don’t know how you feel. Maybe we should talk alone?”
My heart skips a beat.
“You fancy me, Eddie?” I grin at her because I’m fucking in.
“I fancy you lots,” she admits, and I don’t give a shit if we’re in a flippin’ lift and my three best friends are standing with us. I lean in and take her lips.
I push her up against the metal wall and ignore the others while I seal the deal with Eden and catch this moment. We’re both lost in this instant, and I pull back slightly, licking my lips and savoring her taste. Eden grins at me, and I swear this woman has the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen.
“Alright, mate. Save some for home,” Haze says, and we reach our floor.
I wrap my arm around her shoulders and lead us towards the car.
A second elevator opens its door, and we hear Oliver Jones come out at us.
“Fucking scum!” he yells. “I put my rep out for you. I don’t give a flying rat's arse about your sensitivities. You’re going back upstairs to apologize to those industry execs.”
“Fuck off, Oliver,” Callum retorts, and we continue towards the vehicle. Haze unlocks it with the key fob.
“Eden,” Oliver calls out. “Leave these mugs. You have a big career as a solo artist. I told you this ten years ago.”
She stops dead and turns to him. “Ten years ago, you abandoned me. Told me in two to three years to try again.”
“How the fuck was I to know that video would go so south.”
I feel her tense up, and I drop my arm from her.
“You knew about the video?”
“The Vixens were on their way out. Brittney was already auditioning for movies, and Mel was more interested in exploring her sexuality. You were the big talent in that group. I moved you to the Sonics to have your own band, but rather than stand out, you all merged instead. You, darling, had the potential to be a superstar solo artist. You didn’t need them. That video was supposed to be your big break to go solo. How the bloody hell was I supposed to know my contact at ZMA would spin this on the opposite spectrum. In the world of MeToo, this was not supposed to go in another direction.”
“You released the video?” I ask with utter disbelief, and my jaw stops short of dropping to the ground.
“The bigger question is how did he acquire it?” Haze looks at him with pure venom.
“Does it matter?” Oliver ignores us and talks directly to Eden. “Darling, get in my car, don’t leave with these fellas. They’ll do nothing for your career. I can open doors for you.”