Page 2 of Hold Still

“Bans! Good girl!” I whip my now wet head from left to right, causing water droplets to fly everywhere, including on Ginger’s no doubt million-dollar outfit. “Did you see that catch?”

She wipes the water off her blouse while I strip off the shirt that’s now clinging to my torso—unsnagging it from one of my nipple rings—and drop the wet material over the back of a patio chair.

Ginger licks her bottom lip when Bans jumps out of the pool and shakes the water off her body. “Oh!” She jumps back to avoid being sprayed again.

I smile at my rep, amping up the wattage. “Sorry.” Yeah. Sonot.

Bare from the waist up, I accept my refilled glass from Aiden with a thanks. He rolls his eyes, knowing exactly what this play is all about.

As I take a sip, he says, “I don’t want to interrupt, but Ozzy’s plane leaves in an hour for Cole and Rose’s wedding.”

Any annoyance I felt toward Aiden for letting Ginger in dissipates. “Oh, right.” I make a show of looking at my watch. “I didn’t realize the time.”

Ginger sighs. “It’s been a pleasure as always, Ozzy. Are you all set for the wedding?”

Now, that’s two times in under a minute that the “W” word’s been used. The mimosas threaten to make a second appearance. Breathe, man.

“Yeah. Packed yesterday.” Trying to forget where I’m headed today was the main reason I kept Jenna up all night. I run my fingers through my damp hair. “I appreciate Platinum letting me use the private plane.”

“Of course. Besides, Cole’s also a Platinum family member. We’ll do anything to keep our talent happy.”

Cole’s one of my best friends and a fantastic musician. I’ve enjoyed rocking with him. Yet, he’s put out three albums to my one, with another in the works. Writing never slows him down. Unlike my current Sahara Desert status….

Ginger brings me out of my musings when her eyes run the length of my naked chest, lingering on my V. “Anything.”

Play it cool. “Got anything to take the edge off having to get into a penguin suit?” At least my request is genuine, if not the reason for my nerves.

“What do you need? I’ll make it happen.”

Now she’s talking. Something to help me get through the upcoming ordeal. “How about some Molly?”

“There’ll be some waiting on the plane for you.” She takes a sip of her mimosa. “As long as I hear your new song when you return.”

Ignoring the last part, my lips tip upward. “You’re alright, Ginger. No matter what Aiden says about you.” I offer her a wink and escort her out to her car.

Back on the patio, I take a deep breath. “Hey Aiden, thanks for helping me get the suit out of here. You texted you wanted to talk about something before I leave?”

He pats Bans and stands. “Yeah. You’re not going to like it.”

Great. What’s new? I swallow the rest of my mimosa and hold out the glass. “No OJ this time.”

“You might want a clear head for this, but fine.” He refills my glass without the juice and says, “Let’s go to your office. I put the papers there.”

Papers. That can mean only one thing. My heart starts to pound. “It’s done?”

He nods and I follow him inside. Walking directly to my desk, a nondescript manila package sits front and center. I pick up the opened envelope and dump the contents on top. “You looked at these?”

“Yes.”

My eyes search his face, but I can’t read anything in it. I take a deep breath and dive in. The words in Spanish flash before my eyes. It’s done. I flip through the pages, noting everything that we agreed to is in here. I get to the next-to-last page and stop.

Pago. SRTA. ALFONSO acuerda aceptar un pago único del SR. MARTINEZ por un monto de $10 millones.

Translation—I pay the bitch ten million dollars and she goes away. In any language, that’s a shit ton of money. I suck in my breath. “Once I pay her off, it’s over, right?”

Aiden doesn’t say anything but hands me a piece of paper with “Wire Transfer” written across the top. Fuck. Me. “I have everything arranged with the bank. Sign here and here.” He points to two spots.

I swallow. She’s totally wiping me out.Bitch. I grab a pen and write “Osvaldo Martinez” in the two places Aiden marked. Exhaling through my mouth, I drop the pen to the desk. “Done.”

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