Page 15 of Allure
“What’s this?” Syra looked down at the silver ink etched into the black paper. “Orchard Tree?” she whispered before looking at him.
Orchard Tree was an exclusive party Marco and Asli had a standing invitation to. It catered to what Syra and her friends were hoping to accomplish with Sirens, an inclusive sex party. If he told himself enough times that it would be ideal for the women to go in order to network, he’d believe it.
Marco cleared his throat. “Once you report back to Ms. Santiago and Ms. Lopez about this little chat, I expect to hear back from you about signing off on the deal. Don’t put your personal worries on what could be the best thing to happen in Lockwood and to you three. Our history doesn’t dictate our future.” He almost choked on the lie.
Their history would dictate their future; he just couldn’t figure out if there was sunshine and rainbows at the end or if everything was going to go up in flames.
“I also hope you RSVP to what’s inside that envelope, estrellita. If you want to build Sirens and make it something special, let me show you the world you’re trying to play in.”
Syra stood inside what would become Sirens with Delilah, Kat, Marco, and Asli. She tried to focus on the empty space, tried to imagine what this building would transform into once everything was done. She even closed her eyes, imagining opening night—trying to feel the space she was standing in filled with people ready for a night of fun or a newbie finally exploring their sexual desires. She tried to imagine her artwork on the walls and the little touches of her friends in the decor that filled Sirens, but those images never came; instead her mind wandered to images of her in one of the rooms of Sirens with the two men who were currently standing in front of her.
She opened her eyes, her gaze sweeping over Marco and Asli. They both wore black suits, and it truly was unfair how good their bodies filled out the material. They both exuded power that made it clear why they were the top businessmen in Lockwood, but where Marco was all hard lines and straight to the point in what he wanted and expected, Asli was smooth, charming, and polite. The two balanced each other out, and she noticed that while Marco may have physically been able to see everything, it was Asli who saw underneath—the energy and emotions that people tried to hide.
“The contractor is running a little late,” Marco’s gruff voice broke through her inner thoughts, and she put her gaze elsewhere. Marco alone had unraveled her, but when he stood next to Asli, and the two seemed to move and breathe as a unit, it sparked too many ideas for her imagination to run wild with. Those ideas were best suited for nights between her sheets.
“Does that mean we’re waiting? We know what we want to do and have no problem passing the information along.” Delilah’s tone was sharp as she glared at him.
When Syra came back from her meeting with Marco, she was sure she was going to tell her friends she couldn’t work with Marco and Garrison Inc. She rehearsed what she wanted to tell D and Kat, even had Raven on the ready to help them with other options. But as soon as she checked her messages to Raven, she saw the numerous messages Joel left her, causing her to crumble.
We were each other’s world. How can you give that up?
Syra, you still have my last name. You think I’m just going to let you walk away and walk into the arms of another man?
You stupid bitch.
You think we’re over? We’re over when I say we’re over.
The messages and the voicemails had gotten worse, but she couldn’t bring herself to listen to or read the rest. She wanted to block his number, and she should have, but something kept holding her back. She felt the weight of some of his nastier comments stick to her in a way that made her want to curl up on Delilah’s couch and check out for the rest of the year.
Why was this divorce so hard?
Divorce in general sucked, but her relationship with Joel had faded long before she served him those papers. There was no reason for him to hold on this tight.
“You can pass the information along through me and Asli,” Marco kept his tone even, “I think it’ll be better if they hear from you though.” He shrugged. “We’re just the name on a piece of paper. As I told you ladies when we all signed, this is your baby. Whatever you want, if it’s within the realm of possibility and makes sense, it’s yours.” His voice dipped toward the end. His eyes darkened as he looked at Syra, and a shiver ran down her back at the promise in his words.
Syra hated how easily her body responded to him. The subtle brush of his fingers against hers and the subtle touch of their shoulders when they moved through Sirens made her flustered. It didn’t help that she could feel Asli’s eyes on her the moment she walked into Garrison Inc’s office to sign, and he hadn’t let up yet.
“We can wait. As long as the contractor isn’t too far out.” Kat smiled as she spoke. Syra could already see the sparks in her eyes—desperate to start designing the place.
Kat had been more okay with working with Garrison Inc than Delilah was, and Delilah’s clipped tone earlier had been proof she was still on the fence about it. If Syra were being honest, she had to admit she was still on the fence too, but it was too late to do anything about it. Her initial reaction was to turn this down, but after seeing the messages from Joel, something inside of her snapped.
She didn’t want to be weighed down by his hurtful words—she didn’t even want to think about him beyond a fleeting memory of what once was. He had been her first serious relationship, and they did start out good, but there was no use in dwelling on the things she couldn’t change—primarily, how far apart they grew in the years they were together. She couldn’t erase her past with Marco either. She had come to Lockwood—come to her friends—so she could figure out what her life looked like as Syra Gutierrez, and Syra Gutierrez had been on board with opening Sirens. So what that it was attached to Marco and Asli? She could keep things professional, so long as she looked at Marco like a business partner and not the man who had been buried so deep inside of her, somedays he knew her better than herself.
“Have you ladies decided to RSVP to Orchard Tree?” Marco asked, and Syra blanched. She left that little invite out of her talk with her friends, especially once she looked up the link left on the invitation.
“Orchard Tree?” Delilah’s voice held a hint of surprise until her eyes narrowed on Marco. “Why are we being invited to Orchard Tree? That’s an exclusive party and scene.”
“Exclusive yes, but that’s where most of our clientele will come from,” Asli finally spoke up. He didn’t speak often, but every time words left his lips, they were wrapped in a light accent that warmed Syra’s insides. She wanted to know how he sounded whispering dirty words across her skin, and she felt herself flush against the direction of her thoughts.
“It’s a great opportunity to network and to see what Orchard Tree offers that we can use for Sirens. I know you ladies have your own ideas, but sometimes it’s good to see what’s pulling people to other places, because for Orchard Tree it’s not the location,” his gaze went from Delilah to Syra, “and of course you can always go there to play if you’re up to it.” The teasing tone Asli used made her pulse spike.
Marco looked at her with fire in his eyes that scorched her, and Asli’s teasing tone seemed to be the perfect balance to stoke the flames he enticed in her. She was sure whatever the two of them put their mind to they conquered with ease. Asli was there to disarm her while Marco went in for the kill.
“You two must make quite the team.” The words slipped from her lips before she thought better of it. She hadn’t meant to speak out loud.
“How so?” Asli smiled, and she felt herself being pulled into his orbit. Her body leaned toward him even though she made no conscious effort to move.
“It’s something I caught at our initial meeting, and you’re doing it now. Marco took charge, not because he has a higher rank than you but because that’s how you work. He’s the hard ass,” Delilah and Asli both snorted at her assessment, “and you’re the charming devil, for lack of a better phrase.”
