Page 44 of Velvet Sin
“Consider this my resignation, too,” I whispered, picking up my purse and trying to ignore the pit in my stomach.“Sorry if that puts you in a bad spot.”
“We’ll manage just fine.”He lifted his mug to his lips without looking at me.It was that easy for him to turn off everything he was supposed to feel.Why would he ask me to live with him if he didn’t feel anything?
It wasn’t quite so easy for me as I walked out to the car with all the dignity I could pull together.My lease wasn’t up until the end of the month, though it was hard enough to find a job in the first place.How was I going to find a new one now?I would have to stay where I was, extend my lease, and pray for another job to come along soon.Good thing I had saved so carefully.
It was almost a blessing, really, having so much to think about.It meant I could push my broken heart aside for a little while.
Not long enough.
I wasn’t a block away when the pain in my chest was too intense to be ignored.Dammit, how did it happen?Why?And why had I been so damn stupid?I couldn’t go back now.He would accuse me of only using him for the job, which, in an extremely sick way, would be correct.That wasn’t the sort of person I was.
Though I was starting to wonder.I was starting to question a lot of things about myself.And when answers did bubble up, I didn’t like them very much.
I managed to make it a few blocks from the house before I had to pull over, thanks to the tears blinding me.Folding my arms over the steering wheel, I buried my face in them and cried out all the pain pouring from my shattered heart and the dreams it had imagined.
Dante was right.
My friends weren’t real friends.They fit into my life back when I lived through Cameron, but those days were over.
I had no job.
No prospects.
Not much of anything.
I was back where I’d started before running into Dante at the restaurant.I’d been going nowhere since, left with nothing but a broken heart.
Again.
19
DANTE
“Don’t you think you’re being a little reactionary?“ I blinked hard, hoping to focus my vision.For some reason, Blake’s image was blurring in front of me.Odds were, it had nothing to do with my computer quality.
A couple of nights without sleep would do that.And this wasn’t one of those partied-all-night-only-stopped-home-to-change situations.That, I would have enjoyed.There was nothing enjoyable about pacing the floor until all hours, unable to lie still or shut down the voice in my head blaming me for asking too much of Lenny.For pushing her too hard.
At the same time, I couldn’t sit back and pretend there was nothing wrong with what she’d said and what was behind it, which mattered more.She only thought she wanted to be with me.It was exciting, a thrill.It got her off.When it really mattered?She went back to being the prude, deathly afraid of what others thought.
But I knew that fear, didn’t I?I couldn’t get out of my head now, sitting in front of the computer, watching Blake as he stared at me like he was worried about my health.“Reactionary?”he asked, his voice slightly distorted by the microphone.“I guess I am.I’m reacting to the fact that we have serious problems out in LA.Staffing is becoming more of a challenge which you wouldn’t think would be the case, the job market being what it is, but quality applicants are hard to come by.We’re short-staffed every night, and the cracks are beginning to show.Then there’s the inspection issues in Manhattan.”
Fuck me.I had received an email about that, hadn’t I?A few days ago, at least.“Refresh me.”Blake’s eyes widened, telling me that was a mistake.“Listen,” I grunted out before he had a chance to lose his mind.“I’ve just closed on a house.I have a lot of shit going on.There’s a reason I have a partner, right?So I don’t have to be completely on top of everything twenty-four-seven.”
Of all the things he could do, blurting out a laugh might have been the most insulting.“Who are you, and what did you do with Dante West?Because the Dante West I thought I knew would never let those words out of his mouth.You are always on top of things.Last week, I cc’d you on an email from the city detailing structural issues discovered in the building’s basement.They’re going to fine us every day these issues aren’t addressed.The thing is, we would have to empty the building and shut down the club for weeks, maybe months.”
And I missed that?How the hell had I missed that?
Stupid question.I know exactly why I had, and the disapproving stare Blake was shooting my way didn’t help.“All right,” I conceded.“We’ll work it out.We always do.As for staffing, call over to Lex Landry‘s office at Sunrise Studios.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“He’ll refer you to agents who could send headshots.Actresses are always looking for work.We’re bound to find a few who are up to our standards.”Fuck, my head was splitting.I had reached that special level of exhaustion where I felt nauseous and foggy.Always a surefire indicator that I was running on fumes.
“Let’s face it.”Blake shook his head after noting my recommendations.“There’s too much to be done for the two of us to handle everything, especially while you’re devoting so much of your time to the Vegas location.”
I leaned in closer, my face filling the screen, and was gratified by Blake’s almost audible gulp.“Let’s get one thing straight.If you have something to say to me,say it.I never did like word games.They’re a waste of time.”
“All right.”He leaned back in his chair, revealing more of his home office.A tall, curvy blonde passed behind him.Veronica?Something hot and bitter slammed into me like a lightning strike.He still had his woman.I had lost mine, and now my business was going down the shitter.“As your business partner, it’s my duty to tell you this can’t go on.Your lack of focus.You’re treating the Vegas location like it’s the only one that matters, and now you’re considering further expansion?”
