Page 44 of Of Beauty, Brains, & Bravery

“It’s on me.” Troy grinned, his eyes surveying my body. “If you like it, you treat next time.”

“Callie… no.” Josh grabbed my arm. “I think we should go.”

“You can go if you want,” I snapped. I was fed up with other people trying to control my life. I spun around and froze as I saw a familiar face walking past the dance floor, a slinky redhead on his arm. It was Jimmy. What was he doing here? I watched as he walked toward the side of the room. I took another sip of my drink and looked at the two guys.

“Be right back… restroom.” I gulped down the rest of my drink and handed the glass to a perplexed-looking Josh. I snuck over to the side of the room. Jimmy and the girl were standing in the corner, her back against the wall, and she was laughing at something he said. She was wearing a slinky top, her midriff exposed, and I was pretty sure she didn’t have a bra on. My face flushed as Jimmy slipped his hand up her top and played with her nipples. I turned around and averted my gaze. He was obviously on his free time now. I stepped back into the crowd and looked around for Josh and Troy. All of a sudden, I felt all alone. I was in a packed space with people all around me, but I felt like I was on an island all alone. I didn’t understand what I was thinking or feeling. I didn’t understand what was real anymore. I didn’t even know my life anymore. My heart constricted, and for a few seconds, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I felt the room going black and white again. I was going to throw up. I shouldn’t have come here.

“You again.” There was humor in his voice as I looked up. It was Jimmy. There was a look of concern in his eyes. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.” My voice was cold as ice, but he didn’t even flinch.

“You following me?”

“That’s what I’m wondering? Did your snake of a boss tell you to watch me?”

“What?” He blinked and then laughed. “You mean you don’t know?”

“Don’t know what?”

“This is Antonio’s spot.” He grinned and then nodded upward. I looked up slowly, and that’s when I saw him, standing there three stories up, looking down at me, a dark, murderous look on his face.

“Fuck my life.” I scowled as I looked away from Antonio.

“I’m sure he’d love to.” Jimmy laughed, and I stared at him. I needed to get out of there, and I needed to get out of there fast. I hurried away from him, not even caring about Josh and Troy now. I didn’t want to have another encounter with Antonio. I never wanted to see him again.

16

Antonio

It felt like déjà vu as I watched Callie make her way through the crowd. When our eyes had met, she’d looked like she’d seen a ghost. I’d half hoped she’d give me a wave and a smile, but that was wishful thinking. Just hours ago, she’d told me how much she hated me. It was almost like fate had brought her to me tonight. Someone up above was laughing at her and me. I was going to let her go. It was too soon for us to have any sort of real communication and conversation about what had happened. I was about to turn away when I saw her stop next to two guys. I wasn’t bothered about Josh; even though she’d said she was into him, I could tell from their body language there was nothing there. But the blond guy with the long hair was now putting his arms around her. I felt myself stiffening as he whispered something in her ear, and I watched as he slipped his hand down.

Fury filled me as I watched her laughing. She looked back up at me and tossed her hair to the side. She licked her lips slowly and started swaying back and forth. I could see from Josh’s face that he wasn’t happy, either. What the fuck was she playing at? Blond guy then moved his hand up, and I felt myself grabbing my gun. There was no way in hell I could ignore this shit. I made my way to my private elevator and headed down to the main floor. I didn’t care what Callie was thinking or feeling. She was not going to fuck around in my club.

“Hey, boss.” Jimmy approached me, a smile on his face, as he waited outside the elevator. “I had a feeling you’d make your way down.”

“And why is that?”

“Your friend is here.”

“What friend?”

“You know…” He winked at me, and I hissed at him. “Hey, I figured you’d see her. You two are like a moth and a flame. Only I’m not sure who’s the moth and who’s the flame.”

“What the hell is she doing here?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Dancing? Having a good time.”

“She’s supposed to be at home.” I grabbed him by the collar. “You did take her home, right?”

“I dropped her off at the dorm, boss.” Jimmy’s smile left his face. “Wasn’t she at Melba’s with that roommate of hers? So, obviously, she was back at the dorm first.”

“Yeah, true.” I let go of his shirt. “Sorry.”

“No need to apologize to me.” His eyes narrowed as he gazed at me. “She really got to you, huh?”

“Not at all.” I almost spat the words out. “She was just another pussy to me, but if I’m to succeed with my plan for revenge, she can’t be out here pulling up her skirt for every fucking jackass in the club.”

“She’s wearing jeans,” Jimmy said, not blinking. “Kinda hard to fuck in a club when you’re wearing jeans. Not saying it can’t be done… just find a dark spot and pull them down and have her bend…” He paused as he realized he was making me even more furious. “Well, I’m sure you know. You’ve fucked more hoes than me.”

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