Page 57 of Double or Nothing

“You already got what you wanted. I’m here. I’m trying. What the fuck do you want from me?”

“Nothing, Sut. I just want to see you happy.”

We pull up in front of the Sapphire, and amid all of my fans is Kat. She, along with the casino’s security staff, is trying to hold back the crowd.

“I hope you had a pleasant day so far,” she says when I approach her.

“Did an interview with Xavier on 92.4.”

“I heard.”

“What’d you think?”

“I think you shouldn’t lie to your fans.” She does an about-face. “I’ll take you to where we have you set up for the autographs.”

“I wasn’t lying,” I tell her, closing the distance between us. After the interview, the anonymity I tried to give her might not last long. It doesn’t take much to get a rumor started or for it to be deemed the truth. I know that all too well.

“Then I hope whoever she is…”

“You know damn well she is you.”

“When it comes to you and what you’re thinking, I don’t know anything anymore.”

“Now, that’s a lie. You know me, Kat. You know I didn’t want to leave you. You know it killed me to go.”

“I also know you never bothered to come back.”

“Come back to what?” I ask her as I grab her arm and pull her off to the side. “My abusive father or the woman who hates me? What the hell was there to come back for?”

“You could have started with an apology.”

Mac steps into the room but maintains his distance as he surveys the situation.

“Mr. Cole, we’re ready to start,” one of the PR people from the Sapphire tells me.

“Enjoy the show.”

“I’ll see you at dinner,” I call after her.

She waves a hand in the air as she exits the room and heads as far away from me as she can.

Chapter 28

Kat

The knock on my office door startles me.

I’m not in the right headspace, not after a late night and an early morning. Not to mention my run-in with Sutton this afternoon, and that was only after having heard his interview with the local radio station. The whole week has been nothing but a shit show, and it’s only Tuesday.

“Come in,” I say as I stifle a yawn.

Callum steps inside with a sly smile I’m ready to wipe off the minute he steps into my office.

“What?” I ask, my voice laced with irritation.

“Where do I begin?” Callum says boastfully as he plops himself on the chair across from me. “First, there’s a fight between your clients. Then your client mentions his mystery girl slash muse on the radio. Then he comes back to the casino and looks at you all lovey-dovey like, causing a shit storm of commotion on the floor.” His laughter billows through the room.

“I’m glad you find my life so amusing. You know damn well I didn’t ask for any of this. In fact, all I have asked for is to be rid of Sutton.”

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