The black bench. “He’s not like that with me,” I explain.
“That’s another way you are different, then.” It seems now that we’re alone, Chaz will tell me anything. It was just Riley’s presence that kept her on edge. “They date like this for convenience, and usually I’d be worried, but honey, I think you’re the one with real power here.”
A lump lodges in my throat as her words settle. It doesn’t make sense because of who they are and what they’re capable of, but it must be partially true. My entire day yesterday flashes before my eyes. The consequences of my pain and the mention of my hatred for Dirt Downs and what it represents. The retribution. The harsh retribution. Chaz finishes and lays out an outfit. It’s a smart skirt and button-up blouse. A little sexy, but all professional. She left my hair in loose long waves and my makeup is perfectly understated. She stays until I’m dressed, helping me into the heels and then shoving an expensive purse at me. “This was in the armoire in the corner of the room. That’s where he will put all your stuff.” I swallow as I run my hand over the expensive leather, a brand I’ve only seen in magazines. If yesterday was bizarre, today seems surreal. “There’s a bunch of stuff for you in there.” Chaz eyes my bag. “So you don’t have to pack.”
I nod and inhale the scent of the purse. Everything about it seems expensive. As I gaze at my finished look in the mirror, I see the person I want to be, and this bag matches the vision. I am the beating heart, the flesh that forms her, but can I becomeher? I blink a few times, and Chaz leaves after wishing me a good day. I snap a quick photo and send it to Callie, and then I leave the bedroom where I find Reggie waiting.
“Ready when you are,” he says.
I take a sip from the cold coffee still sitting on the island. “Where do you stay when I can’t see you?” I ask. “Just curious.”
“I’m always around, ma’am,” he replies. “Close by. Several of us are.” Reggie straightens his tie. “Some are in plain clothes, and others, like me, you know I’m with you.”
I clear my throat. “How long have you been with the Astor brothers?”
“It’s not just the brothers, ma’am. The empire is large, but I’ve had a place since age eighteen.”
I exhale and grab my stuff. “I’m working with Amy today.”
“Yes. I know where you’re going.”
“Is Jesse home?” I ask, voice small. “I have a bag that I need to drop off.”
Reggie opens the door with a fob. “Someone will make sure your stuff goes up to the other apartment,” he replies, not answering my question. There’s two more men with suits when I step into the hallway. They’re the stereotypical looking bodyguards. Big muscle and tall frames. They don’t look me directly in the eye. They follow Reggie and I down.
“Mr. Astor does a lot of business elsewhere, but he doesn’t stay in one place long for security reasons,” Reggie explains. Everyone is more talkative when Jesse and Riley aren’t around. This should be a worrisome fact, but I don’t care so long as people talk and help me navigate.
“Why does Jesse stay if it’s a risk?” I ask.
Reggie looks at me sideways as he walks, adjusting his jacket. He’s weighing his options. Befriending me or staying strictly professional. “Jesse Astor isn’t as recognizable as Riley Astor is.”
“If Riley is the face, that makes Jesse,” I say, leaving the sentence hanging.
“The brawn. The threat. Whatever he wants to be.”
I lick my lips and taste the gloss. “Right. Thanks, Reggie,” I say. “This happened very quickly, and I have more questions than answers,” I admit, trying to be vulnerable. “This life is foreign to me; this situation is unlike any I’ve been in.” The Astors were never on my radar before I stumbled into Jesse’s apartment thinking I was there to clean it.
Reggie opens the passenger side of a sports car when we get to a secluded section of the parking garage. More of Riley’s men are down here, and the two from upstairs get into the back seat of the car, Reggie drives. I clutch the purse in my lap as it buzzes. A message from Callie, no doubt. “Is this much security always required?”
Reggie shakes his head. “It seems to be a combination of Jesse’s actions yesterday and you in specific that had the Astors hire triple what we usually have.”
Great, I think. I’m already causing problems without knowing why or how. “I’m sorry.”
“Why be sorry? It means they care about your safety. This is our job, ma’am. Without you, we wouldn’t have one.” My feet hurt in the heels already. I wish I brought my new sneakers along. I don’t know how long the day will be. Another mistake. I’ll roll into Jesse’s with a sore crotch and blisters all over my feet. Reggie’s reply reminds me I need to be confident.
“Happy to help, I guess,” I say. It comes out sarcastic and I didn’t mean it. “I appreciate it even if I don’t see the threat.”
“You won’t see the threat,” Reggie says, rounding the block and we’re back in front of their warehouse. He pulls into the back of the Mountain Aire, where the dumpsters are and the men in the back seat get out and move away so fast, I don’t know where they went.
I ask him why we drove to go next door and he explains in bodyguard speak that I don’t understand. It’s easier to go along with it. Reggie asks for me to wait a few more minutes before getting out, so I pull out my phone and listen to the voice message from Callie telling me how bang up beautiful I look today, and my thumb hovers over the black heart in my contact list. I tap the black heart and send it to Jesse. To make it fair and prove I don’t have a preference, I text the wordcherishto Riley and close my phone, feeling an ache between my legs I know won’t be satiated for a long time.
I hate that I think it, but I want to know who will text back quicker. Who will be first? Why do I care? What will it mean? What Chaz said about having a main eats at me. Neither has read the message when Reggie opens my door. Amy is waiting for me. She seems out of place standing near the dumpsters of the city’s most disgusting motel.
I smile. “Amy, good morning. Thank you for letting me tag along.” She’s in a similar car to the one Reggie drove. Have Riley and Jesse been with her too?
“Of course. You look smashing today.”
I thank her and expect to get into her car, but she starts walking toward the entrance of the motel. “What do we have on the agenda today?” I ask it casually, like I’m not terrified of what she might say. Is she more like Jesse or Riley? Amy is important. She speaks with the confidence of someone who has never doubted who she is or where she’s going.