Good Girl : An Enemies-to-Lovers, Roommate Romance (Alphahole Roommates Book 2), page 10
I hear Aiden’s muffled voice in the background.
“Gotta go; the shuttle is here. I’ll check my messages tonight in case you have any news or need anything.”
I wipe tears from my eyes. “Carly, please enjoy your honeymoon. Don’t worry about me. God, you barely know me.”
“I know you, Jada. Believe me. You’re a lot like me. If you need anything and I mean anything, message me.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“Bye for now.”
She ends the call and I sit there on the kitchen floor, my back against the wall.
Holy shit. Shane’s in jail.
I feel a strange pain but also a sense of something else. I think it might be relief. I’ve been worrying about him for so long. So damn long.
I feel guilty, too, because jail? What if he gets hurt?
But what if he gets better, gets his life together?
He’s going to have a record. He’s lost freedom for at least a little while.
The phone rings and I rise, deciding to look for Austin. There’s a long number on the screen, way too many digits, with no caller ID. I find him in the master bedroom staring out the window. He turns as I come in the slightly open door. I guess he was giving me privacy and hears his phone ringing.
I pass him his phone, not making eye contact.
I get out of there to give him privacy for his phone call.
10
Austin
I end the call with the doctor in St. Kitts.
That bitch Sienna did drug me.
When I get off the phone, I’m livid. I knew it, but having the evidence, I’m ready to tear things apart.
I still only have vague memories of seeing two of her as she climbed on top of me and started jacking me off to get me hard enough to get me inside her.
I storm past Jada, who tries to talk to me, raising my hand and saying, “Save it,” as I storm out. I jump into a cab and head back to my hotel so I can call our lawyers.
After I get on the phone with one of them, I send a text to my father.
“I now have proof Sienna Greer drugged and date-raped me in St. Kitts. I’m pressing charges. Just wanted you aware.”
I make a call to my mother.
“Hello Austin. Are you in New York?” she greets.
“You tell Roger Greer to get ready. I’m having his daughter charged with date rape.”
“Wh-what?”
“You heard me correctly, Mother.”
“I… Austin, are you certain?”
“Am I certain? I woke up naked with her in bed and then vaguely recalled a dream where she climbed on me and had sex with me, only it wasn’t a dream.”
“You were drunk at that reception, and…”
“And? Really, mother? You think I’m making this up?”
“No Austin, I don’t think that, it’s just-”
“I had lab tests that confirmed GHB, a date rape drug, was in my system. I can’t believe you’re doubting me.”
“Of course not. I’m sorry. I’m just shocked. So shocked. I’ve known that girl since she was a small child.”
“I said as much at the hotel that morning,” I remind her.
“I know. I thought you were just covering things with Aiden. I… is there any way we can let this go?”
“Let this go?”
Unbelievable.
“Roger is very worried about his daughter. She hasn’t taken her parents’ pending divorce well. He’s trying to get her into counseling. She’s upset about Aiden’s wedding, and – ”
“And clearly she went to St. Kitts with the intention of giving Aiden that drug and fucking up his wedding, but Roger gave her the wrong venue and she was too late, so guess she decided to fuck me over instead. Any way to stick it to our family.”
My mother holds the phone and says nothing for a minute.
And I’m seething. Why is she being protective of the Greers and not me, her son? If I were a woman, would she be reacting like this?
“How would you react if Xander Greer had done this to Adele, Mother? Tell me that? Would you ask her to let it go?”
Maybe she would. Anything for her precious Roger?
We grew up with Xander, too. He’s a douche bag who Adele gave her virginity to. He dumped her two days later.
“You’re right. You’re absolutely right. I’m so sorry, Austin.”
My phone beeps and I pull it back to see the screen. Dad is on the other line.
“Whatever, fuck. I gave you the heads up. I’ve gotta go. Dad’s on the other line.”
I end the call without waiting for her to say her goodbye and switch over.
“Are you all right, son?”
“No, Dad. Not at all.”
He sighs. “Okay. Anything I can do, you let me know. I’m very sorry, Austin.”
I swallow down a lump. “Thanks, Dad.”
“Your mother argued with me about this, after you left. I knew there was no way you’d do that to Aiden. No way in the world. That girl opened her hotel room door in a blanket with a smug smile on her face when she was greeted by your brother. She’s a piece of work.”
“That means a lot, Dad. Thanks.” All Dad was worried about when I was leaving was work, but I guess delayed support is better than no support at all.
“So, you’re in New York?”
“Yeah.”
“All settled in?”
“No. That’s another story.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Never mind for now. Nothing I can’t handle.” I don’t bother telling him he forgot to tell Alice to hire Jada Miller.
“So, tomorrow then… call me directly after you fire Bassell. Have him escorted out by security. I don’t want him getting any sort of heads up either so be there early and make sure he doesn’t get access to any of his files before he goes. Confiscate his company cell phone immediately so we can check it, too. And call me from his office so we can go through some of his files on the phone.”
My lip curls. Fuck. Priorities, right? Carmichael Consulting comes first.
“Yeah, Dad.”
“I’m here if you need anything.”
“Sure.”
Whatever.
I hang up and stare out the window.
11
Jada
It’s been a few days since my brother got arrested. I’ve had a few days alone in the condo; I haven’t seen Austin. I have had a check-in message once daily in the evenings from Carly the last two days and now she’s video calling me.
She’s a good person, making sure I’m doing okay. I wish we lived in the same city. This friendship won’t go anywhere, sadly, since she and Aiden are based in California.
She looks amazing as she waves at me on video chat. Her curly hair is everywhere, her happiness glowing like the sun.
“Hey,” I greet with a lame little wave.
“How are you?” she asks, taking a sip of a drink with an umbrella in it. She’s outside in an orange swimsuit.
“I’m okay,” I nod and reposition myself on the bed. I’ve officially moved into the spare room and have everything spotless in the Master for whenever Austin comes back, but I have no idea when that’s happening.
“Any news on your brother?” she asks.
“I talked to the public defender today, actually. They had him in under supervised detox. He was doing really badly with the withdrawals. I should be able to see him by Friday or Saturday.” I shrug.
“What’s gonna happen?” she asks, sadness in her eyes.
“He’s being charged for all of it. Stolen credit card, destruction of property, resisting arrest and fighting with the police. Plus the drug stuff. The public defender is going to try to get the judge to agree to let him go into drug rehab or maybe push the angle of his mental health. I’ve told them about his bi-polar disorder and given them a list of medications he was on, so they’re trying to get him in with a specialist.”
“And how are you doing?”
“Um, that’s a good question.” I do my best to hold back emotion. “Thanks again for all you’re doing to help me. I can’t express how much it means. I don’t know where I’d be without you guys.” I do, though. I’d probably be in my cousin’s spare bedroom, or if not for that option, I’d be in a shelter. It’s really sobering to realize you have so few options, such a small support system.
She gives me a kind smile. “I talked to Austin today and he’s being a bit of an alphahole right now, but he’s going through some stuff, too. He’s a really great guy, but…”
I roll my eyes. “Alphahole. That’s a good word for him.”
“Yeah, sorry. He’s not usually like that. But there are some extenuating circumstances.”
“He wants nothing to do with me because of how things looked when he came in. I get it, I don’t come off looking good in this situation but, I’d just come in too and I was wearing this ridiculously slutty outfit because of a temp job that was a nightmare, and… anyway, I’m not surprised he wants nothing to do with having me work for him or live here. Basically that was my job interview, I just didn’t know it. I wish I could have a do-over.”
“Well… I’ve asked him to give things a trial run as a personal favor to me. He told me he’ll let me know. Normally, he’d say yes immediately so I think he just needs to cool down. If he digs his heels in, maybe I can get you a job at CC’s New York office. There might be something in the mail room or in data entry. I know it’s not your thing. Or I’m guessing it isn’t. What is your thing? Maybe we’d have something else for you. Do you want to work in the corporate world?”
I shake my head. “I’ve been doing a few jobs at once for eons and I’ll take just about anything legal to be able to survive. What I really want to do is go back to school and take some more writing courses. Finish getting my English degree. Doing what I did for you guys would be awesome as a stop-gap. It paid well, Aiden paid better than most do, and if I get something like that that’s steady enough and find a place with decent rent I can take some classes and have time to do it.”
“Are you looking to get into journalism?”
“Not exactly.”
She waits.
I say nothing.
“Not exactly?” she repeats, encouraging me to elaborate.
“More writing stuff.”
“Oh, what about copywriting? We need people to write ad copy, corporate literature, stuff like that.”
“I mean, I could… I’ve done a bit of that but I’m actually looking at fiction-writing,” I say and feel like my face is on fire suddenly. I haven’t talked about this to anybody. Not a soul. And I realize how crazy it sounds.
“Really? That’s amazing. I read constantly.”
“It feels like a bit of a pipe dream but, yeah, it’s the longer game goal. I was working for Aiden, doing nearly full-time at a coffee cart as a barista, and I had another personal shopping client for a little while, but that ended just before the gig with you and Aiden did. And then something went wrong there and the coffee cart guy didn’t pay me – the cart just up and disappeared and that messed me up and got me evicted. All I have right now is the writing gigs I do for a freelance website and it’s not super-steady.”
“What kinds of gigs?”
“Random stuff people ask for. I have a profile set up and people approach me, or I bid on jobs in the marketplace. A couple people have paid me to write business letters, love letters, product descriptions for online stores, a few obituaries. Some guy had me write his mother’s obit and then offered me a gig to write some kinky stuff and …”
Her eyes widen.
Here goes nothing. “Aiden’s not in earshot is he?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “He’s napping. I’m out by the pool by myself. Nobody’s around.”
“Well,” I drawl, and Carly has moved in closer to her screen, like the plot has thickened.
“Well, so, I almost turned the gig down but decided to just try it – the whole site is anonymous, I just have a screen name. And it was kind of fun, so then he paid me to do two more of these short erotic stories and it stirred something up in me, so I want to see about expanding on that. It was fun and I’ve done a bit of research. I think there’s a market for it.”
Carly is smiling. “Erotica.”
I shrug. “Is that crazy? I looked online and I’m thinking about self-publishing. It seems like there’s an audience for it.”
“It’s awesome. Own your sexuality, girlfriend.”
I laugh. “All I’ve got for sexuality are the things I write down. Not exactly any real action happening in my life, so…”
“Well, never say never. Look at me. I went to San Diego right after getting dumped for being too boring, looking to start fresh and here I am just months later with a great career and a sexy husband who loves me. And girlie, I’m getting all kinds of action. Amazing action.”
I bark out a laugh. “I bet you are.”
God, it’s been a long time since I’ve laughed.
“Gotta say, I had a huge crush on him while I worked for him, before you… obviously now that’s over.”
“That was obvious,” she says, smiling. “The first time we met, I knew. And I mean, how can you not find him at least attractive? Aiden is nice to look at, even if he sometimes ruins it by opening his mouth.”
I cough out another laugh, doubling over. She laughs too.
“It’s what I do. Carry torches, have crushes, and never do anything about them.” I shrug. “I haven’t had a serious boyfriend in three years.”
“What happened? What ended it?”
“He died,” I say softly.
And then my chin wobbles.
I manage to push it back before I break into ugly sobs.
She gasps.
“Car accident,” I explain. “He just got a new car. A fast one. He died in a head-on collision late one night after sneaking out of my room. He was driving too fast, lost control of the car. The person in the other car died, too.”
“I’m so sorry.”
I shrug. “Me too. We dated for three years. We dated in semi-secret because a) he was friends with my brother and a couple years older than me but that was for the first two years. The last year, Shane knew and seemed okay after an initial blow-up. And b) because he was black, and my father is a racist, so Dad had no idea the whole time.”
She swallows and shakes her head, her eyes brimming with sadness.
“It was hard. All that sneaking around. He was sweet and so smart, and I felt like he loved me. And then I couldn’t hide my pain when he died, and my brother was there for me, but Dad was less than supportive while I grieved. My father was so awful about it, so disappointed in me. Even hit Shane for letting me and Josh happen. I moved out. And because I moved out and had to support myself, I had to quit school temporarily. Temporarily two and a half years ago.” I roll my eyes. “It wasn’t supposed to be this long. Ugh. Sorry, I’m a bummer.”
“I called to check in on you,” Carly says. “To find out how you’re doing, not for you to pretend you’re okay even if you’re not.”
“I’m gonna be okay,” I tell her. “Thanks to you guys.”
She smiles, but I know it’s a pity smile. That’s okay; I’ll take it.
“So, I’ll keep working on my new brother-in-law,” Carly says, straightening up. “He likes me, and I think I have sway over him. And if I can’t talk him into it, what do you think about some office work?”
“I’d appreciate either thing. I appreciate your help so much. I’ve sent out a bunch of resumes this week, but no nibbles so far. And I’m going to pay you back, too.”
She waves her hand.
Carly sent me a thousand dollars the other day. I’m so grateful.
I’ve only spent a little to replace groceries and household supplies I used of theirs and to buy some food. It feels good to have some money in the bank. Though I’m under no illusions, it’s not my money. I won’t feel comfortable with any sort of spending until I know where my next paycheck comes from.
I hear noise. I straighten up. “I think someone is here. I better go see.”
“It’s probably Austin. I’ll wait – go look.”
“Okay, one sec.”
I put the phone down and peek out of the door. Yep, it’s Austin. He has two suitcases and a gym bag. He’s dressed in jeans and a dark blue button-down shirt. He looks good. I shake that thought off as I close the door softly and back up to pick the phone back up.
Austin Carmichael is probably just over six feet of sexy. He’s athletic, he has a sexy mouth, brown hair that looks soft – like you could forget all your troubles by sinking your fingers into it, and he has an air about him that would normally instigate my instincts to immediately fall into crush mode. It’s only because of the way we met and the way he thinks of me as an absolute piece of trash that has prevented me from entering that mode. But, on the plus side, I don’t feel shy around him like I typically would.
I grab my phone.
“It’s Austin. I’m going to go see if… if I can talk him into hiring me.”
“I’ll work on him too. No reason you two can’t work together and be roommates.”
“He hates me,” I say. “What kind of a disaster will that be? Working for him while we’re living together?”
She gets a weird look on her face. She bites her cheek and something sparks in her eyes.
“What?” I ask.
She looks like she’s just had a brilliant epiphany.
“Nothing,” she says. “I better go wake up Aiden for dinner. I’ll check in tomorrow.”
“Okay. Thanks for the chat. It was helpful to talk to someone.”
“Any time,” Carly says.
“And um, please don’t say anything to Aiden about my former crush or about my, um, stories.”
She smiles big. “No problem. He thinks everyone has a crush on him, the egomaniac, so that’s not a biggie, but don’t worry about the stories. Though… when we get back, I wanna read them.”
