Society Girls: Sierra (12 page)

“It’s bad, isn’t it?”

“Bloody hell, Sierra. I love you, but that
was just not cool.” I want to laugh at Jen and her mixing of the
British and the American, but I can’t.

“I realize that. Can I ride home with
someone?”

“I’ll take you,” Kalila says. “I need to do
some studying anyway.”

“Thanks.”

I text Joel on the drive home, but he
doesn’t answer. I can’t believe I didn’t introduce him to Daniel. I
don’t know what I was thinking, although I guess I really wasn’t
thinking. I let my happiness over seeing someone from my past hurt
the person I want in my future. It’s my turn to apologize, and I
can only hope he’ll listen.

I give Kalila a hug and thank her for the
ride before going into my apartment. I stop short when I see Joel
sitting on my couch. He has his elbows on his knees and his hands
steepled together as he stares straight ahead. He doesn’t move as I
close the door and walk over to stand in front of him.

“I’m sorry.”

“For?”

“Not introducing you to my old friend.”

“Your old
boyfriend.
Let’s just be
clear about that.”

“Yes. I dated Daniel, but I broke up with
him months before I moved here.”

“Yet you let him put his hands on you, while
pretending like I didn’t exist.”

“I didn’t mean to. You just don’t
understand.”

“You’re ashamed of me. Just admit it.”

“Are you insane? Of course I’m not ashamed
of you.”

“My parents are very wealthy. I can put on a
suit and use the right fork.”

“Well I’m glad one of us knows how to do
that. I can never remember.”

“I’m being serious.”

“So am I. Why do you think I care about a
suit or a damn fork?”

“You looked good with him.”

“I look better with you. I was happy to see
him, because I miss my friends from Seattle and I was hoping he’d
tell me about them.” I need to be honest now. “I didn’t dissuade
him because I needed to hear what he said, and see how I was
affected by it. I know I made the right choice in coming here, but
it’s nice to have that validated sometimes.”

“And you needed to know if you made the
right choice in breaking up with him.”

“God, no. He’s a self-absorbed prick. I have
zero interest in him romantically.”

“I don’t like how I felt tonight. Like I was
less than him. Like you were trading up.”

“Up? There’s no higher than you as far as
I’m concerned. I’m sorry for how I behaved tonight. And I’m glad
you’re here.”

“I almost wasn’t, but then I remembered how
I hurt you and you gave me a chance to explain things to you. I
owed you that chance, too.”

“Thank you for that.”

“You’re sure—really sure—that you want to be
with me?”

“Yes. It’s you, and only you. You’re the one
I want.”

“Can you call him and tell him that?”

“Daniel?” I ask, and he nods. “I already
told him I was seeing someone.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. And then Miles and the kids from the
team put me in my place.”

“Shit.”

“I’m sorry. I never meant to make you look
bad with them.”

“I don’t. They saw me leave. I’m not so sure
they think too highly of you right now, despite the cheerleader
outfit.”

“Oh, I know they don’t like me right now.
Maybe I can just wear a bikini next time and make it up to
them.”

“Over my dead body,” he growls, pulling me
onto his lap.

We make out for what seems like hours before
he carries me upstairs. We don’t make love, because that’s not what
either of us needs to tonight. We kiss and touch each other until
we fall asleep, holding onto each other like we’re afraid it’s all
a dream. I just hope we don’t turn into a nightmare.

Sierra

“Hi, Sierra. Please have a seat,” Reina says
with a smile as I walk into her office. Darcy is in one of the
chairs and smiles at me, too. I take the seat across from her and
smile back.

“Hi.”

“It’s time for you to go out on your first
mini mission.”

“Oh. Wow. I didn’t think it would be this
fast.”

“Honestly, neither did we. Something came up
and we both believe you can handle this.”

“Is it something technical?”

“No. It’s something Brazilian,” Darcy tells
me with a wink.

“Brazilian?”

“Yes. There’s a young businessman who’s been
receiving death threats. We’ve investigated, and while we’re not
sure there’s really anything to worry about, we’d rather be
proactive than reactive.”

“You speak Portuguese, don’t you? I mean,
why me? I’m not proficient yet.”

“Several us are fluent, but we’re all
married. Neveah is also fluent, but we need the people on this
mission to be armed. As for being proficient, I heard you have a
whole conversation with Joel at dinner the other night. You barely
stumbled.”

“But I did. I stumbled.”

“The people at this dinner will find it
charming, believe me.”

“You said there will be others there with
me?”

“I’ll be there with Brayden. He was invited
because, well, because people think it’s intriguing that he gave up
his kingdom for me.”

“I’ll be part of your team?”

“No. You’ll be the principle’s date.”

“Date? I have a boyfriend.”

“We’re not asking you to sleep with him. You
may have to kiss him, and I’m truly sorry for that, but sometimes
it’s necessary. He will know you’re not really there with him, and
you can threaten him if he gets out of line.”

I nod. I know I have to do this. I knew it
would happen sometimes. I just never expected to have a boyfriend,
or at least not one who I’m totally in love with. The last week has
been close to perfect, and I won’t jeopardize him, even though I
want the job. I can handle a kiss or two if I remember I’m just
acting.

“What do I need to do?”

Reina and Darcy go over everything with me,
and then they call Ainsley in to go over it with me all over again.
Stella comes in at some point, getting the information she needs to
dress me, and finally Audrey and Kendrick join us. They explain the
procedures I’m going to go through in order to have the ear comm
and tracker embedded in my skin. It’s more than a little like a
sci-fi movie, but it’s also exciting. They wouldn’t be doing this
if they didn’t expect me to become a real member of the
Society.

I have time for a quick phone call to Joel.
I get his voicemail and leave him a message that I’m going out of
town for some training, and there’ll be no way to reach me until I
get back. I tell him I love him, and then I hand my phone over to
Ainsley. Minutes later, I’m falling asleep in the operating
room.

When I wake up, my head feels weird and so
does my left forearm. There are bandages on both, but no way am I
going to peel them back to look.

“You get used to them,” Darcy promises
me.

“I feel like some genetic mutation. Like
Wolverine or something.”

“We have better tech than they did.”

“You would say that,” I tease her. Besides
being a former cat burglar, my mentor is a major gamer.

“Damn straight.”

“What happens next?”

“You’ll be here for twenty-four hours, so we
can make sure your body’s accepting the implants. I suggest you use
that time to keep going over the file for the mission. It seems
tedious, I know, but the smallest thing can save a life.”

“Okay. I understand.”

“Good. Once Kenny clears you, you’ll be on a
jet to Sao Paolo. Stella’s going to ride along as your stylist
since Bray and I have to be all royal and shit.”

“I sometimes forget that you’re a
princess.”

“Me, too. Believe me. my mother-in-law just
loves it when I forget,” she tells me with a smirk.

She starts to leave when Kendrick comes in,
but bounces back into the room pretty quickly, closing the door.
“What’s wrong?”

“Joel’s in the hallway with Waverly.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Kendrick tells us,
slipping out the door and closing it again.

“If he sees me, Darce--”

“He won’t. Kenny’s got this.”

It’s a tense few minutes while we wait for
him to come back. When he does, he simply nods. “He’s gone. He has
no idea you’re here.”

“Thank you,” I tell him.

“We all have our secrets, Sierra. You don’t
have to thank me for keeping yours. Now let’s check on these
implants.”

* * *

Joel

As soon as I turn my phone on after physical
therapy, it rings with a call from Dean. I answer immediately.
“What’s up?”

“The GM wants the team doctor to check you
out.”

“Okay, when?”

“Tomorrow. I found you a flight out of Vegas
in two hours. Can you make it?”

“I don’t have anything packed.”

“You’ve still got your stuff at home, right?
I mean, you didn’t take it all, did you?”

“No. You’re right. I’ve got clothes and
stuff. I’ll head to the airport now.”

“You’re ready for this, right?”

“Yeah, but did they say why they want this?
I thought I’d just be showing off at Spring Training.”

“I’ve been hearing some rumors about a trade
being offered to them. I think they want to see if you’re going to
be one-hundred percent back or if they should be considering other
options.”

“Who are they mentioning for the trade?” He
tells me, and I let out a string of four letter words. “They’re
good.”

“You’re better, Joel. Just go out there and
do what you need to do.”

“I will. I’m ready.”

I hang up with him, and concentrate on
getting to the airport. Once I’m all paid up and through security,
I pull out my phone to call Sierra. That’s when I see that I have a
missed call from her and a voicemail. I listen to her tell me she’s
got to go out of town for training and think about how perfect the
timing is. I need to have my head in the game and not worrying
about leaving her behind. We said we’d figure it out, and I believe
that. Really, I do. Yet, I still can’t help the feeling that this
is somehow the beginning of the end, no matter what we’ve promised
each other.

* * *

Sierra

“When I asked for a lady in red, I had no
idea they’d get it just right,” the jackass I’m supposed to be
protecting says to me when I answer my hotel room door.

I
am
in red, because he requested it. A
long red off-the-shoulder gown with an attached cape flowing down
my arms and behind me to trail on the floor. I’ve got rubies at my
throat and I’m totally rocking the retro ponytail with curls Stella
put my hair in.

“Vai se foder.”

“Hot, feisty, and you speak Portuguese. I
wasn’t kidding, Gatinha. You are my dream come true.”

“Do not call me that. Ever.”

“What? Kitten?”

“Yes. Call me it again, and I’ll cut your
balls off. Now, if you’re done behaving like a little boy, we have
some ground rules to go over.”

He covers his crotch with his hands as he
nods. “Sure, whatever you want.”

I remind him that, except for when
necessary, he needs to keep his hands to himself. When he smirks
and says he might not know when necessary is, I show him my gun.
“This isn’t a game. You need protection, and I’m what you’ve got. I
have a boyfriend, and nothing is going to happen between you and
me. Entender?”

“Yes, I understand. Your boyfriend is a very
lucky man, Sierra. I hope he knows this,” he tells me as we leave
my suite.

“He does, Marcus,” I assure him as we ride
down in the elevator.

There are photographers when we arrive
downstairs and enter the ballroom. I turn my head into Marcus’
neck, pretending I’m shy. Really, I just want to hide. This is
Joel’s country, and if he happens to see a picture of me like
this—with this man—I won’t be able to explain to him that it’s not
real. After a few minutes, Marcus waves the photographers away and
leads me to the head table.

The night isn’t horrible. Marcus got the
hint earlier, and while he occasionally kisses my hand or cheek, he
doesn’t try anything else. I kiss his cheek when I see his mother
narrowing her eyes at us. He smiles at me, and I force myself to
smile back just as brightly. Darcy gives me a subtle nod to let me
know I’m doing well when our eyes meet across the room.

The guests at this table all smile
indulgently at me as I do my best to converse in Portuguese with
them. They seem to like practicing their English with me as
well.

“You are doing well, my dear,” the woman to
my left tells me.

Her name is Raquel, and from what I’ve been
able to ascertain, she and her husband, João, are very close with
Marcus and his family. I know they live in the States, but I
haven’t had time to ask them anything else as everyone keeps
wanting to know about me and Marcus.

“Thank you. It’s not an easy language, but I
am trying hard to learn it.”

“You use quite a bit of slang for someone
who’s learning from a book. I never thought of Marcus as patient
enough to teach our language. I guess love will do that to you—give
you the gift of patience.”

“My boyfriend is actually very patient with
me while I learn,” I tell her, truthfully. She doesn’t need to know
that my boyfriend’s name is Joel and not Marcus.

After a few dances, Marcus ushers me
upstairs and insists that he needs to stay awhile to protect his
reputation. I roll my eyes and point to the couch. Once I’ve
changed into sweats and a loose Legends t-shirt, I join him in the
living room, curling up on the big chair by the window.

“Tell me about this boyfriend of yours. Is
he a spy, too?”

“No. He’s not a spy.”

I can’t tell him what he does. Joel’s told
me that there’s a couple of other Brazilian-born players in the
majors, but not enough to keep him from possibly figuring it out.
It’s none of his business anyway.