Twisted Fate (6 page)

Jose was at the bar, chatting it up with some slut. When he saw me approaching, he waved her off and walked toward me. “Dude, I can’t find him anywhere.”

“It didn’t appear you were looking.”

He looked down for a second. “You said to meet you at the bar.”

He was right. “Yeah, okay, well where was he the last time you saw him?”

Jose pointed to some tables that bordered the dance floor. The damn lights were flashing everywhere and the beat of the music was still too heavy. I could hardly think, and that was all I needed to be doing at the moment.

“Stay here,” I told him. “Keep your eyes peeled for him. I’m going to walk around and look.”

Jose agreed and said he’d be right there. I turned and started walking around the club, trying to see if the asshole was anywhere. If I didn’t find him within five minutes, Roman would be getting a text.
 

As I was nearing a corner with a hallway, my phone started buzzing. Walking into the hallway to get as much privacy as possible, I was surprised to see the text was from Roman.
 

Surprise. I’m here. Rico’s drunk. Find him.

Shit.

Roman was here? Rico was gonna pay.

Shoving my phone back in my pocket, I heard a familiar high-pitched laugh. Turning, I saw Rico coming out of some room, a girl on each arm. My eyes turned to slits as he started to walk past me, having no idea I was there.

I grabbed him by the neck, and he let out a squeal while the two girls jumped back. “Excuse us, ladies,” I seethed. “I need to talk to this asshole for a minute.”

I shoved Rico back into the room he came out of, shutting the door. I let him go with a push, making him lose his balance and land on his ass. When he looked up at me, his eyes were murderous.

“Don’t you ever touch me again, Reynolds,” he hissed.

I just shrugged and bent down on my knees so we were facing each other eye to eye. “You don’t get to tell me what to do, you little weasel,” I told him in a low tone. “Roman just texted me that he made a surprise visit here tonight and saw you were drunk off your ass. What were you doing in here with two whores while you’re supposed to be keeping an eye out?”

He stood up slowly, swaying just a bit. He grabbed onto a shelf nearby, getting his balance. “You know I’m not here to work, Tag,” he sneered at me. “Roman just put me on here because I begged. And trust me, my eye has been on Ms. Santoro all night.”

He leered at that last line, making me want to lunge at him. The fact that I was already overly protective of Ms. Santoro wasn’t lost on me. It was a very good thing she wouldn’t be on the yacht long.

“Didn’t seem that way to me since I caught you walking out of this room with two chicks.”

He waved his hand. “Not important. Every employee needs a break now and then. Consider that mine.”

He started to walk past me, but I grabbed his arm roughly, making him wince. “Consider this reported to Roman, asshole. I knew you were worthless, and you just proved it once again. You’re reassigned to outside with Eli, sitting next to the car. When Derek brings her out, you stay put. I can’t be wasting my time wondering where you are when there’s an actual real job to do.”

Releasing his arm, I shoved him against the door. He turned around and started to swing at me. I laughed as I grabbed his fist, twisting it behind him. “Do you really wanna fight me, Rico? You know I’d kick your ass and take you out with one punch. Your call.”

He didn’t say anything for a minute, then just shook his head. I opened the door and pushed him out, steering him in the direction of the exit. “I’ll escort you outside to your new post, and you bet I’m going to text Roman and tell him I found you and relieved you of your position. If you do anything stupid again, don’t be surprised when Roman takes you out, man.”

He didn’t say anything as I tossed him on the pavement by the car. Standing over him, I pulled my phone out and sent Roman that text. Once I hit SEND, I looked down at him. He was sitting against the car, head in his hands.

“Are we clear that you stay put?”

“Go to hell.”

“Oh, Rico,” I said with a laugh. “I’m already there.”

Chapter 10

His arms were around my waist, my back to his chest, as we moved to the slow song the DJ finally decided to play. His warm breath was giving me tingles as he nuzzled my neck, his lips starting to make a slow pattern up to my jaw. I tilted my head to the side to give him better access, all of the alcohol I’d consumed giving me more courage than usual.

“Ahhh Penny,” he whispered into my ear. “You are the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen, baby.”

Somewhere inside my foggy brain, I knew that was a line if I’d ever heard one, but at the moment, I didn’t care. He was hot and interested in me. That’s all that mattered tonight. I had no intention of going home with him, however. I wasn’t like that.

I felt a vibration on my right ass cheek and jumped. He started to laugh as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, waving it in front of my face. “Sorry, baby,” he said with a chuckle. I gave him a small smile, feeling silly his phone had startled me so much.

He kept an arm around my waist as we continued to casually move to the beat. His eyes darkened a little as he read the text, his lips turning into a frown. Not saying anything, he just took my hand and led me off the dance floor, back to our table. He was walking so fast, I had a hard time keeping up with him, stumbling over my own feet a few times.

“Sorry,” he told me once I’d sat down. “I need to take care of something for a few minutes. I won’t be long. Please stay here?”

The pressure of sitting down so fast was making my head and stomach spin. All I could do was just nod. He gave me a small smile back and pressed his lips to my cheek.
 

“Don’t go anywhere, beautiful,” he whispered. “I promise I’ll be right back.”

He left before I could respond, which was fine with me. My heart was beating a mile a minute, and I felt all of the alcohol I’d drunk coming back up my throat. Asking a server passing by for some water, I laid my head down on my arms and took some deep breaths.

“Are you okay, Penny?”

I raised my head to see Trish standing over me, concern in her eyes. She pulled a chair close and sat down next to me, running her hand up and down my back. Was the room spinning, or was that just me?

“Ugh, I’m okay, just need to sit for a few minutes,” I told her as I turned my head on its side, still resting on my arms.

She leaned in closer to me. “Sorry I ditched you at the bathroom. I ran into that cute guy from our design class and we started to talk. I figured you’d be okay since you had Mr. Hottie back here at the table. Speaking of, where is he?”

I smiled at the thought of him. “He said he had to take care of something and that he’d be right back. Where’s yours?”

She looked away, then smiled as she looked back at me. “His friends wanted to try another place so he had to go, but not before he asked for my number.” Her smile widened saying that, and it made me happy for her.

“That’s great, Trish. It looks like tonight is turning out great for both of us.” My head was still spinning a bit, so I took another sip of water. I looked around but still couldn’t see him anywhere. My confidence started to wane a little, worried that maybe I was being blown off after all.

“Don’t worry,” Trish told me as she continued to rub my back. “He seems genuine. He’ll be back.”

“Where’s your boy toy?” a familiar voice asked from behind.

I looked up to see Kimberly and her friends back at the table. She was looking right at me, another drink in her hand. Irritation flared inside me at the sudden realization that it seemed as though her stupid sorority sisters were more important to her tonight than me. While I’d known she’d act this way, it didn’t lessen the hurt.

“He had to go take care of something,” was all I gave her.

She sat down on the other side of me, and sexy waiter sat next to her. Wow, she really had him by the balls. No surprise there, though, since she always had that effect on men.

“He better not have ditched you, Penny,” she said as she took another gulp of her drink. I turned to look at her and wasn’t surprised to see her eyes dilated and the hickey on her neck.

“Why do you say that? What does it matter to you?” That was Trish, coming to my defense before I could ask the same thing. I looked over at her and gave her a grateful smile. Kimberly was being even more obnoxious tonight than usual. Yeah, it was her birthday, but she was bordering on being a complete jerk.

Kimberly shot her an evil glare, then looked at me. “It matters because you need to get laid for once, and he’s your opportunity.”

One of the sorority girls gave a low whistle under her breath, but I ignored her. I looked at Kimberly, not believing she just said what she did.
What the hell?
 

I sat up straight in my chair, more hurt than I wanted her to know. “Why did you just say that to me? What’s going on? You’re being a hateful bitch, and I don’t get it.”

She just shrugged her shoulders and didn’t answer. Before I could ask again, Trish beat me to it.

“You’re a bitch, Kimberly,” she seethed. “I’ve stuck around mainly for Penny, to be honest. You’re the most immature person I’ve ever met. What you just said to Penny was completely uncalled for, especially when she’s your supposed best friend. If you were mine, I’d have ditched you a long time ago.”

At that, Trish stood up, bending over to whisper in my ear. “I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t over step a line with you, but I had to say it. I need a few minutes away from her. I’ll come back to check on you soon. Will you be okay?”

Kimberly stood up then, preventing me from answering Trish. “You’re the bitch, Trish,” she slurred, her speech obviously affected by the alcohol. “The only reason I’ve put up with you is because of Penny. You are a stuck-up snob who thinks she’s better than everyone else. And seriously, just leave. You’re not wanted here.”

Kimberly grabbed sexy waiter’s hand and dragged him out of his chair, leading him toward the bathrooms. I looked at her retreating form, then back at Trish.
How had this night turned out like this?

Trish just gave me a huge smile. “Well, I’m still going to get a breath of fresh air, but that was fun. She really is a bitch, Penny. Why do you put up with her?”

I stood up too, deciding that fresh air sounded good. As we both headed toward the exit, I really thought about what Trish had said. The answer always came easily to me when I was sober, but right now, while I was drunk, the answer eluded me.

We pushed the door open and stepped out onto the patio. People were everywhere, drinking and smoking.
So much for a breath of fresh air.
We found an empty spot by the fence that bordered the property and leaned against it.

“I’ve known her since we were little; you can’t just throw that away,” I began. Trish started to speak up, but I held up my hand, stopping her. “She wasn’t always like this. She’s changed the past few years, and I don’t know why. I’ve asked her but she denies it, saying everything’s the same. I don’t know—it’s getting worse. She seems to be so full of hate. It breaks my heart.”

Trish let out a breath. “I think she’s jealous of you.”

That made me think. Turning my head to her, I raised a brow. “Really? You can’t be serious. She has absolutely nothing to be jealous about.”

She folded her arms against her chest and leaned on the fence even more. “I don’t know, just a feeling I’ve always had. She’s beautiful and never lacks for guys, but there’s obviously something missing inside her. The way she’s handling it is bitter. I don’t like her, Penny.”

I nodded, absorbing what she said. As I was about to respond, strong arms wrapped around me from behind, making me jump in surprise.

“Sorry to scare you, beautiful,” that familiar, deep voice said as he chuckled. “I was coming back inside when I saw you two over here. Is everything okay?”

Trish just gave me a smile and said she was tired and was going home. She leaned in and asked if I’d be okay. After telling her yes, she gave me a quick hug and told him good night.

Turning me around, he looked in my eyes. “Sorry I was gone for so long. Is everything okay?”

Determined to push aside thoughts of Kimberly, I nodded. “Yeah, I just needed some fresh air. I’ve had a lot to drink tonight.”