Authors: Heather Leigh
Drew and I
continue to keep up appearances for the other. Him pretending that he’s not worried about whatever he’s refusing to discuss, me pretending that I’m not working with Adam Reynolds’ on his penthouse remodel. All in all it’s been a stressful couple of days.
“When will you be back?” I ask Drew as he gets ready to leave for his last late night talk show interview with
some guy named Jimmy Fallon.
“A couple of hours
, maybe around seven. Why?” He turns to face me and my knees go weak. He has to be one of the most attractive human beings on the planet. His perfectly fitted dark gray suit shows off his trim waist and broad shoulders. The light green shirt he paired with it makes his emerald eyes stand out more than usual.
I close my gaping mouth, not wanting to be caught staring at him again. “Ummm, I was going to go see Leah for a while but wanted to be back when you got home
.”
He crosses the room as he straightens his cuffs. “Well, why don’t I drop you off on the way and pick you up on the way back?” he offers, coming to a stop just inches from me.
I trace my fingers down the lapels of his custom Kiton suit, resting my hands on the waistband of his pants and rubbing my thumbs in circles on the ‘v’ of his waist. “Sounds good to me.” The fire that I see in his eyes lets me know that my touch has affected him.
He runs his hand
through his hair and steps back. “Shit, you have to stop turning me on right before we have to leave to be somewhere else,” he says with a hint of humor as he reaches down and adjusts himself.
I smirk and grab my purse.
“Sorry, it’s not my fault you’re so sexy.”
When I turn to leave the room he grabs my
arm and tugs me back into him, making me gasp in surprise. “You’re the sexy one Syd.” He kisses me gently, using every ounce of restraint that he has to not throw me down and rip off my clothes. “Let’s go.” His strained voice that tells me that he would rather do anything but leave.
Thirty minutes later,
Bruce pulls up in front of Ryker and Leah’s place on the Upper East Side and Sal hops out to open my door.
“I’ll see you in a few hours?” I ask Drew.
He rubs his thumb over my thigh and grins. “You can bet on it. I’ll text you when we’re on our way.”
We kiss briefly, not wanting to give anyone a show since the door of the Mercedes SUV is already open, Sal patiently waiting for me to exit.
“Okay, good luck,” I tell him as I let Sal help me from the vehicle.
“Bye Syd.” The door closes and I’m standing on the sidewalk in front of a really tall building.
“Hey! You’re Sydney Tannen!” A voice from behind me calls out and I cringe into Sal at the distinctive beeping of a camera phone. Sucking it up, I smile at the man so he can get his shot.
Shit, I wasn’t fast enough getting inside.
Sal puts his hand on my back and steers me to the entrance and away from the gawkers. I grind my teeth together in annoyance and politely greet Leah and Ryker’s doorman, a nice man that I’ve met before but whose name I can’t seem to remember.
“Good afternoon Miss Tannen,” he says kindly. “Miss Slade is expecting you.”
“Thank you.” Sal silently follows me to the elevators and up to the apartment on the 45
th
floor.
“Sydney!” Leah’s ear piercing greeting has me wincing in pain. “Come in! I’m so glad you’re here.” She steps back to let me enter and her mouth twitches down as Sal follows me inside.
Her filter must be on because she doesn’t say anything about Sal’s presence. After the incident at Pinnacle, Leah and Ryker have a newfound respect for bodyguards and promptly hired several of their own, as well as a full time driver.
“I know, I’m glad to b
e here too. I needed to get out. I’ve been obsessing over my new project. It feels good to step away for a few hours.” I toss my purse onto the nearest table and walk over to the windows.
I look out on Central Park and the city beyond. It’s beautiful for mid-September, the leaves still green and full and the sky cloudless and blue.
“You guys have the best view.”
“Isn’t it though?” Leah says with a laugh. “Who would have thought that I’d
end up here.”
I turn and fa
ce my best friend, the one who’s been there for me no matter what shit comes my way. “Me. I always knew you’d be wherever you wanted. You’re awesome, Leah.”
Her eyes shimmer with unshed tears
. She blushes and changes the subject. “Let’s not get all weepy. Let’s have fun!”
Turns out,
Leah’s idea of fun is to make crazy mixed drinks and sit on the couch in the back living room, away from Sal’s ears as he stands by the front door.
“Where’s Ryker?” I ask Leah as I sip my
frozen strawberry and tequila something or other. I probably should have been paying attention when she threw everything into the blender. Hell,
Leah
wasn’t paying attention when she threw everything into the blender, but somehow, it tastes good.
She takes a giant gulp of her drink before answering
. “He’ll be here soon. He’s at a costume fitting for his and Drew’s movie. Can you believe it? They start filming in a couple of weeks!”
We giggle like idiots and discuss our boyfriends and their weird jobs.
“So, my new project is, ummm, interesting.” I wait to mention this after we’ve both had a few drinks and are much more relaxed from the copious amounts of alcohol coursing through our systems. I needed the liquid courage to numb my anxiety before telling her about Adam.
Leah raises her eyebrows as she waits for me to continue.
“So, ummm, you know I came back to New York early because there was a huge job for me.” God this is awkward! I can’t even imagine having this discussion with Drew. Leah nods and takes another sip of her drink. “Okay, so I visited the apartment, it’s a three story penthouse and you should see it. It’s unbelievable Leah.” My hands are gesticulating excitedly as I try to describe the magnificence of the space. “Anyway, I haven’t wanted any job as much as I want this one.”
“I’m getting that, you’re very… exuberant,” Leah says as she giggles.
“Yeah, well… if you saw it you’d understand. The owner was listed as a Black Knight Inc. because it was purchased by a corporation.”
“That’s not uncommon,
Syd.”
“I know,
but then I went there to meet the actual owner…” I take a giant gulp of my icy drink, my confidence booster. “It’s Adam,” I blurt out quickly.
I watch as Leah freezes in place, her glass
hovering halfway to her mouth. “What?”
“Adam, he’s the owner. Black Knight is his company,” I repeat.
“Holy shit!” Then she starts laughing. An uncontrollable, tears running down the face, clutch your stomach type laugh.
Frowning, I watch my best friend lose her shit.
“Glad to see you’re amused by my twisted shitpile of a life,” I say dryly.
That makes her laugh even harder. She puts her drink down and rolls sideways on the couch.
“Leah!” I whine. “Stop laughing.”
“I can’t, it’s too perfect! He did this
on purpose, you must know that!” She finally calms down enough to carry on some semblance of a conversation.
I make no effort to hide my sarcasm.
“Yes, I’m well aware.”
“And you
’re still going to do it? What does Drew have to say about this?” She wipes her eyes and picks her drink back up.
“Yes I’m still going to do it!
I don’t really care what Adam’s motivation is. This is a once in a lifetime chance, Leah. An unlimited budget in a $28 million New York penthouse? I can’t say no.”
Leah’s eyes practically bug out of her head. “
Wait! Adam spent $28 million to get in your pants? That’s… that’s just insane!”
“Jesus! You and Drew! Adam is not trying to get in my pants! He has never tried a single thing, not once!” I yell, tired of this same old conversation, as if I’m too stupid to see the obvious. “If anything, he’s doing this to piss Drew off, not to sleep with me.”
“And? What did Drew say?” she asks expectantly.
“I have no idea.
” I look away from her face so I don’t have to watch her figure it out.
“Syd, you did tell him right?”
I don’t say anything.
“Oh my God! You’re not going to tell him are you? Holy crap Syd! That’s the worst idea ever!” Leah shrieks.
I turn back and see her gaping at me. “No, I’m going to tell him. Just … not yet. After the press tour. There’s no point in telling him now when he’s about to leave the country for eight days. He’ll either cancel the tour or freak the fuck out and kill Adam. Either way, I’m waiting for a better time.” I trace the edge of my glass with my finger as I defend my weak reasons for keeping Drew in the dark.
“Sydney, this is bad news. Tell him.” She leans towa
rd me with a serious expression, her lips bright red from the strawberries in our drinks. “Keeping things from each other is never a good idea.”
Hmph, I wonder if she’d take my side if I told her that Drew is hiding something from me that has him on edge and angry all of the time.
“I know. I will Leah.”
She drops the subject, moving on to an equally uncomfortable one. “Why aren’t you wearing your ring?”
Crap. I sigh loudly and look down at my naked hand. “After the Brandon Eastlake thing the paparazzi got too intense, trying to get shots of it. I took it off to stop the speculation.”
“No wonder you do
n’t want to tell him about Adam. I’m sure he’s already massively pissed off that you aren’t wearing your engagement ring.” She has no idea how right she is.
“Show me all of the new clothes you’ve bought.” I know that this will distract Leah enough to prevent more questions for the time being.
Leah jumps off the couch and pulls me through her bedroom and into her gigantic closet, rifling through to find different pieces to display. I have no idea how many drinks we’ve had by the time we hear Drew and Ryker come into the apartment together, but it’s certainly too many.
“Leah? Where are you guys?” I hear Ryker calling from the living room.
We both try to hold in our laughter and fail, giggling hilariously that the boys have no idea where we are.
“Sydney?” Drew calls out. He sounds worried, as usual. Where does he think we could have gone if Sal is at the front door?
Jeez, worry much?
That makes me laugh harder.
“Shhhhh,” Leah whispers loudly. “They’ll find us if you don’t stop being so noisy!” Of course, she’s just as noisy in her attempts to keep me quiet.
I look at her and raise an eyebrow. We both dissolve into laughter again.
“What the heck are you two doing?” Ryker is standing in the doorway to the closet, his unruly hair falling into his confused eyes.
We stare at him blankly, unable to come up with a reason for crouching on the floor of the closet with half-melted frozen drinks in our hands
and clothes scattered everywhere.
“Did you find them?” I hear Drew ask from the bedroom.
“Yeah, they’re in here doing… something,” Ryker says in a perplexed voice, waving his hand in our general direction.
Leah stands up
and huffs. “I was showing Sydney my new clothes,” she says in a slightly slurred and wobbly manner.
“Are you drunk?” Ryker asks her
, shock clearly displayed on his adorable face.
“No!” she says
a little too adamantly. He eyeballs the drink in her hand and waits patiently for her to answer differently. “Well, maybe a little,” she admits.
I start giggling again from the closet floor. “She made these!” I hold up my
red slushy drink to show them.
“Jesus,” Drew mutters under his breath
when he appears in the doorway. “I think it’s time to go Syd.” He ducks past Ryker and Leah, enters the closet, and helps me to my feet.
“I can do it!” I protest, shrugging him off and ignoring his aggravated expression. I manage to walk all the way to the front door before I catch my toe on a piece of furniture and almost face plant on the doorframe.
“Let me help you,” Drew says, reaching for my arm.
“No! I’m not a baby. I don’t need a Goddamn babysitter Drew! I was out at the clubs all the time by myself and with Leah and drank a hell of a lot more and always got home fine!” I snap.
Drew turns back to Ryker, uncomfortable with my rude display. “I guess I’ll catch you later man.”
“Uh, yeah. I have no idea what got into them,” Ryker tells Drew.
“I may have an idea,” Drew responds.
I have no clue where Leah
wandered off to, so I leave the apartment without saying goodbye, Drew and Sal right behind me for the awkward trip back to the car.
I must fall asleep in the car,
because I’m spared Drew’s lecture during the ride home. Once we’re alone in his bedroom however, it’s another story.