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Dorian
The flightfrom New York to Las Vegas helped calm me down a little, but I got riled up again the moment the plane started bouncing on the tarmac. The bright lights of the strip in the distance brought all my memories of this place to the forefront of my mind. Seeing Briana for the first time. Feeling that pull in my chest, the one I'd ignored for so long. And finally, the moment when I realized for the first time that she meant more to me than just amazing sex.
She was smart and funny. She had more potential than most of the young interns fresh from business school, who wound up in my office. But most of all, she cared with her whole heart. In business, there were cold, calculated decisions. There were disputes and resolutions. And there was always a layer of civility and formality that usually had to be hacked through with drinks and cigars.
But Briana didn’t have any of that. She was open and genuine, and she cared unflinchingly for the people she loved. I'd been wrong to leave without hashing things out, but she was wrong to keep secrets from me. Especially one like this.
Twenty minutes later, I pounded on Briana's door, not caring if I woke up her daughter, the neighbors, or the whole damn building. My fist stung with the force of me hitting her door. I was surprised it didn't break from its hinges.
A couple minutes went by, and when it finally opened, it wasn't Briana who stood there. And it wasn't her mouthy roommate either.
It was that asshole ex. Or maybe he wasn't an ex.
Either way, I wanted to shove my fist down his fucking throat.
“Dorian Gianelli,” the douche exclaimed with a wide grin. “Just the man I wanted to see. Come in.”
As I stepped inside, I saw Briana sitting on the couch, expression stricken. She jumped to her feet as soon as she saw me.
“Dorian.”
“What's this asshole doing here?” I demanded.
“I was just laying out some terms of a business arrangement with Briana,” Elroy replied.
My jaw tightened, and Briana rushed forward. “It's not like that. Dorian, please go. I'll call and explain, but you should go.”
Like I was going anywhere. Not until we talked.
“No.” Elroy stepped in front of her. He was close enough for me now to smell his foul, rotten breath. Stale cigarettes and beer. Disgusting. “I want him to stay here, B. Why don't you have a seat, Dorian? I've got a proposition for you.”
His thick eyebrows surged together on his forehead in an expression that was clearly meant to intimidate. It wouldn't work.
“I'll stand.”
He shrugged. “I was just explaining to Briana that all the videos I have of her opening her legs for every guy with a couple bucks in his pocket are going to be making their way to the internet soon, along with some photos I have of you two getting cozy together...if I don't receive generous compensation.”
He was trying to blackmail me? I snorted derisively. “Your plan lacks originality. Now get the fuck out.”
Elroy backed up a few more steps until he was beside Briana, who was hugging her arms to her chest. My heart ached for her, for the pain in her eyes. I'd never seen someone look so beaten, so low.
And I knew a part of that was my fault.
“I'm not fucking around, Dorian. You should be paying me anyway. To thank me. If it wasn't for me, she wouldn't be such a good lay.” He reached out and grabbed the back of Briana's neck. She yelped with pain.
I didn't even think about it. I sprang forward, fist sailing out ahead of me and catching him across the jaw. His teeth clacked together audibly. It was the most satisfying sound I'd heard in a long time.
He staggered back, holding his bruised jaw. “You bastard!”
I seized him by the collar of the shirt and dragged him to the front door, making sure he hit the coffee table and a couple corners on the way out. Then I tossed him into the hallway and closed the door behind me, locking it.
When I turned around, Briana was staring at me, mouth hanging open.
I let out a breath, trying to calm down. Trying to dispel some of the adrenaline snaking through my veins. I needed to pull myself together because I wasn't done here, and if I started off pissed, it wouldn’t end well.
When I was back in control, I spoke. “We need to talk.”
