Page 35
I don’t normally get involved in drama. I get enough of that from my own family. But after seeing the video Nina’s ex spread all over the internet, I can’t sit this one out.
In the short time she’s been here, Nina has shown us she’s kind, gentle, and good at what she does. She doesn’t deserve to have her name dragged through the mud by a dirtbag like her ex.
“What are we going to do about this?” Jarek asks.
“We shouldn’t get involved,” I say. It sounds hollow even to me. We all know we’re going to do something. None of us can sit by while this asshole keeps trying to wreck her life.
“Whether or not we should,” Zander says, as calm as if he’s discussing a quarterly report, “we need to. We can’t let this go unchallenged, and we can’t let it keep gaining traction. The longer that video stays up, the more people see it, and the more damage it does.”
“That’s a good point.” Jarek nods. “Should we drive to Denver and rough the guy up a little?”
I roll my eyes.
“We’re not the mob, Jarek. Just because you’ve played a mobster on TV doesn’t mean you get to go around fighting people.”
“I’ve never played a mobster,” he says, slightly offended. “I do romance.”
“My mistake.” I chuckle. “How about you let me handle this one? I know some of the people who run those platforms. I might be able to get the video pulled.”
Zander raises a brow. “Is there any company your family can’t influence?”
“It’s not influence. It’s money.”
Within the hour, I’ve made a few calls, and the videos are gone. With enough money and leverage, it was easy to “convince” the platform that the content violated its terms of service. And it’s something I can do quietly, without my family or Nina ever knowing.
Since joining our arrangement, I’ve felt like I’m walking on eggshells in my own life. I haven’t even touched Nina yet, but saying yes to this was the first time in years I’ve chosen something my family would never approve of. And I chose it anyway.
I want her. But I’m not sure I know how to get physically involved with her without losing control of everything else. For years, I’ve done everything that was expected of me and never stopped to notice how empty my own life was. It’s like I’ve never been allowed to want things, even as a grown man. The way Nina looks at me makes me feel like I actually exist. Like there’s a man underneath the Beaumont name.
That feeling is hard to shake.
“Hey,” I greet Nina the next evening when she finally comes out of her room. “Hungry?”
It’s almost dinnertime. She’s mostly taken Zander’s advice and spent the day resting after yesterday’s mess.
She glances at the candles I lit when I came into the kitchen for a drink. Bright lights give me headaches after a long day of business calls, so I kept it dim.
“Yes, actually,” she says. “Where are Zander and Jarek? Did you guys already eat? I can order something.”
“No need. I think they both ate, and I was about to make something myself.”
Her eyebrows shoot up. “You cook?”
I chuckle. “Believe it or not, rich guys can cook. I have a family recipe for pasta Alfredo that’s a very well-kept secret. And I think we have everything for it. Want some?”
“Yes!” she says. “Can I help?”
Cooking for her, and with her, sounds even better than the pasta. I point her to the cabinet for ingredients and put the water on to boil.
“Wow,” she says once the sauce is simmering and the kitchen smells like garlic and cream. “This is like having my own private chef. Thank you. No one’s ever cooked something like this just for me.”
“That’s a damn shame.” I shake my head. “Someone should be cooking for you whenever you’re hungry.”
Her eyes flick up to mine as she stands beside me, and the air between us gets thicker than the sauce. Nothing has happened between us, and somehow that makes it worse.
“The secret,” I say, trying to ease the tension building in me with her this close, “is freshly ground pepper. Can you grab the grinder from the spice cabinet?”
She comes back with the pepper grinder, and a question.
