Page 99 of Stroked by (Stroked)
“Oh good, so when this blows up, I’m sure she’ll take it very well.” Sarcasm drips from his lips. “Who knows?”
I toe the carpet, hating every minute of this conversation. “Hollis—”
“Hollis Knightly? As in Reese’s best friend? The Olympic diver?”
“Yeah, he’s very trustworthy, he won’t say anything to anyone.” I try to soothe the explosion waiting to come out of Jonathan.
With flattened lips, Jonathan nods; clearly I’m not doing a good job easing his mind. His voice is terse when he asks, “Who is the other person?”
“Umm, Melony.”
“As in Bellini’s hair and makeup stylist? Wow, that’s intelligent, Paisley.”
He walks to the kitchen, and I chase after him. “She hates her just as much as I do. We had dinner with her and Hollis the other night, they are totally cool about it.”
Pulling a beer from the fridge, he pops the top off and drinks immediately. He leans against the lower kitchen cabinets and rests his hands on the counter behind him, his beer gripped by his index finger and thumb. “Awesome. So glad you’ve been having dinner dates and a grand old time while you’ve been lying to me this whole time. Hope it was worth it, Paisley.”
He takes off toward his bedroom but I stop him. “Jonathan, I didn’t have a choice.”
“What do you mean you didn’t have a choice?” he shoots back. “Everything you do in life comes down to you making a choice, Paisley. From answering your phone during a show, to sleeping with someone you’re working for. Those are your choices, no one else’s, so don’t give me that bullshit.”
It’s hard to explain my feelings about Reese to someone who doesn’t get relationships, to someone who has never been in a monogamous relationship before.
“You don’t get it.” I shake my head and walk away from him, but not for long because I can feel his heavy footsteps behind me.
“You’re right, I don’t get it. I don’t get why you would willingly put your career on the line, not to mention mine, since I’m the one who stuck my neck out for you. You’re young and stupid, a year out of college, I get that, but to make such immature decisions like sleeping with Reese King baffles me. You go and tell me that you know how to be professional but I guess that was another lie.”
“I tried,” I cried, my emotions getting the best of me.
“You tried?” He mocks me. “Oh yeah, looks like you really tried, Paisley. How long did you keep his dick out of you? A day?”
Before I can stop myself, I extend my hand out and slap Jonathan across the face. Shock registers between both of us as someone knocks on the door. Holding his cheek, Jonathan goes to open it.
On the other side, wearing a hood over his head is Reese, looking slightly distraught. I don’t blame him. I booked it out of Bellini’s house faster than I ever have before without even a word of goodbye. When I didn’t answer my phone every time he called me, I expected him to show up.
It was obvious Jonathan knew during the meeting. He was rude and short with me; there is no doubt in my mind that Reese put two and two together.
“What the fuck do you want?” Jonathan asks.
“Where’s Paisley?” He peers over Jonathan’s shoulder and sees me standing in the living room. Not waiting for an invitation, he pushes through, but Jonathan stops him in the entryway.
“You weren’t invited in here.”
“Jonathan,” I warn.
Reese sizes up Jonathan. They are the same height and almost the same build but Reese probably has about thirty more pounds of muscle on him. “I wasn’t looking for an invitation.”
Reese’s voice is unlike anything I’ve ever heard come from him before. It’s menacing with a hint of “don’t fuck with me.”
Stepping forward again, Jonathan stops him, this time, letting go of the door, closing it so he can push Reese backward, his hands connecting with his chest.
“What the fuck is your problem?” Reese asks, pushing Jonathan back.
Oh shit, oh shit!
“Stop,” I say, working my way between the two alpha males staring each other down, but I have no success.
“You’re my fucking problem. You think you can just dick around with anyone because you’re a celebrity? You’re fucking with people’s lives,” Jonathan yells.
