Page 22 of Bourbon Deceit
My stomach flipped at the mention of Goldie’s name, and I refused to think about why.
“She didn’t have to prove that to anyone, I knew from the start.”
“You know that’s bullshit. She might not have had to prove it to you but she sure as hell had to prove it to Kace.”
“Kace has no authority where I’m concerned.”
Babs gave me the “you’re full of shit” look.
“Fine, he has a little authority but I overrule him,” I conceded.
“Pissing around your territory, Jett? That’s very unbecoming of you.”
Growing frustrated, I sat up and spoke directly to her. “Stop changing the subject. Everything that is not involved with your makeup line is to desist and you are to sign up for the business class tonight. I’m not doing this to be a bastard like you think, I’m doing this because I want nothing more than for you to succeed, and if that means I need to rein you in, then I will. You were right when you said this was your second chance, and I’m going to make it my mission to see you flourish, all right?”
Babs somberly nodded her head as she looked down at her hands. When she looked back up, there were tears clouding her eyes. Babs never showed emotion, ever. She was just as stoic as I was, so to see her eyes brimming with tears was new to me.
“I just want to thank you, Jett.”
I didn’t do well when people thanked me, gave me credit for things. It was hard to be gracious because all I felt was awkward. I was born into a privileged life and because of that, I made it my mission to help those who weren’t as privileged; it was my duty.
“You’re welcome,” I said politely.
“Do you know what I’m thanking you for?”
“I have an idea,” I said with a slight smile, not revealing too much, never revealing too much.
“Well, I’m going to tell you anyway. I want to thank you for picking me, for welcoming me into your home, and for giving me a chance to recreate myself. You gave me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I couldn’t be more grateful. You saved me, Jett, you’ve saved all of us.”
I just nodded, wanting the moment to pass.
Babs sensed my uneasiness and laughed.
“God, you just can’t handle it when someone passes you a compliment, can you?”
“Nope,” I answered honestly. “Now, if you would excuse me, I need to get to bed. You’re going to sign up for that class right away, right?”
“Yes, Daddy dearest.”
I cringed, making her laugh. “Let’s refrain from calling me that.”
“You’re too easy.” Babs got up and started walking toward the door. She turned around in the doorframe and said, “Oh, you might want to go see Lo. Since she’s been here, I’ve never seen her face fall like it did when I was called up.”
I didn’t acknowledge Babs because what was going on between Lo and I was our business, I didn’t want to encourage the other Jett Girls’ advice, especially since they loved giving it so freely.
“Don’t you fuck with her, Jett. She is too good for that.” Babs apparently didn’t care about my silence. Those were her parting words as she walked away and headed back downstairs.
Like I didn’t already fucking know that. Goldie was way too good, especially for a heartless bastard like me, but because of that lack of heart, I didn’t think about the repercussions, instead I just took what I wanted, and what I wanted was Goldie.
Chapter Nine
“Break In”
LO
Another presentation was in the books; by now I’d lost count of how many were under my belt. I did know that Pepper was right when she said the original presentations were the best, because I had never felt sexier than when I was wearing my Jett Girl kit that Jett designed specifically for me. We had a couple of odd presentations coming up that we have been practicing for, so it was nice to just give a normal one, to dance to normal music and play out some hot choreography.
Miss Mary and I had come to a mutual understanding this afternoon after butting heads all morning. Basically what it came down to was that she would stop threatening me with her ruler if I would put a sugar-coated filter over my mouth. You would think I had the harder task, given my track record of letting nonsense fly from my lips, but I saw Miss Mary glance back at her ruler in yearning a few times.
