Page 24 of Bourbon Kingdom
Looking at him with a raised eyebrow, I asked, “What kind of news?”
“I heard from one of my friends that Rex Titan is going to be at the gala this weekend. He plans on talking up some of the city council members about Lot 17 before the interviews start the following week.” He paused for a second and then spoke more softly. “He RSVP’d for two.”
Instantly, my stomach fell to the floor at the thought of Goldie showing up to the gala latched on to Rex’s arm. Would she really attend an event with Rex, knowing there was a slim possibility I would be there? If she had any concern for me, she wouldn’t. She knew it would tear me apart.
“Is the other RSVP for my father?”
Shaking his head, Jeremy said, “No, he declined his individual invitation.”
Fuck.
“I’m sorry, sir,” Jeremy spoke. “Would you like me to cancel your invite?”
Seeing Goldie with Rex at the gala would be devastating, it would completely crush me, but on the other hand, getting a chance to see Goldie was an urge I couldn’t squash.
“No,” I responded. “I will still attend, and would you please invite Keylee to go with me? Apologize for my late notice, but I will need her there for appearance purposes.”
Jeremy nodded and took off. I turned back to the girls to find them all glaring at me.
“You’re kidding me, right?” Francy asked. “You’re going to take Keylee to that event? Are you trying to hurt Goldie?”
“No, I’m trying to make it seem like I’m not about to lose my fucking mind since she left me. I have to make it seem like I don’t care about her.”
“Why?” Pepper huffed out.
“Because my dad will harm her if I don’t. Until I have some kind of leverage over him, some kind of evidence that the man really is the lowlife I know him to be, then I have no choice but to act like Goldie means nothing to me, or else he’ll harm her. He would do anything to hurt me, to crush me, and right now, he knows Goldie means something to me. He knows,” I broke off while rubbing my forehead.
“What can we do?” Babs asked. “How can we make this better?”
“You can’t. Leave it to me and Kace. You keep conducting business as usual and make sure Lyla knows the routines. We can’t show that there has been a ripple in the club, because if it gets back to Rex and my father, they will take full advantage of it.”
“How long is this going to go on for?” Babs asked.
“I’m not sure.”
It was the truth. I really had no clue how long this tug-of-war would go on. I was tired, though. I wanted it to all be over, and honestly, I was moments away from pulling the plug on Lot 17. It’s caused more hurt than good. I could build a park for the kids somewhere else; I would donate millions to update their facilities if I needed to, but the one thing that kept me from pulling the plug on the project was the fact that if I did, my father would see that as a sign of weakness and he would know that he had me by the balls, that Goldie was the key to what he wanted, and I couldn’t have that. I couldn’t put her in that position, no matter how badly she’d hurt me.
Speaking with a gentle tone, I looked at the girls and said, “I appreciate your concern. I will try to make this better, somehow.”
“If she came back, you would take her, right?” Francy asked while Tootse sat in her lap, completely silent.
Would I take Goldie back? My heart would, my soul would reach out and grab her faster than I could tell her no, but if she slept with Rex, if she shared a bed with the man, I didn’t know if I could ever recover from that. I knew my heart wouldn’t be able to survive it, knowing the one person who was made for me, who was brought to me by my mom, was with someone else; the thought was unforgettable, no matter her intentions.
I shrugged my shoulders and just said, “Depends. I do ask you all to stay out of it, though. I’m at a loss as to what to do at this point, and I don’t need you trying to make things better and making them worse instead. Please, just take care of the club for me.”
They all nodded their heads in understanding.
With a heavy heart, I turned and walked out of the Toulouse Room, just as my phone rang.
“Jett Colby,” I answered.
“Jett, it’s George. I have some news.”
“What is it?” I asked, growing anxious.
“I was able to find out about the interviews and who the frontrunner is. Unfortunately, right now, Rex and Leo have the advantage. They’ve made some promises to some elites in the city that are outweighing your plans for the lot, as well as Zane Black’s plans.”
“You can’t be serious?” I asked, while stopping in the hallway to pace and run my hand through my hair. “Fuck, what can I do?”
