Page 14 of Insatiable Bachelor (Bachelor Tower 1)
“I see,” I say even though I don’t. I never knew my mother, and my father and I never talk about anything that matters. He’s been calling me for the past week and I’ve been sending his calls to voicemail. But unlike usual, he isn’t giving up. I’ll have to eventually pick up and find out what he wants, but that’ll be next week. I have enough going on right here.
Penny clasps the glass tightly as she begins to ramble. “Does everyone have to be the same? I like my life. I have friends. I get paid for doing things I enjoy. No there isn’t a lot of money in it, but I don’t want to be locked up in an office. I’m not my sister. Why isn’t who I am enough?”
“I’m sure your mother only wants the best for you.” I don’t fucking know, but it is the best I can come up with. This is normally where I ghost out of a room and leave people wondering how the hell I got out of there without being noticed.
She puts the water down, pulls her legs up, and hugs them to her chest. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand. You’re probably exactly who your father dreamed you would be.”
“I barely talk to my father. I wouldn’t know what he wants, and I don’t care either. I have a bunch of missed calls from him to prove it.”
Her eyes fly to mine. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.” I shrug coolly. “I told you I’m a dick.”
“You’re not, you know.” She lays her head against the couch again as if it’s too heavy to hold up. “You don’t want to get hurt again. I get it. I never want to pick up when my mother calls. It’s always the same recycled conversation, and I’m always wrong. She thinks my sister should have asked someone else—anyone else—to secure this apartment for her. She doesn’t know a thing about this place, but in her mind I’ve already failed. My sister is as close to my mother as I am to my father. We were just split down the middle. Alliances were formed. It’s sad.”
“That’s why staying here is so important to you.”
“I guess. I want to prove to Kylie just because I don’t want to be the CFO of some company, doesn’t mean I’m not reliable. What a boring world it would be if we were all carbon copies of each other.”
She has a point, but I’m not about to admit it. Everything she’s saying is challenging the blueprint I’ve designed for my success, and it gets under my skin. Instead I lash out in true Dalton fashion. “I’m sure getting drunk showed your sister.”
“Fuck you.”
“Not tonight. Tomorrow when you’re feeling better.”
“I walked right into that one.” Her eyes open, and she surprises me by smiling then laughing. Every time I think I have her figured out, Penny has me stepping back and scratching my head.
When her nose wrinkles up and her eyes pinch closed with uncontrollable laughter, I join in. It’s a good release. Not the kind I’m used to, since my clothes are still on, but there is still something about it.
The door of my apartment opens. Ben. Fucking Ben triumphantly waving a key card. “Did I miss something?”
Penny pushes herself off the couch. “Just Dalton being Dalton. Thank you so much for whatever you had to do to get my key.”
Ben hands her the card and looks like an obedient puppy who’s just performed a trick. “It was nothing. Someone had put a freeze on your account that was coming up as an error, but I removed it.”
“That’s amazing,” Penny says as she pockets her key then looks around for her purse. “Shit, I left my purse with Robert.”
“I’ll get it,” Ben says and bolts out the door. I can practically see his cape with a superhero symbol flapping behind him.
I shake my head in disgust then stop when I catch Penny watching me.
“What’s wrong now?” she asks as though I’m the one who’s high-maintenance.
“He’s too fucking nice. People like that get taken advantage of.”
She steps toward me as if I’m a puzzle she needs to look at closer. “You think being nice means you’re weak?”
“That nice, yes.”
She gives me a long, sad look that has my heart pounding in my chest. “You’re wrong, Dalton. My father is the strongest, most loyal person I’ve ever met. He’d give the shirt off his back to a stranger he saw in need. Ben reminds me of him.”
“Then maybe you should fuck Ben.”
I have no idea why I said that. Yes, I do, but I don’t like what it says about me.
She walks to the door of my apartment, opens it, then looks back at me. “Relax, Dalton. You don’t have to push me away; I’m already leaving.”
Fuck.
Fuck this.
Plenty of people have questioned my values and my tactics—the set of rules I’ve lived by—but it’s never mattered to me before. I’ve kept my focus, and my upward trajectory has continued.
But now? “You don’t have to push me away, I’m already leaving.” Why the fuck am I now worrying I’ve hurt Penny? Since when do I give a shit? Damn it.
I pace my apartment a few times. I want to go next door and apologize, but I don’t. I want to gather up all the idiots who have been bothering Penny and pummel them. When I run those options through the logical side of my brain, the part that’s gotten me this far in life, I know it doesn’t add up. I don’t fight other people’s battles if it doesn’t help me, and I don’t do apologies well. But the only thing worse than the potential fallout is standing here doing nothing. Shit.
I take out my phone and call one of the ringleaders of the Save the Bachelor Tower campaign. “It’s Dalton.”
“Do you know what time it is? This better be important.” There’s an edge to Luther Green’s voice and something about that makes me glad I called.
“It is. Pass the word that the juvenile pranks end tonight. No more key issues. No more canceling her cable. We want her out, but without a lawsuit for harassment. You guys are being ridiculous.”
Luther lets out a breathy laugh that tells me he thinks he has something on me. “You sure you still want her out? I hear you’ve been getting pretty cozy with her.”
“One has nothing to do with the other.”
“I defended you today, Dalton. I assured everyone the only reason you’d get close to her would be to get information we could use against her. No one cares if you screw her while you do it. A couple of the other guys plan to make a play for her too. She’s a hot piece of ass, but don’t forget which side you’re on.”
I want to say I’m not on anyone’s side, but that’s no longer true. “This doesn’t have to get ugly, Luther, but the way you’re handling the situation is wrong. If that puts us on opposing sides, so be it. Be very careful about how you proceed.”
“Who do you think you’re threatening? Do you know who my father is?” Luther sounded suddenly like a petulant child, and it emboldened me to think of him playing this card already. I never had the luxury or desire to use my father’s name as a show of power. What Luther doesn’t understand is that it’s a crutch not a strategy. Daddy can’t save the day all the time.
“I do know your father. How proud will he be when he has to bail you out of jail for harassing Penny whatever her last name is?”
“For what? I’ve done nothing—yet. But if I were you, I’d watch your client list. Rumor has it your West Coast supplier may raise his rates soon. If that happens, other suppliers will think you can’t negotiate deals. They’ll know you’re weak and come in for the kill. Don’t know who is spreading that rumor around town, but I sure hope it’s not affecting your business. She’s not worth your company.”
That two-faced fuck. “My company will be fine, but your face may never look the same if I see it anytime soon.”
“Then you’d be the one in jail.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time, and it’d be worth it,” I say, gripping my phone so tight I can hear the case crack.
As I assumed, Luther can’t muster a reply. I’ve known so many guys like him in my life. Daddy’s money can buy you a lot, but it can’t get you a set of balls. That’s for damn sure.
I hang up and notice Ben in the doorway of my apartment with Penny’s purse. “You were in jail? What for?”
“It was a long time ago.”
Ben makes a face, half curious and half concerned. “Not for”—he motions across his neck like he’s cutting it—“you know?”
I ignore his question. “Something tells me this is far from over, and it’s going to get ugly. If I were you, I’d stay out of this.”
Ben tucks Penny’s purse beneath his arm and cracks his fingers dramatically. “I’m not afraid.”
Idiot.
“You should be. They have the resources to fight dirty.”
“That didn’t stop you. I heard what you said. I’m glad I was wrong about you.”
I shake my head. He wasn’t wrong at all. I’m a fucking coward when it comes to getting emotionally involved in anything. In my experience it never pans out. I’m sure I’ll regret it this time as well. “Penny’s waiting for her purse.”
Ben throws it to me. “I’m sure she is.”
“I don’t—”
“You’re welcome,” Ben says cheerfully before he turns on his heel and walks away. I hold the small beaded bag in my hand like it’s a bomb waiting to go off. I’m not that far off. This whole thing has the potential to blow my life to pieces.
When Penny doesn’t answer the door, I try the handle and feel a wave of protectiveness flood me when it opens. She needs to lock her door. A building-wide security system and a doorman doesn’t mean it’s safe. Some of the bastards in this building can’t be trusted. Especially now.
