I let the words hang, jaw clenched. “That’s on you, Erin. You used him. We both screwed up. It ends now.”
She stared at me, fury flashing through the heartbreak. “You pig.”
I left her like that… alone in a hotel room, still clinging to someone else’s ring.
I needed to shake off the guilt, but a run wouldn’t cut it. Erin was gorgeous, sure, but whatever I’d felt for her was long gone. I’d already wasted enough time on the past. It was time to let go and move forward.
Friday, April 8
“Scotty?” A syrupy voice floated through the door, followed by two lazy knocks.
I groaned, squinting against sunlight screaming through the yacht’s windows. Artemis was rocking gently. “No,” I muttered, burying my face deeper in the pillow.
“Won’t you join us on deck?” Teresa… maybe Tanya… tried again, her whine scraping the edges of patience. Playboy model, perfect tits, sweet on the tongue, but not a woman I’d ever let carry my last name.
“No, you and the girls go and have fun,” I yelled at the door.
“Okay, Scotty. We hope you’ll change your mind,” Teresa sang.
I rolled over, let my body sprawl in clean sheets. After a night like last, the only thing I wanted was distance. Emotional intimacy had no place here. Teresa and her crew crashed next door in the guest suite. Each would leave with Cartier, roses, and a stack of NDAs, my assistant’s specialty.
I stood, stretching naked, and flicked on the radio. Aretha’s voice filled the space with “Respect” as I grabbed my phone and scrolled through Lester Harbor Daily’s latest drama.
One photo stopped me. Yeah, that was me, shirtless onArtemis, three topless models at my side. Tabloid gold.
Billionaire ‘Scotty’ parties with Playboy models on his luxury yacht.
Hashtags and envy in the comments. But the next shot made me freeze.
That smile… full wattage, caramel hair, brown eyes with attitude. Her face was pure Marilyn with a JD.Lester Harbor’s rising legal eagle: Vera Richland, magna cum laude, Hunting & McCormick.Nothing trashy about her. She was confidence in heels, the kind of woman who made suits look like lingerie.
I grinned.Hunting & McCormick.Brenton McCormick and I went back. He owed me.
I hit call. Two rings.
“Scotty, it’s been a while. How are you, old sport?” Brenton, always a Gatsby wannabe, but a loyal friend.
“Never better.” I watched the sun spill over the water. “You still owe me for the Romanovsky deal.”
“That’s what friends are for. What’s up?”
“Heard you hired a new lawyer, Vera. What’s her story?”
He chuckled, loud as a foghorn. “We’re expanding. Rented one of your buildings downtown.”
“Perfect. Let’s do lunch next Tuesday. I want to meet her.”
He hesitated. “Vera’s… not your usual type. She’s smart. Stubborn.”
“Even better.” I smiled. “Noon, your office?”
He caved. “I’ll clear my schedule.”
We hung up. Game on.
Just as I set the phone down, Erin’s name flashed across the screen.
Another knock at the door. I turned off the phone, opened the door, and let three bare-breasted women sweep in… wine bottles, weed, and hungry smiles. One dropped to her knees, mouth hot around my cock.
