“The sex hotel wasn’t well received by some of the shareholders. Despite the really good press, some of them were saying it’s basically a brothel. Diamant Unlimited had a buying frenzy over the weekend, snapping up shares,” Cole explains.
“Well, as long as the family holds the majority, we’re fine,” Hope says.
“There’s a push to have someone other than a family member on the board. Someone who’s independent of the Summers to hold them accountable.”
“Maybe I should change my name to Bucataru, then I would count as a non-family member.”
Hope and Cole chuckle. “It doesn’t work that way,” he tells me, and I shrug.
“I know, but I can dream.”
Hope leaves, and Cole and I hop into another car with Riku and Simon in the front to head to the hotel where I’m staying this week.
“Where do you live?” I ask him, watching the scenery pass us by.
“I was renting an apartment, but a suite at the hotel was a part of my salary package, so I gave it up. One day, I’d like to buy a house for Spencer and me.”
“Do you have him very often?” I ask.
“Not as much as I’d like. Hayden travels all the time for work, and she takes him with her. We have joint custody, so I’m supposed to get him every second week, but it doesn’t always work out that way. I actually think it would be better if he stayed with me. It would be a more stable life than the one she’s providing him. It’s the one thing we fight about all the time.”
“I’m sorry. That must be difficult for you.”
“I’ve considered taking her back to court and challenging the agreement, but I don’t because I’m grateful our split is reasonably amicable, I don’t want to jeopardize that. Not to mention now that I’m living in the hotel, I’m sure that would go against me.”
“But why? Doesn’t Hayden live in hotels when she’s traveling around the world? It would be no different than that except it would be the same room every night. And you have an apartment suite, don’t you? So it’s not like he won’t have his own space.”
He looks thoughtful, mulling over what I just said. “Yeah, you’re not wrong. Maybe I’ll speak to her down in New Orleans. Now that she has a new boyfriend, she might want to spend some child-free time with him.”
“Why did you split up?” I casually ask even though I’m burning with curiosity. There’s something that just makes me insatiable when it comes to learning about him. The more he tells me, the more I want to know. While we’re getting along and having one of our most civil conversations, I want to take advantage of that.
Cole’s face is pensive as he thinks about it. “We had a whirlwind romance that involved parties and socializing and being seen, but when she got pregnant, I wanted things to change. I wanted to provide a more stable family life for my child, and, to be honest, the parties weren’t my thing. They were fun to start with, but in the end, I was doing it for her. She loved to be the center of attention, so when she found out she was pregnant, I had to beg her to carry him to term. That was the start of things going wrong. She didn’t want to ruin her model body, which I understand, but she did it for me. I had to constantly nag her to eat properly and to not exercise too much. Spencer was born a month early because she had been starving herself, so I honestly expected the absolute worst about what she might be like as a mother, but she changed once he arrived and held him. She fell in love. I guess it didn’t hurt that it only took her a few weeks to get back into shape. And thanks to those extra curves due to the pregnancy, Victoria’s Secret made her an angel, and she’s never looked back. Hayden’s not a bad person, she’s just self-involved. By the end of the pregnancy, our marriage was mostly over. I’m almost positive she was seeing other people in that first year of Spencer’s life while I was very much a stay-at-home dad during that time. I could work from home, so I raised Spencer, and she continued to model. It was only when he became a cute accessory that he became important to her. That’s when we got a divorce.”
The car pulls up at the hotel as he finishes telling his story. “For what it’s worth, you seem like a great dad, and I can tell Spencer thinks the sun shines out of your ass. I mean, he’s clearly delusional, but I wouldn’t want to tell him anything different.”
Cole smiles. “Oh, I think I’m growing on you, Jacinta Summers.”
“Yeah, like a fungus.” I grin and hop out of the car. “Thanks for the company. I’m heading out to a club tonight with Ashton. I want to grab a shower and maybe a quick nap before that happens.”
“Okay, well, call me if you need anything. I’ll keep a close eye on what the media is saying. Like Hope suggested, we may need to sow a few seeds ourselves.”
“Will do, and say hi to Spencer for me.”
We part in the foyer when I head for the elevator and him to the bar. Riku catches up to me as we enter the elevator.
“What happened to Simon?” I ask, peering out before the doors shut.
“Your dad decided on the weekend that you probably need only one permanent guard, so I’ve reassigned him.” Riku’s standing close enough to me that our arms brush one another, which gives me this sort of tingly feeling that I can’t look at too closely right now. Unfortunately, I get distracted by another much less welcome feeling.
“Oh, okay, well, I’m glad I’ve still got you.” I bite my lip with worry. Having security makes me feel safer when I go out. Doesn’t stop all the other issues, but it is one less concern. I’m thankful that Riku is still going to be with me. “I’ll message you when I’m ready to leave. Ashton’s going to come here, and we’ll take my car to the club.”
He puts his hand on my arm, stopping me in front of my door. “Are you going to be okay? You sound like you don’t want to do this.”
“Oh yes, it’s fine. I’m just tired. A nap and a shower, and I’ll be fine. You may want to nap too. We’ve got a busy week. We have a thing on Wednesday and Thursday night too, then we fly down to New Orleans on Friday.”
“I’m assuming Lord Lavington will be coming with us?” he asks, and I suddenly feel a little guilty. Fuck. Although Riku was around when we were talking about it, I’m not sure he knows the full story. After he shared his feelings with me, I really didn’t get a chance to fill him in. I was reeling from everything he said, and I had to hurry off to my spa appointment with Hope.
Well, no time like the present.I proceed to tell him the plan, and his face stays blank while I’m talking. He takes my keycard from my fingers and swipes it through the reader before heading into the suite to check it out. I allow him a few moments to look around before I follow him in. He’s on the other side of the room, looking behind a curtain, when I walk in and place my handbag on the coffee table.
