I cross over to my wife and give her a kiss. “You go to bed, babe. I’ll be late getting back.” I turn to Anvil again and gesture to Laurel and Ash. “I’ll leave mine here, ‘Vil. In the suite’s second room?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, is that really necessary? Our suite’s right down the hall,” Laurel says, her brows pinching together. “There are bodyguards and hotel security, right?”
My hand goes to her belly for a second. “Stay here ’til I’m back.” I give her another kiss. “Ash, you sleep on the couch for now.” I nod at the sofa.
She smiles and winks. “Sure, Scotty. No problem.”
CONNOR
About twenty minutesafter he left to go upstairs, Trick’s back. He orders a Coke and tells Miller to get some sleep.
“Figured it would be Anvil who came down to switch with Miller.”
“He wanted to. I won the toss.”
That draws a smirk from me. “Yeah right.”
“We hit a billion each. Did you see?”
My smile widens. Making C Crue a billion-dollar syndicate was the first goal. We hit that mark way ahead of schedule. The day after, Trick wanted to know what to aim for next. I told him that each of us reaching a billion-dollar net worth was next up. That was all it took to push him to the next level.
“Here’s to that,” I say, raising my glass.
He clinks his against mine and then we both take a swig.
Trick licks his lips and flashes a grin. “We’re gonna need to toast again come January when I’ve got something stiffer in my glass than straight Coke.”
“I’d imagine we’ll be in the mood to celebrate more than money by then.”
“So what’s going on with Zoe?” he asks.
I lean back in my chair and shrug. “You saw. Rising star on Broadway.”
“I did some digging on Josh Williams.”
“When?” My eyes narrow. Has Rachel mentioned to Trick or his wife that Zoe’s dating the guy?
“At the party. Like me, my phone’s got special skills.”
I stroke my jaw with my thumb.
“Wanna hear?” he asks.
“No, but tell me.”
“He’s thirty. Shares an apartment with two other performers, both women. One he’s screwing regularly. Twelve grand in credit card debt, and another twenty in school loans. He’s got a kid who’s eight that he never sees. The guy’s a real winner in the dad department.” Trick pauses. “This is his second lead role. No awards. The word is that Zoe’s been out with him, but she’s not dating him. He wants more, but he’s playing it cool.” Trick pauses when the bartender pours me another on my signal.
“Hmm.”
Trick signals for a second Coke and squeezes a lime into it. Then he leans in. “Where’s she living? It hasn’t been that long. I thought she’d still be staying in the New York apartment you bought so there’d be a place for her to stay when she’s in the city.”
“She moved her stuff out of the apartment the weekend we broke up.”
“Which stuff? All of it?”
“All her clothes.”
