It means I’d do it again.
“It’s just crazy. Everything feels crazy, and I’m still trying to piece it together. He was only supposed to own a club, not be a billionaire.”
I made full use of my one-hour lunch break and did my research.
Levi wasn’t kidding when he called the club his playground. It is. Wicked Dares is like a side hustle to him in the grand scheme of everything else he does.
He’s a senior hedge fund analyst, one of the best in the country.
The internet practically worships him. I found hundreds of articles about his deals, photos from charity galas, lists ranking him as one of the most eligible billionaires in New York.
All the wealth and luxury I noticed at the club and his Hamptons mansion made sense when I read that. But then it already made sense because the club, which has only been in operation for two years, brings in millions.
“This is not a bad thing.” Alexis taps my hand reassuringly. “Think of it as a shift in the tide.”
“You sound like your grandma.”
We both laugh at that.
“And she’d be right if she said that. I think last night needed to happen.” Her smile falters and the humor in her eyes dims. “You needed to be with someone else after Reece.”
And there lies the heart of all my problems.
Reece St. James.
Yes, after what that monster put me through I absolutely did need to be with someone else, even to remove the cruel sting of his final touch.
“You’re not wrong,” I say with reflection, taking in a slow breath.
“I know and I also think the experience was good for you. Good to show you you’ve moved on completely.”
“I already moved on.”
“Not like this, sweetie. Being intimate with another man after you’ve come out of a long-term relationship is a different kind of moving on. Trust me, I know.”
Alexis could be crazy at times, but she is right. And she has the experience. Though the long-term ex she’s talking about moved to a different country. They had an amicable split. I did not.
I haven’t dated or been with anyone since Reece. Not until last night.
That’s three years.
It was never that I didn’t have the chance to date; I just wasn’t in the right head space to be with anyone. Being with Reece screwed with my mind in ways I can’t even begin to express. That asshole wasn’t just manipulative. He was reckless, controlling, and just… insane, a deadly combo that put him behind bars.
The reckless part of him was what made him think it was a good idea to get hooked on drugs and get fired from a good accounting job. The controlling part made him lie to me to get access to my money to set up his own firm. He manipulated me into giving up my dreams with more lies.
When his business failed because he’d ironically lost control, the insanity part took over. That’s the part that made him snap and hold his clients at gunpoint because they told him they were going to take their business elsewhere.
Then there was what he did to me after, when he went on the run…
Even now the memory makes my soul shy away.
I press my lips together and shove it from my mind. I don’t want to think about those parts. The terror alone would ruin me.
I often wonder how I got mixed up with a guy like him. After Reece, I stopped trusting my own judgment and myself.
Even when I remembered it didn’t start that way. Reece was different when we first met. Back then he wasn’t a monster.
“Hey, you okay?” Alexis shakes my elbow.
