My heart was rapidly beating in my chest, hammering against my ribcage, begging to be taken back by Goldie, to sit in her perfect little hands.
Not able to stand from the blinding pain that was ricocheting through my body, I sat on her bed and dropped the box I was holding to the ground so I could grip my head. Like a madman, I pulled on my hair, trying to figure out what Goldie was up to, why she found it necessary to leave me, to do this all on her own.
A small knock sounded at the door, disrupting my thoughts. I didn’t have the energy to look up, so I just mumbled for whoever it was to come in.
The creak of the door echoed through the empty room and the heavy footsteps of Diego entered. I’ve known Diego for a while now, and I’ve been quite fond of him, but today, after he brought Goldie to the party, a dark part of me wanted to take him out, destroy him…because by some off-chance if he hadn’t taken Goldie to the ball, maybe, just maybe, she would be in my arms right now.
“What do you want?” I said in a gruff tone, trying to hide the pain in my voice.
“Listen, Jett, I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
I tilted my head up ever so slightly so I was just barely looking at the man. He was strong and confident, arrogant at times, just like me, but where I excelled in hiding my emotions, Diego did not. Visibly, he was shaken from seeing Goldie leave; I could see it in his stature.
“Diego, I’m going to make this very easy on you. You’re going to tell me exactly what Goldie said to you before the party, and then you’re going to get the fuck out of my sight. Got it?”
The menacing tone in my voice was clearly heard by Diego, as he took a deep breath and then rested his body against the doorframe and ran his hand over his face.
“Fine. Goldie came up to me while I was eating a sandwich and asked me about Lot 17. She wanted to know everything and I told her. I told her about your dad, about what Lot 17 entailed and what you wanted to do with it. I told her what I knew.”
“Why?” I asked while standing up, growing angrier by the second. “Why would you tell her when you knew I specifically wanted to keep her out of it and as far away as possible?”
“Besides the fact that she practically ripped my nipple off? She deserved to know. You were stringing her along, keeping her in the dark, she was bound to do something. If I didn’t tell her, she would have gone off to find her own answers, and who knows what would have happened then.”
With precision, I picked up the box with Goldie’s collar in it that I’d dropped, and walked over to Diego, where I stood an inch away from him. Taking in a deep breath, I sized him up and said, “Meddling in my relationship, trying to fix a problem that wasn’t yours to fix will not go unnoticed, Diego.”
“Is that a threat?” Diego asked, feeling more confident now.
“It damn well is. Don’t meddle in my life, because it’s going to come back and burn you.”
“Funny thing is, Jett, you’re the one who brought her here; you’re the one who needed a safe haven for her, and I provided that. Just because you wanted to keep her in the dark doesn’t mean I had to. She deserved to know.”
“That wasn’t your decision to make,” I said, raising my voice.
“Someone had to tell her, and your arrogant ass wasn’t going to, so I did.”
“You’re dead to me,” I huffed out, as I pushed past him, knocking his shoulder on the way.
“Blaming me for your problems isn’t going to help. You know I’m not the reason this happened. Try pointing the finger at yourself. Relationships are about being open and honest. You failed in that aspect when it came to Goldie, and you’re the reason why she left,” Diego pointed out, as I stopped halfway down the hallway.
“Relationship advice coming from someone who has been unsuccessful at keeping his own submissive longer than a few months…think I’ll pass.”
With that, I walked down the stairs of Diego’s club and out to the idling car that was waiting for me. My driver opened my door for me and drove me back to the Lafayette Club.
Diego’s words ran through my mind as I watched the lights of Bourbon street filter through the side streets of the French Quarter. Scandal and debauchery were conducted every night on Bourbon, yet, were wiped away in the morning; if only life was that simple. If only I was able to sweep away my problems like the sanitation crew of Bourbon Street did.
Life was never that easy, though. Life was never easy for me, from the day I was born, I had drawn a bad hand. I was privileged; I had everything I ever wanted. Money wasn’t ever an issue, stature was a given, popularity and fame were something I exuded every day without even trying. I was given a posh life, but that was to the outside eye.
Internally, I struggled every day. My father tried to shape and mold me into the man he was; he kept me away from my mother, destroyed her life right in front of me, and mentally abused me every damn day of my life, telling me I would never live up to his expectations.
The one thing I craved, the one thing I yearned for from the cold-hearted bastard was love, a simple gesture, an unconditional feeling that a father should have for his son, but I was never granted such a concession. Instead, I was mentally assaulted by my father, forced to grow up faster than any kid should, and turned into an emotionless man who sought love in the wrong places.
The only time in my life I ever felt happy, ever felt that unconditional feeling that I’ve craved ever since I was a little boy was when Goldie was in my arms, smiling up at me and busting my balls every chance she got. She was the one true delight to grace my life, and as usually happened in the abhorrent life I lead, she was taken from me.
She was taken away from me not because of Diego, not because of my miscommunication, no, she was taken away from me because of my father, because he saw I was happy and wanted nothing more than to ruin that happiness.
One way or another, I was going to make sure my dad paid. I was going to make sure he got what he deserved. He was a vile, heinous human being, who didn’t deserve to live the life he was leading. He needed to be brought down.
The minute the car arrived at the Lafayette Club, I didn’t wait for my driver to hold the door open. Instead, I bolted out of the car and headed to the back of the club, to Kace’s room. Not even bothering to knock, since Kace didn’t show me the same decency, I barged through his door, but regretted it the minute I heard a girl scream.
In Kace’s bed, was a very naked Kace and a similarly naked Pepper.
“What the fuck?” I roared as I spotted their guilty faces.
Pepper covered up with a sheet, which was asinine, given the fact that I’ve seen her naked too many times to count, and tried to push her hair out of her face. While Pepper covered up, the very cocky and pompous Kace turned away from Pepper and sat on the edge of his bed, not caring one bit about his nudity.
“Do you care to explain yourself?” I asked, ready to plow my fist through Kace’s face. Too much had happened in one night, and Kace was about to see all my frustration lashed out on him.
“Not really. Care to fucking knock?” he asked, while folding his hands in his lap, dick still erect.
“How long has this been going on? Is she the only one? Or have you been fucking all of them behind my back?”
“Why do you even care?”
“Because they’re Jett Girls; they belong to me. They are contracted for my pleasure, not yours.”
The words coming out of my mouth were vulgar, they were flagrant, and they were not me. I didn’t think of the girls that way; I considered them more as friends than anything, especially since Goldie entered my life.
The rage boiling up in my body was too much and there was only one cure, but unfortunately, that cure was taken away from me today.
Shaking my head, I turned around and started heading out of Kace’s room while I called over my shoulder, “Start finding a replacement Jett Girl.”