Now you’re even talking like him!
Before I can stop her, Felicity takes it there. “So Helena’s ready to make a move on our handsome Max. She’s been watching him all night as he flirts with everything with a heartbeat, and she’s built up the courage to ask him to have a drink with her. And she does.” She turns to Max, shaking her head at him. “And he doesn’t even look up from his phone. In fact, he completely ignores her.”
The women’s mouths gape. Max’s arms tighten around me.
Tina looks sad. “Max, you didn’t.”
But before Max can say anything, she finishes up, “Oh, he did. And that’s not the worst part. After he ignored her, he dismissed her.” She pauses for effect before adding, “Then he called her Helen!”
The women gasp in disgust while the men let out low sounds of discomfiture.
Oh yeah.
Tonight sucks assholes.
Chapter Thirty
Max
My gut sinks. I didn’t do that! …did I?
I let out a long sigh. Chances are I did. I hurt Helena. Fuck me.
But, damn it, I’m gonna make up for it somehow.
***
Helena
Nat leans over looking pissed and smacks at Max’s leg, muttering, “Dickhead.”
At the very same time, Nik slaps Max across the back of the head, mumbling angrily, “Asshole.”
Max squeezes me tight, defending himself. “I don’t remember that! I swear!” He looks over at Nik. “You think if Helena threw herself at me, I’d say no?” Nik makes a noncommittal noise in his throat, looking down at his brother in contempt.
I bunch my nose. “You calling me a liar?”
Max turns me in his arms. “No, I’m not, baby. I’m just saying I don’t remember that happening.” He dips his head, shaking it lightly. “No wonder you hated me. I’d hate me too.” He looks up, his golden eyes sincere. “I’m sorry, cupcake. Never meant to hurt you.”
And just like that, it’s forgotten. He looks truly ashamed. I reach up to cup his cheek. “I know that. Now. And it’s done. We’re good. I promise.”
He leans into my touch, eyes closed. After a moment, he groans, “Are you fucking kidding me?” When his eyes open, he looks pained. “I could’ve had you all those months ago and I fucking choked?” He groans again, mock-sobbing. “God, I am an asshole.”
Chuckling, I stand on my tiptoes, pecking at his lips. “Yeah, well, suffer.” I turn to face Nik. “I’m going downstairs to check out the women’s bathroom. What do I do if there are people in there doing nasty things?”
Nik takes his two-way off his belt and hands it to me. “Just call it in. Security will be right outside the door waiting for you. Don’t lay a hand on ‘em. You’re not trained for that, and as an employee, you could get us sued. If you find you’re liking the job, I’ll get Ghost to take you on a short security and crowd control course.”
I nod, smiling. “Cool. And noted. No touchies.”
Felicity walks down with me, hitting up the bar as I walk into the bathroom. It’s empty, and I’m fine with that, because I really need to take a whiz. I head into the stall and do my business, flushing the toilet and moving to open the door, but as I do, three women walk in. I peek out of the crack in the door. I can’t see everything, but I can see enough.
“The pickings are slim tonight,” mutters a short brunette.
The taller brunette whines, “Where are all the hotties? I really need to get laid.”
When the third woman speaks, I perk up. I perk up, because I know that voice. The tall, slender redhead utters, “Oh, please. None of the men here are good enough to even look at me.”
The redhead is Portia. I shake my head at her comment. She said me, not us. Her poor friends.
The shorter brunette smirks, “You’re just sore because that guy who works here gave you the brush-off.”
The taller brunette asks, “Who cares if he has a girlfriend? I’d still hit that.”
Portia sneers, “The girlfriend shows his taste. I don’t want him if he chooses to be with a woman like that. He obviously has low standards.”
The fucking mole! I bite my tongue and ball my fist in an effort to not go out there and show her a thing or two about manners.
The short brunette grins. “But he is rich.”
Portia pauses. “Well, there is that. And he would be nice to look at, for a while at least. But to deal with him, I’d have to deal with his kid too.”
My heart races as my anger singes my insides.
The tall brunette asks, “What’s wrong with that?”
Portia makes a face, her lip curling. “I don’t know. She’s retarded or some shit.”
I don’t know how it happens, but the stall door opens and suddenly I’m on top of Portia, clawing at her face while pulling her hair. As she squeals, I hiss out, “You fucking bitch! You goddamn whore! She’s just a little girl!”
Portia shrieks out, “Get security!”
Then, we’re alone. I throw her to the ground, standing. Panting, my body shakes with rage. The inside of my mouth tastes of metallic rust and I know I’m bleeding. I look down at a shocked Portia’s red-marked face and utter a hushed, “You’re disgusting. You’re nothing but a pig.”
The doors to the bathroom burst open. Nik, Max, and Asher all rush in to see me looming over Portia.
Max looks at me in confusion. “What the fuck?”
Portia looks over at them and shrieks, “She attacked me!”
I can’t tell him. If I tell him, he’ll be devastated.
Nik sighs. “Are you kidding me? A bitch fight? Fuckin’ hell, Helena.”
Ash looks over my shaking body and states, “Something happened.”
He always knows.
I look over at Max then Nik. “I’m sorry.” I walk out of the bathroom and somehow end up back upstairs.
When Nat looks over at me, smiling, her face turns shocked. She jumps up and rushes over to me, searching my body. “What happened? Lena, tell me what happened!”
But I can’t. She walks me over the bar, sitting me down on a stool, and a glass of waters appears in front of me. Nik stalks over to us, looking pissed with a capital P. He booms, “I don’t believe this. You hit her! After I specifically told you not to touch anyone!”
Max comes up behind him. “Shut up, Nik.” He kneels in front of me, looking up into my eyes. “What happened, cupcake?” I don’t answer, so he asks, “Did she bait you? What happened?”
Nik rolls his eyes. “She baited you and you fell for it. You realize she’s planning to take us to court, right?” He grits his teeth and roars, “Fuck!”
Nat glowers at Nik. “Don’t you fucking dare, Nikolai! My sister would not have touched anyone unless it were necessary!” God bless Nat for sticking up for me. Unfortunately, in this case, she’s wrong.
Asher adds calmly, “I think we should give her some room and shut the fuck up.”
Max sounds frustrated. “I can’t help you if you won’t tell me what happened. What did she do, Helena? Talk to me.”
Tina appears by our sides. “What’s going on here?” She peers over at me, stunned. “Lena, honey. Your lip is bleeding.” I know it is. I can feel it throbbing like a bitch.
Mimi speaks from the sideline. “I think Ash is right. Give her some room.”
But Nik is too pissed to hear any of it. “I’ll tell you what. How about Helena tells me what the fuck happened, and then I’ll leave her alone?”
Max stands and gets in his brother’s face, jaw set. “Shut the fuck up, Nik. You’re not my boss. You better remember that.”
Nik’s face distorts with anger. “Your girl causes shit not ten minutes after I put my faith in her. Her fuck-up is your fuck-up.”
Nat, Tina, Mimi, and Lola all bite out, “Hey!” at Nik’s rude comment. I’ve never seen him so angry.
Tina approaches him and speaks softly. “Honey, calm down. She’ll talk when she’s ready.”
Nik straightens
and looks up into my eyes. “She’ll talk now. What happened?” Nik can be a seriously intimidating guy.
Nat cuts in, “Fuck you, Nik!”
Nik turns on her. “Of course you’re sticking up for her. I need to know what happened.” My gut coils.
Mimi steps in front of Nik. “We’re all friends here, remember?”
Nik sniffs, “Some more than others.”
That was a cheap shot. My blood boils. I close my eyes as my chest heaves. Tina gasps in astonishment. “Nik! What has gotten into you?”
He steps closer to me, angry eyes trained on mine. “What happened?”
I open my mouth, but all that comes out is, “I-uh—”
Nik grits his teeth and asks again, “What happened, Helena?”
Max growls in threat, “Take one more step towards her, Nik. I fuckin’ dare ya.”
I close my eyes. My body thrums. My chest heaves.
Nik asks again, near yelling, “What the fuck happened in there?”
I stand so fast my stool hits the bar with a bang. Hands shaking, I stand a foot away from Nik, looking up into his rage-filled eyes, and thunder, “She called Ceecee a retard!” I’m mortified as the angry tears trail down my cheeks, my body shaking with fury. I lower my face into my hands to hide my weakness and whisper, “She called Ceecee retarded.”
The silence is so thick you could carve it with a knife. Lowering my hands, I swipe furiously at the tears. I reach out with a shaking hand to take the glass of water into my hands. I sip at it, wishing I could disappear into the darkness, but I know that’s not a choice.
Breathing in carefully, I stand as tall as I can and speak softly through an exhale, “I’m sorry for the trouble, Nik.” I remove the two-way from my side and badge from around my neck, placing them on the stool. “No need to fire me. I resign. Sorry for spoiling everyone’s night. I’m going home. Goodnight.”
Tina and Lola both plead, “Helena, no!” and “Stay!” while Nat orders, “Don’t you go anywhere. Not ‘til he apologizes!”
I turn and walk away with what dignity I have left before I hear Nat scream to who I’m sure is Nik, “You asshole!”
I half-expect that Max will come after me, but he doesn’t.
And once again, I’m left feeling how I felt when I first came to New York.
Completely and utterly alone.
***
Max
Immobilized by blind fury, I blink as I watch Helena walk away, head held high. I’ve never seen her look more beautiful, fat lip and all. But as she walks down the stairs, out of sight, my gut churns. I swallow hard knowing that this might be it. This might be where Helena realizes it’s too much work being with a man like me. But seeing her stand over Portia after she handed her ass to her, defending my baby girl…shit.
I think I’m falling in love, but I don’t remember it happening like this the first time round. Did love make a person feel like they’d hit the highest high and lowest low at the very same time? I never wanted this to happen. But knowing Helena as I do now, how could I have ever stopped it?
I should be used to people’s offensive and rude comments. But at least when it comes from children, they don’t know any better. When I hear adults using the word retard, it just makes me want to smack a bitch. My daughter is not slow or stupid. She is an exceptionally smart and able person, regardless of her injury.
Nik stands there, hands on his hips, looking down at the floor. I feel the guilt come off of him in waves. Nat yells at him. “You asshole!”
Tina gives Nat a pleading look. “Nat, stop.” She steps closer to him, placing a hand on his chest. “Honey, you didn’t know.” But he steps back. I’ve never seen him step away from Tina. Not ever.
He doesn’t look up. Instead, he takes the discarded badge and two-way, and makes his way to the door by the bar, leading to the office. He walks out, leaving us standing here. But he doesn’t get away that easily. I follow him.
Tina stops me by gripping my wrist. “Max, don’t, please. Just let him go.”
I look down at my sister-in-law and kiss her forehead in reassurance. “I’m not going to yell at him, Tina, even though he’d deserve it if I did. I just need to talk to him.”
I walk over to the door by the bar and scan my way in. I keep walking and don’t stop until I make it to Nik’s office. He sits at the desk in the throne he calls an office chair with his eyes closed, rubbing at his temple. I clear my throat and he raises his head, looking haggard. He looks to have aged ten years in ten minutes. He shakes his head and mutters roughly, “I fucked up.”
He looks as if he wants to say more, so I don’t bother speaking. Sometimes, all you need to do for someone to feel better is just listen. Sitting up, he stands and paces behind his desk. “I spoke to you the other day about how great your girl is, and I just tore her down. And I did it in front of everyone.” He puffs out a breath. “The fuck is wrong with me?”
I utter quietly, “No one’s perfect. People screw up.”
Nik laughs humorlessly. “Yeah, they do. I know that better than anyone, so what the fuck was that?” He groans. “Oh God, she’s gonna hate me.” Then he sighs dejectedly. “The one girl I like for you and I bully her to tears. And all she was doing was sticking up for my niece.”
“Helena’s surprising like that.”
Nik eyes me a moment before his brows narrow. “What? You’re not gonna tear me a new asshole?”
I lean against the doorframe. “You’re doing a good job of that yourself. Doesn’t look like you need help.”
He looks up at me, his eyes apologetic. “I’m sorry, man.”
I nod, knowing full-well he is, but say, “I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.”
He sits on the edge of his desk, head lowered. “I know.” He looks up at me and promises, “I’ll make it right. First thing.”
“Good.” I cock my thumb and point to the door. “You mind if I go save my ass from getting dumped?”
His lip tilts up at the side. “Sure thing.”
And with that, I walk out of the office and make my way to the parking lot.
***
Helena
“I’m fine. Just a little shaken up is all. I haven’t lost control like that ever,” I mutter into my cell phone as I walk into my apartment. My phone has been ringing off the hook since I left the club.
Nat sniffs. “Yeah, well, the whore got what was coming to her.” I agree, but I still made a mess of things, and I don’t know how to make it better.
I sent a quick text to Felicity when I left, claiming a sudden illness. She responded with, “You poor little whore! Get well soon. Love ya!”
Nat asks, “You want me to come over? We can watch movies and eat all the junk food.”
I chuckle. “All the junk food?”
She responds cheerily, “Yep. All of it!”
Smiling, I force a yawn. “Nah, I’m just going to have a shower and get into bed.” I ask cautiously, “How’s Max doing after all of that?”
She asks a surprised, “You haven’t talked to him?” She hesitates, and then replies, “He went to talk to Nik, but he never came back out of the office.” She adds an annoyed, “I’m not talking to Nik, by the way. Not until he apologizes to you.”
I sigh. “Don’t do that, please? For God’s sake, let’s just let it go and move on. I don’t want to think about it anymore.”
She pouts, “But he was so rude to you. I’ve never seen him be like that before. I can’t just get over it. Sorry, the only person who’s allowed to be rude to my sisters is me.”
Stupid Nat, making me laugh when I want to feel sorry for myself. I say lightly, “Whatever, ho. I’m getting into the shower now. Peace.”
“Peace out, sistah!”
I feel something soft and warm at my ankle. I’m surprised to find Tedwood purring up at me. I lean down and scratch him behind the ear. “Oh, I bet you know Mommy’s had a bad night.” Cats sense shit like that, don’t they? “You’re a good boy w
hen you want to be.”
Unzipping my dress, I work it down my body, stepping out of it and throwing it into my bedroom, and then make my way down the hall and step into the bathroom. I start the shower, step in, and wash away the shitty night I’ve had.
After a good, unnecessary half-hour in the shower—unnecessary, because I didn’t wash my hair—I wrapped a towel around me and walked into my room. As I make my way into my room, I come to a halt in the doorway.
Max sits on the edge of my bed, facing me. “Hey.”
My gut sinks. He’s here to break up with me. I tighten my grip on the towel and respond weakly, “Hey.”
He stands, taking the four steps towards me. “Don’t ever do that again.”
I lower my head, ashamed. “I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have done it. She just said it and I don’t know what happened.” I look up into his eyes, pleading for him to understand. “I just lost it.”
He makes a face. “Not that.” He takes a step closer, looking down at me menacingly. “Don’t ever leave me again without giving me your mouth.”
Huh? I ask confused, “You’re not upset with me?”
He lifts a hand to my lips, outlining them, following his finger with his eyes. “Why would I be?”
I mutter against his fingers, “I attacked a female club patron.”
He leans down, gently placing a kiss at the swollen side of my mouth, then nods. “You’re passionate.”
I close my eyes and murmur, “I let her words get to me when I know better.”
He shrugs. “Because she insulted Ceecee. An insult to her is an insult to you.” He catches my chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing my gaze up to his. “How could I ever be mad at you for loving my daughter?”
I like that. Oh boy. I really like that. Bottom lip quivering, I squeak out, “So you’re not breaking up with me?” He sighs, yanking at my towel. It falls and I’m left naked. Max wraps an arm around my back and the other under my ass as he lifts me. “What are you doing?” I ask in disbelief as I cinch my arms around his shoulders, holding on tight.