STROKED (The Stroked Series Book 1)

  Not only is Bellini insulting me, her employee, but she’s being incredibly rude and offensive to Lauren who thought she was picked to perform a job, not be matched up with a fake lesbian.

  My gut churns, and I instantly start to feel sick to my stomach.

  Not caring about any of the awkwardness in the air, Bellini continues, “So, Mauve, meet your new life partner.”

  “Umm, I didn’t sign up for this,” Lauren says.

  “Shhh.” Bellini waves her off with her hand and then looks at me with excitement. “What do you think, Mauve? Are you overwhelmed with love right now?”

  Jesus. This can’t go on any longer. Lauren is clearly uncomfortable and Jasper looks like he’s about to have a stroke. Everything about this entire conversation is wrong.

  “Yeah, about that.” I rub the tops of my thighs. “Funny thing, I’m not really a lesbian.”

  Sitting up straight and placing her feet on the ground, a look of outrage and murder coming off of Bellini, words drip from her mouth in disdain, “You’re not a lesbian?”

  “Not really.”

  “This ends now!” Jasper demands, and I turn red with embarrassment. This is just what I need, for Jasper to think I’m some kind of unstable person who lies to their boss about their sexuality. I was hoping to gain a recommendation from Jasper, but after today, pretty sure that ship has sailed. I’ve so fucked up, and big time. “Bellini, you are—”

  “So you’re telling me your vagina doesn’t like touching other vaginas?” Bellini squints, trying to gain some understanding, once again interrupting Jasper.

  “No,” I answer.

  “So, you don’t like to clap flaps together?”

  “That’s offensive,” Reese points out. “You can’t just say you are ‘for gay people’”—he uses air quotes—“and then go around and say shit like that, Bellini. I don’t care how much money you make, these are human beings, and you need to learn not to belittle them or be offensive.”

  “Your crotch wrapped in spandex is offensive, but you don’t hear me insulting you, do you?” There is no winning with this woman. Bellini turns her attention to me. “Listen here, you ass-face whore bag, tell me right now why I spent many nights praying with Pope Francis about your life decisions, why I took the time out of my day to force Pocket into reading applications, and then spent time talking to these women on the phone when I could have been getting my armpits lazered?”

  “Why did you tell her you were a lesbian?” Jasper asks.

  My hands twist in my lap, my stomach bottoms out, and for the first time ever, I actually feel like I’m going to puke in front of a circle of people.

  “Well, umm, you see, Bellini was concerned about how I was looking at Reese, and I felt that if I told her I was a lesbian, she wouldn’t be stressed about anything between us, which she shouldn’t be. We’re strictly professional. I actually have a boyfriend, his name is . . . Clyde.”

  Clyde? Why is that the first name that comes to mind? And why the hell am I lying again?

  “Clyde? He sounds hideous.” Bellini gets up from her swing, her robe blowing in the breeze.

  A voice that sounds awfully like my father’s sounds off in the back of my head, telling me what a failure I am, how I’m never going to succeed, how I should give up everything and just come home, to where I belong.

  Is this what it takes to succeed in this industry? Constant lying? If so, I hate every minute of it. I think there has to be a better way, but then I look at Bellini and know, right then and there, there is no winning when it comes to someone like her. I can tell her every day I brush my hair, and she won’t believe me. I could literally stand in front of her, five brushes running through my hair, and she still wouldn’t believe me. That’s the kind of person she is. So, if I have to lie to her, if I have to stretch the truth to help her comprehend something, then I guess that’s the way it has to be.

  Too bad for me, I chose the wrong thing to lie about. Little did I know it was going to blow up like this.

  “So, does that mean I don’t have a job with Pothead Pizza?” Lauren asks, looking a little shell-shocked from this entire interaction.

  “Of course not, you hot-faced armpit,” Bellini snaps, gripping one of the pillars decorating her patio area. “Jasper, I don’t think I can work with a lying, manipulative hog-whore. If she’s lying about her sexuality and keeping men by the name of Clyde away from me, then what else is she hiding? Maybe a patch of moles that connects together to form a penis on her back? Or maybe the fact that the dried-out mop on the top of her head is actually a wig made from an Italian’s man butt hair? Or, heaven forbid, she has a secret stash of empty Tic Tac cartons stacked up in her jalopy just so she can reminisce on all the times she fed me.”

  “I can assure you none of those are true,” I say quickly, looking at Jasper who looks fed up.

  Taking a deep breath, he says, “Bellini, I suggest you keep your insults to yourself. You are one lawsuit away from losing everything your dad has ever worked for. Paisley is a solid worker, we are not firing her—”

  “How is this your decision?” she barks at him, interrupting what he was saying. Again. “She works for me.”

  “She works for the production company to keep you happy,” Jasper shoots back. “Now, I suggest you apologize to Lauren, thank her for coming by, and set up a time to speak to our lawyers. This shit has gone on long enough.”

  “Well, I’m not happy,” she screams at the top of her lungs, clenching her fists at her sides and squinting her eyes shut, ignoring everything Jasper told her.

  Pope Francis howls and Reese covers his ears, protecting his eardrums from the high-pitched squeal of Bellini Chambers.

  “Bellini, unless you want me to cancel your season, I suggest you grow up and try acting like an adult.” Jasper turns to me. “Paisley, will you help see Lauren out and grab her contact info so we can be in touch with her later about making up for today.”

  “Of course.”

  Standing, I avoid eye contact with Bellini and direct Lauren to the entryway, awkward silence encompassing us. What do you really say to a girl who was tricked into thinking she has a job when in fact she was picked as a match to a woman who isn’t a lesbian?

  “Um, sorry about that being super awkward,” I say as we reach the door. “I hope you weren’t offended. I don’t want you to think I take your sexuality lightly. I know it comes with struggles and stereotypes.”

  Lauren waves me off and chuckles while shaking her head. “No worries. I did this all on a bet anyway.” Glancing back to where Bellini and Jasper are fighting, she says, “I’m just glad I don’t have to work with her like you do. And hey, don’t sweat the whole lesbian thing. The other day, I had to pretend to be straight to get out of a speeding ticket.”

  “Did you get out of it?” I ask, laughing.

  “Of course.” She winks. “We do what we have to do.”

  Taking a deep breath, I look her in the eyes and say, “I’m really sorry. I feel terrible.”

  “Don’t sweat it. I would have had to turn you down anyway. I have a girlfriend. You actually might know her.”

  Confused, I ask, “How so?”

  “She’s Bodi Banks’s sister, Eva.”

  “Seriously?” I ask, a little surprised with how small this world is.

  “Yeah, ten years and going strong. She’s my sugar mama. She’s the most brilliant artist you’ll ever meet. Paints murals all around the city and is contracted out to other cities a lot of the time. She takes me with her to keep her company while I work on my novels.”

  “You’re an author?”

  She nods. “Yeah, just starting out. I was working as a school counselor but that ended quickly when some of the parents found out about my sexuality.”

  My heart breaks in half. “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope. It was a long battle that I don’t want to get into, but now I get to work on something I’m very passionate about. It’s been a difficult process, and I?
??ve had my ups and downs but Eva has been a constant champion for me. I couldn’t do it without her.”

  “Do you have anything published? I would love to read it.”

  “Not yet, soon.” She winks.

  “Well, I haven’t had the chance to meet Bodi yet, but when I do, I will tell him I met you.”

  “Please do. He adores me; I like to think more than his own sister. And hey, keep in touch. I would love to hang out, if anything just to hear about the other asinine things you have to put up with.”

  “That would be amazing,” I say, feeling a little brighter. “I could use some more girl friends. I don’t have many.”

  “Then I’m your girl. Let’s have coffee, and you can meet Eva. She will absolutely love this story, especially since she thought having to come up with a pizza flavor was beyond ridiculous. I did it just to prove to her I could win. Guess I won the jackpot.”

  “You sure did.” We both laugh. “Plug your info in my phone, and we’ll get coffee sometime.”

  “Sounds great.” Quickly, she types in her information and then hands my phone back. Leaning in, she gives me a hug and I return it. “It was great meeting you, Paisley. Call me, Eva would just adore you.”

  “I look forward to it and sorry again, I really hope I didn’t insult you.”

  “You didn’t.” With a little wave, Lauren takes off.

  I shut the door and slouch against it, my heart starting to slow down. When Bellini told Jasper to get rid of me, I felt I was about to have a heart attack. This entire situation I’ve gotten myself into was bad decisions all around; my massively huge bad decisions.

  My career matters more to me than anything, and here I am, messing around with it because I can’t keep my thong shoved up my ass, but rather on the floor of Reese’s bedroom.

  The sliding glass door shuts, and I see Reese approaching, charming smile intact. For some reason, it’s not making me feel better. Needing some space, I ignore his approach and visit the powder room that’s off the entryway.

  My hands grip the edge of the sink, and I look at myself in the mirror. Why do I always have to make everything so complicated? I couldn’t just be the next owner to my family’s general store, I had to go out and be my individual self. And I couldn’t do my job without letting my grandpa distract me, I just had to answer his questions only to get myself fired. And then when I get a job, I can’t just do it, I have to go and make out with my boss’s fake boyfriend. Actually, not only make out, but have sex with him, several, seriously hot times.

  Weren’t people supposed to have a little Jiminy Cricket inside them, telling them what to do? How come mine seems like he’s drunk all the time, making the worst possible decisions ever?

  The door to the powder room props open and Reese walks in, making the space significantly smaller with his stature.

  “What are you doing?” I hiss, looking at him in the mirror.

  Without answering, he grips my hips and pulls me against his chest. His head falls forward and he kisses my neck. I can’t help the way my stomach flips with each caress of his mouth across my skin, despite my reservations.

  “Reese.” I try to stop him but it comes out more as a moan.

  “Shh, baby. I just need to make sure you’re not a lesbian.”

  That wakes me up. I elbow him in the stomach and pull away while he buckles over, laughing the entire time.

  “Unless you don’t plan on ever getting sucked off, you will never bring that up again.”

  “Why not?” He moves forward, mirth all over his face. “It’s cute, you lied about your sexuality just so Bellini would ignore the way you yearned for me.”

  “You’re done.” I cross my arms over my chest.

  Chuckling, he asks, “Why? I think it’s cute, sweet really. You were crushing on me and got caught.” The teasing lilt to his voice only makes me want to crash my knee to his balls.

  “I hate you.”

  “No, you don’t.” Grabbing hold of my hips again, he traps me against the sink and leans his head down so his lips are barely grazing mine. “Did you have a poster of me in your dorm room?”

  Not giving in to his advances, I reply, “No, wall space was reserved for gold medalists only.”

  Reese stills and I regret the words right after I say them.

  He steps away and pulls on the back of his neck. “Wow, low blow.”

  Feeling incredibly guilty and remorseful, I wrap my arms around his back and pull him close. “I’m sorry,” I say right away. “I didn’t mean that. I’m just highly strung right now. That was a dick thing to say.”

  “It was.” His face doesn’t lighten up.

  “I’m sorry, Reese.” I kiss his chin and then his neck. The tension in his back eases slightly from my touch. “Please forgive me.”

  His fingers play with the strands of my hair. “I guess I could let you make it up to me.” He wiggles his eyebrows, causing me to roll my eyes.

  “Oh my God, you’re impossible.”

  I go to leave the bathroom, but he yanks me back into his chest and captures my face, his lips pressing against mine before I can even guess what he’s about to do.

  “Are you okay, Paisley? Are we okay?” The way he’s able to turn so serious in a matter of seconds throws me off.

  I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know. Sometimes I wonder if this is all worth it.” I know my words sting, they hurt to just say them, but it’s a concern I have, a great concern. “There is just so much risk for me. Jasper—”

  “You’re not the one Jasper is mad at, Paisley.” Reese tilts my head up so I’m forced to look him in the eyes, to see his concern. “I’ve spoken with him. He loves you and thinks you’re a great asset. He’s mad at Bellini for being a self-absorbed, offensive asshole.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, positive. You have nothing to worry about, so please don’t think this isn’t worth it. Because to me, I really feel something for you, and I don’t want to lose that because you’re worried about your job. Trust in your ability.” Leaning forward, he captures my lips once again, his scratchy new beard running deliciously along my sensitive skin. I melt into him, my lips matching his, our bodies molding into one. His fingers dig into my hair and my hands run up his back, under his shirt. His warm skin spurs me on, encouraging me to open my mouth and play with the seam of his lips, my tongue begging for entrance.

  “No.” He pulls away, putting distance between us.

  “No?” I ask, knowing my nipples are hard and on display.

  He grips his hair. “If I go any further, I will be fucking you on that sink.”

  He’s right, one more caress and he no doubt would have me propped on the sink, shorts off and his cock out, ready to plow right into me. It’s happened before.

  “You’re right.” I straighten my hair. “Jasper probably wants to get on with the meeting anyway.”

  “I’m sure he does. He was lecturing Bellini about legal shit when I left. Seriously, if you were a lesbian, you could have made some easy money over that conversation. I’m sure he’s stressing out about that Litter Box girl.”

  “Her name is Lauren, and she’s actually in a relationship with Eva Banks.”

  “Really? Huh, interesting.” He chuckles and then kisses me on the lips one more time, a quick chaste one, leaving me wanting more.

  Before I can get him back for it, he opens the door and exits. I chase after him and smack his ass. “You will pay for that later.”

  “I look forward to it,” he calls over his shoulder as he walks away.

  I can’t help but watch his incredibly toned and perfectly sculpted backside leave me, swagger in his stride. I sigh to myself, thinking this might be difficult, but at least there are some benefits.

  I begin to walk after him when I hear someone say, “Paisley.” I flinch. I recognize that voice. That voice doesn’t sound happy.

  When I turn around, he is standing with his arms crossed over his chest and has a disappointed look in his
eyes.

  Shit.

  Jonathan.

  ***

  Just as the door to our apartment slams shut, Jonathan spins on his heels, his hands on his hips and a look of pure fury on his face. “What the fuck are you thinking?” he shouts at me, not even letting me walk into the living room. I go to answer him but he cuts me off. “You lied to me, Paisley. You promised you wouldn’t fuck this up and then I see you coming out of the bathroom with none other than Reese King, the one person I told you to stay away from.”

  “I’m not fucking this up,” I reply, knowing fully well that’s not the case. The minute I pressed my lips against Reese’s, I fucked this up big time.

  Jonathan starts to pace the apartment, allowing me to get past the entryway. I set my purse on the couch and wait for the expected verbal lashing.

  “So, in your mind, you think this is okay?”

  “I don’t know,” I answer weakly, understanding I have no ground to stand on.

  “If it was okay, then why didn’t you tell me? Why did you lie to me about him? Making me think it was some other man you were with? If it was an okay situation to be in, you would have told me.”

  “Maybe I was afraid you were going to be judgmental,” I answer back, finding a little backbone.

  He throws his hands in the air presumably out of frustration. “Of course I was going to be judgmental. You’re doing who knows what with your boss’s boyfriend, one of the most sought-after celebrities right now. Have you lost your fucking mind?”

  “They’re not really dating,” I point out, pulling on the hem of my shirt.

  “I don’t care if they meet up every week just to play pick-up sticks, they are perceived to be romantically involved in the public eye which means you should stay as far away from that shitstorm as possible. Jesus, Paisley, were you even thinking?” He grabs his hair, pulling on the ends tightly. “Does anyone know?”

  I didn’t want to answer that, but I know he can tell when I’m lying. Thank you, nipple, for giving me away.

  “Just two people.”

  “What?” he shouts. “Who the hell knows? Christ, you can’t even keep it to yourself? Does Bellini know?”