I was preoccupied with other things and didn’t want to devote the time to opening a new business. “It’s a lot of work and it’s risky. When businesses expand, they almost never do well. They split the members between the two sites, and then you’re paying more money for the same number of people.”
“Not if we have no association with it. What if it’s a completely different club? No one needs to know we’re involved. It’ll attract new members from a different side of town. We can open it under a different name and have a manager take care of the rest.”
I was a control freak, and letting someone else run my business was unacceptable. “No. We have to run the show.”
“Fine. I’ll take care of it.”
Like I’d trust him to be an adult. “Both of us.”
He rolled his eyes. “When the fuck will you trust me?”
Never. “I don’t have the time right now, Jackson. Between this and Humanitarian, I’m running dry.”
“And chasing after that little slut.”
My eyes narrowed on his face, and I threatened him without saying a single word. Rome was mine in every sense of the word, and no one talked about her like that—not even me.
Jackson noticed my hostility and leaned back. “What’s so special about this woman? Isabella is a fine piece of ass.”
I didn’t care what he said about her. She wasn’t mine to defend anymore. “I’ll tell you when I figure it out.”
“When are you going to bring her in here?”
“I don’t know.” Probably never. I wouldn’t want anyone to look at her and fantasize about fucking her instead of their real partner. I wanted her on my own bed, her wrists tied to my own headboard. Like a bear, I wanted to drag her into my cave and never let her go.
“I’m eager to meet this sexy lady. I get hard just thinking about it.”
I gave him the same glare, warning him I would actually kill him this time.
“Shit, calm down. I was just joking.”
“You weren’t, asshole.”
“Alright…” He shrugged. “I wasn’t. But you know I would never touch her. That’s a line I’ve never crossed.”
But he might try once he saw her.
Out of nowhere, he turned serious, crossing his arms over his chest and giving me the same cold look I gave everyone else. “I’m worried about Isabella. I think you should check on her.”
“What do you mean?”
“I haven’t seen her around, and when I called her, she didn’t answer. Marie told me she’s not eating or moving. She’s really struggling, man. She took the breakup hard.”
Guilt flooded through me, but then rage replaced it. “She was just my sub, and I never made her think otherwise. I made it clear there was an expiration date on the arrangement. I never told her I loved her, and I never slept over. I treated her how I treated all the others. It’s not my fault she hoped for more.”
Jackson kept staring at me, drilling the guilt deep inside me.
Despite my anger, I did feel bad for hurting Isabella. She got attached when she shouldn’t have, but I somehow felt responsible for it. Maybe I shouldn’t have let our arrangement last as long as it did. Perhaps I should put a timer down and make sure a relationship never exceeded it—no matter how good it was.
Jackson stood and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Just wanted to give you a heads-up. Do whatever you want.” He walked to the door.
“I’m not checking on her. This is her problem, not mine.”
He glanced at me over his shoulder before he walked out.
After I knocked on the door twice, there was still no answer. “Isabella, it’s me.”
I finally heard life inside the apartment, and the door unlocked a moment later. Wearing a messy bun and a blanket covering her shoulders, she opened the door. Her cheeks were hollow and her eyes sunken. Heavy bags were under her eyes from exhaustion. She stared at me in surprise, like she couldn’t believe I was really there.
“Can I come in?”
She stepped away from the door and allowed me entry before she shut the door behind me.
I turned to her and tried to think of something to say. My lips were immobile and my brain wasn’t functioning. We just broke up a few weeks ago, but it felt like a lifetime. My mind and body were in a completely different place—obsessed with a different woman. “Isabella, I—”
She moved into my chest and wrapped her arms around my waist. She squeezed me tightly like she never wanted to let go. A sigh accompanied her actions.
I wanted to let her hold me to make her feel better, but I felt like I was betraying the woman I was working so hard to get. If her ex hugged her, I’d flip the fuck out. So I couldn’t let my ex hold me.