“Let it out,” Eris said. “Because once you’re done, it’s time to buckle up and keep going.”
“I don’t know if I can,” Kallie said in a whisper.
“Then I’ll help you. Whatever you need, I’ll make sure you get it, okay? This will blow over. It’s a fad right now, but something else will happen eventually. James will fall on his face or some celebrity somewhere will be caught naked on a shoreline and the headlines will change. All of this will fade away, and this story will be a distant memory in a month or so. That’s how pop culture works. That’s how sensationalism works. It sucks now, but it won’t suck for long. Because something is always happening. That’s the true power and influence of the media.”
“So James just ... wins?”
“Oh, no. That asshole doesn’t win. I’ve already hired the hitman to take him out. James is as good as dead.”
“Well, tell him to stop by Ash’s house next,” Kallie said as she pulled away.
“That’s the spirit,” Eris said with a smile. “Now, you want this sandwich I brought you or no?”
Kallie made herself eat, but she still felt hollow inside. Nothing made her feel better. Not the empty threats. Not the sandwich. Not the soda sitting on her desk. Nothing. She didn’t know what she needed, but it wasn’t any of what she had in front of her. She felt cooped up in her office, yet somehow safe from the world around her. She briefly considered bringing a sleeping bag and camping out in her office. Removing herself from the world for a little while. She felt like she needed an escape, but wanting an escape is what got her into this mess in the first place.
So if she couldn't escape, then what could she do?
Because Kallie was fresh out of ideas.
Chapter 27
Ash
Ash’s new normal was feeling like utter shit. He’d been drinking his evenings away, waking up with hangovers that could’ve made the devil quake in his boots. He was pissed off. Exhausted. Felt adrift in the sea. Like a fucking storm had ravaged and tossed him around and left him without an oar. Or a wheel. Or a fucking ship in general.
Like the storm him and Kallie had been caught in.
He dragged himself into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of wine. Every time he fucking thought about her, he drank. He wanted to wash every memory of her away, but it only served to make things worse. He slept deeper. Longer. Which meant his dreams were more vivid.
He was showering in the damn guest bathroom, so he wouldn’t be assaulted by memories of her body pressed against the tiles. He couldn’t walk from his bedroom to his kitchen without looking at the windows of his penthouse. Out at the lights and the skyline of the city.
The windows Kallie had once been pressed against.
Ash had no idea why the fuck he was still in town. What was the point? New York City had always been a shithole, and he might as well leave. There was nothing here for him any longer. Not after the betrayal of Kallie. Not after she was exposed by her ex, God fucking bless his bullshit soul. But the island was full of memories of her. Full of naps in the hammocks and surfing in the ocean waves and passionate lovemaking against the walls of bungalows and villas and balconies.
Fuck.
Even his island was tainted with her.
He threw the rest of his wine back before tossing the glass in the sink. It shattered upon impact, but he didn’t care. He picked up the rest of the wine bottle and tipped it up to his lips. Guzzled it down as the burn ripped through his skin. Maybe he’d go to Europe for a while. Do some backpacking and fuck some natives. Or maybe South America. He could visit at the discreet wonders of the world and wrap his fist up in the tendrils of black hair that area of the world had to offer.
Somewhere where the women didn’t bother lying because they were only good for a night or two anyway.
Ash fell back into bed, tossing the empty wine bottle to the floor. He groaned into his pillow as his phone started to vibrate. He didn’t give a shit who it was. He didn’t want to talk to them. His mother had been completely absent since he threw her out, and all it did was serve to prove to him how utterly fucking selfish she was. When shit happened with her, she didn’t mind busting through his front door. But when shit happened to him, fucking radio silence.