Текст книги "Diamonds"

Автор книги: K. A. Linde

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Текущая страница: 11 (всего у книги 12 страниц)

THE DOOR BURST OPEN, and Jude and Bryna scrambled apart.

“What is going on in here?” Felicity asked.

A shadow appeared behind her, and then Pace materialized.

Oh no! He couldn’t know what was going on.

“I was talking to Bryna about the event and how it was such a success. I thought we could offer a bigger donation,” Jude answered smoothly.

“Is that right?” Felicity asked. Her eyes fell on Bryna.

She hastily looked away. “Yes. He was talking about making a donation.” Just not to the charity.

“I’m not sure that sounds like a good enough reason for you to be behind closed doors with a high school student,” Felicity said pointedly.

“You’re right,” Jude agreed. “We should have taken our conversation out to the party. I didn’t mean to take up all your time.”

He started walking toward Felicity, but she crossed her arms and stared at him with a knowing look on her face. “And how exactly do you two know each other?”

Bryna wasn’t touching that one with a ten-foot pole. Jude didn’t even look at her, which was probably for the best. If he wanted to get out of this situation, then he could fucking figure it out himself. She was done.

“You introduced us,” Jude said, as if reminding Felicity of what had just transpired.

“Please,” Felicity said, rolling her eyes. “I’m not an idiot, Jude. Don’t treat me like one.”

“I think you have the wrong idea—”

“I don’t believe that I do. Now, tell me, Jude, exactly how long have you known Ms. Turner?”

“Felicity,” he said imploringly.

“Cut the crap, Jude. I just want to know if we’re seriously doing this again. You couldn’t help yourself, could you?”

“Again?” Bryna asked. Her eyebrows shot up, and she looked at Jude questioningly. Has the fucker done this sort of thing before?

“Oh, yes, I’m sure my husband didn’t tell you that he has a preference for young blondes…or that you weren’t the first,” she spat.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Bryna cried. That bastard!

“Bri,” he groaned, glancing at her again.

She could see that he wanted her to stay silent, but how could he ask that of her? She wasn’t even the first person he had seduced like this.

“You would think that having a law degree would make you realize the possible repercussions of your actions. Instead, you act like the football players you manage.”

“Football players?” Bryna asked in confusion.

Then, it hit her.

The number one sports agency in the country. “Jude…Rose. Rose Corp.”

Bryna’s own father had almost signed with them when he was going to go pro. No wonder Jude had known about the sex clubs and how football players acted and why he was gone all the time in the fall. It explained the clients he’d had at Chateau Marmont on New Year’s. He hadn’t given her his last name because that name was unbelievably well-known in Los Angeles. He wouldn’t have wanted her to be able to look him up.

Jude looked between Felicity and Bryna and seemed to realize there was no out. He was a smooth talker, but he couldn’t talk his way out of this one. “How did you figure it out?” he finally asked Felicity.

Felicity stepped forward threateningly. The bitch who had tested Bryna to find out if Bryna was good enough to work for her had returned. “I was informed by another student, who had apparently heard you two speaking about having sex and leaving the country.” She narrowed her eyes. “Is that true?”

Bryna didn’t wait to hear what Jude had to say. Her eyes moved across the room to Pace still standing in the hallway, overseeing what was going on. She glared at him, and he just smirked. She saw everything he had to say in that one smile.

Game. Set. Match.

Asshole.

“I know things are bad, but can’t you at least think about Alex for once?” Felicity asked, drawing Bryna’s attention back to the conversation.

“Who is Alex?”

“He’s our son,” Felicity said.

Bryna’s world tilted. Son. She couldn’t comprehend that word. Jude had a kid. Of course, she had never asked if he had children, but she had never even thought about it. He had used her to escape his life, and she didn’t even know why. He had an accomplished beautiful wife, who clearly loved him despite his flaws. They had a child together. The whole thing made her feel sick.

“Didn’t mention him either, huh?” Felicity asked with bite in her voice.

“Felicity, I didn’t know,” Bryna said.

“You’re young,” she said, her voice filled with disgust. “You’ll learn what’s yours to play with and what isn’t.”

Bryna recoiled at the comment. She had known Jude was married but thought he was separated. She had thought they weren’t getting back together. Perhaps she had just let him delude her into believing that.

“Don’t bring her into this,” Jude said. “This is my doing.”

“Yes, it is,” Felicity said. “And it’s yours to fix. You can walk out of here with me right now, promise to come home to be with me and be a father to Alex, and never see her or anyone else ever again, or I’ll alert the authorities, and you’ll never see your son again.”

Bryna gasped. Her hand flew to her mouth.

“Oh, don’t act so self-righteous!” she snapped at Bryna. “You knew you were sleeping with a married man. You had to know how this would end.”

“Why would you even want to be with him?” Bryna managed to get out.

Felicity ignored her. “Your son is waiting for you at home. Choice is yours, Jude.”

Then, she turned around and walked out of the room. Bryna stared after her in shock. Her eyes flitted to Jude, but he wasn’t looking at her. She wanted to plead with him not to give in, that she wouldn’t agree to testify, that Felicity had no proof. And another part of her wanted to see him pay for what he had done to her.

She still had such strong feelings for him that she vacillated so strongly between the two extremes. To save him or to damn him.

Jude sighed heavily and then made the choice for her. He followed Felicity out of the room. He hadn’t even bothered to look at Bryna. He had left her standing there, all alone.

Pace chuckled from the doorway and then disappeared without a word. He hadn’t even needed to land a blow. She’d had enough.

No friends. No Gates. No Jude.

Her hands balled into fists at her sides. She took a deep breath and then slowly released it. Ice filled her veins, chilled her blood, hardened her heart.

She would not be sad about Jude. How could I be when everything I truly knew about him has been shattered in a matter of minutes? How could I be when he walked out without even the decency of saying good-bye? She was a realist. She had known as soon as Felicity walked through the door that their chance was over.

But grow some fucking balls!

Jude should have owned up to what they had done and told Felicity that he wasn’t happy in their marriage. He shouldn’t have been a pussy by running back to her with his tail between his legs.

No, Jude had made it clear that he had never been hers. They were just strangers with memories.

She wasn’t sad. She was pissed. She wanted to tear everything apart. Destroy it. Burn it to the ground. Just so the world could feel a fraction of what was annihilating her heart.

She had lost everything since that first night she had left with Jude. She had abandoned and neglected Avery and Tara and then further isolated them by kicking them off the committee. Part of it had been related to Pace, but she had been so irritated about what was going on with Jude that she wasn’t able to think straight.

And Gates. He loved her. What did I do in return? Taken advantage of him. Made him deal with her Jude-induced insanity. Accused him of being jealous. Pushed him away.

She couldn’t rebuild that. How could he forgive me? How could I even ask him to forgive me?

She had let her guard down once. Just once for Jude. Now, it had all been thrown right back in her face.

Never again.

She would never again suffer like this. She would take control. She would call the shots. She already had a game plan and knew what she needed to do.

She touched the Harry Winston B at her throat, admiring her scarlet letter. If Jude had wanted to create a gold digger, then a gold digger she would become.

The End

Preorder the second book in the All That Glitters series.

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July 7th

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Turn the page to read the first chapter!

so ask yourself if you are willing

to burn. because the moment you

open yourself to me, i will have

no choice but to scorch everything

that defines you. and without

regret, i will devour and i will

leave nothing behind.

—r.m. drake

 

HELL HATH NO FURY like a woman scorned.

That was the damn truth.

Bryna twirled her Harry Winston B diamond necklace around her finger and parted her pouty lips. She had decided on a gold glitter Chanel dress and hot-as-fuck Jimmy Choos, and when she walked into Las Vegas State’s local nightclub, Posse, all eyes turned her way. Just the way she liked it.

She was still getting used to her new life in college. No annoying cling-ons. No obnoxious stepbrother. No wannabe stepmother. No reminders of what happened her senior year when her life was shot to hell. No reminders of him.

Just her scarlet letter hanging around her neck and a new crowd to rule.

This was the life.

“Bryna! Over here!” Trihn called from the bar.

Bryna fluttered her fingers at her friend and walked her way. It was strange, in a way, to have friends. In high school, she had always had Gates Hartman, her movie star ex-boyfriend, but that had crashed and burned. Otherwise she usually considered other girls as either followers or competition. With Trihn, there was none of that.

Trihnity Hamilton may be model tall and exotic with endless brown-to-blonde ombre hair, but she was the nicest, most sure-of-herself person Bryna had ever met. They had met in this very club the first week of school. Trihn had confidently commented on Bryna’s next season Christian Louboutins. After a night of shots and dancing, a friendship had blossomed.

“Look at you rocking the Chanel tonight after the big game,” Trihn said. She pulled Bryna in for a hug. “I think glitter is your color.”

Bryna laughed. “Always. Look at you in your rocker grunge.”

“Excuse me. This is designer rocker grunge,” Trihn corrected her.

She wore skin-tight black leather pants, a ripped white crop, and strappy Gucci high heels she had probably gotten when she modeled for them last year. Bryna was constantly surprised that they got along and Trihn had a real personality. She normally thought model types were dumb as bricks.

“Ahhhh!” a girl screamed, barreling into Bryna. “You look fucking hot!”

“I’m surprised you’re not still in uniform,” Bryna said.

Stacia Palmer was on the cheerleading team with Bryna. Her father was the head football coach at their biggest rival, the University of Southern California, and that would have made her the enemy, but she had come to LV State to stay out of her father’s shadow. It also explained her obsession with football players. Her reputation as a jersey-chasing whore really endeared her to Bryna. She appreciated the honesty.

“Oh, please.” Stacia flipped her bleached blonde bangs out of her eyes. “All the guys here know I’m a cheerleader. Plus, Blaine isn’t even here yet. I just made a circuit to see if I could find him.”

Blaine was the starting quarterback of the Gamblers football team. Stacia was determined to hook-up with him. Though her real goal was to marry an NFL quarterback.

“You’re ridiculous. How can you even stand college guys?” Bryna asked.

“Don’t talk to me about older guys. Blaine is a senior, Bri. That’s good enough for me.”

Bryna arched an eyebrow. “Whatever you’re into.”

“Like Eric.” Stacia sighed heavily. “I would be very into him if he was still playing.”

Bryna’s eyes wandered through the crowd of football players to where Eric Wilkins was standing. She had been very into him on her school visit here last semester, still was sometimes when she forgot the reason that they would never hook up. She was pretty sure that none of her friends and certainly no one on the football team actually knew the reason.

Eric was gay. That was why he had never tried to hook up with her on her visit and why he hadn’t talked to her since.

“I don’t think you’re his type,” Bryna said.

“Whatever. I heard the guys talking about how he dated that psychotic head case last year. What was her name?”

Bryna raised her eyebrows. She hadn’t heard anything about this. Must have been one hell of a cover story.

“Audrey,” Trihn said.

“That’s it.”

“Why did they break up?” Bryna asked.

Stacia shrugged. “Who cares? She was a crazy bitch. But now he’s on the market. So, we can all take our chance with him. What do you say, B?”

She laughed again and shook her head. “I don’t think I’m his type either.”

“Bri…you’re everyone’s type,” Trihn said.

“I appreciate the sentiment.”

Normally, she wouldn’t disagree with Trihn. She had perfect long blonde hair, a very impressive rack, and a killer body to boot. Most guys couldn’t tear their eyes from her, and she had always enjoyed the attention. After the disaster of a senior year, she had especially enjoyed that attention this summer lying on various European beaches and hooking up with gorgeous exotic men who she couldn’t understand.

“So, then just go ask him out.” Trihn nudged her.

Stacia started cracking up. “Ask him out! You want Bryna to ask him out?”

Bryna rolled her eyes. “You know that’s not happening. Do you know who I am?”

“The elusive Bryna Turner,” Trihn said with a wink. “Come on. You should be confident enough to be able to ask him out. I’d do it.”

“You do it then and let him turn you down. I’m not interested.”

“Well, I’m interested,” Stacia said.

The girls didn’t get it. Bryna had never considered herself a good person. In fact, she normally figured she was a class A bitch. But she wasn’t about to tell people that Eric was gay. He obviously wasn’t out, and the last thing she wanted was for it get back that she was the one who had outed him. She admired him too much to spew venom.

After all, he had led LV State to a national championship as a defensive back before he completely blew out his knee, ending his career. Now he was a student assistant coach for the team, which meant they always hung in the same circles. So, for now, she kept her mouth shut and tolerated her friend’s ridiculous behavior.

“You know what,” Bryna said with a smile. A plan was already formulating in her mind. “I’ll go ask him out.”

“Yes!” Trihn cried, thinking she had won.

“But…when he’s not interested I get a big fat I-told-you-so, and you bitches find guys to buy us the next round of shots.”

“Easy for us,” Trihn said. “There’s no way he’s not interested.”

Bryna smirked. This is almost too easy.

She honed in on Eric. He was easy to spot even in the crowd of football players. Tall and still built like he played ball with short-cropped dark hair and an easy smile. The guys he was hanging out with had a bunch of girls desperately clinging to them, but Eric was unsurprisingly without one. He may be telling everyone else that it was because of his psycho ex, but she knew the truth. They always said all the hot ones were gay.

“Hey, Eric,” Bryna said, interrupting their conversation. “Can I talk with you a minute?”

She felt the eyes of all the other football players heating her skin, but she kept her focus on Eric. She wet her lips and looked up at him under her long lashes. One of the other guys murmured something vulgar under his breath, and Eric shoved him.

“Sure, Bryna. What’s up?” he asked nonchalantly.

Bryna pointed her French manicured finger to a more private location. “Mind if we talk over there?”

He nodded and then followed her away. The guys immediately started cat calling him. He flipped them off, returning his attention to her. “What’s going on?”

When she stared up into his honey hazel eyes, her smile widened. God, he is fucking hot. She had always thought so. Too fucking bad.

“Bryna?”

She snapped out of her trance and remembered why the fuck she was here in the first place. “Do you want to go out sometime?”

Eric stared back at her blankly. He looked surprised, but underneath the shock was something else. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

“You’re asking me out?”

“I know shocker, right?” She tried to play it off as if it wasn’t a big deal. She had never really done this before. Mostly because she didn’t need to. She was hot and guys flocked to her. This was just to prove a point.

“Look, I…I don’t think you’re my type.” He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Nothing against girls like you, but they’re just not for me.”

Bryna's mouth fell open. “Girls like me?”

“You know what I mean.” His eyes fell to the floor.

There it was in his voice again. Was that…disgust she detected?

“No, I don’t think I do. I’ve been here less than a month. What exactly is my reputation that you can say ‘girls like me’?”

Eric sighed and his eyes found her once more. “You know what people say about you…about all the cheerleaders,” he clarified quickly. “No offense. I’m just not into that.”

“Them now and not just me.”

She didn’t even know why she was taking offense to all this. She had been expecting him to turn her down. She had expected him to say no that he didn’t want to go out with her. But she sure as hell hadn’t expected him to basically call her a slut bag whore. People like her! What the hell did that even mean?

She hadn’t even slept with anyone here! Three weeks at Las Vegas State, and while she had played the field, she was wary of getting too close to anyone. The last thing she wanted was for feelings to get involved and fuck her up again. All she wanted was some hot meaningless sex. And it was harder to come by from someone who went to her school knowing they would inevitably run into each other.

“I don’t want to get into it, Bryna. But it’s…cute that you asked me.”

Cute.

He had said it was cute. This had gone from irritating to humiliating with one word. What an asshole!

“Maybe call up your friend, Gates. He seemed into you.”

“We’re not friends anymore, but thanks,” she spat sarcastically.

Bryna turned to walk away, but Eric reached out and grabbed her arm. “Hey. I didn’t mean to offend you. I didn’t know you two weren’t friends anymore.”

“Let me go,” she growled.

Eric immediately dropped her arm. He had that look again like he was already disgusted with her, and her harsh tone only made it worse. “Whatever.”

Bryna stormed away back to her friends. She struggled to find composure. The thought of Gates irritated her to no end. He had been in love with her, and everything had gone straight to shit. She hadn’t even talked to him since he had kicked her out of his movie premiere, and now Eric Wilkins was bringing it up.

Ugh! Just another reminder of that night. Another reminder of what she had lost. Another reminder that she had let him get to her. Another reminder of how fucking pissed off she was at what he had done.

She took a deep breath and shut down. She locked away the image of him. She swallowed hard. This wasn’t right. His name held no power over her. Never again would he hold any power over her.

Jude.

She locked away the image of Jude, the man she had once loved, telling her he was married with a son. Locked away the memory of him turning around, following his wife out of the banquet room, and leaving her forever.

She shouldn’t let this get to her. Gates was out of her life. Jude was out of her life. And Eric Wilkins didn’t matter.

THE ALL THAT GLITTERS SERIES has been in my head for several years, and I’m so glad that I was finally able to write Bryna and the start to her crazy world. This book would not have been completed without many other people helping me!

First, I’d like to thank the random hostess at the Mexican restaurant three years ago, who gave the absolute best service my sister and I ever had. She had a really freaking cool name, too, that I’d never heard before. I wasn’t sure how to pronounce it, and she told me it was pronounced Brihn-uh. So, I’m not sure if she’ll appreciate that I immortalized her name as a slightly manic gold digger, but thanks anyway!

Second, to the group of girls who read this book while I wrote it, gave me feedback, and generally kept me from going crazy! Jessica—thank you for loving the assholes I create, no matter what villainous things they do. Bridget—thank you, in turn, for always loving my nice guys and inevitably making me want to write books about them. Rebecca—thank you for good music and seemingly sharing a brain with me. And, of course, thank you to Diana Peterfreund, who whipped my ass into shape and gave me invaluable advice while writing. ♥

Also, to my early readers—I really appreciate you taking a chance on Bri and your expert feedback. I know she’s kind of a lovable unlikable character, but she just kind of owns it. So, thank you, Trish Brinkley, Katie Miller, Lori Francis, Jessica Sotelo, and Amy McAvoy.

Ahhhh! Lauren Blakely, thank you so much for the incredible blurb for this book as well as for taking a chance on my angst-filled ride. P.S. Can we go to Paris? I need some new jeans. Also, thank you to Emma Hart, Kendall Ryan, and Corinne Michaels, who let me drive them crazy during the months before this book released.

I’d like to thank Sarah Hansen of Okay Creations, who created this brilliant masterpiece of covers for the All That Glitters series. I basically handed you the titles, and you completely blew me out of the water!

As always, thank you to my beautiful editor and formatter, Jovana Shirley at Unforeseen Editing! You always do a fantastic job on all your books, and this one is no exception.

Additionally, thank you to Christine at Shh Mom’s Reading, for dedicating so much time to putting together all my release information and generally keeping me on task!

I’d also like to thank my family, who encouraged me to write this book when the idea to write a how-Bryna-became-a-gold-digger book popped into my mind on the seven-hour drive to New Orleans for our cruise. Thanks for dealing with my randomness when I’d get up at three a.m. on the ship, pull out my laptop, and just start typing away because I couldn’t get Bryna out of my head. Couldn’t be here without you. Love you Mom, Dad, Brittany, and Shea. And, of course, I couldn’t get through everyday life without my fiancé, Joel, and my two puppies, Riker and Lucy. ♥

Last, but certainly not least, YOU! I want to thank you for taking a chance and reading the first in this new series I’m already wildly obsessed with. Thank you for purchasing this book, for hopefully loving it, and for writing me a short review on what you thought! I can’t wait for you to get the second book in the series, Gold! Love you all! And thank you for letting me pursue my dreams!