The Stand Off (2 page)

“Plan B.” Lux turned to face her
sister with a serious expression on her face as she continued, “I don’t have a
choice; I tried to be nice… I tried to play by the rules.”

“I know,” Pixie put her hand over
her sister’s.

“Sometimes a girl has to do what
a girl has to do,” Kiki added.

“Are you sure?” Pixie asked Lux.

“Most definitely,” Lux said with conviction.

“I’ll make that phone call right
now.” Pixie grabbed her phone.

“I don’t know how you’re going to
get us out of this one Lux, but if anyone can do it, it’s you. We have full
faith in you, as always,” Kiki said with a broad smile.

Although her words were meant to
pacify, they made the seriousness of the situation much more serious for Lux.
It reminded Lux that they were depending on her again. She couldn’t fail them.

Lux took a deep breath and began
to mentally prepare herself… this was going to be a nasty fight.

The next morning, Lux faced her
dresser mirror as she pulled her long, dark waves back into a ponytail. She was
wearing a black, off shoulder shirt with a white and black polka dot tank top
below. She wore a thick, black belt and red, skinny jeans. She topped it off
with a pair of black ballet shoes and a silver, over-sized owl necklace. She
had no idea what she was up against so she decided to dress comfortably.

It was the day she had been
dreading. She’d never faced such an obstacle or such a difficult man in her
life. She tried to blame herself for not being able to make Dean Blake see
reason but quickly reminded herself that he was too unreasonable to comprehend
reason. Nevertheless, she was angry at herself for not regaining the deed to
the building. However, that anger did not even compare to the rage she felt for
Dean Blake.

“Covetous prick,” she murmured
under her breath.

“How do I look?” Pixie asked as
she walked into Lux’s bedroom. Her extensions were pulled into a ponytail on
top of her head and she wore orange and brown, cheetah print eye shadow.

“A bright-orange cocktail dress
and platforms?” Lux raised her brows, although after years of Pixie’s crazy
outfits, she was no longer shocked by her younger sister’s taste in clothing.
But still, it was a protest against the demolition of the music hall; a
cocktail dress seemed a bit formal.

“A dash of feminine wiles never
hurt, sister dear.”

“You look like you’re on your way
to an eighties themed prom for the fashionably inept, dear sister. And don’t
even get me started on those heels.”

“You don’t like the shoes?” Pixie
gasped.

“Cheetah-print platforms with
seven inch heels? I’m afraid you’re going to fall and break your neck while
running from the wrecking ball or the big burly men controlling it.” Lux shook
her head as she applied a little lip gloss.

“I think these shoes are hot.”
Pixie looked down at her unusual shoes and grinned.

“They are hot but under the
circumstances they are also dangerous.”

“I’ll be very careful,” Pixie
reassured her.

“Did you get mom out of her
room?” Lux changed the subject.

“No, she refuses.”

“Damn,” Lux felt the gloom rise
up her spine to wrap around her brain.

“And I think Dean Blake just got
here,” Pixie said as Lux headed out of the room.

“Damn…damn…ugh!” she cursed as
the reality fully set in. Damn she hated that man; he was the epitome of all of
her problems. Without him, her life would be back to normal.

“Greedy, spoiled, home-wrecking
asshole.” She shook her head.

She didn’t have time to dwell on
her hatred for Dean now. Now she had an even greater obstacle to get through,
one that would be harder to achieve than any. She walked into her mother’s room
and sat on the bed next to her.

“Are you ready?” Lux asked in a
soft voice.

“No,” her mother whispered.

“Mom, you know that you can’t
stay in here.”

“Don’t start; I can’t leave right
now, I need a moment to regroup and collect my thoughts.” Pax kept her eyes
closed, as if trying a new form of meditation.

“There is a wrecking ball out
front Mom; you don’t have time to collect your thoughts.”

“Not yet.” Pax waived her hand.

“Mom, please,” Lux pleaded.

“Leave me alone, Lux. Let me do
this at my own pace. Please.”

“At
your
pace, half of
this building will be demolished.”

“You’re making it much worse,
Lux. Please leave me to my thoughts.”

“But mom.”

“No, just go. The longer you
hassle me, the longer it will take for me to regain my composure,” she barked.

Seeing her mother’s anxiety grow,
Lux took it down a notch despite her own growing anxieties. “I’m sorry, I’m
just scared.”

“I know. Try to stop them, use me
as an excuse if you must, but I cannot leave right this moment.”

“You know I can’t use you as an
excuse.”

“I know. I’m sorry I’ve put you
in this position, Lux.”

“It’s okay; it’s not your fault.
I’ll be back soon,” Lux said; she had never been so frustrated before.

Lux left her mother’s room and
rushed back to her own bedroom. She locked the door behind her, walked over to
her stereo, and turned it on. She turned it up as loud as it would go, covered
her mouth with one hand, and yelled into the speaker while she pinched her leg
with her other hand. She was overwhelmed and fearful her trick would not work.

They are all depending on you!
Your mother is depending on you; you cannot let her down,
she reminded
herself as she tried to get her anxiety under control. She stopped screaming,
pinched herself harder, and clenched her jaw tightly. Once she felt the pain
attack her anxiety like a shark, she stood tall and took a deep breath as she
composed herself.

Lux stormed out of her room and
back downstairs. The pressure was getting thicker by the moment, and she was
ready to run up stairs to her bedroom and hide under her covers until it was
over.

“Where’s mom?’ Pixie asked as she
stuffed a piece of fudge into her mouth.

“She’s not ready.”

“Mom hasn’t left the house in
years. I don’t know why we thought a wrecking ball might make her leave,” Pixie
said through a mouthful of chocolate.

“It’s not her fault,” Lux
defended their mother.

“I know.”

“Do you have your things packed
and ready… just in case?”

“Yes,” Pixie answered in a sad
tone.

“Good.”

“But I have full faith that you
are going to fix this, so I don’t really need my stuff.” Pixie grinned and
shrugged her shoulders.

“You didn’t really pack a bag did
you?” Lux raised a brow.

“No. Why bother when we all know
you’ll fix it. Besides, this new evidence is a sure thing. There’s no way he’ll
keep fighting after this,” Pixie said confidently, and Lux frowned with the
added pressure.

Lux sighed and shook her head,
“Let’s go.”

“What about Mom?” Pixie shoved
the last bit of chocolate into her mouth and raised her hands.

“I don’t know; we’ll figure that
obstacle out when we reach it.”

“
If
we reach it,” Pixie corrected
her.

Lux grabbed her black, patent
leather bag off of the table and walked out of the building. She saw the large
group of people who had gathered to show their support. They were all standing
in front of the building holding signs and chanting. They were blocking the
wrecking ball from getting any closer, and Lux couldn’t be more proud.

They were the people who worked
and volunteered there; the children and adults that learned there. They were
the musicians that sold their music there and the fans who bought music there.
It seemed like everyone from the neighborhood had come to show support. Lux
smiled, knowing that the music had brought them all together for a good cause.
The Music Hall was an important part of their community. In a neighborhood
where there was nothing constructive for the kids and crime was high, The Music
Hall served a very good purpose.

Pixie stood with their friends,
and Lux smiled at everyone before she walked ahead of the group, for a more
private setting with Dean Blake.

Lux stood by herself with her
head held high despite her anxiety. Just when her nerves were trying to get the
best of her she saw her nemesis, and her anger sparked. She straightened her
shoulders and squinted her eyes as she watched Dean Blake walk towards her. She
would never get used to the sight of him. He was undeniably handsome and as
intimidating as a shark. He wore a long, black trench coat and a dark suit
underneath. He did not attempt to hide the irritation on his face as he stood
before her.

“What is this?” Dean nodded to
the crowd of people.

“What does it look like?” She
shrugged her shoulders with an air of innocence.

“It won’t help you.”

“We’ll see.”

“I own that section, and it’s
coming down today.”

“You’re not tearing it down,” she
said with enough confidence to increase his irritation.

“Move out of the way,” Dean
demanded.

“I will
not
move!” Lux
crossed her arms over her chest and raised her chin, standing her ground.

“Part of this building is coming
down, Miss Hart.”

“Over my dead body, Mr. Blake.”

“You have to the count of 3 to
get out of the way, or we will work around you.”

“You can’t work around us.”

Dean bent his head closer to hers.
“Then I’ll go through you.”

It was a well-known fact that
Dean Blake was a tyrant and a shrewd businessman who always got his way.
However, if he’d expected her to be intimidated, he was sorely mistaken. He had
picked the wrong female for that.

She grinned and pulled the folder
out of her bag. “Maybe this will slow you down.”

Dean shook his head and began in
a patronizing tone, “Is this another desperate attempt to try to obtain
something that I will
never
give to you?”

“Never is a strong word.”

“I give you an A for effort. You’ve
fought harder than anyone I’ve known, but this is out of your league. Nothing
will stop this building from coming down.”

“Not even this?” She lowered her
voice and opened the file to show him the first picture. She smiled as the
shock splattered across his face. He quickly rectified his shocked expression,
but she’d seen enough.

“Where did you get that?” His
eyes flashed with rage.

“Where it came from is irrelevant;
where it’s going is what you should be worried about. You know as well as I do
that the press would eat this up.”

“Give me that file.” He took a
step towards her.

“Gladly, I have copies
distributed all over. Including a file ready to go to all of my social media
spots should something happen to the rest. Or if something happens to me… or
this building. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. You have lots of
secrets Mr. Blake, and you’ve been a sloppy boy. Finding them all will be a
piece of cake; it will be fun watching you eat you words.”

“Fun? If you want some fun, we
can skip the pictures and go straight to your room. I’ll show you exactly how
nasty I can get.”

“I expect nothing less from
someone with such whorish tendencies. Nevertheless, you should watch your mouth
or I might leak something even worse than this,” she bluffed. She didn’t have
anything worse, yet.

“I underestimated you,” he said
in a controlled voice. He was furious, but he was also in awe. No one had ever
gotten one over on him; no one had ever dared.

“Then you’re foolish as well as
covetous; I told you I would do anything to keep this place. You own half of
this city. You don’t need this property; you’re just being greedy.”

“Record stores are a thing of the
past. There is no use for them,” he quipped.

“It’s not just a record store!”
she snapped, angered by his words.

“Oh yes,
and
the rundown
nightclub.”

“It
would
appear rundown
to a rich, spoiled yuppie that wields his power against the less fortunate!”
She knew she’d hit home when she watched his anger flash across his face.

“You don’t know anything about
me.”

“I know a lot. I know you have
that silver spoon shoved so far up your ass that it’s begun to affect your
brain. I know you have no morals; I’ve been digging through one revolting
affair after another. Really, how do you make time for all those women and all
those dastardly deeds?” She shook her head in disgust.

He took a step closer and lowered
his voice, “Are you jealous? Do you need me to make a little time for you, too?
I have about ten minutes I can spare for you; eleven if you smile.”

“No thank you, I’m not into
heavily
used goods. They carry undiscovered diseases.” She raised her chin and despite
the fact that he towered over her, she managed to look down her nose at him.

“You can wipe that smile off your
face, pretty girl, you haven’t won. You may have bought yourself a little time,
but that’s it. This isn’t over, not by a long shot.” He turned to walk away
from her.

“I’ll be waiting… in my ‘
record
’
store,” she snorted condescendingly.

Dean looked back at her for a
moment; their eyes locking just long enough for their anger to increase.

“I’ll see you soon, Lux… very
soon.” He winked before he walked away.

She scowled as she watched him
walk away. He was just as cocky as he ever was, despite his defeat.

The Music Hall crowd began to
cheer when the bulldozer turned around and headed away from the building.