Three of Diamonds (Hamden Series) (23 page)

For the last six months, his life felt like something was missing. He didn’t even find his relief that he always could at Olympus. Years, decades really, he has protected this part of his identity. Wes never wanted this part of him to be exposed or shared in his public life, but since meeting Lola, he found himself questioning all his impenetrable safeguards and having them overlap into his everyday life.

“So, tell me about the ink. Start with the one on your foot.”

Lola felt uncomfortable. She would never discuss the reason behind her ink. That was her cross to bear, so she tried to seem unaffected, and gave the generic answer she always gave when asked.

“Nothing much to tell, you know, drunken choices made from portfolios at the tattoo studio.” She answered, unable to look at him, instead focusing on the importance of the popcorn ceiling. Trying to seem as if her lie was truth and her choices were in fact adolescent rites of passage, she jested, “I guess I should just be lucky I didn’t pick those stupid cartoon character ones.”

Her answer irked his intuition but he didn’t want to focus too much on that so he just said, “Wow, well for an intoxicated adventure, please tell me you at least know that the foreign quote is not some sick bastard tattoo artists kind of a joke. I mean, you did ensure it doesn’t say, ‘Yankees fan’, right?” With a look of feigned utter blasphemy etched on his mocking face.

Lola’s laugh rumbled out of her chest, as the two shared this sweet moment. She prayed he would take her answer and move on to another subject. To encourage the action she answered, “oh, even though I am a transplant, I understand the necessary hatred for the New York Yankees. Besides, you don’t have to be from around here to appreciate the Red Sox, especially after their eighty plus years drought from the World Series. I remember being in Arizona watching the crucial, ‘bloody sock’ moment.”

“Wow, you are an amazing woman. Now, just tell me you are a Patriot panty dropper and I think I’ll be in love.” Wes playfully said as he leaned over kissing her lips.

“Oh, I’d definitely drop my panties for Tom Brady. Hell, I’d drop them for the whole defensive line. I’m definitely a football girl.”

“Sunshine, you might have just sealed your own fate.” Wes said lightly in the moment.

Not wanting to delve into what a statement like that could mean, Lola opted to change the subject.

“So, may I ask about Olympus?”

The feeling of euphoria, from moments earlier were gone, however he felt he owed her as much to hear her question.

“What do you want to know?”

“How? When? Why?”

“I would think that would be obvious.”

“Well it isn’t, not to me anyways. Maybe to everyone else in your life, but not to me.”

“No one else in my life knows about Olympus. I’ve gone a long way to ensure my privacy about this portion of my life. Hell, my best friends for over thirty years don’t even know.”

That bit of information surprised Lola at first, but then as her brain processed it, it really didn’t seem so out of the ordinary. Wes was a very intense man; not just a lover, but that couldn’t be brushed off either. His strive for perfection in everything he did was becoming quite plain to see. Perhaps she wasn’t the only one hiding secrets. As much as she wanted to know more, she would respect him enough to not delve deeper.

“Okay, so how did it come to be?”

“The circle I ran in, for that purpose, was a mixture of executives and professionals that all wanted the outlet but wanted their personal and private lives to be unaffected. So I launched my proposal and...bada-bing-bada-boom, here we are.”

“Wow. Just like that. So it started out almost as a corporation?”

“Yeah, something like that. Olympus is recognized as an international import and export enterprise and even has its own letterhead.” Wes chuckled at the last bit, hoping she wouldn’t ask for further explanation.

“So, you, the Gods, are what, like, the board members?”

“Yeah, I guess you could think of it that way. Every board has a chair as do we,” Keeping the fact he was the chairman to himself, “but most everything is voted on and majority rules.”

Lola mentally chewed over this info and was just about to ask one of the gazillion questions swirling in her head when Wes’ voice broke her thoughts.

“Got a date?” Wes asked watching again as she looked at the bedside clock.

“No date, just have to be back in time for Boyd at ten thirty. Aimee is bringing him back. Then I’m off to work for the night.”

“You are working tonight?” Wes asked, suddenly anxious for her answer.

“Yeah, I work almost every Friday at Cal’s.” Lola answered as if he was missing the obvious.

Of course, she is talking about Cal’s
. With an expulsion of the breath he held, Wes couldn’t help but feel relieved. Nonetheless, even with the relief known, his thoughts only went to one place. He was breaking every rule he had gone out of his way to protect himself and Olympus, with being with Lola in the biblical sense, he just blew it all out of the water. Hell, he is the one that wrote the fucking anti-fraternization clauses.

The image of her there, near Lycus, still, now, sent a chill through his body. Wes could clearly recall Lycus’ hand on her, his body crowding hers, creating a deeper hatred for the man that Wes used to call friend. Trey, aka Lycus, a decade ago, was someone that Wes thought would walk through fire for him. They met at Syracuse and became fast friends; both with great ambitions. Still, it didn’t take Trey long to want in on Wes’ social circles. Against better judgment, Wes introduced Trey to his special circle. When Trey was accepted in and Wes formed the idea for Olympus, he launched it to his friend and the duo worked hard to benefit from their hard work.

In the last year or so, Wes has noticed a difference in the man he had once called friend. He is more bitter and jealous. His personal life had gone to shit and he’s used his power, power that Wes was happy to give him within his organization, to advantage. Christ, Wes knew that one of the bullets on the docket for the next board meeting was stripping Lycus of his title, but he couldn’t think of that now. All he wanted to think about was the woman next to him. With every fall of his eyes on her beauty, Wes felt protective more and more.

These feelings of protectiveness weren’t new for Wes. Anyone that truly knew him, knew he would go to the ends of the earth for anyone he cared about. Plain and simple, he protected what was important to him; however, these feelings were different. Lola was different. Wes felt like Trey violated his claim. Lola had the power over him that he never allowed anyone to have. She had the power to destroy him. To expose him. To shatter him. And for once, Wes’ first thought wasn’t about the fallout of what his exposure could mean, but rather would it truly matter? Ever since the moment Lola popped up in his life, his plan has gone anything but by design. Wes started thinking about the solid foundations his friends have in their lives now. Wives, kids, homes, things and people to give your life reason, rather than being ruled by your hormones. Mentally shaking himself, it was way too early to be thinking so deeply, and besides who wanted to waste time thinking when he could be using her incredible body for other things.

“Well, I can skip the gym. But if I do, we will have to fill the time with some other kind of cardio.” Wes said, as he placed his hand around her neck from the front and pulled her toward him. With a kiss that would sear her soft lips with his passion, he put all that was floating around in his head into it.

“You seem awfully happy, Lola.” Hank stated as he watched Lola bounce around with a giddy swagger.

“I’m always happy when I’m at work, Hank.” She answered, but couldn’t help think about what she did when she wasn’t at work. Wes mentioned a cardio workout, and boy was it a workout.

Being brought back to the present, she completed the order and turned to her regulars and continued to mingle with them as her shift passed by. It was close to eleven when her cell buzzed in her pocket. Pulling the phone out, she couldn’t help but smile that Wes’ number was displayed on the screen. Pressing the accept call button, she brought the phone to her ear and said, “Hello.”

“Hey, Sunshine. How’s your night?”

“Good, thanks. What’s up?”

“What are your plans for tomorrow?”

“Boyd and I don’t have any plans in particular. Why, what’s up?”

“Buddy of mine and his family do a usual weekend gathering and I’d like you and Boyd to join me.”

Lola’s stomach flipped, not because she was over joyed with the invite, but rather unease. When she didn’t immediately respond, Wes probed further, “Is there a problem? Do you have something against burgers and dogs?”

Mary, one of the servers, waited at the end of the bar for her next order up, so Lola needed to end the call. “Uh, do you really think that is a good idea?”

“No, you are right, it’s a bad idea. I usually make a habit of not only coming up with bad ideas but also crappy invites, too.” Wes answered hoping sarcasm would get her to laugh. He was rewarded with a quick chuckle. “Look, think about it and call me when your shift is over.”

“It will be late.”

“I’m hunkered down in my office, where I’ll be for a while. I just had a kick ass working out so my system is ready to go. I figured I should at least break a sweat at the gym since you wouldn’t be in my bed tonight. Which, by the way, we need to work out some sort of arrangement.”

Mary waved, indicating her tables were backing up, so Lola said, “Fine. I’ll call you,” Before disconnecting the call and filling yet another order. As she turned the blender on for a bunch of frou frou girlie drinks that Mary’s table was waiting on, she tried to calm her nerves as to how she was going to tell Wes, she and Boyd would not be joining him at his friend’s house. I mean after all, they aren’t a couple, so why bother pretending. This is about sex, a chance of incredible, amazing, kinky as shit sex. Nothing else.
Yeah, Lola, you just keep telling yourself that.

With Cal’s permission, Lola closed down a little after one am. It was a treat for Lola to reach her jeep by one thirty am. Once she was in the driver’s seat, pulling out of the parking lot, she called Wes.

He answered on the second ring, “Hey, Sunshine. I was expecting a call closer to two.”

“You still at the office?”

“Yeah, I had some ideas for Aaron’s Place, so I wanted to get right on it and I didn’t want to be at my house.” Wes didn’t add the reason why he didn’t want to be at his place; all he could think about was Lola and what occurred in his bed.

“Cool. I’m sure it will be amazing.” Lola answered, knowing her words were truth.

“Well, you will have to tell me when you see it if you still agree.”

“Will do.” Then silence.

“So.”

“So what?”

Why was she avoiding his request to join him at Seth and Mae’s? “So, why are you coming up with an excuse of why you and Boyd can’t accompany me to my friend’s house? You already told me you didn’t have any plans in particular, so I fixed that.”

Still silence.

“Okay, Lola, what’s up?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit.”

“Do you really want to have us with you? I mean, showing up like a couple, or something.”

Wes couldn’t help but smile. She was concerned about what the others would think.
Well how do you like that?
Miss, do what I want regardless of what others think, was having second thoughts of how it would appear if her and Boyd were with Wes.

“Well, if you don’t want me to carry the sign that says, ‘We are a couple,’ I’ll try to remember to leave it at home.” When he heard her muffled chuckle, he continued, “Look, Sunshine, it’s a group of my best friends getting together. It is going to be a gorgeous day, they are right on the lake and I thought you and Boyd would enjoy yourselves. That’s all. No need to look deeper than that.”

Well, when he puts it like that, I guess it does seem silly to be concerned
. Still feeling skeptical, Wes persisted, “Come on, it will be fun. Conner and Aidan are right around Boyd’s age. Besides, when was the last time you had a good time doing anything? Well, besides with me this morning.” His voice went husky on the last bit.