27. Alex

Chapter 27

T he club isn’t bad. Honestly, if we had happened across it while on a business trip, I’d probably be pleasantly surprised by it. Unfortunately, that’s not why we're here. No, we're here to deal with a problem, one that has everything leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.

We’ve been all over the place on business, different states and even different countries, and while I’ve been to Maine a few times, I’ve never been here. A few months ago, I would have been thrilled to scope this place out. They have a wide variety of things to do, from golf to tennis, and while that might not be my thing, the drinks are strong, and there are pretty ladies everywhere.

Too bad none of them are my Cherry.

I drain the rest of my drink, slamming my cup down on the table in annoyance.

“You know you didn’t have to come,” Vince says with a chuckle. I glare at him, but it only makes him laugh harder.

Asshole.

He’s lucky he’s Nate’s oldest friend and damn near like a brother to me, or he would have lost his job a long time ago.

As it is, he’s right. I didn’t have to come, and I almost didn’t. I could have easily stayed behind and let Desmond and him look into Kat’s asshole ex. Hell, I almost had, but in the end, I’d needed to see this guy.

I’m not sure if I want to hit him for hurting her or thank him for it. If he’d never broken her heart, she wouldn’t have ended up in New York or at our club that night. This agreement with Kat might be new, but I can assure you it’s going to last. I’ll make sure of it. I’ve never felt this way with anyone else, and it’s not just me.

Fuck, even Oliver is taken by her, and he’s never really cared to participate in sharing, especially not after what happened with Natasha.

Alright, so I’ll thank him and beat his ass. Both seem appropriate for the situation.

Although, based on the death grip Desmond has on his glass, I might not get the chance to do either before he gets to him.

I open my mouth to ask Vince if he’s sure we're in the right place for the third time, but before I can, some loud asshole cuts me off.

“Hey, beautiful, how about another round?”

I don’t even need to look to know this guy’s a prick, but I do anyway. All three of us turn, and I shit you not, this guy looks like a Ken doll. Not a hair out of place, his skin even looks like plastic.

What the hell did Cherry see in this guy?

“Of course, Mr. Wilmont.” The girl says, ducking her head and quickly walking to the bar. In no time at all, she returns, passing around beers to not just him but his five friends as well.

“Gross,” Desmond says, pulling a face as Carter very openly runs the back of his hand up the server's leg.

I agree it’s gross and not at all acceptable. Judging by the way the girl goes stiff, I’d go as far as to say it isn’t welcomed, either.

“Here we go.” I can hear the smile on Vince’s lips, and a second later, the scrape of Desmond’s chair legs against the stone ground lets me know just how right he is.

“Hey!”

All six of the guys turn our way as Desmond makes his way around our table toward them. They look him up and down, some with disgust and others with confusion, but not a single one of them appears to recognize him.

Fantastic.

“How about we keep our hands to ourselves?” Des raises a brow, nodding down to where Carter’s fingers still rest on the server’s thigh.

One of the guys at the table laughs before pushing to stand. He’s got a few inches on Desmond, and it looks like he might be one of those assholes who lives at the gym and is itching for a fight.

What does the new generation call them again?

“How about you mind your own damn business?” he spits, his lips curling in disgust.

Oh, right. A gym bro, yeah, that’s definitely what this guy is.

“I like to make things my business when assholes take advantage of people. Especially people who can’t defend themselves.” Desmond keeps his voice even, but I can see the tic in his jaw. I know how bad he’s itching for a fight, and funny enough, it’s not with the asshole he’s talking to. Though I’m sure he wouldn’t mind knocking him around a bit, too.

“Fellas,” Carter stands, lifting his hands to try and pacify the two currently staring daggers at one another. All he actually succeeds in doing is giving the poor girl a chance to slip away and turning Desmond’s hate-filled eyes to him. “I think we might have gotten off on the wrong foot here.”

Carter takes a moment to look each of us over, and I see the recognition in his eyes.

Smart.

“What do you say? Come, pull up a chair and let me buy you a round, and we can all get better acquainted,” he offers with a smile that I’m sure usually has people eating out of the palm of his hand.

Too bad for him, I helped raise Desmond and now Addison, and he doesn’t have shit on either of them.

Before Desmond can tell him to shove his invitation up his ass, like I know he wants to, I decide to step in. Not that this isn’t fun and all, but I’ve seen enough of Carter’s face already.

Besides, the faster we handle business here, the faster we get to go home back to Kat, and that’s really why we’re here. To give Kat peace of mind and ensure this kind of thing doesn’t happen ever again.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have time for that, as we do have business to attend to.” Desmond turns his glare to me, but I ignore him. I know the only thing that’s going to help his attitude right now, and while I can’t give him that, I can give him the next best thing.

“A shame, well next time—”

“There won’t be a next time.”

“Excuse me?” Carter’s eyes narrow, and the easy smile he’s held in place this whole time finally slips.

Yes, I know assholes like him. I’ve been around them for years now, the type of man who measures his success based on how far his reach is. He seems nice enough, so long as you can further his success or agenda.

“Yes, I know how rude of me for not explaining.” Pushing up from the table, I make my way to stand next to Desmond, who, thankfully, has managed to hold back so far.

“You see, your behavior with the staff is unacceptable, and as such, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

Nobody says a word, but I see his eyes narrow, and I know I’m close to seeing the real Carter.

“Do you know who I am?” He asks, and his friendly tone from only a moment ago is gone.

I’d pretend I’m shocked, but not as shocked as he’s about to be.

Walking around the table, I slowly approach him from his left while Vince moves around the table to the right, and Desmond stays where he is at the head of it.

“Actually, I do.”

One of his friends stands, looking at me as if I’d somehow offended him. Before he can get further, Carter waves him off, and once again, I get a glimpse of who he really is.

I’d bet these men aren’t so much his friends and, more likely, his muscle, probably hired. But that’s okay, I came prepared.

“You’re Carter Wilmont, twenty-seven years old. You went to Deering High School and graduated from Bowdoin College. You're the only child of Marge and Robert, and you have a small penis.”

His face goes red at my last comment, and he balls his hands into fists, no doubt wanting to hit me, but his buddy to his right cracks a smile, and I take that as a win. I don’t actually know if it’s true. It’s not as if I asked Kat, nor do I really care, but with guys like him, his pride is the best place to hit him, and that certainly seems to have done the trick.

“Whoopie shit, you can use Google. Every stalker can do that,” Carter snaps, trying to make light of what I said. He’s right; most of that probably could be found in a basic search, but I can tell it’s shaken him. “So why don’t you take your stalker ass and get lost before I call the police?”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary. Vincent here would be happy to escort you out.” I gesture to Vince, who still stands opposite me, and Carter follows my movement, looking him up and down. He can act as hard as he wants, but I know the kind of picture Vince paints, and it’s not a nice happy one, at least not for him it won’t be.

“I’m not the one who needs to leave,” Carter seethes, moving away from the table and stomping toward me.

“See, that’s where you're wrong. We don’t tolerate your kind of behavior here. Our staff has the right to feel safe while working, and it’s our job to ensure scum like you don’t push yourself on them despite the status you seem to believe you have.”

That’s the final straw.

Carter lunges for me, his hand closing around my collar as he pulls me close to him in an attempt to intimidate me, but all I can do is smile.

“Listen here. I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, but you can’t just come in here with your expensive suits and tattoos and expect me to listen to you. This city is fine just the way it is, and we don’t need the likes of you trying to stick your nose in shit you don’t know the first thing about. My parents donate a lot to this club, and I’d hate to have to call the owner to have you thrown out, but I will if I have to.”

Reaching down, I carefully unwrap his fingers from around my shirt but remain where I am.

“My apologies. How rude of me. My name is Alex Lawson, and this is my nephew Desmond.”

“Oh, shit…” one of his buddies murmurs, but I don’t look up to see which, ensuring Carter has my full attention.

“As of two hours ago, this country club is now under new ownership.”

Vince is ready the second I turn to him, more than happy to take care of this pompous asshole. He’s always been our muscle, but something feels different this time. Is he so eager to help because he knows what Kat means to us, or just because of Kat herself?

I don’t have the time to dwell on the thought right now, and frankly, I’m not sure I want to.

“Vincent is going to show you and your friends out, and from this moment on, none of you are welcome back.” Vince moves toward the table, and despite how big and tough Carter’s friends try to appear, they’re quick to fall in line.

Carter does not.

Vincent reaches out to provide Carter with some motivation, and he stupidly pushes back as if he could overpower him.

“It’s time to go, Carter. Before you give Mommy and Daddy a bad name.” The sarcasm that drips from Vince’s words has me biting the inside of my lip to stop from smiling.

Carter stands for a moment, his face becoming more red by the second before he takes a deep breath and shakes his arm free from Vince's hold.

“This isn’t the last you’ll be hearing from me,” he hisses, leaning closer so that we're damn near nose to nose.

“For your sake, I hope you're wrong. This was a warning. Next time, we won’t be so nice,” Desmond says, and with that, Vince grabs him and drags him toward the door, cutting off whatever else he might feel the need to say.

Which reminds me.

“And stay the fuck away from Kat. She’s ours now.”

Carter stills, causing him to trip over his own feet when Vince urges him forward, and I hear Desmond chuckle beside me.

“I want him to leave her alone, but I also want to beat his fucking face in,” Desmond whispers to me as we watch them go.

“I’m shocked you didn’t hit him this time, if I’m being honest.” He shrugs as if it’s not a big deal, but we both know it is. I’d had Vince on standby should Desmond need taming while dealing with these assholes, but it hadn’t been necessary.

“Next time, he won’t get so lucky,” Desmond says, and a smile turns his lips as if the idea excites him.

“No, he won’t,” Vince says as he makes his way back to us from the door now that Carter is gone.

Damn it. As much as I might enjoy Vince being on our side and our muscles, I can’t get past the feeling that this time it’s more than him just doing his job.

I’ll have to talk to Nate when we get back home.