Addicted (The Addicted Series, #1)(6)

"I don't know, man. Maybe they're right," Brad said after a moment of thought. I should have known better than to try to get sympathy from him. "A man in your position should be held to a higher standard. Fucking a new slut every weekend doesn’t exactly scream professionalism."

"That's the thing," I said. "What I do on my own time is none of anyone else's business."

"True," Brad agreed. "But it is when it affects the business's image. I don't know how you can't see that. I mean, get a grip already, Tyler. You're not f*cking nineteen anymore. You should be thinking about settling down and starting a family in a couple of years."

I swallowed back my anger. Brad should’ve had my back, but deep down, I knew he was right. "That will never happen. The family part, that is. And there's no way I'm going to stop f*cking who I want, when I want."

Brad shook his head at me.

"In fact, just out of spite, I'm going to continue to do what I’ve been doing. Let them come for me. Fuck 'em."

"Seriously?"

"I just need you to represent me when they do." I rolled my shoulders. "Things are about to get ugly."

Brad went slack-jawed. "You want me to represent you against Armex?"

"Yeah. I'm going to call my dad's bluff. There's no f*cking way I'm going to let him replace me without a fight. If the board votes on me, I'm going to sue their f*cking pants off to take my half of the company."

I gave Brad a direct look. "And I'm going to need your help when I do." Truthfully, Brad was a newbie lawyer and didn’t have much experience under his belt, but he was absolutely brilliant, and I knew he’d fight for me harder than anyone else. If I was going to go toe-to-toe with my father, I wanted him on my side.

Brad stared at me a long time before letting out an explosive breath. "Alright, man," he said finally, "but I want to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into if it comes down to that."

"Of course." I smiled at him and clasped his shoulder. "I knew you'd have my back."

Brad still looked sour. "It's just one more stressful situation to add on top of this God damn wedding."

"Let me handle it," I offered suddenly. Brad had agreed to represent me, which was no small thing, since Armex was armed to the teeth with high-powered lawyers. I wanted to reward his loyalty.

Brad immediately held his hands up in protest. "C'mon, man, you don't have to do that.”

"It's no problem," I insisted. "In fact, my position at the company affords me a lot of connections. I can get a designer to handle everything. Katie will love it."

Brad was in awe. "You'd do that?"

"Hell yeah, man. It's supposed to be the most special moment of your life. You deserve it."

Brad would never admit it, but I think he was getting slightly emotional on me because his eyes became watery. "Thanks, man, I don't know how I'll ever repay you."

I casually signaled the girl for another drink, and she practically abandoned a patron mid-order in her haste to serve me.

As I watched her sashay over to the mixer, I thought, maybe it's time to try something new.

She was over with my drink in a few seconds, setting it down before me. I gave her the look. The look I gave to all the girls before I'm ready to f*ck them, and her body trembled slightly.

I threw back my drink and replied to Brad, "Don’t' sweat it."





Chapter 4





Victoria





"I have a client that needs a wedding gown designed," Christine said to me as I sat down her steaming mug of coffee on her desk. She was nosing through the latest catalogue. "He also needs fittings and measurements for about one hundred wedding guests."

That sounds like an awful amount of work.

I stepped back and folded my hands before me respectfully. "What client is this?" Steam from the coffee reached my nostrils and I felt slightly nauseated. I’d made coffee so much for Christine that I’d come to hate the smell of it.

I thought to myself, or maybe it's just her that I can't stand.

Christine glanced up at me as if annoyed by my daring to ask a question. "A young man by the name of Tyler Locklin, co-founder of a company called Armex. From what I hear, he's quite a scoundrel. And if the rumors are true, he'll be out of a job soon." Christine glanced down into her coffee. "However, that won't stop me from working with him. I happen to know his father, James, a very cold, calculating man with deep pockets. His son will be paying dearly for my talents."

I'd never heard of this guy, his father, or their company, and I was surprised Christine kept up with gossip outside of fashion. After all, she lived and breathed it. "Will I be working with him?" I ask.

Christine stared at me for a moment with surprise, and then burst out laughing in a way that made me clench my teeth together. "Oh no, you silly little girl. You'll be helping a small army of fitters and designers get the measurements right for the wedding guests. I've already called and have April and Gabe assembling the team. You'll go along and do everything April tells you to since . . .” Christine paused to look my red dress up and down critically. "she actually has fashion sense."