Avoiding Temptation (Avoiding #3)(67)

She reached her hand out for the dirty martini in John’s hand, and he promptly offered up.

“I’m going to need like ten more of these. ’Kay, thanks.”

“Chyna,” Adam said gingerly, standing next to her.

Chyna had already started downing her drink.

“What was that all about?”

He plucked the drink out of her hand, and she glared at him.

Lexi was pretty sure they both knew what that had been about. Chyna had made it pretty clear while shouting back at Marco. Luckily, the club was packed, and the VIP lounge was equally as crowded. Only a few people had stared over at them while Chyna had berated Marco for calling her.

“Run along for another drink,” Chyna said, shooing John.

He stared defiantly back at her, like there was no way he was going to do her bidding.

“Chyna, talk to me,” Adam said. He rubbed his hand along the small of her back and kissed her shoulder lightly.

It must be rough, dating someone like Chyna—explosive, a little too stubborn, a lot too strong-willed with the tendency to drink, exaggerate, and be dramatic.

“Marco asked me to be the star of his fashion week show. He’s coming to the States to oversee his Fifth Avenue boutique and begin production for the new line.”

“Why now?” Adam asked.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I was too busy screaming at him.”

“What does he gain from giving you a job and taking you off the blacklist a year later? It doesn’t seem to make sense,” Adam said.

Oh no! Lexi saw where this was going. She was pretty sure Adam already knew the answer to that question, but maybe having Chyna admit it and getting it out in the open would help.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Chyna spat. She turned her head away from Adam and seemed to be staring off over John’s shoulder. “He wants me back. I’m the one who got away.”

“Well, he can’t have you,” Adam said. He grabbed her around the middle and pressed her against his chest. “You’re mine. I don’t care who the hell this guy is.”

“He’s actually a pretty nice guy. And he drives a Bugatti,” John said, placing Lexi’s drink down in front of her.

Then, he took the seat next to Lexi. She was determined not to be fazed by his nearness.

“And how do you know him?” Lexi asked.

“I brought his clothing company to the States from Italy. He’s a Global customer,” John informed her.

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” Chyna said, shaking her head.

Lexi saw that Chyna had known that, and she wondered if it had something else to do with why Chyna disliked John.

“Well, really, none of that matters,” Adam said. “It’s not like Chyna is going to be working for him anymore. It’s not worth it.”

“No, it’s not,” Chyna said wistfully.

Lexi knew how hard it had been for Chyna to give up the one thing she been pretty amazing at, and had also really, really enjoyed.

“Whatever. Maybe we should just get out of here,” Chyna suggested.

“Where do you want to go?” Adam asked.

“We should go back to my place. I’m sure we could get our own party together.”

Adam shook his head. “Why don’t we just take a walk? Central Park?”

“At night?” she asked, scrunching up her nose.

“We’ll stay in well-lit areas. It doesn’t close until one.”

Chyna shrugged. “You want to?” she asked Lexi. Chyna clearly did not care about John’s opinion.

“Definitely.” Lexi knew that Chyna needed to get away from what had just happened to her.

Drinking away her problems had always been her coping mechanism, but Lexi knew it wouldn’t really help Chyna. Maybe just trying to get her mind off of it would be better.

They finished their drinks quickly and then exited the crowded nightclub. Chyna’s town car was waiting for them. Lexi forced John into the front seat as she scooted in next to Chyna. John told the man where to drop them, and they were whisked away through the city.

Chyna snuggled into Adam’s arm, and Lexi left them to their private whispering. She didn’t need to hear what they were saying to know that Adam was trying to cheer her up. Lexi stared out the window at the passing scenery. John glanced back at her once and smiled reassuringly. She shot her eyes back to the city lights and tried not to think about anything but the reason she was here…to hang out with Chyna.

Things had been pretty hectic at work, and Lexi was really glad that she had gotten the time off to come visit. She wished Ramsey had been able to join her, but he had been so swamped at work. Sometimes, she felt like she saw Jack as much as Ramsey these days, which was so bizarre. It wasn’t really true, but Ramsey was unbelievably busy, working all hours of the day and doing everything he possibly could to get the medical wing up and running. Half of the time, she just wanted to tell him to take a break, to slow down. She hadn’t actually wanted any of this to begin with, and he was overworking himself to get it done. It made for a tense situation even if he hadn’t meant for it to come off that way. When he was always at the office in a tense situation, it was a struggle not to bring it home. Neither of them was succeeding at that. Though, they were trying to take it one day at a time.