Let's Play A Dirty Ass Game, Mr. CEO

Chapter 75: A BETTER MAN

TRISTAN

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, in the foulest mood which was set off by the read but unanswered emails sent to Laura last night.

After thirty cold minutes of sitting on my bed, hard like a brick, my hands in my head, I realized that this woman had me in the cusp of her palm.

It was up to her how much air I got into my lungs, and she damn right knew how to deprive me of it.

This was a disaster.

It was slowly spiraling into obsession.

Seeing the way I had tossed and turned in bed all night, racking my brain about how to finally get Laura into my bed. How was that all I could think about these days, when I had a stockpile of work awaiting my attention?

How was it just the image of her face that filled my head when I closed my eyes to sleep and escape? How was it just the addicting scent of her arousal and her cologne that found its way into my dreams—both day and night—when I least expected it?

I had problems, even though I was a sucker for ignoring the ones that never contributed to me financially, or took my peace away. Problems like my mother and her presence in my house.

Fuck.

The pounding music coming from down the hallway had just given me another reason to remain in a foul mood all day. It was no longer my failure at a conversation with Laura last night.

Grunting, I threw on a robe and left my room to the guest room where my mother was staying.

It would take a whole lot of restrain to not throw my mother out of my house today.

Ever since she got here, it had been from one chaotic moment to the other. And she had become best of friends with the woman I hadn’t even married yet, going shopping spree with my money—which I didn’t authorize by the way—and painting the city of New York with their glitter.

I wondered how long before they realized just what type of poison each of them were.

I reached the door of the guest room and paused, slapping my hands over my ears because the sound was too loud. What sort of woman was my mother? All these years and I never did figure her out.

Jaw twitching, I pounded my fists on the door to get heard over the loud music. Two seconds later, the door swung open and my mother stood there in a pink fluffy robe, her room a hotbox with all the smoke in the air. Her face was heavily made up at 7am in the morning. That I was used to.

The alcohol dangling from her fingers...I was used to that too. The stick of cigarette in the other hand too.

What I wasn’t used to...was the bashful smile on my face. "Morning, sweetheart."

I swallowed a lump of rage down and tried to keep my voice as leveled as possible. "Good morning. You do know it’s 7 in the morning, right?"

I mean, knowing her, she might have partied and drank alone all night and did not even know what the freaking time was.

She narrowed her eyes into slits and ran them across my features. "You look a bit gaunt. Like a sad puppy." She paused, pouting. "Don’t tell me someone broke my baby’s heart."

My jaw clenched hard and I gripped the door hard. "Do you mind turning down the music? This is my home, not a clubhouse."

"Yes sire," she gave me a salute and tipped her head forward. Then she staggered back into the room and turned down the music player sittinf on the bedside table.

God. At this point, I couldn’t wait for the wedding to come and go so I could just get this rid of this woman from this place that should be my sanctuary.

Or should I just go to one of my other penthouses and leave this one to them?

"Guess what I was doing all night.," she said when she returned.

I snapped my gaze to her, a ball of suspicion curling in the pit of my stomach. This cunning woman. What could she be up to?

I peered slightly over her shoulder and saw her laptop open.

"Don’t go causing any trouble or I’ll be throwing you out of my house for good."

She scoffed. "Why so testy? Is it that girl? Laura Hayes?"

I froze, and my blood ran cold. What did she know about Laura?

I took a menacing step close to my mother and she gazed up at me challengingly. "Don’t you dare play your games anywhere near that woman."

"Hmm. I see a woman finally has you wrapped around her little finger."

"She is my business partner, and you will respect that," I snapped.

"Lie to yourself all you want, Tristan. But I saw the way you looked at her in those pictures."

Great. She had gone on a stalking spree.

I hoped she didn’t go beyond stalking in the media.

Fuck. I couldn’t hide my desire for Laura, and I feared it would soon become a problem I wouldn’t be able to contain.

"Please, stay out of trouble," I spat. "At least, for the time you’re in my house."

Her sapphire blue eyes sparkled with mischief in the morning sunlight. "And if I don’t?"

My jaw clenched hard from the anger that bubbled in my chest, and it felt like it would break. "I’m done cleaning up your mess."

Then I turned around and stormed back to my room.

The first thing I did was pick up the phone and put a call through to Laura’s number. I was suddenly curious and suspicious all at once.

What if my mother had somehow reached her and did something harrassing to Laura? Could that be why she ignored my emails yesterday even after reading them?

I rang her personal line repeatedly without getting a response, before switching to her office line.

The office line rang two times before I got a response. And my heart leapt in joy. "Laura?"

A moment of silence over the line. Then a harsh voice filtered into the speaker. "Mr. Pierce, please do well to remember that this is an office line."

I recognized the voice after a few moments. It was not Laura on the line. But her friend and COO who did not like me for any reason at all...not even my good looks.

"Mara."

"Ms. Simmons, please," she snapped. "How can we help you?"

"Uhm, I need Laura on the line."

"Ms. Hayes can’t come to the line right now. If you have a message, I’ll pass it along."

"Can you connect me to her, Ms. Simmons?"

She heaved an exasperated sigh over the phone, the sound scratchy to my auditory nerves. "Look, Mr. Pierce, when are you going to take the hint and leave her alone?"

"What do you mean?"

"She’s seeing someone, a much better man, who treats her way better than you ever did. So how about you fuck off for good?"

Well, fuck me.