Before Read online

  Andino leaned back in the chair and folded his arms across his broad chest, eyeing the man across the table from him with a severe expression. Like he was considering his reply. “I don’t know ... I just liked you. I don’t like very many people.”

  Was that a good thing?

  Lev figured ... they were about to find out.

  “Next week, then?” he asked.

  Andino nodded. “Have your phone number plugged into Petey’s phone before you leave. Don’t show up wearing what you are. That’ll never fly with people I work with. Slacks and dress shirts—blazers daily. I can do with or without a tie. That’s the least of my fucking concerns.”

  “I don’t think I even own a—”

  “Petey!”

  As fast as Andino shouted the man’s name, the meathead popped his face in the doorway. “Yeah, boss?”

  “Call Richard for me. Let him know he’ll have a guest at his shop tomorrow afternoon—say one-ish—for fittings. Put it all on my tab.” Then to Lev, Andino said, “Consider it an investment you’ll return to me as soon as you’re capable, but there’s not a deadline on it. Lower Manhattan. It’s a bit of a trip for you from Harlem but make sure you’re there. Petey has the address. That work for you?”

  Jesus Christ.

  “I’ll make it work,” Lev replied.

  “Good. That’s what I want to hear. Now, excuse me. I have some work to finish.”

  Clearly dismissed but also feeling like he might have just won a battle somehow, Lev didn’t question the order from the man across the table. He stood from the chair and without a goodbye, headed out of the private section. He stopped just long enough to hand over the info Petey needed and to get the address of the shop in Manhattan that he would be at the next day. On the way out of the restaurant, his phone beeped with a text.

  Pulling it up, his smile grew wide at the picture waiting for him from a number he’d only recently plugged into his phone.

  From Nessa.

  The shot of a smiling, drooling Arely with a face messy from some red sauce had his heart kickstarting all over again. Before he could reply, however, his phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number, but he picked it up the same way he always did any call.

  “Lev Arsov here—what’s up?”

  “Mr. Arsov. Officer Doucette here. I know we had an appointment for you to come in tomorrow and get the results of the DNA test, but my partner said ... well, fuck it.” The man laughed. “We know you were really wanting this—she’s all yours, man. One hundred percent yours. We’ll make the calls and fax everything over to the social worker’s office. Congrats. It’s a girl.”

  He didn’t need that call to know. It still put him on top of the world. For once in his life, Lev was fucking winning.

  In every single way.

  Nine

  “HOW ARE you still not packed? You leave tomorrow. If you’re waiting for me to help, I can’t. Matty’s coming to pick me up for dinner—cute little Italian place. I’d say you could come but ... wouldn’t want you to show up to Paris with an extra couple of pounds, right?”

  Gigi did her best to ignore the nagging of her roommate. It was easier said than done. Her silence and turned back did nothing to curb Cassie’s constant stream of bitching. She wasn’t sure what changed between them. Or when. Maybe when the girl realized Paris and the famous fashion designer who wanted to work with Gigi was a real thing that would happen.

  Not just a possibility, no.

  An actual thing.

  Something Cassie wasn’t doing and might never have the chance to do. The business of modeling was not an easy one—in fact, Gigi thought it was probably one of the most deprecating and difficult careers one could choose to step into because everything was judged, compared, and then rated. And the scales differed for everyone.

  Beauty to one was ugliness to another.

  Fame was fleeting.

  Nothing was easy.

  And very little felt real in a world where everyone was airbrushed to perfection constantly; where everyone had a part to play and a mask they put on because whenever the cameras turned on, so did the models being photographed.

  Simple as that.

  It was something Gigi had tried to keep in mind in the years since she decided this was the path she wanted to follow. Her mother also reminded her regularly that there was a good chance for some people, Gigi was just a steppingstone to something else. Someone they could use on the way to their own top, so to speak. She hadn’t believed that to be the case with people she considered friends; how silly of her.

  Turns out ... that’s what Cassie thought she was, too.

  Or, that’s how it felt lately.

  “Are you ignoring me?” Cassie asked.

  She had kept talking.

  Gigi just didn’t care.

  “No,” she lied, bringing up the browser on her laptop. It made it far easier to pretend like she was doing something more important than having a conversation with her jealous, soon-to-be ex-roommate when her back was turned, and the computer was in front of her. “Just busy. Have a good dinner, though. Say hi to Matty.”

  “Why? Not like he’ll say it back.”

  Well ...

  Cassie wasn’t even trying to be nice now.

  Neither would Gigi, then.

  Tossing a cool smile over her shoulder, Gigi replied, “Then don’t tell him shit. I don’t care. Did you need anything else? Because I am actually trying to do something here and—”

  “Don’t know why you bother. The agency will have everything ready for you when you arrive. There’ll even be a driver at the airport. Right now, you’re their next big meal ticket, and they know it. What are you looking up—how to speak French? Little late for that. Learn as you go, I guess. I hear they have apps for that, anyway.”

  What?

  It didn’t even matter.

  Gigi decided right then and there that she wasn’t even going to bother and try to decipher the multitude of Cassie’s current issues. It could be boiled down to the fact that the girl was jealous, felt like she was being left behind in Gigi’s current success and was lashing out by using her words. She thought it would hurt.

  It didn’t.

  Not that much.

  And it just went to show that Gigi shouldn’t waste her good vibes and energy—at this very best time in her life—on someone who only wanted to bring her down.

  “Actually yeah,” Cassie said, “there is one other thing. I almost forgot.”

  Gigi did her best not to sigh.

  And failed.

  Still, she turned away from the laptop and spun around in the chair just enough to face her roommate. Maybe if she let the girl get it out, she could go back to trying to get a hold of the man from the bar. Lev, that was. Although she had been fine to let their hook-ups be just that and nothing else ... she couldn’t deny there was something.

  A connection.

  Maybe a friendship.

  She didn’t know but she also didn’t like the idea of leaving the country, for God knew how long, without at least giving the guy a proper goodbye. It wasn’t like they had the chance to do that when the cops showed up at his apartment and all. She certainly hadn’t found the time to make a trip all the way to Harlem—or the bar where Lev worked—to say goodbye in person when her days had been filled with last-minute appointments to set things up and meetings with her mother agency.

  It never stopped. It wasn’t about to get better; she knew. Not once she landed in Paris. Gigi wouldn’t complain, though. This was the chance of a lifetime. She had to take it.

  “The lease on this place,” Cassie said.

  Gigi arched a brow and rested an arm over the back of chair. “What about it?”

  “It’s got another six months and—”

  “You said Matty was moving in.”

  “But your name is still on the lease and that means you’re responsible for half the rent. Even if you’re off living your best life in Paris.”

  It was p
etty.

  Rather stupid.

  Gigi decided ... fuck it. If this was the game Cassie wanted to play during her last night in this apartment with her old friend, then so be it. She could be just as nasty.

  Fair was fair, right?

  “I’ll talk to my agent—I’m sure MGNT will handle it.”

  Just like that, Cassie’s face drained of color, and her pleased grin faded into a thin, grim line.

  “Well, okay,” Cassie muttered, glancing away.

  “Have a good time with Matty.”

  Not bothering to waste any more energy on Cassie—besides, the whole situation was kind of sad—Gigi turned back to the laptop and the browser she had brought up. The second her fingers hit the keys to start typing in the search bar, Cassie’s sigh echoed behind her. Thankfully, she heard the girl’s footsteps receded into the hallway outside the bedroom. She put her attention back on the computer screen.

  Nickie’s Bar, she typed into the search engine. Considering the time was later in the day, it really was a last-ditch effort on Gigi’s part to say goodbye to a man she’d only recently met. She still had to finish packing, tomorrow was an early run to the airport, and then it was goodbye New York. She didn’t have Lev’s phone number, but she did know where he worked and hell ... it couldn’t hurt to try.

  It wasn’t like she owed him shit—he hadn’t made it seem like he expected anything, either. A part of her still just wanted to.

  The bar’s information came up as the top result with a photograph of the front, address, and ... yes, she thought. A phone number, too. A little before dinnertime was probably a bit early for a bartender to be working on a Thursday, but maybe she could get his number—or even a time when he would be working later to call back.

  Gigi grabbed her cell before she could think better of it and plugged in the number to call. It rang four times before someone picked up.

  “Nickie’s,” a gruff voice said into the speaker.

  “Hi, this is Gigi Parker,” she replied, knowing how silly her request was going to sound but determined to get it out anyway. “I’m hoping I might be able to get a hold of one of your bartenders—Lev Arsov? He’s a friend, and I’m heading out of town. I wanted to—”

  “Lev doesn’t work here anymore, sweetheart. Can’t help you.”

  “But—”

  “Can’t fucking help you.”

  Each word was enunciated a little stronger than the last. Then a click echoed in the speaker before the dial tone sounded.

  He hung up on her.

  Asshole.

  What could she do now?

  • • •

  “Miss Gigi, I really don’t think we have time—”

  “It’ll only take a couple of minutes,” Gigi replied, already pushing open the rear passenger door of the black town car sent by the agency to ensure she made it to the airport on time.

  Ha.

  She was really pushing that now. Besides, those damn flights never took off on time, and she was sure she had at least a half-hour of cushion to make this work.

  “We only have an hour, and you need to go through security!”

  “Just two minutes!”

  She headed for the familiar apartment building waiting across the street as the driver called out behind her, “It’ll take that long for you to ... get inside!”

  Oh, well.

  It was too late now.

  She was already halfway there.

  Over the night as she finished packing her bags, Gigi decided she did have one last chance to say goodbye to Lev before flying out of the country. Going to him—or his place, rather. Was it a long shot?

  Probably.

  If he’d recently quit, or lost, his job then he was likely out trying to get another. She really was going through more effort than was needed to see the man one more time considering their time together had been mostly spent in bed, but it felt right.

  Like she should at least try. After all, he did say they would meet up again.

  Right?

  Gigi climbed the cement stairs at the front entrance of the building and expected she would have to buzz in. Instead, she found the front door to the place propped open by a plastic crate filled with bricks. Giving it, and the stack of packing boxes inside the entrance hallway near the mailboxes, a look she sent up a silent thanks to whoever was looking out for her that day. Probably saved her some time.

  She didn’t waste time, since she couldn’t afford to, and headed straight down the steps to the basement level of apartments. Again, another plastic crate filled with bricks held the metal fire-safety door open down there. Another three packing boxes, stacked one on top of the other, waited a few feet inside the hallway. Right beside the apartment door she knew to be Lev’s.

  The door to the apartment was open, but Gigi didn’t have to go inside to see what was going on from where she stood out in the hallway. The place was mostly empty. All the way back, she could see ... nothing.

  No furniture.

  No people.

  No Lev.

  “Hey, you need something?”

  Gigi spun on her heel at the unfamiliar, young voice. In the doorway of the apartment down the hall that she’d passed on her way to Lev’s stood a black-haired, dark-eyed girl that looked no older than sixteen or seventeen, if that. In her arms, sitting on her hip, was a curly-haired, babbling baby with the biggest, bluest eyes she had ever seen.

  Cute kid, she thought.

  “Uh, I was just looking for—”

  “Lev? He moved out today. Just missed him. He’s got a little bit of stuff left to take to his new place, though, if you wanna wait.”

  Dammit.

  So much for luck.

  “I have to head out, actually. Could you let—”

  “Nessa, come help me reach this bowl!”

  The teenager glanced over her shoulder at the voice calling from within the apartment. As she stepped back into the shadows of the doorway, grabbing the door to close it as she went, the girl said, “Sorry, gotta go. He’ll be back in like an hour.”

  She shut the door before Gigi could explain that wouldn’t do any good. And now, those two minutes were up.

  Paris was waiting.

  Ten

  “WELL, YOU look like shit.”

  Lev sighed and seriously considered closing the apartment door right in Nessa’s face. Except he couldn’t because the girl was really helping him out on the weekends by coming over to babysit Arely when he got one of those calls. The random calls from Andino that simply offered a time, address, and that was that. He was expected to show up, dressed appropriately, remain quiet unless told otherwise, and look like he was ready to kill someone.

  All things he could do.

  And did.

  Despite his concern about the teenager having some personal issues to handle, he swore this kid loved his daughter as much as he did. Whenever the two girls were in the same room together, the smiles and laughter didn’t stop. Even Nessa’s grandmother mentioned the baby was doing something good for the girl.

  If she kept showing up and doing the right things, then Lev didn’t see the issue with letting her babysit unattended when her grandmother couldn’t be there to supervise. Especially if it was only supposed to be for a couple of hours.

  Like today.

  “Thanks,” he grumbled.

  Nessa shrugged. “Long night?”

  Well ...

  Yes and no.

  Single fatherhood was not for the faint of heart or the weak. Frankly, though ... babies were a hell of a thing. Just when he thought he had everything down pat, like there was nothing he couldn’t handle when it came to his six-month-old daughter, she seemed to take that as a challenge.

  God, he loved his kid.

  He was still tired.

  So fucking tired.

  “Don’t worry about me,” Lev said, stepping back from the door to let Nessa enter his new apartment. The place was bigger, cleaner, and brighter than the old one. Two bedrooms
plus a nice little veranda that the social worker just had to bitch about because she apparently thought he planned to let his kid play out there unattended.

  Even though Arely couldn’t even pull herself up to stand yet.

  The place also had a rather large closet that could act as a small office or for something else. He planned to use it as a toy room for Arely when she started showing interest in literally anything other than colorful blocks and the pots she could pull out of the cupboard.

  “Where’s Arely?”

  “Finally down for a nap. Let her sleep for at least an hour before you wake her up. I swear to God,” he muttered at the teenager’s back when she headed down the hallway with a wave over her shoulder. As though she wasn’t hearing him at all. She probably wasn’t. “She’s grumpy when she doesn’t have her afternoon nap, Nessa!”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  Knowing he was already running behind and couldn’t afford to be late when Andino called him in with lots of time to be early, Lev decided this was one of those battles he just didn’t want to pick today. Besides, a grumpy Arely wasn’t really so bad.

  Just ... moody.

  He’d let her pull out the pots again. That would make her happy.

  “You good?” he asked.

  “Yep,” came the reply.

  Perfect.

  It was time to move his ass, then.

  Stepping out of the apartment, he headed down the hall to the laundry room at the end. It just so happened that this building had a laundry room on each floor which made shit so much easier for him. Something else he hadn’t realized about babies? They made a lot of laundry. It was basically constant. He found himself doing a load a day, at the least. Usually of clothing that smelled like baby puke or formula or ... another diaper blowout. Those happened way more than he wanted to admit.

  This load, however, was his.

  Or rather, for his dress shirts. Because despite getting fitted for suits that Andino’s tailor had explained would need to be dry-cleaned when required, the dress shirts only needed a quick cycle in hot water with stain remover and detergent. Twenty or thirty minutes in the dryer, depending on the number of shirts, on medium heat and he was good to go.