Young Retribution

XIII

"So I received a call from Jeremy. Here I thought you were the best when it came to haggling. Thirty-two is still a little higher then we would have liked."

"You're right," Dominick chuckled, "Still, he wanted fifty. For my first deal after getting back into the business, getting the number dropped by eighteen isn't bad."

"Just try to keep it under thirty next time. We do have a budget."

Hearing about Jeremy had my skin crawling. I could still remember the look in his eyes when he actually offered to buy me. He had sincerely hoped that Dominick would have taken his offer. Thinking about what he would have done if he'd gotten his way, had me sick to the stomach.

Dominick continued talking to a few other people. Most of what he said, I let slip in through one ear and out the other. I had no interest in any of the conversations they were holding. In fact, I was tempted just to walk off and find some alcohol to down, but the moment I even started to pull away, I felt Dominick's grip tighten.

"Long time no see, Cali." The sound of my name pulled my attention away from the forming escape plan. I quickly found the owner of the voice, and the smile that I had been forcing, dropped.

The one person that would always pop in randomly when I dated Dominick was his cousin Sam. He had always been a funny guy. In fact I would tell him a lot that he needed to go into stand-up, but he always responded with how much he loved his job as a stuntman. He'd get to see so many cool places, and had met a lot of cool people. Clearly, that was a lie.

"It's been a while to. How's the stuntman business going?"

Sam's honey brown eyes lit up as he chuckled, "I mean, technically I didn't lie to you. I am a stuntman. Though it's more of a fun, side job, that I do when the boss doesn't have me doing anything."

"Let me guess...whenever you were in town, that's when you were doing the job?"

"Look at you. Beauty and brains. You really are a lucky man, Dom. Glad she was willing to come back. It will be nice to have someone with your personality around here."

"Yes, indeed it will." Dominick smiled.

This time I did not smile back. Seeing Sam here, it made me seriously wonder if anyone I'd met when I was dating Dominick, was actually who they said they were.

I started to make a rude comment when Leo came sauntering in with a toothy grin plastered on his face, "Don't mean to interrupt," he had two glasses of champagne, and gracefully handed one to me, "But you sir, have a speech to give in about five minutes."

"Right."

"Go on ahead," Sam reached across the space and grabbed me. Before anyone could react, he pulled me to his side, "I'll entertain Cali for a bit and then bring her to you when it's time."

"You better keep her safe." He stepped forward and kissed my cheek, "Behave yourself, Cali."

"Oh don't worry-"

"I'll keep an eye on her," he pulled me a smidge closer, "She's more entertaining than the rest of these animals anyways." Smiling, he turned and dragged me away from Leo and Dominick. I didn't know whether I should object or just accept my fate. Sam was never a bad guy, and I usually did enjoy his company. He was probably going to be better then any of my other options.

We continued moving through the crowd rather quickly. A few people nodded or smiled at us, but luckily no one actually stopped us. Finally, another familiar face appeared, and Sam steered us in her direction. I smiled as we stopped in front of her.

Hope Christine, Sam's fiance. I'd only met her once before, but Sam had shown me plenty of pictures. Like always, she was simply stunning. Hope was the type of girl other yearned to be. She had long, toned, tanned legs, that had her standing at a solid five foot ten. Her silky black hair was pin straight, hanging just past her hips. Wrapped tightly around her model shaped body, she wore a knee length, navy blue strapless, silk dress, with matching strappy heels. Kind of like myself, her make-up pulled the look together. Her hazel eyes popped, a stunning smokey eye bringing the color out in a perfect way. Her contour way on point, and her light red lips matched her blushed completely.