Sultry Oblivion by Alexa Padgett
Nash
After I’d discovered that Reginald Aldringham owned Clean Water, the nonprofit Mrs. Didri-Aldringham had run for so many years, I’d had Hugh offer him a large sum to buy it. Yeah, it was hush money, but it also gave Aya back a piece of her mother.
Aya’s father had called me to discuss this during the show, when my phone was powered down. The concert had been spectacular—Maddox was a much better fit for the band than Tatum ever was. We were all revved up and amped off his energy, the sheer pleasure he took in playing our music. I felt wired, almost high, but this was all adrenaline.
I’d loved up Aya with that energy, and now, she practically purred in her sleep.
I powered on my phone to check our departure time, and then listened to his message. It was after two in the morning in Austin, so that was after eight in the morning in London. I put the last of my clothes in my suitcase, where I’d settled it in the large walk-in closet, not wanting to awaken Aya. She would join us on tour this weekend after her classes ended on Friday, but our buses rolled out late tomorrow morning.
I’d much rather stay home. And that’s what this place was—home. Because Aya was here. The song with that title by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes slipped through my mind. I grinned, bobbing my head to the beat. But the fans deserved their concerts, and I couldn’t beg another postponement simply because I was worried my girlfriend might freak out about our separation.
With a resigned groan, I called Lord Reginald back. Better now than on the bus, surrounded by the guys.
“Do I even want to know why you’re calling me at such an egregious time of night?” he asked once I’d stated my name.
“Probably not. But I’m returning your call, and as you know, we have business. See, I don’t like how you’ve been dragging Sofia’s name through the dirt. It hurts Aya, and that pisses me off.”
“My family’s life isn’t your concern,” Lord Aldringham snapped.
“Aya’s happiness matters to me. And I cared for her mother.” She’d been a better mother to me during my last year of high school than my own—by a long shot. So, yeah, I guess I was also buying Clean Water for myself.
“You have no right to speak to me this way. You don’t know anything about me and my daughter,” Lord Aldringham said, his tone as stiff as his upper lip.
“I’m the only one with the right. I’m the one who pulled her out of the water in Turks and Caicos when she nearly drowned. You were so busy lecturing Sofia, you didn’t even notice your daughter going under the wave.” Disdain caused my lip to curl. This man was as bad as Brad—worse in some ways. Aya had only been a possession, a thing to use.
“So,” I continued, “if anyone is going to have an opinion about your daughter, it’s going to be me. If you hurt Aya in any way, if you take any action that causes her to cry, I will absolutely destroy you. Not just financially, but I will repossess your house and make sure your daughters aren’t welcome in their prestigious school.”
“Just who the hell do you think you are?” Lord Aldringham sputtered.
“I’m Saif Syad’s heir, so believe me when I say I have that kind of global reach.”
The last time I’d needed my grandfather’s name was in high school. For a long time, I’d stood alone, aloof. But Aya’s father understood wealth—that meant power in his narrow world. So, I used my grandfather’s name to my advantage.
He chuckled. “No wonder Sofia wanted you two in close proximity. Have you and Aya already procreated?”
The actual fuck is this dude going on about? “That’s none of your business,” I said curtly.
“So you’re protecting her wealth? I’ve got news for you: the will is airtight. If I haven’t figured out how to access that money, you won’t either.”
“The will?”
He laughed. “Sofia’s will. I take it Aya didn’t tell you about it after she ran from my choice for her—a fine one, I might add—back to you. She’s always been rebellious. Just like her mother. Having a baby is really the only way…”
My ears buzzed as I remembered Aya’s disappointment in me not wanting kids. “You don’t know her,” I said. It was reflexive.
“Don’t I? I knew exactly how to get her out of Austin. And if you weren’t offering such a nice compensation, I’d know just how to get her back here again.”
His voice held a smug note I didn’t appreciate. Mainly because there wasn’t much to like about the stuffy, pompous man. But he’d hit his mark with me, because his words now seemed permanently lodged in my head. Was Aya not telling me something? Had I been merely expedient—a way to get her out of a relationship with a man she didn’t want and fulfill some requirement of her mother’s will?
“So, do you want to sell me Clean Water or not?” I growled. “This is your last chance. Once I hang up, we’re done.”
“Yes, I’ll have to accept your offer; otherwise Harriet and I have no way to provide for our children.”
“What I can’t figure out is why Sofia left you the nonprofit in the first place,” I said.
“I started it after I’d spent a year in the Peace Corps. But Sofia wanted to grow it, live in those dreadful places. Can you imagine? Most had minimal sanitation.”
“You let your daughter go to those places,” I pointed out. I couldn’t believe Aya had managed years with this douche. “Sign the documents,” I told him. “But be sure you understand: you cannot ask her for another penny after this.”
“I read the contract.” His tone was dry.
I hung up the phone. But the conversation nagged me. I felt jittery, wired, even though I’d gotten what I wanted. I hadn’t felt like this since before Aya returned, and I didn’t like it. I wasn’t going back to feeling this way. I was nobody’s fool. She and I needed to talk about her father’s little truth bombs, stat.