The Rules by Delaney Diamond Read Free Book Online

resolved that she would save herself.
    ****
    Gavin strolled into breakfast at his mother’s home. The formal dining room contained a long table that seated ten and could be expanded for extra seating. Two chandeliers hung overhead and offered additional elegance in the ornately decorated room.
    Although he had rented his own place, he sometimes drove over to eat breakfast with his mother. Considering his wild night in Las Vegas, which took an interesting turn when a member of his party showed up at the suite with five strippers and enough vodka to kill a horse, he should be tired. Yet, he felt buoyed and refreshed.
    Constance Johnson sat at the head of the table with a half-eaten plate of eggs benedict, grilled asparagus, and pieces of thinly sliced berries fanned out on one side of the plate.
    “Morning.” Gavin kissed his mother’s cheek. Her face, a deep color that reminded him of rich chocolate, was surprisingly free of wrinkles for a woman her age.
    She stopped in the middle of her conversation with his brother, Xavier, who was already dressed for work in a crisp navy suit and tie, his long dreadlocks pulled back in a low-hanging ponytail.
    “Good morning, dear.” Constance sipped her tea. “I’m surprised to see you this morning. I understand you and your friends took one of the planes to Las Vegas and did quite a bit of partying this weekend.”
    His mother had a way of sliding in comments without directly stating disapproval. Unlike his deceased father, who had been direct in all his conversations—at times, brutally so.
    Gavin held his response as a member of the household staff, a young woman named Alicia with golden brown skin and a calm demeanor, filled his cup with coffee and placed two sugar cubes on the saucer beside him.
    “I didn’t want to miss breakfast with my favorite lady.” He flashed one of his grins and Constance shook her head, a smile of pleasure on her lips.
    He had taken his friends—rather, his entourage—to Las Vegas with him. Wherever he went, they went, and once he’d recovered enough to walk again, they started hitting all the hot spots in Seattle, taking short trips to California to dine at celebrity hangouts like Nobu and Tavern, and occasionally flying to Vegas or New York to party.
    Compared to some, he had a small group. A male assistant answered his phone and maintained his schedule. He’d had a female assistant at one time, but after sleeping with her, their work relationship got messy and ever since, he only hired men. His two trainers were working with other clients at the moment, but whenever he was ready to start training for another sport, he could call them. They prepared him for any extreme activity he chose to tackle and brought in consultants as needed.
    A personal chef traveled with him at all times, and even when Gavin wasn’t around, made sure his friends ate hearty meals from the freshest ingredients and drank the finest wines available. Then there was what his family called his “hype team,” three guys who didn’t really have a job, so he called them assistants. One he’d met in college, the other two surfing in Hawaii. Their job was usually to get in touch with women on his behalf, run errands, and in general co-sign any behavior he chose to indulge in. His family really, really didn’t like the hype team.
    Constance cut into a piece of asparagus and ate it before speaking again. “I have a busy day today. All week, to be honest. I don’t know how I’ll fit everything in. I have to find something to wear to the Farnsworth wedding this weekend. I can’t believe I let the time creep up on me like this. Then I have to look at more fabric swatches for the house in Nice.”
    “You’re still working on that?” Gavin asked, placing a white napkin across his thighs.
    “Unfortunately.” Constance shook her head sadly. “I fired the last decorator because he simply didn’t understand the look I wanted, and I was getting tired. I found someone new,