Page 37 of Nothing to You (Nothing to… #7)

“ROUX RADLEY, meet Freya Dere,” Roxie said, gesturing between them. “You want to get on her good side. She’s worth more than the pope.”

The elegant woman smiled at Roxie. “I am not richer than the pope.”

“Your heart is bigger; we can at least agree on that.”

The three of them sat at a small dining table in a dedicated room of Roxie and Zairn’s Crimson apartment.

“My grandfather may be richer than the pontiff,” Freya said. “That is entirely possible.”

Roxie poured coffee from a French press. “Freya is the woman to know when it comes to health causes in this city. In the world, probably.”

“My specialty is children’s health. I’m not sure how I can help with your cause. It’s mental health?”

“Huddle Hope will eventually branch into different specialties. The plan is to get a working model going by the end of the year. We’ll start with some test cases, screened by a specialist team.”

“It’s encouraging to know you’re not running into this all guns blazing. When I heard this was under Mosaic, I half expected it to be up and going already. It isn’t like Rourke to sit on his hands. He must have settled down.”

“Settled down?” she asked. “He can barely sit still for five minutes.”

“Roux keeps a steady hand on this,” Roxie said. “Hope is her baby.”

“I can understand that. We care about what we care about.”

“We do.”

“I’d have to see numbers and projections before injecting any cash.

And it would be preferable if you had a niche for often neglected children’s mental health.

Though childhood trauma carrying into adulthood gets lesser time.

” She looked at Roxie. “I suppose coming to me is as much about contacts as it is about money.”

“You got me,” Roxie said, holding up her hands in surrender and distributing the cups.

“You want me to talk to my grandfather?”

“Of everyone who has signed up to support this, you’re more on the ground, at the grass roots of what’s needed.

We don’t want to be lofty, puffed-up mustache twirlers.

We want to know that what we’re doing isn’t missing the mark.

No one knows that better than those dealing with clients like this every day. ”

Hearing Roxie’s own passion for the project fired her determination. They were on this; it was happening, and she wasn’t the only one at the helm. When she went back to California, they’d have transcontinental cover. Next, it would be the world.

“It’s true that what I do is more hands on,” Freya said, “as much as it can be. I take what I do seriously.”

“What is that exactly?” she asked, figuring it wouldn’t hurt to have some background. “Are you a doctor? A therapist?”

“No. No. Nothing like that. In my work, I fund a scheme that helps families pay medical bills. Their children’s medical bills.”

“It’s more than that,” Roxie said. “You spoil them.”

“It could be the way I was brought up, but spoiling means something different to me. I enjoy what I do and enjoy spending time with the kids and their families. It has to be about more than money. Too many arrogant wealthy types toss a billion dollars at something and call it philanthropy.”

“Freya gets to know the families she helps. She goes to their homes, cooks for them, spends time with them.”

“It’s important,” Freya said. “Caring isn’t paying money. It’s paying attention.”

“I like that,” she said, picking up her cup. “We should put that on bumper stickers.”

When Freya smiled, the open sincerity poured from her. “The problem is, it’s not something that can be taught. It can be faked, but not taught.”

“Not the way you do it,” Roxie said.

“How do you know Reid?”

Freya and Roxie made eye contact. “How do I know Reid?” the former asked.

Okay, what was she missing? “Roxie said that Reid and Merci—sorry, I thought you were friends.”

Roxie laughed. “They’re more than that. Freya used to date K2.”

“K2,” Freya said, enjoying the moniker. “I haven’t heard Loch called by that name in a while.”

“The man’s a mountain.”

Freya nodded. “True.”

“And he’s the second K in the group. Kintyre and Kinloch were too much for them to wrap their prepubescent and adolescent brains around. So K2 he is.” Roxie leaned a little her way. “They were childhood sweethearts. Freya and K2.”

“Until his family figured out I wouldn’t be the model daughter-in-law.” After a brief pause, the altruist shook her head. “It wasn’t like that when we were young, our families were close, but there’s five years between us. I guess you could say we grew up together in a lot of ways.”

“Both of their families are loaded. They were sort of betrothed.”

“We weren’t betrothed. That sounds so… archaic.”

“I’ve never met him,” she said. “I’ve heard he’s not the most personable.”

“His family put a lot of pressure on him. His parents brought two multibillion multinational companies together, and he’s an only child. The only chance they had to maintain their empire. It messed with his head. And he never quite knows who to trust. Who had his best interests at heart?”

“That’s why he loved you,” Roxie said. “You were you, unapologetically. That’s what Z says.”

“I understood the pressure. Not to the same degree, but my grandfather needed a crutch after we lost my dad, and I was it. Our families just dealt with their situations differently. His mom was most supportive of him being him. Some say her encouragement of his talents and interests outside the company broke up his parents’ marriage.

Something else that put pressure on him.

He’s a man who belongs everywhere and nowhere. ”

“Did he mean you? Is this what Rourke meant when he told me I could use K2’s name and he wouldn’t care? Did he mean I could use it with you and you’d help us?”

“Loch, K2, cares about things in a different way. One thing he never cared about was status. Still doesn’t, even now. Sycophants circle. Everyone wants to be his friend, to know him, to be connected to him. It exhausts him. He couldn’t care less about reputation or who’s who.”

“Is that why he’s selling? To get away from the brownnosers and the pressure?” Roxie asked. “The guys know it didn’t mean the same to him, but to give it all away…”

“You only live once. I used to tell him that always. Life can be taken any second and when you’re alone, you need to love whatever you have left. Life has to be real or there’s no point living it at all.”

Profound and the woman wasn’t blowing smoke.

She was right, it couldn’t be faked. Freya Dere was the real deal.

Genuine in her words and actions, that honesty came from every part of her.

From her gaze to her posture and the sincerity of her words.

Freya would be a gold star ally, if they could convince her to come aboard.

“Damn, listening to you talk… How are you so wise?”

Roxie laughed. “I know, right?”

“Please, don’t. My work is my focus. In every other area, I fail miserably. I talk about this with authority because it’s the only thing I know.”

“Are you married?”

“No,” she said, showing her bare ring finger. “No husband. No kids.”

“Have you and K2 been broken up long?”

“Oh, years. It’s been…” The woman raised her chin. “We went our separate ways, and he got with the perfect woman.”

“You’d think the guys would learn from each other’s mistakes.”

“Hallie wasn’t a mistake. She embraced everything his parents wanted her to embrace. Everything they wanted him to embrace,” Freya said on a sigh. “I suppose we should learn from our friends’ mistakes. Not that I have any friends. Not any grown-up ones.”

“You have grown-up friends,” Roxie said.

“You have me and Merci. We come with a whole troupe of girlfriends.” Their hostess took Freya’s hand but addressed her.

“Freya’s so crazy rich, and so soft-hearted, that everyone takes advantage of her…

until her grandfather runs them out of town.

Why don’t you get back with K2? He’s single. ”

And the gossip was too tempting to pass up. “What happened to Hallie?”

“He learned his lesson,” Roxie said. “His parents loved her.”

“They laid his future out before him.”

“And it wasn’t the one he wanted.”

So he did something about it. She could appreciate that clarity.

“Sometimes these things come out of nowhere. Like an epiphany. I didn’t know I wanted to build something like Huddle Hope until the See It Through opportunity came up.

From there it was obvious, it came to me that we can make a difference. Someone needs to try.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Freya said. “Money only goes so far. That’s why I make a point of engaging with as many families as I can.

They mean more to me than paying the bills.

Some of them, they make space for me. The generosity of people is overwhelming.

Often those with less are more giving than those with the most.” She smiled at Roxie.

“Though not all. Zairn would give his last for you. I’m so happy he found love. After everything he’s been through…”

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m Lola for life. And I will find love for all my girls, one way or another.”

“Men complicate things. I’m terrible at reading them and get tongue-tied.

” The sophisticated beauty seemed too elegant to be anything less than composed.

“K2, as it turns out, is not a good barometer of all men. If my track record with the opposite sex is any gauge of my future, I’ll be single for life. ”

“That’s why we have our work,” she said. “All in the name of a good cause.”

“I heard you and Rourke were hot and heavy,” Freya said. “Aren’t you an item?”

“They’re a something.”

“We do what we want.” Was the shrug too glib? “We don’t put up a fight. Why should we? We’re consenting adults who do what feels good. The world would be a saner place if we all followed our instincts.”

“K2 would agree. Xavien’s either got you well trained or he’s found his perfect match. His matter-of-fact view of the world is enviable. The way his brain works, that linear process… He’s too smart for his own good.”

“It’s got him where he is.”

“It has.”

“He likes to rule people. To get under their skin and stir them up.”

“Or shake them up.”

“Roux is tenacious. She handles him better than anyone else. You should see them together, it’s fascinating theater.”

“With him it’s a tragedy, not a comedy,” she said. “He spouts some amount of crap. I just put him in his place. Other people are afraid to stand up to him.”

“I’m not afraid,” Roxie said. “Arguing turns him on. Probably why my guy tells me not to respond.”

“It does turn him on.”

“Turns you on too,” Roxie said with sly delight in her gaze.

“You two are hot together. Super hot. I watch you spar for five minutes and tie Zairn to the bed for a week. You shouldn’t see them together, Freya.

You’ll grab the nearest guy.” Roxie angled her head.

“Maybe that’s why my Casanova has stuck so close these past few weeks. ”

“He sticks close because he loves you,” Freya said. “The documentary is incredible. It’s a guilty pleasure. It’s voyeuristic.”

Roxie pointed at her. “That’s what watching Roux and Rourke is like.”

She didn’t want to roll her eyes, but talking about her sex life while the male lead was on the opposite coast frustrated her already tingling libido.

“It’s not my fault he’s good at it.”

“You know, I feel your pain on that,” Roxie said. “Even when I want to be pissed at Z, if he turns it on, I’m toast.”

“Rub it in, why don’t you?” Freya asked with a smile on her face. “I’m the only one sitting here not getting any.”

“Z said you were dating some detective.”

“That’s over. Oh, so, over.”

“On to bigger and better things,” Roxie said. “Come to the club tonight. The Ruby Room, cocktails, dirty dancers if you want them.”

The smile on Freya’s face became a laugh. “You are irrepressible, Ms. Kyst.”

“Is that a yes?”

“That’s a why the hell not.”

“Excellent!” Roxie exclaimed. “Party time!”