31. Liam

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

liam

All guests have turned into die-hard Chelsea fans with the prime content we have just provided them during the welcome drinks. By the time we invite the press to the conference room, the mood is set just right and spirits are flying high.

So when they sit down to listen to Dr. April Hadden speak—with the prestigious Dr. Preston Jett right there beside her and the entire board of HHS nodding along on the screen behind them—they eat up every word she has to say.

All their questions corroborated what a distinguished surgeon she is, what a remarkable job she had done with Max and I'm confident tomorrow's news would paint a much better, and truer, picture of her.

April doesn't know, nor does she need to, but I have hackers bringing down the pages with the fake news tarnishing her name, so when people search for her online, those won't be the first results they'll find.

The feisty little doctor was in prime form tonight. Sharp tongue whipping down on the sexist, slandering, click-bait culture of tabloids. She held her own up there as well as she does with me. Never recoiling, only pushing forward.

My chest expands with the realization that her wit, the sting of her comebacks and her sarcastic humor turn me on, maybe even more than her figure. And fuck me, that's a tough act to beat.

Conference over, the charity game is done and we all gather again at the reception, now with a band. Everyone seems to be having a great time. Everyone but me, of course. I hate that I don't get to bask in April's happiness.

She's glowing and from where I'm standing, I can swear people around her can feel her warmth. I want to be there too. In all honesty, I want to stand right in front of her and steal that heat for myself. Give her back tenfold at the risk of burning this place down.

"You're frowning harder than normal, big bro. Wouldn't have to do with the good doctor dancing with her boss, would it?"

" I'm her boss," I growl at Noah.

"Woah," he laughs and the noise grates on my nerves. I'm not a horrible person. I want my brother to be happy. Just not at my expense. He grabs my shoulders, gives them a squeeze, and turns me their way. "The guy is leaving. There's your in. Showtime, mate."

My feet are moving before Noah finishes that sentence.

"Hello again. Going so soon, Dr. Jett?"

"Yeah, jet lag has hit me hard and I need a lie down." Jet lag, my ass. I'm laser focused on the guy. He's slurring a bit. "Nice to meet you, Gunn." He shakes my hand, but stops and tightens his grip. "Actually, could we have a word before I leave?"

April's head turns from him to me. And again. And again. Does she think this is a tennis match? I'm a great tennis player. I'd take this motherfucker down. He can choose how.

My pearly whites make a practiced show. "Of course. Right this way." I head to a corner, quiet enough to grant us some privacy.

"This was a nice stunt. I appreciate it. So let me say my thanks first."

"First?"

"Yes, first. Before I remind you that you can do more damage than good to that girl. How old are you, anyway?"

Not tennis, then. The man came in throwing jabs, left and right.

"Excuse me?"

"That girl back there." The way Dr. Jett, a few years my senior, addresses April as a child is quite unnerving. "She's the most brilliant doctor I've ever trained. She's going to change orthopedics, medicine , as we know it. The world is going to know her as Dr. Hadden, not as one of Liam Gunn's affairs."

He steps into my space and pokes my chest with a finger. Is he that bold or just reckless? I'm torn between being amused or pissed.

"You've got another thing coming if you think I'll let you damage her or her career. I don't care how rich or big you are. If you hurt her in any way, I'll fuck you up, pretty boy."

My lips are sealed together, but that was too much. The snort makes its way out through my nose. Color me impressed.

Are all Americans this convincing? April played a very compelling hooker and now this Jett guy stepped right into the father role, thinking he can intimidate me.

Neither bold nor reckless, he's hilarious.

I'm about to mock his empty threat when April barges over, all inquisitive eyes and a plastered-on smile. "Everything okay over here?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just thanking Gunn for his hospitality." Dr. Jett slaps me in the back but doesn't spare me a glance or try to sound convincing in his lie. "I was about to go find you to say goodbye."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay at my place?" Thank fuck I'm not swallowing cognac at the sound of that. Is April intent on driving me mad? Little minx. She must be. If that's her purpose tonight, then she's fucking thriving.

"Yeah, baby girl."

One of my arms feels kind of numb. Am I having a heart attack? A stroke? Oh, no. I was just cutting off my blood circulation by strangling my own wrist to keep me from strangling this man.

"But thanks anyway. I love you, but I love room service more. And my flight leaves really early. I'll call you when I land." He kisses her forehead, hugs her for the goddamn millionth time and leaves. Fucking finally.

The band is playing a soft ballad, and the dance floor is busy enough that we can blend in. "May I have a dance?" This is the best and only opportunity I'll have to feel her body on mine while we're here in public and time is running out.

Her raised eyebrows mock my choice of words, and she does a curtsy, but she takes my hand so I'll let that go.

I take her further into the dance floor, getting us some distance from the people we know. I look at her and just stand there, not realizing it until she tugs on my hand to get us moving. "Dance, damn it, people are beginning to stare."

She is hyper aware of our surroundings while I forget about where we are and who I am when she's this close to me. I despise that.

I voice the question that has left a bitter taste in my mouth the entire evening. "So you have another boss that can't keep his hands off you?"

She looks up and gives me a cheeky smile.

"Don't play dumb. It doesn't suit you. He's more than just your boss. He's," I make a silly voice and face to match it, "your mentor."

"You're right." She takes all the time in the world, not filling in the big blanks as a form of torture. "He's much more than my boss." The opportunity for innuendo is not lost on April.

Breathing deep and focusing on not crushing her tiny fingers in retribution, I ask with more serenity than I have, "So, who is he to you? And while you're at it, answer also why do you find it so entertaining to drive me crazy?" Well, if I'm making a fool of myself, I might as well ask all that's been eating me up inside. "Were you sad when he refused to go home with you? He's even older than me. Don't tell me you have a daddy kink. I heard you yes-daddying him."

" Yes-daddying? " Her shoulders bounce as she laughs without making a sound, her giggling face hidden in my chest. I look down, tempted to step away to get a good look at her face.

I decide against it so as not to lose contact with her warm body.

"Oh, this is funny to you, is it?" I grunt, anger escaping me, close to losing my temper.

I'm mad. I'm horny. I'm so fucking confused right now.

"Liam." She releases her hand from my grip and brushes off laughing tears from her eyes and I breathe out my nose again, hanging tight to what's left of my sanity. "This is, in fact, hilarious. Dr. Preston Jett is so much more than my boss. He took me under his wing on my first day as an intern. He's my chosen family, like a father to me." Oh, look, space in my lungs. Guess I needed to hear that from her.

"I'm his daughter's godmother, for fuck's sake. That's why I joked and called him Daddy after he, as always, gave me some overprotective advice. He's one of my best friends in the world and has never been anything but. It actually makes me sick to even picture such a nasty scene." She pretends to hurl, and my temper comes back down. Well, a little.

"So why the fuck did you let me think otherwise?"

"It was fun seeing you act like a jealous caveman," she confesses casually with a shrug of her shoulders. "I know yours takes most of the space in the room, but I'm allowed an ego too, you know. You should have seen your face when he called me ‘baby'."

He called her " baby girl" and that's my pet name for her, but I won't point that out and make an even bigger fool of myself. That was enough for one day.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself while I stand here mad and quite humiliated. You're welcome for the entertainment." We talk without looking into each other's eyes, dancing with enough distance between our bodies not to raise suspicion, giving the world not a hint of how well we know one another.

But I make sure to look down and grab her attention before saying, "You cloud my thoughts, April. Of course you're not sleeping with him. What sane man who had you would say no to the offer of going home with you?"

Then I lower my lips to her ear, the one exposed by her hairstyle. I'm facing an empty corner, so I make the most of this sliver of privacy. "Not one that's ever had a taste," and I'm rewarded by feeling her whole body shiver while I press it harder to mine.

She squeezes my hand and turns her head the other way, as we keep on dancing to a slow song. I have one hand spread on her back while my thumb runs lazy circles on her smooth dress every now and then, wishing it was her skin.

"You're a vision tonight, April. Every single time I laid my eyes on you, I've thought about peeling that red dress off your body…" I bring her closer to make sure she can feel every inch of my cock "... and this has happened. It's been a very hard night. Pun unintended, mind you."

She laughs but doesn't move away from me. I look down and see that her eyes are closed. It's easy, almost natural, to guide her as we dance.

"Hi, my darling boy. The singer just announced their last song, so I've come to collect my dance. I'm sure this gorgeous lady will pardon me."

I gaze up and ponder what terrible mistakes I must have made to anger the man upstairs. God hates me and this is his punishment. I have a hard on and my mother wants a dance? Fuck, no.