Chapter 33

Thirty-Three

TOM

Unfortunately,I’d had unfinished business in L.A. and wasn’t able to accompany Sara back home. I’d been so bummed about her departure, I didn’t even bother going into the office on Monday and just worked from home. When Tuesday morning came, my mind was still a jumbled mess of thoughts, but I couldn’t hibernate inside my house any longer. They needed me back for some in-person meetings. Still, no matter how hard I tried concentrating on business, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Images of Sara’s soft naked body against the hard planes of my chest pushed the already growing tightness in my groin to a throbbing ache for the warmth nestled between her legs. The wait to see her again was more than I could bear.

“Tom?” Jake’s annoyed voice snapped me back to earth.

I’d forgotten he was sitting across from my desk, discussing a recent business dilemma. Absentmindedly, my eyes still swimming with visions of Sara in my bed, I turned to face him. “Sorry, what?”

“You listening to anything I said?”

Raking my hands through my hair, I uttered, “You were saying…” The memories of Sara’s naked body quickly dissolved, although the side effects still lingered underneath my dress pants.

“Seriously?” Jake shot back. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“It’s nothing. What were you saying?”

“I was asking you if we are going to make an offer or not? If we don’t jump on this right now, we are going to lose this property.”

“Right…” Slowly, I recalled the conversation. “Not going to pay the asking price if that’s what you are implying.”

Jake leaned in closer and placed his index finger down on my shiny oak desk. “Look, I know we’ve talked about this before, and we both agree this property is highly overpriced, but this building is valuable real estate—”

I leaned in as well, meeting his gaze. “Don’t doubt it is, but three-and-a-quarter million is more than highly overpriced for a vacant, run-down warehouse.”

Jake threw his head back and growled, “There are other interested parties, Tom. This property is not going to be on the market very long.”

I shrugged unapologetically. “Don’t know what you want me to say. Not paying the asking price. The place is barely worth two mil. We had agreed to negotiate starting at one and that’s generous.”

Jake ran his hands through his hair, a disgruntled breath escaping his lungs. “For fucks sake, one mil is hardly an offer.”

“Other comparable properties exist.”

“I’ve put feelers out there. Possible investors.”

“What are you talking about?”

“There’s big competition for the next big nightclub. I know a few people ready to write me out a check if I can get the wheel turning. I need this property.”

“I know your kind of people. Not interested.”

Jake ignored my barb. He knew I didn’t approve of his investors. Last time he pissed off one of Carlo’s cronies, I found Jake bloodied inside his apartment and the place trashed like someone had gone apeshit with a bat.

“If I don’t jump on it, someone else will,” he continued, his voice charged with anxiety.

It could only mean one thing. I sucked in a slow and heavy breath, hoping to reel in the ire ready to burn through me. “You’ve already promised him this property.”

He dropped his gaze, his jaw muscles twitching.

“Oh, my God, are you fucking crazy?” I slammed my fist down, making the pen laying on my desk bounce.

Jake’s gaze darted back up, but before he could answer, Tiffany trotted into my office wearing a red silk blouse tucked neatly inside form fitting black pants. As she made her way from the doorway to my desk, Jake, not bothering to disguise his lascivious gaze, tracked and scanned Tiffany from her red flowing hair down to her six-inch black heels. His stare lingered on her round ass.

She circled around until she stood next to me, nonchalantly bumping her hip against my arm. She placed a file on my desk and asked for my signature. As I drew in to examine the documents, Tiffany tucked a red lock of hair behind her right ear, and placing her hand on my shoulder, she leaned lower and slightly brushed her chest against my body.

Jake couldn’t have cared less that Tiffany hadn’t greeted him. I stared back at him before placing my pen to the paper and followed his stare to the voluptuous mounds openly visible now that she was bending over my shoulder. The top two buttons of her blouse were undone, revealing a lacy black bra. I would have missed it, but Jake had a way of announcing his thoughts with his bare eyes.

She had a nice pair of knockers, but there were other ways to stare at a woman’s tits without making it so damn obvious.

“So…Tiff,” Jake started, “have you noticed it, too?”

“Noticed what?” She didn’t look at him as she gathered the documents and walked back toward the door.

“Tom’s new female friend has turned him into a drooling idiot.”

She froze mid-step, then slowly turned to face me.

“Don’t listen to him,” I said, taking a pen and darting it at Jake.

As I looked back at Tiffany, I noticed she swallowed hard. Shaking her long locks off her shoulders, she said, “You mean you’re still playing around with that little brunette?” She tried to sound uninterested but royally failed.

Jake smirked at her with a taunting chuckle. “Oh, Sara is no plaything. At least not anymore. Isn’t that right, Tom?”

I shot him a sniper bullet with my eyes.

“Oh?” Tiffany’s voice cracked.

“Seems our little playboy has finally found his soulmate.”

Tiffany drilled into me with her gaze, trying to find confirmation of Jake’s accusations, but I avoided her eyes.

She turned to Jake and tried to hide the sting I knew was pounding in her heart. “Tom has no soulmate. He has no soul, remember?”

“Ouch,” Jake uttered, with a laugh.

“It’s different now,” I said.

Wide-eyed, she whipped her neck toward me. “Oh, how’s that?”

“Well, for starters,” Jake interrupted, leaning forward on his seat, seemingly jubilant. “She stayed at his place this weekend. Can you believe it?” he scoffed.

Tiffany’s eyes spit fire at me as her face flushed. Biting her bottom lip, her voice trembled. “You…brought her to your house in Santa Monica?”

Pissed at Jake for broaching the subject with Tiffany, and annoyed at her reaction, I dismissed them both. “You know what,” I said, “this is none of either of your business.”

She sucked in a deep breath. “You’re right, I’m sorry.” Tiffany turned on her heels and stormed out of the office.

Once the door closed behind her, I stood up and stalked toward Jake, intent on snapping his neck. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Why would you tell her that?”

His arrogant grin disappeared, replaced by a defiant stare. “Because she needed to know the truth.” Jake rested back on his chair and crossed one leg over his knee, his hands cradling the back of his head.

“I was going to tell her. When I was ready, and not like this.”

“Spare me the melodrama,” Jake snapped, rolling his blue eyes. “She’ll get over it. At least now, she’ll finally stop looking at you like you’re the only one with a sizable dick around here.”

I walked back to my desk. “Since when do you care so much about how Tiffany feels anyway? You’re not exactly Mr. Sensitive.”

“I care…” he said, sarcasm spewing from his lips.

“Then ask her out on a date.” I wasn’t being serious.

“My interests are not exactly in…dating her.” His sinister smile twitched at the corners of his mouth.

I shook my head. “On second thought, just leave her alone. Take it from me. That kind of relationship doesn’t work. It won’t end pretty.”

“What’s the matter, I’m not good enough for your sloppy seconds?”

“Have a bit of decency and stop talking about Tiffany like she’s not our friend. I couldn’t care less who the fuck you sleep with, just do me a favor and keep it out of the office. I don’t need any more drama.”

“Yeah, about that…” Jake could barely contain his haughty smirk. Clearly, it was too late for office rules.

“You’re a fucking prick.”

“Had me a taste of her peachy nipples.”

I palmed my face, fed up with his crudeness. “Like I mentioned, I don’t care who you fuck, just don’t let it interfere with work. There’s already enough tension between you two.”

“Didn’t know the thought of Tiffany fucking another dude would upset you.”

“That’s not what upsets me and you know it. Now, please, go do some work. Or at least pretend.”

“Whatever, man. I’ll leave. But don’t think I’ve forgotten about our conversation. I want that warehouse.” Jake stood up and left.

* * *

After that fiasco, I locked myself in my office, but there was no way for me to focus on work. My veins thrummed with worry. I didn’t like being so far away from Sara. My male instincts seemed to be on overdrive. Something was wrong, something she hadn’t been willing to share and it unnerved me.

Walking over to the floor-to-ceiling windows behind my desk, I stuck my hands in my pockets and stared out at Los Angeles.

What the hell am I doing trapped in this high-rise office building?

Peeling my gaze from the skyscrapers, I walked back to my desk and pressed on the intercom. “Tiff, do I have any appointments scheduled for the rest of the day?”

“Um, lemme check…just a three o’clock with Mrs. Brentmire.”

“Cancel it.”

“This appointment has been scheduled for weeks.”

“I’m taking the rest of the day off. Route any calls to Jake.”

“Is something wrong? Are you sick? Are you going home?”

“Unless it’s a dire emergency, let Jake handle it. Can you do that for me?”

“I…um…okay. But what if—”

I let go of the buzzer before she had a chance to finish.

* * *

By the time I made it home and parked the Maserati, my body itched to get out of my monkey suit and into a wetsuit instead. An afternoon low tide made for an easy paddle to the Santa Monica Pier. The mix of the warm salty air and the cool calm waters was the best type of therapy to ease my rattled mood.

When I arrived back from the beach, a hot shower seemed to be the last of the medicine I needed to knead my tight muscles. Yet, everywhere I turned, I saw her. In the shower. On my bed. Tangled in my arms.

Shit.

My body tensed. This primal need was unlike anything I’d ever felt. Everything male about me buzzed with desire for Sara. I would have ravaged her if she stood in front of me, naked, mewling, and soaking ready.

Fuck it.

There was no way I could wait until Saturday. No fucking way. I needed to see her and today was already too late. As I walked out of the shower, I quickly threw on a pair of black briefs and gray sweatpants, and did not even bother with a shirt.

My mind was made up. I’d catch the earliest charter back to home. Screw the business meetings. That’s why I had a partner. Jake needed to pick up the slack anyway. Needing the sweet sound of her voice, I grabbed my cellphone and strolled into the kitchen as I dialed her number.

“Hello?” Came the soft voice on the other end.

“Hi, baby girl,” I said, perhaps a bit too urgently, but unable to control my need to hear her voice.

“Hey, love. Happy you called,” she replied.

“Really?”

“Yes, really. I’ve missed you.”

“Me too. You sound better today.”

“Yesterday was just a shit day. Alexei has a way of getting under my skin.”

“I swear, if he continues to harass you, I’m not gonna be able to stay quiet.”

“Babe, I don’t need you fighting my battles. I can handle him.”

“I’m certain you can handle yourself, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t need a beating.”

“Can we not talk about Alexei? That man gives me heartburn.”

“Fine. Well, I’m anxious to come home and see you. Maybe we can plan something for the weekend.”

“I’d actually prefer to just stay in.”

“I’m cool with that. We can order in and watch movies all weekend.”

“That sounds delightful.”

“It’s a date then.”

I reached for the fridge and pulled out a half gallon of orange juice and was about to take a slug directly from the carton, but thought better of it. I shouldn’t have cared. After all, it was my home, my juice. But dammit, I pulled a glass out from out the cabinet and poured myself some OJ.

“Know what I just did?” I asked her.

“What?”

“Poured myself a glass of orange juice.”

“Aw, I’m so proud of you.”

“Don’t mock me. It took a lot of manly courage to abstain from drinking from the carton. In my own house. That’s what you do to me.”

“Turn you into a Homo sapien?”

“Turn me into a mush for you. A ball of clay for you to mold however you please.”

She broke into laughter. “You’re such a cornball!”

God, I loved it when she laughed like that. It made my heart melt. It was loud and screechy. She didn’t think it was her most attractive quality, but it’s what made her distinctly her. I’d live in a cornfield for the rest of my life if only to hear her happy squeals.

“A corny cornball, prancing through a field of corn, holding a bag of popcorn. Get it right,” I told her.

We both burst out laughing.

Then the doorbell rang.

“Shit, someone’s at the door,” I grumbled as my smile faded.

“Are you expecting somebody?”

“Nah. I bet it’s Jake. I left the office early today, leaving him in charge. He’s been calling me nonstop. Had to turn my cell off for a while. I’m tempted to not answer the door and leave him out there.”

“No, Tom. Get the door. You can call me back later.”

“Hold on, I’m gonna tell him to fuck off. He’s been an intolerable prick lately.” I stalked to the door ready to tell Jake to leave, but when I yanked it open, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. “Ah…Sara, I’m gonna have to call you back.”

Standing at my door, dressed in a floor-length turquoise, spaghetti-strap dress with a plunging neck line, was Tiffany. I stared, speechless and confused, nearly dropping the phone.

“Well,” she said, “aren’t you going to invite me in?”

She didn’t wait for a formal welcome.