Dirty Rich(9)

     



 

She's at his side, kissing his cheek and then mine while I stand there  dumbly, my heart pounding in my chest. I feel like a teenager who just  got caught in her parents' couch.

Suddenly my head is throbbing with the champagne, with the incredible  risk of doing this with Jax, with the overwhelming fear that I've missed  a call from Sandra, I've missed something I was supposed to be doing,  and everything I've worked for could crumble to ashes.

As soon as we're out the front door and back in the summer heat, I shake  my head to clear it of the last of the champagne. I don't want to, but I  put a little distance between me and Jax. This can't go any further.

The valet brings his car around and Jax opens my door for me. "Come home  with me." His voice is full of authority, of command, and I want more  than anything to give in.

I can't do it.

The heat between us-the overwhelming, agonizing, molten heat-is like  nothing I've ever experienced. But Jax doesn't want me for his  girlfriend, no matter how skilled he is at flirting, at breaking down my  defenses. He's looking for a quick fuck, a plaything, and I can't risk a  broken heart … or my job.

"It's late," I say, as firmly as I can. "Please take me home."

His jaw juts forward, but he doesn't argue.

It's the right decision.

So why am I so crushed?





Chapter 11

Jax





It's been years since a woman turned me down.

Years.

My instinct is to press her-I know she'll cave if I sweet talk her a  little more-but I don't. I can't believe, after the day we had, that she  didn't immediately agree.

Instead, I sit two feet away from her in silence as I drive her as quickly as I can back to her building in Manhattan.

It's not a comfortable ride.

We've been so close all evening that the distance between us seems  cavernous, and Cate draws herself away from me, her body curled against  the door.

I hate it.

But after she's disappeared behind the lobby doors of her building, it's agony.

I thought taking her to this party, getting to know her a little,  kissing those lips just once-I thought it would be enough to get her off  my mind. To prove to myself that I'm not missing anything.

All it proved was that she's the sweetest thing I ever tasted.

The way she tested me against the library shelves, then relented,  letting me have my way with her while I made her mouth mine-fuck. The  memory of it has my cock straining painfully against my pants.

I don't know why I thought that some shitty dieting advice would apply  to this situation. Giving in to a moderate amount of my craving has  backfired spectacularly.

Back at my penthouse, I pace the living room floor and run my hands  through my hair. I can't stand to turn on the television, to have any  distraction.

I have to see Cate again.

My cock twitches at the thought of her face.

Any other man would call her, apologize for whatever it was that  happened at the end of the evening, and ask her on a second date.

The issue is that Cate isn't interested in dating. I got the impression  today that being Sarzó's assistant is everything to her. It was an  impulse decision, coming with me, the same way inviting her was a crazy  impulse on my part.

I can hardly admit it to myself, but she's not like other women.

This is not a game to me.

I need to see her.

My entire body burns with it.

I just need a reason.

An excuse.

If I'm right, Cate spends almost all of her waking hours at the Basiqué offices catering to Sarzó's every whim.

That's where I need to be.

The idea comes to me slowly. I get into the shower and wash the party  off of me, watching the soap spiral down the drain. Bit by bit, a plan  forms in my mind.

It'll seem ridiculous to anyone on the outside. I'm a billionaire  businessman-it's the kind of thing I normally wouldn't dirty my hands  with.

But it'll get me closer to Cate.

I'm going to do it.

I towel off quickly and head back out into the cool dark of my bedroom,  snatching up my phone from the bedside table. Even while I tell myself  Don't get in over your head, Hunter, my fingers work the keyboard.

I send a series of emails that set everything in motion.         

     



 

By tomorrow, I'll be by Cate's side.

And this time, I'll be the one in control.





Chapter 12

Cate





"What happened to you yesterday?" Carl steps back three paces and drops  his hands to his sides. He's barely sweating. I'm not much of a  challenge this morning. My head feels heavy from so much champagne and  heat, and a tight knot of disappointment weighs down my stomach.

I should have gone home with Jax last night.

Really, in the scheme of things, what did I have to lose?

Everything, the voice in the back of my head pipes up. As much as I hate  it, it's true. Getting involved with Jax Hunter on any level would be a  huge mistake. He's got the future of Basiqué in his hands, and if it  doesn't work out, it'll be a disaster. And Sandra-she'd feel totally  betrayed if that news got back to her.

"I'm sorry, Carl," I say, wiping beads of sweat from my forehead.  Everything is an effort this morning. "I went to a party yesterday. Took  it out of me."

Carl's eyes are full of concern. See? I remind myself. This is exactly  why you shouldn't spend time on men like that. It throws you off your  game.

"Should we call it a day?" he asks, and the kindness in his voice pisses me off and makes me want to cry at the same time.

"No." I rack my brain for a solution. I don't want to give up on the  workout, but the thought of circling Carl, raising my hands to fight,  seems impossible. "If I pay extra, will you go for a jog with me  instead?"

He shakes his head, an incredulous look on his face. "Sure, Cate … but it  might be best if you went home and got some sleep. I mean this in the  nicest way possible, but you look like you need it."

I summon every possible ounce of positivity and shove the disappointment  deep down into my chest, where it doesn't show, and give Carl a huge  smile. "Three miles, Carl. I can sleep when I'm dead."





Between the run and the hottest shower imaginable, I've mostly regained  my grip on life by the time I'm striding through the offices at Basiqué,  right on time. The after-effects from being with Jax Hunter and going  to that party might have made me drag during the workout, but at work  I'm a goddamn all-star. Nothing will interfere with my job performance.

That's what I'm telling myself when I reach the T intersection and start  to turn toward Sandra's office suite, only to run straight into one of  the two movers heading toward the exit at high speed.

No one is supposed to be here yet.

"Woah!" one of them shouts. "Sorry about that."

"It's … it's all right." I'm lucky I wasn't carrying a coffee. "What's  going on?" I can't believe something of this magnitude is happening in  the office and I wasn't aware of it. Is Sandra … ?

"The boss is moving in," the second one says simply. "We're getting a  huge bonus for a rush job. Speaking of-" He taps his partner on the  shoulder and they sidestep me, rushing away.

I stand there with my mouth hanging open, for once looking in the  opposite direction. The office suite there is used for board meetings  and sits empty most of the time.

At least, it did before right now.

People are scurrying around in the suite, carrying cardboard boxes. The  two men I just saw in the hallway obviously dropped off some piece of  furniture. The boss is moving in. What does that mean?

I'm still standing there when Jax Hunter himself steps into the hall.

He doesn't see me. His attention is focused inside the main part of the suite. I see his mouth moving as he answers a question.

My entire body is suffused with heat-then ice-cold fear.

Basiqué just became a war zone.





Chapter 13

Jax





I sense Cate's presence the moment I step into the hallway, and I  purposefully linger over telling one of my assistants where,  specifically, I want her to display my family photos behind my desk. Let  her see me. Let her get the full effect.

When I turn to face her, I see that she's frozen in mid-step, her cheeks  a vibrant shade of pink and her mouth half open in an expression that's  so goddamn inviting it takes every ounce of self-control I have in my  body not to close the gap between us and take her face in my hands and …          

     



 

"Mr. Hunter, when the movers get back up here, where do you want them to put the sofa?"

"By the windows, with the two chairs."

By the time I look up from speaking to the assistant, Cate's gone.  Fleeing down the hall, probably. I wish I'd had the chance to watch her  leave. I have plans for her, though, so I'm sure I'll get another  opportunity.

It's early for me to be here, but I wanted to get all the setup started  before Sarzó tried to stand in my way. Since the woman isn't due to be  in until 8:30, I've left plenty of time.

At 8:35 exactly, I leave my office suite and make my way down the hall to the twin suite at the opposite end.