Gambling For The Virgin:A Dark Billionaire Romance(114)

"Ashley Lane, formerly of Simulated Pleasures," she says to Mozorov. "May I sit down?"

Hand it to Mozorov, he rolls with the fucking punches and takes Ashley's  hand and gently brings it to his lips. "Pleasure to meet you, young  lady," he says as Gerard rushes out of his chair and ushers her in to  sit next to me. Gerard gets another chair and sits down. And did I just  see a look pass by between him and Ashley? But they've never talked  before, so it couldn't matter.

Ashley turns to me. "How've you been, Arsen?" she asks me.

I give her my cockiest, smirkiest smile, trying to act cool.

"That good, huh?" Ashley asks sarcastically. Fuck, she's here to bust my balls too, I guess.

But out of nowhere, she reaches over and takes my hand in hers. I look  down to see this and when I look back at her, she's smiling.

But it doesn't last. She turns toward Luca Giannoni and Mozorov and begins to speak.

"Gentlemen, I know you're wondering what I'm doing here in the first  place," she says and smiles at them. They can't help but grin like dirty  old men looking at her. "And the truth is I needed to tell you  something that if I didn't would probably mean you would be buying this  company without all the facts."

Now both men are interested. They lean in.

"The fact of the matter is, that I started work at Simulated Pleasures  about three months ago," Ashley says. "I used to be a dancer at  Scorcher's, but I wanted something where I didn't have to take off my  clothes. And before you say anything, yes I went to college. But I got a  degree in Art History."

"Ah, that makes a lot of sense," Gerard says and Ashley gives him a look  of annoyance at his subtle put down of her degree. I can't help but  crack a smile.

"At the same time, I met Arsen maybe a few days before I started working at the company," she says.

Both men nod, waiting for her to continue.

"Here's something you don't know about the two of us," Ashley says and  leans in as if telling them a secret. "Arsen used to call in and talk to  me on the pay-per-minute line."

Mozorov doesn't understand. "Why couldn't he just call you directly?" he asks.

Ashley shakes her head. "He didn't want me to know it was him," she  says. "And I didn't. I knew him as King Henry. And he hid his identity  from me."

Mozorov looks at me. "Why would you do something like that?"

I shrug. "She didn't want to date a bad boy at the time and I wanted to  fuck her," I say, wondering if he'll understand. "When at first she  wouldn't give me the time of day, it's the only thing I could think of  to still talk to her. It just kind of took on a life of its own, I  guess.

The Russian gangster stares at me for a second. Then he nods. "I guess kind of sweet, no?" he asks Ashley, turning to her.

"At first I was mad that he lied to me," Ashley admits and then pauses  to look at me. "But the more I thought about it, the more I realize it  was just another side of him that I was falling in love with."

Now it's my turn to fucking freeze. Is this really happening?

"And while it took me a while to make peace with it, gentlemen, the  thing you have to understand is that the time Arsen spoke to me added to  my totals. And so the program automatically sent me more people to talk  to because it thought I was that good-able to keep people on the line  for a long time. And I was so hot from talking to him, maybe I was  actually able to keep people paying."

"So … all the profitability that we see, is because of the two of you?"  Luca Giannoni asks, starting to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Ashley nods and I jump in, ready to make the final sale.

"Maybe it's not 100% me and Ash," I say to Luca, "But the fact that I'm  calling specifically for her and I don't care how much it costs me is  causing the computer to send more clients to her."

"And I have so many regulars now, gentlemen, that if I were to leave the  company, it would start being unprofitable fast," Ashley interjects.

"That's actually true," I tell the two men. "After Ashley quit when she  found out, the company began a stretch of negative revenue days that  hasn't picked up yet.

"And just to let you know, I'm not coming back if Arsen sells Simulated  Pleasures to you," Ashley finishes off. She turns to me and looks me in  the eyes. "I think it should stay with him. Something that maybe we can  build together."

"So without this girl, we'd be buying a money-losing venture?" Mozorov asks Luca. His lawyer only nods.

Mozorov turns to me and looks me in the eyes. "Is there any way you can  see yourself forgiving me for getting out of this deal, Mr. Hawke?"

And there you go. The tables have fucking turned.

I lean back, taking Ashley's hand in mine. Her eyes are on me. They're filled with love.

Gerard is looking at me as well. His eyes are filled with admiration.

Luca and Mozorov are looking at me, their eyes filled with hope. That I have mercy in my soul.

I look across the table.

"I think if you can pay for dinner, we can call it a day," I say with a smirk.

"Done," Mozorov says, raising his glass and holding it out.

"Deal," I say raising my scotch glass. We clink and drink.

I turn to Ashley. I don't even fucking care that there are people around me as I look into her eyes.

"Ash," I say. "I'm sorry … "

But she doesn't let me finish. Instead she places her index finger over  my lips. She holds it there for a second, and then gives me a smile.

I can't fucking help it at this point. I reach over and bring her face closer, drawing her in for a kiss.         

     



 

When we come up for air, the people around the table are smiling.

And the world has been made whole again.





87





Ashley





Happy endings …  They are real. Forget everything you have ever read about  the cold harsh world where no happiness can be found: it's all  bullshit. If you know where to look, it's there, waiting for you. Sure,  it doesn't show up on your doorstep with a bow wrapped around it, but it  exists. If I found happiness-and love-why can't you and everyone else?

It started when Arsen Hawke entered my life out of nowhere, hijacking my  taxi. And now here we are, checking in at the Hilton, barely able to  keep our hands off of each other. We left the restaurant in a hurry, all  thoughts of business vanishing the moment our lips touched-all that  mattered was the heat in our bodies, the incessant desire that wrapped  itself around both of us. Our minds and bodies burning, there was little  else we could do than leave Del Frisco's and head straight for the  closest hotel; lucky for us, all it took was a short stroll to the other  side of the street.

"I love you so damn much," Arsen says, stopping right in front of the  door to our room. "You can't imagine how much, Ash." I smile, taking one  step forward and pressing my body against his. I look into his eyes,  resting one hand on his face and leaning in for a gentle kiss.

"I know …  And I also know how much," I tell him, whispering each word.  "Because I feel exactly the same. I'm sorry it took me this long."  Before I can say anything else, he presses his finger over my lips, just  like I did to him before.

"It doesn't matter. We're here now, just the two of us."

"Yes, just the two of us," I repeat, licking my lips unconsciously as  the same thought crosses our minds. Grinning, Arsen turns to the door  and slides the magnetic key across its slit, turning the handle and  walking inside the room. I follow after him, closing the door behind me.  Still smiling, I walk past him, making an enormous effort to not jump  on him right away. I want to do this right, after all. It's time for us  to be able to enter an apartment or a room and get past the hallway.

I sit on the edge of the bed, my eyes locking on his. He comes over to  me, going down on one knee as he holds my chin between his thumb and  index finger. My heart is racing, lust and love mixing into one  dangerous combination. This time there are no worries, no consequences  to consider …  Arsen and I, we're finally one.

I rest my hands on his face and pull him in, my eyelids drooping as I  lean in toward him. Our lips touch slowly, our mouths fitting as if they  were matching pieces of the same set. We barely move; we just stand  still, our slightly parted lips brushing against one another while we  let reality sink in. This is really happening and I'm not even talking  about the sex right now.

"Forever, Ash," he whispers, his lips leaving mine. "I'm yours forever."  There's a smile on his face, one full of tenderness and grace.

"Promise me that," I whisper back at him, pressing my forehead against his as I take a deep breath.

"I promise you, Ash. Forever," he says, his fingers once again under my  chin. He makes me look up at him, his smile slowly turning into a grin.  "But you know what that means, don't you?" He continues, my heart  beating faster as the tone of his voice changes. "It means that you're  also mine …  Mine to do as I please."