Tricks(48)

“I have to. The clients that I managed to get an account with are coming in to sign the papers today. I have to be there.”

“You’re going to put your job ahead of justice for Max?” I growled.

She drew herself up to her full height (which was still shorter than me) and gave me a glare. “How dare you say such a thing to me?”

I crossed my arms over my chest.

“If I call in sick, it will look suspicious. I’ve never called in sick a day in my life. People will wonder what’s going on. Whoever killed Max is probably watching us. The best thing to do is go on like everything is normal.”

“I’m not going into his office and pretending to be him. That place sucks.”

Charlie rolled her eyes and went back to the bedroom. I followed her. “Fine. Stay here and pick up the mess we made searching.”

I raised an eyebrow. Did she just suggest I stay home and clean? Maybe I should bake some cupcakes with pink frosting while I was at it.

With an armload of clothes, she turned to me. “I’ll go in, sit through the meeting, and then tell the partners I’m coming down with something and come home. By then, the restaurant will be open and we’ll go see if Max took the drive there.”

“It’s at a restaurant?”

She nodded. “Max’s best friend owns a restaurant here in the city. It’s a really classy place.”

Classy = no beer.

“I can’t wait,” I said sarcastically.

She grinned and went to the bathroom, shutting herself in. It was too bad because I was hoping for a glance of some skin.

A few minutes later, she came out dressed in a pair of loose black pants and what looked like a dark-green fitted T-shirt tucked into the pants. It accentuated her flat stomach and the way her waist curved in like an hourglass. Her hair was pulled back in that stupid bun.

She rushed to the door, sticking a pair of black high heels on her feet and grabbing a black fitted jacket. Her brief case was sitting by the door where she left it along with her purse.

“Charlie,” I said, stopping her from leaving.

She turned back.

“About last night…” I began, not sure why I wanted to bring it up but unable to let her walk out of here without bringing it up. We hadn’t talked about it at all. True to our agreement, when the sun came up, our focus switched to Max.

Focusing on Max was good. But looking at her now…

She held up her hand, halting my words and my thoughts. “It can’t happen again.”

Her words wounded my manly pride. That had been some stellar sex. I excelled in pleasing her. I knew we had an agreement, but I thought once she got a taste of this she’d want more.

So I did what any man with wounded pride would do. I lied.

“I wasn’t talking about the sex,” I said, clearing my throat. “I just wanted to remind you to be careful out there. Clearly those guys last night were following us. Waiting. Pay attention to your surroundings today. If anything seems out of the ordinary—anything at all—you get to a crowded area and you call me. Okay?”

A pink stain bloomed across her high cheekbones and she shifted uncomfortably. “Oh. Right.”

I didn’t enjoy making her feel like she was the only one that was thinking about the incredible sparks between us. But I didn’t know what else to do. It was easier this way. Less painful.

She left the apartment without a single glance behind her.

I sighed and ran a hand over the top of my head.

I wondered what she would have said if I’d told her the truth. I wondered if the guilt in her eyes would give way to something more.

I wondered if I was the only one that thought one night hadn’t been enough.





24




Charlotte

Muse was located in Manhattan in an old building that was completely rehabbed on the inside. It had soaring ceilings, exposed brick walls, glossy hardwood floors, and beams running overhead. The artwork on the walls was abstract and oversized; the tables were all chic and dark wood with real leather padding. Soft jazz music flowed through the surround system in the walls, and there was a giant, round freestanding bar in the center of the establishment that was comprised of mostly glass.

Cavalli Overcraft had been a serious business major for several years, with aspirations of working with the stock market. He even graduated with honors. Max and Cavalli were on the fast track to becoming corporate stars when Cavalli decided that the pressure and stress of the corporate world wasn’t what he wanted out of life.

So he quit his job and went to culinary school to study his secret passion: food. Once he was finished, he put his business knowhow and connections he made while working in New York to good use and opened up Muse, where he was not only the owner, but the head chef.