"Yeah, but you seem excited about it, and that's not like you Hunter," he said.
I shrugged. "After dad's accident, I was reminded to enjoy the little things in life and to give where I could. Besides, you were right. She's doing a great job,"
"Wait, what did you just say?" he asked, leaning forward, expectantly.
"I'm not going to say you were right again. You get one and you just got it. That's it."
Ryan finally left me to return to his wife, who was gushing over Natalie. When the two of them broke off, I went over to Natalie. Gavin had given her a wide berth, letting me know he was a smart man. But there were other men who were watching her, and since I didn't want to ruin her first gallery opening by beating them to a pulp, I wanted to keep close. To me it made perfect sense that the owner of the gallery would spend the evening with his new protégé. There was no hint of impropriety on my part.
Finally, the crowd started the wane and I escorted Natalie out to the limo and into the back seat. I briefly considered getting us both naked and taking advantage of the large private area, but reminded myself this was about her, not me.
"Where are we going?" she asked as we drove in the opposite direction of her apartment building.
"I figured you might be hungry, so I'm taking you to get something to eat." She looked out the window, and then turned back to me.
"Cesare’s is the other way."
"Well, this time, we might have…let me remember what you said…food with a burst of flavors and a variety of textures."
Her eyes narrowed, but then clarity came when she looked out as we arrived in the South Park area of San Diego. We got out of the car and I guided her to the popular food truck serving unquestionably the best taco in San Diego.
"Hola Senor Strong, amigo. How are you?" Carlos said from inside the truck as we arrived at the order window.
"Very well. Carlos and you?"
"Bueno, amigo. What can I get you?"
I looked at Natalie gaping at me.
I arched a brow. "Please don't tell me that this shocks you.”
“Do you own this too?”
"No, I don't —"
"But I wouldn't be here without you the Strong small business grants."
I didn't look at Natalie. For some reason I was feeling a little embarrassed at his gushing. I hoped he didn’t tell her that normally he was home this time of night, but that I’d paid him to open up this late for me and Natalie.
To make sure there was no further discussion, I ordered a taco and burrito.
"Coming right up. And for you señorita?"
“I'll have what he's having," she said, grinning up at me.
Once we got our food, we walked and found a place to sit to enjoy our meal. We sat on a park bench and Natalie tore into her taco taking a bite. She closed her eyes and made a mmm sound that made my dick thicken as it was similar to the sounds she made when we were in bed together.
"I'm having a moment," she said.
"I hope that means you're having a good evening," I said, hoping that it wasn't just good, but that it was something she'd always remember. It was those thoughts that often caused me to worry upon reflection. But tonight, I wasn't going to worry about it.
"This night has been marvelous. One of my best ever." She watched me for a moment, and I shifted slightly as I took a bite of my burrito in anticipation of what she was going to ask. The thing about Natalie was that I was never quite sure what was going to come out of her mouth or what she was going to do. It was part of her charm and at the same time, also always had me on edge. "How come you didn't tell me you own the gallery?"
I shrugged as I wiped my mouth with my napkin. "I don't know. Never came up I guess."
She leaned her forearms on the table. "Why do you keep your business ventures a secret?
“They're not a secret. I just don't talk about them a lot."
"Why? And what was that that Carlos was talking about? The business grants."
"I don't know why I don't talk about it. I guess it just never comes up. And the business grants are a way for the Strong family to support other small local businesses. That's it."
Her eyes were piercing as they stayed on me. "The Strong family or you?"
"I will answer that question, but then I want you to answer one for me," I said leaning my forearms on the table and trying to look intently at her as she was at me.
"You're on."
“The foundation was started by me, but the Strong family individually and as a company make contributions so that we can support other small businesses in the area and we've actually begun expanding out to other areas as well." I watched her for a moment to gauge her reaction. She seemed to accept that.
"Now your turn. If I hadn't shown up, would you have gone out with Gavin?"
She straightened and let out a loud laugh. “That's your question?"
Her laughing made me uncomfortable. Like it was a dumb question.
She shook her head. "No, I wouldn’t have gone out with Gavin. I wouldn’t go out with Gavin in any circumstance. Even if I didn't know you."
It was worth the embarrassment to hear that. I straightened "Good."
We finished our meal and then made our way back to the limo. This was the time where I'd either take her home, or to one of the hotels that we spent time in. For a moment I just let my driver take us away from the area towards her place as my insides twisted on what to do. Because tonight, I didn't want to take her to a hotel or to take her home.
"How would you feel about going to my loft?"
Her eyebrows arched up higher than I'd ever seen, but then quickly settled back into place, as if she was hiding her surprise.
"Why?" she asked as suspicion rose in her expression.
I laughed to hide my discomfort. "It was just an invite. Where would you like to go instead?"
She settled back in her seat with her smug little smile and said, "I’d like to see your loft."
The roller coaster of emotions careened through me as I brought her into my loft. On the one hand, I'd never brought her here before, so was a little concerned about what she would think. On the other hand, I felt like I wanted her to be here, which in itself was terrifying. I expected her to look around and see a bachelor pad. A place where I lived in sin. But she was immediately drawn to the large window that overlooked the bay.
"Do you want a drink or something?” I asked, feeling the need to do something to help me manage my nerves. "I have some wine."
"Sure."
I looked at her, wondering if she was nervous too. I went to my wine cabinet for a nice red. I popped the cork and poured the wine, and as I made my way back to her, I turned on some music.
"You trying to seduce me Hunter Strong?"
"Is it working?" I asked as I handed her the glass.
Her blue eyes stared up at me coyly. "Absolutely."
We each took a sip of wine, but it was clear neither of us wanted it. So, we put our glasses down and I led her to my bedroom.
Normally there was a lot of banter and erotic talk, but neither of us said anything as we undressed. She lay back, looking like a centerfold as I pulled a condom out of the drawer and rolled it on. My brain was fired up with conflicting messages and feelings. Seeing on my bed, open and warm for me made my chest expand. I knew that wasn’t a good thing, and the terror of it made my breath stall.
She cocked her head. “Stop thinking so much, Hunter, and fuck me.”
Thank God for her. The tug-of-war dissipated and I was able to give my libido, my dick, full rein.
18
Natalie
The one thing about having sex with Hunter was that there was never any ambiguity between us. We each knew what the other wanted, and how the other one was feeling, at least physically. It was all the other times we were together that I felt uncertain about what Hunter was thinking or feeling. To be honest, I wasn't always sure what I was thinking or feeling either. Well, that's not exactly true. I did know what I wa
s thinking and feeling, I just knew I shouldn't be thinking or feeling them.
For example, what did it mean that Hunter had brought me to his home tonight? So many times it felt like he was trying to run away from himself and me, and then other times, it was like he was reaching toward me. Sometimes it seemed to be happening simultaneously. I wondered if that meant he was having feelings for me, but then I’d remind myself that it didn’t matter because he was going to hold fast and firm to his vow to never fall in love.
Finally, whatever torment was eating at him, he pushed away, and his strong body and clever hands were bringing me pleasure beyond imagination. Like him, I let go of all the emotional confusion and simply let our bodies do what they did so well.
When he entered me, I was both relieved and frustrated because while he was finally filling me, I knew the end was near. For all I knew, this could be the last time. For the last few times we’d been together I’d wondered if it would be the last time. And each time, I knew I needed to savor the sensations because eventually it would be the last time.
We came together in a rush of wild, frenetic movement, and then collapsed. This time he didn't scramble out of bed like he’d done something wrong, but he did look at his watch.
Then he rubbed his hands over his face. "Are you hungry again? Do you want something to eat before I take you back home?"
The fact that I was disappointed that he wasn't asking me to stay, was a sure sign that my feelings were slipping too far out of the friendzone. I also wondered if he was in fact feeling the same things, he felt the other night, but now had the panic under control, and this was his way of letting me know I wasn't supposed to stay. Either way, it was time for me to go home. It was a work night after all.
"No, I'm not hungry." I got out of bed and picked up my dress, slipping it back on. He got out of bed and did the same. It was so strange how compatible we were in bed. We were so in tune with what the other wanted or needed, but like this, we were so awkward and unsure, it was almost painful.
I pushed all that aside, and on the ride back home, I gushed at Hunter about how thankful I was for the opportunity that he'd given me tonight at the gallery. He assured me that he enjoyed it as well, and that he hoped that I would reap a benefit from it.
When we arrived at my apartment. He walked me up to the door but he didn't kiss me goodnight, which was to be expected.
The next few days, work went as usual. The only new thing in my life were the reviews coming in about my show. They were all complementary and within those few days, the local buzz about my work had filtered out to other areas of the state and even the country. A top art magazine contacted me for an interview as a rising star. In my office with my door shut and locked, I did a happy dance that my career was picking up.
That weekend the interviewer showed up in San Diego, and along with interviewing me about my work and my techniques, she came to my apartment where I showed her my makeshift art studio, and we ended the interview down at the gallery. Hunter and I both agreed that he shouldn't be at the gallery when I was there to maintain a professional relationship.
When the interview was over, though, I texted him to let him know, and we celebrated in the only way we knew how. This time we were back in a hotel room.
The following Monday when I walked into my office, I was feeling on top of the world. Several more of my paintings had sold, and the article hadn’t even come out yet. Once it did, I’d surely sell more. In six months, my deal with Hunter would be over, and I hoped I’d be able to be a full-time artist. Yes, things in my life were looking up, and nothing would bring me down.
There was a knock at my door. Gavin poked his head in. "Hey, have you seen this?" He held his phone up with the screen toward me, presumably wanting me to see something on it.
I waved him in. "Seen what?"
He walked into my office, but he left the door open, I suspected, so that Hunter wouldn't think he was trying something he shouldn't be. He handed me his phone.
I looked down at the screen. At first, I wasn’t sure what I was looking at. It was a picture of a well-dressed man and woman looking like they were making out somewhere. And then it hit me, like the proverbial two-by-four; That was me and Hunter.
Oh crap. I scrolled up the page to check out the headline and the article. It was a short paragraph that talked about how lucky Natalie Nichols was to have a billionaire fan to support her art. The idea of having a billionaire patron didn't bother me so much. After all, throughout history, patrons are what supported the arts. What bothered me about this paragraph was that it suggested that the only reason the showing occurred was because I was sleeping with Hunter. It completely dismissed my talent. It basically read as if Hunter was appeasing his new hot piece of ass.
I jerked my head up to look at Gavin. "Has Hunter seen this? Has anyone seen this?"
Gavin shrugged. “I don't know who specifically has seen it, but it's making the rounds. And I don't just mean it's making the rounds here at the office. It's getting buzz over the Internet as well."
I dropped the phone onto my desk and covered my face with my hands as I realized the magnitude of what was happening.
"At least I know why Hunter looked like he was going to throttle me the other night."
I managed to look at Gavin, who had a sympathetic shrug for me.
"This is a disaster." I stood up and came around my desk. "I'm going to go talk to Hunter."
As I made my way to Hunter's office. I pulled my phone out and did a search on my and Hunter’s names, and sure enough there was more than one place picking up the picture and the little blurb.
I barged into his office not caring what he was doing or if his secretary would mind. "Have you seen this?” I held up the phone for him to look at.
He frowned at me, but stood and came over to look at my phone. Like me, it took him a moment, but then it hit hard.
"Jesus fucking Christ." He walked away running his hands through his hair. "Where did the picture come from?"
"I don't know but at this point it's already out there. So that seems kind of moot."
"I'm going to kill whoever it is." He paced a little bit more and then stopped to look out the window over a nice view of San Diego. "I can't believe I'm in the press connected to a woman."
I flinched as his words shocked me. That was his concern? That it would look like he wasn't a playboy anymore?
I gaped at him. "You really do think the world revolves around you, don't you?"
He stopped, and turned to look at me with a quizzical look on his face.
"This is totally dismissing all my talent and work. For a minute I thought I might make a living as an artist. Now I'm just a new talent piece of ass that you've been indulging." Unable to stand there a minute longer and deal with his sorry ass ego, I turned and walked out, heading home. They could fire me if they wanted to, but I suspected they wouldn't, because while Hunter might not care, the other brothers and Margaret might be concerned that Hunter had been fucking one of his staff.
19
Hunter
Natalie wasn't even all the way out the door, before I was inwardly kicking myself for being so insensitive. She was right, I hadn't thought about the impact this gossip would have on her and her career. Then again, she'd only been thinking of herself as well. Of course, she had more to lose than I did. This article simply made me look like a clichéd Playboy indulging his newest conquest. For her, this could stop her career before it even had a chance to start.
Fueled by anger for the both of us, I went to my phone and began calling anyone and everyone I knew who could put a stop to this salacious news. Unfortunately for both of us, I was told there was almost nothing I could do. And in fact, making an attempt to make it go away, could make it worse, as it would draw more attention to it. The advice I got was to ignore it.
"Fuck."
And then bad went to worse, as the calls started coming in from other media outlets wanting me to comment on the story. That was
n't going to happen.
I stood, put on my coat, and strode out of my office telling my secretary that I was going to be out for the day, and for her to ignore any calls that came in from the media or gossip rags.
I got in my car and considered driving down to Mexico to hide out for a few days, maybe even a few weeks, but ultimately I drove back to my loft. Once inside, I made my way to the bar, grabbed myself a beer, and then a second one so I wouldn't have to get again to get a new one, and headed out onto my balcony. I hoped the sun and the view of the ocean would help my nerves. I also needed to figure out a way to make this right for Natalie, but was concerned based on what my lawyers and PR people told me, was that any attempt to try and fix things, might only make it worse for her. But if I did nothing, Natalie would think I was a total and complete heel.
I was just finishing up the second bottle of beer and trying to decide if I would have a third one or maybe switch to something more potent, when there was a knock at my door. I answered it and was surprised to see my grandmother there carrying a tray of cookies.
"Gran. Come in. I wasn't expecting you." A part of me worried she was going to chastise me for leaving work. My grandmother was one of the few people that could make me feel small, not in a negative way, but in a way that suggested she had a great deal of power over me.
"I brought you some cookies. I thought maybe you could use them." She thrust the tray towards me and then walked into the loft. "Are you out on the balcony?"
I followed her in carrying the tray. "Yes. Can I get you something to drink? I think I might have some iced tea or —"
"Do you have vodka and tonic?"
I tried to hold my amusement back. "Yes, I do. I'll get you one right now."
I got her drink and then carried it and the cookies out to the balcony where she was sitting looking regal as she took in the view.
"These look like snickerdoodles, my favorite," I said as I took a cookie from the tray.
She slanted me a look. "I am a grandmother after all. There's nothing like cookies to make grandchildren feel better. Now tell me about this bit of gossip that is going around."
Giving In To Love: A Friends with Benefits Office Romance (Strong Brothers Book 2) Page 12
