“You were in New York City,” she accused. Aubrey crossed her arms and stood in front of him. She stared down at him, liking the fact that while he was sitting she had the height advantage for a position of power.
“Yup, so were you.” His voice was deep. In fact, it was a so deep that you wanted to melt right there into a puddle of goo kind of voice.
“Why are you here? Did you follow me?” She was trying to keep her voice from quivering. She wasn’t sure if it was quivering out of the slight fear she had run through her or at how badly she wanted to launch herself at him. She needed to walk away before he said something sexy in that voice of his.
“Nope, didn’t follow you. I could ask you the same thing.” He had a point. If he hadn’t followed her, perhaps that was why he was staring, to make sure that she wasn’t the psycho.
“Fine, have a nice night.” Aubrey turned and walked away quickly. She got back to the table with Bridgette and felt like a complete fool.
“What was that?” Bridgett asked between fries.
“Oh, that? Just me making a complete ass out of myself.”
Chapter Four
Bridgette was right. The burgers were good. So good that she scarfed it down faster than she would have thought possible. Leaning back in her chair, she couldn’t help but feel the prickles on the back of her neck. Someone was watching her. She turned her head slightly, trying to see who it was without being obvious.
What should have been obvious was that it was Hot Geeky Man who was staring. She didn’t know what his issue was, but she wasn’t having anything to do with it. Besides, three girls rocking dresses so short that their asses were practically falling out of them had already found him and clung to his side. She wasn’t going back over there. She wasn’t into cat fights.
“Come on, let’s go dance!” Aubrey said, forcing herself to stop thinking about the blonde with the penetrating stare behind her. Bridgette agreed and followed her to the dance floor.
Once again, the music flowed through her. Aubrey closed her eyes and just felt it. Her body swayed about as the song came to an end, and she opened her eyes. Bridgette was dancing with some guy, cute guy—but so not the point, and right in front of her stood Hot Geeky Man.
Aubrey placed her hands against his chest and pushed him. Or tried to, but he didn’t move very far. “What is your issue?” she yelled over the music.
“You looked so relaxed dancing that I had to join you. The only time I feel as relaxed as you look is when I’m sitting at home reading.” His answer was honest. She could tell that from the innocence on his face. “Do you want to show me how to feel like that in the middle of this insane room with the music pounding so loudly I can barely hear myself think?”
“If you don’t like it, why do you come?”
“I like beer on tap. The only place to get that is a bar. The small hole-in-the-wall bars don’t have a big selection, and typically, they smell a little funky. I would rather deal with this insanity, have a good draft, and get to talk to you.”
“Did you just say funky?” she laughed.
“I did. Would you prefer gag-worthy? How about gross? Stinky? Icky? Nasty?” The smile on his face was enough to light the room, and make her agree to a dance.
“Okay, okay. Let’s dance.”
~*~
He was a horrible dancer. Aubrey tried to help him find the beat. She placed her hands on his hips and moved them side to side. The minute she let go, he lost it. She tried to turn so her back was to his front, wrapped his arms around her waist, and dancing for him. Having him just use her body as a guide. All that did was serve to turn her on (the man had to be hiding some killer abs under that t-shirt) and prove that even with a guide, he couldn’t keep a beat to save his life.
“Okay, okay, I think I give up,” he said, throwing his hands in the air.
“Don’t give up. You can keep trying. You don’t have to be a good dancer to enjoy dancing. Let’s take a break and grab a drink.” She led him off the floor, and then released his hand. She didn’t want to. For the first time in the last hour, his hands weren’t touching her in some way, and she felt their absence.
“Nate, two waters, please,” Hot Geeky Man said to the bartender.
“You got it, Henry.” Shit. Now she knew his name. She rather liked Hot Geeky Man. Knowing his name made it a little more real than a fun night. She hadn’t intended to make it more than drinks and dancing, but somehow, knowing his name, made him more irresistible. Shit.
“So, since we never actually did the whole introduction thing and I can’t keep calling you Diana Prince in my head—”
“Diana Prince? Where did that come from?” Did she look like an ex? Some girl he used to know? That was a nice little piece of info to keep reminding her of her own rule. No serious men in her life until she actually had more time to have a life. Like when she wasn’t an assistant any longer, and when she had one of her own.
“Sorry, comic reference. Anyway, I’m Henry, and you are?”
“Aubrey.”
“Well, Aubrey, it is very nice to meet you.” Henry smiled that brilliant smile at her and handed her the glass of water. She smiled back and took it from him. By the time she took a sip and set her glass down on the bar top, two women had already appeared on the other side of Henry.
She was about to walk away, when he looked over his shoulder at her and mouthed ‘help me’. She giggled a little and shook her head no. She wanted to see, and hear, what made this man such a magnet. Besides the killer smile, eyes, and hopefully perfect body. He hadn’t talked to these girls, so they couldn’t know how funny and charming he was—even if he were a grown man with a penchant for comic books.
Henry frowned at her and turned back to the girls. She listened as he tried to get away. He used everything from he had to pee to he needed to go. Finally, he played the ace card.
“Ladies, why don’t I get the next couple rounds, because I hate to tell you this, but you just aren’t my type, if you understand what I’m saying.”
Aubrey had to hold back a laugh as she watched the looks on their faces fall. Then, a little petite red head leaned in and whispered something into his ear. He pulled back so fast the bar stool fell out from under him.
“No, that is quite all right. Enjoy the drinks. I am leaving now.” Henry handed the bartender a stack of cash and turned to see a red faced Aubrey cackling away. The scowl that was on his face faded and was replaced with a grin. “Oh shush. You don’t know what she said to me!”
“No, I don’t. But I want to!”
“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Henry leaned in and whispered in her ear. The things he was saying were dirty for sure, but they had nothing on the way his breath felt tickling her ear or how his fingers softly tucked her hair behind her ear to begin with. She was only able to concentrate on the words he was saying when strap-on was mentioned.
She couldn’t stop her laughter. What was this man’s dick made out of? Gold?
“You have to tell me, what is it about you that has girls flocking to your side?”
“I’m not sure how to take that?”
“I mean, I know the obvious reasons, but this is something else entirely.”
“I think I might just let you try and figure it out on your own. How about if we get out of here? Are you in the mood for a late night coffee?”
The night was beginning to border into date territory, but Aubrey couldn’t help herself. The thought of walking away before she knew all she could about him was terrifying. What if she didn’t see him again? She would stick to her rules—she would only spend one night with him. But she wanted to make it last.
“Let me just say bye to my friend real quick.”
~*~
“You cannot be serious! You dunk donuts in milk or coffee. Not toast!” Henry said laughing. They had wound up at an all night coffee shop and were the only two in the place. Henry ordered his coffee with a ton of instructions, and Aubrey asked
for black. She also ordered rye toast to go with it.
“Yes, toast. But only rye toast with tons of butter. My grandmother used to do it all the time. She finally let me try it when I was eight or so. It was the only time I was allowed coffee, and since everyone else in my family drank it, I wanted to, too. What’s it called, oh! Acquiring a taste? Yes, Rye dipped in coffee is an acquired taste.”
“Whatever you say,” he said while still laughing at her peculiar tastes.
“Hey, I didn’t say a word about your Froo-Froo coffee drink. Leave my toast alone.”
Henry put his hands up in surrender. “Okay, Okay. No more teasing.”
“Thank you.”
“So, want to tell me why you came to the bar tonight?” he asked.
“Work bullshit, and I was hungry. Bridgette asked if I wanted to go, so I did.”
“I would say I was sorry you had bullshit drama at work, but if it got you to the bar... and to me...”
Why did he have to keep saying things like that to her? Didn’t he know that she wasn’t one to fall for anyone? The flutter in her heart was violating her number one rule. No feelings. It was a choice she made. She knew she wanted more of him, but damn it, she didn’t want to be thinking of him for days after, and if he continued to talk like that, she knew she would.
Aubrey leaned into him and placed her lips on his, very softly. Nothing that would be considered obscene, but it held a ton of promises. “Do you want to show me where you are staying tonight?”
She figured that if she cut all the mental bonding time, it would be easier. She hadn’t planned on another one night stand so soon, but she was dying to see this man naked. It would get his words out of her head. It would. She was sure of it.
“Sorry, Aubrey, but no. I don’t. Let me take you home.” His words were full of defeat as if she had just failed some test she didn’t know she was taking. She had never been shot down like that before. It stung.
“No, I can find my own way.” She stood and left without another word.
She took a cab back to her office and climbed into her car. Once the engine turned over, she blared the music and drove off, taking her aggression out on the road.
Chapter Five
It had been a whole week. A whole damn week and Henry was still on her mind. Why did she go out for coffee with him? She knew better. Emotional connections were for people who didn’t have to travel all the time, for people with time to actually have a relationship. For people who didn’t suck at being a girlfriend. Aubrey was not one of those people.
Not that it mattered. He didn’t want her after all.
In a single week, Aubrey went from high on life to Debbie downer. The job she loved to do and thought she was appreciated, no longer felt like that. She never felt like more of an assistant than she had that week. That one comment by Jenna ruined her whole perception of herself. She had thought she was needed and wanted. She was, but as a scape goat.
Then there was Henry. Fucking Henry. Why couldn’t she get him out of her damn head? Why did she let him in to begin with?
Her car broke down, and she had to use a chunk of her savings to fix it. Her brother still wasn’t speaking to her, and her mother decided it would be a grand idea to invite her ex-boyfriend (who she hated because he figured out sex was just sex way before she had and proceeded to put it into practice before telling her he no longer wanted to be exclusive) and his family over that weekend for a barbeque. Her mother really didn’t get it.
Aubrey pressed the elevator button and watched the numbers light up as they descended each floor of the building. Viola was huge. There were twenty stories to the building and every office on every floor was in use. It was a company that valued its employees. Or at least that’s what they boast. Viola may value her, but Jenna sure didn’t.
The elevator doors opened, and Aubrey stepped in. It stopped on every floor on the way up to the sixteenth level. People piled in and out the whole way making a normal two minute trip take ten. Aubrey looked at her watch and groaned. She was late.
Rushing to her desk, she grabbed Jenna’s coffee on the way, sloshing a little on her hand. “FUCK!” she yelled before dropping the mug to the tile floor where it shattered into a million pieces.
Everyone turned to look at her. She flushed red but let them know she was fine and sat her bag down on the table closest to her before cleaning up the mess.
With a fresh cup in hand, and a much slower gait, she walked into Jenna’s office. The phone was pressed to her ear, and the look on her face told Aubrey it wasn’t a good phone call. There were a few ‘uh-huhs’ and a couple ‘yes sir’s before she hung the phone up. Then the look was trained on Aubrey.
“You’re late.”
“I’m sorry, there was—”
“No, no excuses. Here is a list of everything I need done today. When you get back, I will have more.” Jenna held out a slip of paper, effectively cutting the conversation off.
“Jenna, I really am sorry. Have I done something wrong?”
“Why would you ask that? Doing errands is part of your job. I just haven’t utilized you in this way yet. I am paying you to assist me, and this is part of it. You are doing fine. Now, please get these done, and I will see you when you get back.”
Aubrey took the slip from her and walked out the door. When she was seated at her desk, she opened the paper and wanted to cry. She had to walk Jenna’s dog, drop off her dry cleaning, and pick up a box of tampons. Last week she had been Jenna’s right hand. This week she was a damn dog walker.
It didn’t matter. She would not fail at being a personal assistant after being so good at it for years. No, she would do as she was asked and not say another word about it. At least, not to Jenna.
~*~
Once Aubrey had left the building, she felt slightly better. When she drove to Jenna’s house to get the dog, she wasn’t so sure. Apparently Jenna’s puppy wasn’t exactly a puppy. No, the dog was a mastiff. A fucking dog almost as tall as she was.
Its crap piles were huge, too. Worst day of work ever.
Once the ‘puppy’ was taken care of, she had to hunt through Jenna’s dirty clothes for three specific suits to take to the dry cleaners. The woman had piles and piles of dirty laundry. It looked like she had gone weeks without washing anything. But then again, her closet full of clean clothes was still overflowing. Perhaps she didn’t realize she needed to wash before everything was dirty? The thought made Aubrey giggle a little. At least something about the day was making her smile.
Aubrey locked up Jenna’s house and drove away. Watching the house grow smaller in her mirror, Aubrey decided she would have a house that big one day. She would put up with every one of the bullshit errands just to prove to herself, and to everyone else too, that she could do what it takes to succeed at something. What better proof of success than her own house. A house that beautiful.? A horse. She would make sure to have enough land to own a horse. And a trainer. If she owned a horse she would need to learn to ride. But it didn’t matter. She would do it.
Lost in her thoughts about her hopeful future, Aubrey drove right passed the dry cleaners that Jenna wanted to use. Finding a place to make a U-turn took another ten minutes. When she finally got into the parking lot, the damn place was closed for lunch.
Aubrey looked at her watch, shocked that so much of the day was already gone. Instead of standing around and waiting for them to come back, she headed over to the store to pick up the tampons.
Henry was at the checkout. Fuck. Should she wander the store some and wait for him to leave, or just get in line and act as if his presence meant nothing to her? If she wandered, she wasted more time, and Jenna wouldn’t be happy. But if she got in line and had to talk to him, she wouldn’t be happy.
With a deep breath, she moved forward. She needed Jenna to be happy if she were ever going to get that damn horse.
She stood in line behind him holding the light pink box. Only then did she realize that she would rather wait on the ho
rse if it meant keeping Henry from seeing her carrying tampons. They weren’t even hers. How fucking embarrassing. If only she could just step back, slowly, quietly.
It would have worked if she hadn’t tripped over a freaking basket someone left by the register instead of putting it away. Stupid lazy asshole. Aubrey fell backward and landed with a thud. Henry turned quickly, and as soon as his eyes landed on her, she could have sworn that they lit up just a bit.
She hoped it was because he was happy to see her and not because she was on her ass on the floor holding a stupid pink box of tampons.
“Let me help you,” he said, holding out a hand. She considered telling him no, that she could get up just fine on her own. But then she thought how this might be the only time she would feel his hands on her body again—even if it were just a simple hand hold to get her up.
Aubrey placed her hand in his. He gave her a tug and wrapped his other hand around her back when she lost her footing for the second time. She was never that klutzy. Never. It had to be his fault.
“Thanks,” she said, pulling her hand away. It was torture letting go of his touch. But she had to. He already took up too much of her mind. She had to find something about him to be irritated with, something to turn her off from him. She may have pulled her hand away, but she couldn’t move away. And he couldn’t stop looking at her.
Aubrey looked him up and down, looking for a flaw. He looked just as hot as he had the week prior. This time it was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle shoes. His sneakers had turtles on them. And he was rocking them. She couldn’t even say his obsession with superheroes was a turn off. There was something about the sexy geek thing that made her smile.
“Sir?” the cashier asked, breaking the spell between them. Henry spun back around quickly and paid for his things, waiting calmly while she paid for the damn tampons. At least he had the decency to look away and pretend to not see what she was buying.
The Billionaire & The Barfly (Coming Home) Page 3
