Bridesmaid for Hire

by Chance Carter

  Jeremy wiggled his eyebrows. “You know the Bertrand Group?”

  “Can’t say I’m familiar.”

  “Well you should be.” Jeremy picked up a pencil and started rolling it between his fingers. “They’re one of the largest luxury hotel chains in the Caribbean. Or at least they were.”

  I cocked a brow. “What happened?”

  “Life happened.” He snapped the pencil in two, evidently to add to the drama of the charade. “They’re downsizing and selling off some of their properties. It’s a huge opportunity for Goodman-Westfield.”

  I didn’t need Jeremy to tell me that. I’d been looking at branching out our assets into hotels and resorts for some time now. It was the next logical step in my desire to expand the company rather than simply maintaining my father’s empire. Expanding profits was one thing, but I wanted to grow capital. This could be big.

  “Much as I wish you would leave my office supplies unscathed when you come visit,” I said, sending a pointed look at the broken pencil pieces he was now fiddling with. “I do appreciate the news. How soon are they looking to sell?”

  Jeremy grinned. “As soon as possible.”

  “Then I’d better get moving. Can you forward me the details and I’ll get Emma to start making travel arrangements?”

  Jeremy nodded, but made no move to leave. Seeing that he clearly wasn’t finished, I leaned back in my chair and waited.

  “You’re going to have to charm the current owner, Baldric Hammond,” he told me.

  “That’s why I’m going myself and not sending you to do it for me.” The hint of irritation in my voice was more than enough to let him know I didn’t appreciate being told how to run my business.

  He chuckled. “Just trying to help. The competition for the properties is going to be fierce. I know of at least two large firms considering them right now, though nobody has actually met with Hammond yet to talk details.”

  “Then I’ll be the first to do so.” I waved him off. “Go send me the details. If I’m dropping everything to head to the Caribbean, I’m going to need all the time I have to prepare.”

  Jeremy was evidently dissatisfied with this. All he wanted to do when he was in a good mood was hang out, which was fun after we’d won a case in court, but frustrating when I still had other things I needed to do. He set the broken pencil pieces down on my desk and stood, adjusting his tie.

  “Well, you know where I am if you need me.”

  “Indeed I do.” I grabbed the pencil pieces and tossed them in the trash.

  Just as Jeremy reached the door I called out to him, and he paused before he opened it, looking at me expectantly.

  “Thank you,” I said. “I appreciate you keeping an eye out for stuff like this.”

  Jeremy gave a solemn nod. He knew how much it meant to me, and he also knew how hard I worked to pursue my goals. It was just one of the many things I liked about him, though sometimes the list of things I didn’t like seemed much longer. Case in point, him stealing a glass paperweight from my bookcase on his way out the door. I would get it back eventually. Probably.

  “Emma,” I called through the intercom. “Could you come into my office, please.”

  Emma arrived in the doorway a moment later, smiling pleasantly. “Jeremy sure seemed excited. What’s up?”

  “An opportunity,” I said, standing.

  She closed the door and walked toward the desk. “What kind of opportunity?”

  “The opportunistic kind.”

  I grinned and walked around the desk to pull her into my arms before she could protest. She tried to wiggle free, but I was stronger, and soon she gave into the hug and leaned her head against my chest.

  Emma was always so funny about how we acted at work, even though it was common knowledge we were together. She thought it was unwise to be so open about our relationship, but I knew better. Half the people in this building weren’t people at all, but vipers poised to strike as soon as they got the next juicy bit of gossip. It was better to be up front with it, even if it was awkward at times.

  I pulled back from Emma and pecked her on the lips. She smiled.

  “We’re going on a business trip,” I said. “Do you have a bikini?”

  Emma flushed. “As my boss, I don’t think you’re allowed to ask that.”

  I chuckled. “I’m not asking as your boss.” I nuzzled my face back in her hair, kissing her crown. “I’m asking as the man who’s taking you out tonight and fucking you within an inch of your life when we get home.”

  She gasped and automatically looked behind her, as if someone could walk in at any moment. I was sure this anxiety would wear off eventually, but it was good to know that any sordid encounters in the office would take some building up to.

  When she turned back, Emma’s eyes were dark and her lips were parted just a little, like she was waiting for my kiss. There was way too much to accomplish today for me to take them right now, though Lord knows I wanted to.

  “So, baby, do you have a bikini?”

  She shook her head.

  I pulled my wallet out of my back pocket and grabbed a few bills, pressing them into her palm. Her eyes widened and she tried to give the money back, but I put my hands up and stepped away.

  “It’s just a bathing suit,” I told her.

  She frowned. “There’s like three hundred dollars here. That’s way too much to buy a swimsuit.”

  I sank back down behind my desk and clicked into my email. Jeremy’s message with the details of the company had already arrived, and I opened it with a small smile. The resort we needed to visit in order to meet with Baldric Hammond was in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Nice.

  “Then buy some new clothes, too,” I said.

  She put a defiant hand on her hip. “I don’t need any new clothes.”

  I caught her gaze, all traces of humor gone from my face. “You will after I rip yours off you tonight for being so bad at taking direction.”

  Emma’s face flashed bright red and she swallowed hard. I could see how aroused she was just from the way her fist tightened around the wad of cash, and how her thighs reflexively clenched. My cock was instantly hard again, but this time I really did need to work.

  “If you need anything else, you know where to find me,” Emma said, spinning on her heel and making a hasty retreat.

  This was a good day. If my mother and I weren’t fighting, she’d be happy with this too. Soon enough, the Goodman-Westfield brand would be bigger than ever, and the only thing standing in my way was a spot of competition and a couple thousand miles of ocean.

  I could do that. I could win this. In many ways, I was not my father’s son, but in this way, I always would be.

  Chapter 23

  Emma

  The warm, humid breeze tickled the hairs on the back of my neck, sending a shiver through my body. Still, I didn’t move an inch. I was completely in the zone, laser focused on the little boat bobbing a couple hundred yards away from shore on waves like rolling sapphires.

  I couldn’t see anybody on it, and I liked to imagine that it was abandoned. It seemed more beautiful that way, even though I knew nobody would just leave a perfectly good boat out on the water like that for no reason.

  That was what I liked about drawing, though. That boat had a story, one that I might never know, but my drawing would always have a story I was intimately familiar with. Nobody but me decided how the picture would come out, and I could do whatever I wanted with it. In my drawing, the boat was full of mystery and intrigue. It was waiting.

  It was probably strange to add such a somber mood to my drawing when I was working in such an idyllic place. The heat blasted me from all sides, sending trickles of sweat down the back of my neck and under my loose, flowy top. It was one of the new ones I’d bought with the money Max gave me for a swim suit—money that I’d considered sneaking under his pillow the next time I was over at his place.

  I spent it, in the end, because the idea of having some new clothes and
a nice new bikini delivered temptation in excess of my pride. I still intended to distance myself from his money as much as possible, but it was okay to splurge a little sometimes, right?

  I guess the reason I felt so guilty about it was because of what Lance had said. Because of what he’d compared me to. I didn’t like taking money from anyone, especially these days, because I enjoyed my independence. I didn’t like taking money from Max, because I didn’t want to feel like a prostitute.

  I wondered how the man in question was doing right now. He was in business meetings all afternoon and had been stressed to the nines since he first found out about the properties for sale. He wanted them so badly I worried about what would happen if he didn’t manage to obtain them. Apparently Baldric Hammond was known for playing hard ball, and today’s big meeting with him was by far the most important event on their calendar while they were here.

  Maybe I should try to get Max to come out here afterward to relax and decompress. There was no way anybody could be stressed out when they were in an environment like this. The sand was so soft it was almost like powder, shining bright white against the mid afternoon sun. Running all along the sandy bank behind me were palm trees of varying sizes. Their shade was keeping me sane in the impossible heat. Outside of the shade it was boiling hot, but here, with a light breeze whispering over my skin, and the sound of the surf tumbling up the beach, I was perfectly content.

  My drawing was turning out to be decent, too. I thought about showing it to Max, but decided against it. I hadn’t shown my drawings to anybody in a long time. I knew it wasn’t Max’s fault that Lance was such an asshole, but I needed a little more time before I started peeling off all the layers of harm Lance had done to me. Max was helping that process along, and for the first time ever I felt like I could even tackle problems in my life that pre-dated Lance.

  God, I missed Max. It was rare that we went a full day without seeing each other, since we were always either at work together or around each other on the weekends. The fact that he’d slipped out of bed at seven in the morning and wouldn’t finish for at least another half an hour was giving me withdrawals.

  I couldn’t wait for his meetings to finish up so we could start enjoying this business trip properly. I hadn’t had a vacation in a long time and I was excited to use this trip as one, even if we were only here for a few days and fun was not necessarily on the agenda.

  Since Max should be finished for the day soon, I decided to head over and meet him.

  I stopped at our room first to drop off my stuff, and changed into a flirty floral dress while I was there. I twirled in front of the mirror like an idiot, then fluffed up my hair a bit and rubbed off the makeup that had migrated down my face, pooling under my eyes.

  Being with Max had created a change in me. I was happier. I twirled in front of mirrors and took delight in wearing fun dresses, just because I could. It was a nice way to feel, almost like being a child again.

  After leaving the room, I headed to the bar and ordered two pina coladas. I couldn’t honestly say I’d ever seen Max drink anything other than champagne, wine, or gin, and I was excited to see how he would react to the sugary treat. I was also excited to taste it on his lips.

  Max’s final meeting was in a private conference room just off the lobby, so I waited in the lobby for him to finish. It was an open-air space, with a circular skylight fifty feet above me and open galleries for several floors above, from which spilled tons of beautiful greenery. Vines and leaves and a few delicate white flowers curled languidly toward the floor, waving with each breath of wind.

  I couldn’t believe that if all went well, Max would soon own this building. Well, his company would, but still. Lance hadn’t even owned a house or a car, and now I was going out with a guy who commanded enough power to own an entire luxury hotel in the Caribbean.

  Correction—several entire luxury hotels in the Caribbean.

  It was surreal. And here I was, wearing a floral dress, waiting for him to finish a business meeting with two pina coladas in hand.

  I was about a third of the way into my drink when I spotted a familiar head of dark hair emerge from a door near the reception desk. Max. I shot to my feet, a grin on my face from ear to ear.

  He was still talking to the man he was with and hadn’t seen me yet. I assumed the guy was Baldric, but it could have just been his assistant. He didn’t look particularly imposing or important. He had a squat, round build and dusty gray hair that poked out at odd angles on his head. He ran his hand through it, which I imagined was the root of the problem, and I noticed his fingers were laden with gold rings.

  Max spotted me finally, and I smiled, raising the two glasses in my hand in greeting. He started toward me with loping strides, still talking to his host, who toddled along beside him.

  “Emma Valentine, this is Baldric Hammond,” Max said, sweeping a hand between us.

  So, this was the hotel’s current owner. Crap. I was embarrassed that he’d seen me waiting for Max out here like this, and I didn’t particularly want to involve him in our already complicated work and life relationship.

  “I’m Max’s personal assistant,” I said. “Pleased to meet you. I would shake your hand...”

  Max nimbly plucked the fuller glass out of my hand and stared at it like he’d never seen anything more outrageous.

  Now my hand was free, and I extended it toward Baldric. His irises were gray and incredibly pale. It was like staring into a snowstorm at night. He squeezed my hand firmly and smiled, exposing two rows of disconcertingly straight white teeth.

  “It’s lovely to meet you, Miss Valentine.” He shook my hand, holding it for a little longer than necessary. “I hope I get to see you more during your stay.”

  Baldric spoke in a clear English accent that sounded as if it came right from the gutters of London. It was how I would imagine Jack the Ripper to sound.

  “Yeah, totally,” I said.

  Baldric’s gaze raked over me from tip to tail, and I swallowed hard to manage my discomfort. Maybe I should have introduced myself as Max’s girlfriend. If I had, then maybe he wouldn’t be looking at me like that. I cursed myself inwardly for my awkwardness.

  Max cleared his throat. “We should be going,” he said. “Emma and I have some things to discuss.”

  “Yes, of course.” Baldric tore his gaze away from me, though it seemed to take some effort on his part. “I’ll have my decision for you in a few days. Until that time, please take advantage of all the amenities. Just don’t start taking down measurements yet, eh?”

  He laughed uproariously, like he’d just made the single funniest joke in the history of jokes. Neither Max or I laughed, though I noticed Max cracked a polite smile. With a hand on my waist, he led me over to the elevator.

  “We’re going back to the room?” I asked.

  Max nodded, tipping his head forward to sniff the drink.

  The elevator doors slid open and I followed him inside, chuckling. “It’s just a pina colada,” I said. “It’s not going to kill you.”

  “No, of course not.”

  The doors closed and Max released a long breath, then took a sip of the drink. I watched his face relax a little, and when he turned back to me there was something bitter in his gaze.

  “I didn’t mean to turn my nose up at your thoughtful gift,” he said. “It made my day to see you standing there waiting for me. It’s just...” He raked a hand through his hair, scowling. “The way Baldric looked at you, it drove me fucking crazy to see him look at you like that.”

  My heart gave a wet thump in my chest. Max grabbed me around the waist with his free hand and tugged me against his chest. He pressed his lips against my crown, and swayed me back and forth. It was a kind, gentle gesture, one I appreciated more than Max could possibly know. It was moments like these that made me wonder if maybe we did have a future together.

  “He’s gone now,” I said. “Did the meeting go well?”

  “It’s hard to say,” he murmu
red into my hair. “I’ll just have to wait for his decision.”

  The doors opened and we stepped out, heading down the hall toward our room.

  “You seem stressed,” I observed.

  Max chuckled and took a sip of the drink. “I’m not.”

  “There’s nothing wrong if you are,” I said. “It’s a big deal, and I know how much you want this.”

  Max grabbed my arm and stopped me, wheeling me around to face him. There was fire in his eyes.

  “I’m not stressed,” he said. “I’m angry because Baldric Hammond just undressed you with his eyes and I didn’t do anything to stop it. I wanted to clock the guy.”

  I frowned. “You couldn’t do that. He’s not going to let you buy his properties if you punch him.”

  Max lowered his face to mine. The scent of pineapple wafted from his lips.

  “You’re right. Which is why I didn’t do it. But it fucking killed me to see that. Which is why we’re heading back to our room instead of to the bar to have a drink and enjoy the afternoon.”

  I gave him an incredulous look. “You want to go hide in the room and pout?”

  His lip curled, but it was more of a snarl than a smile. It sent waves of heat to my core and I shivered unexpectedly. The things this man could do to me with just a look.

  “We’re going to the room because I want fuck you so hard that neither of us even remember who Baldric Hammond is. Understand?”

  My mouth went dry, and I nodded dumbly.

  Max smirked and continued walking down the hall, one hand clasped tightly around mine. I had to hustle to keep up with his pace, but I would’ve been happy to sprint there if he wanted. My body was already responding to the promise of his words.

  We reached the door and he coolly unlocked it and opened it up, gesturing for me to enter. I did, and turned to face him as he let the door close behind him. I reached for his pina colada, but he pulled it out of my reach.

  “We’re not done with this yet.”

  “We’re not?”

  He grinned, “Get naked and lie on the bed.”