Abby loved athletes, and most athletes I knew didn’t want serious relationships. Mia loved any man with legs and a dog tag. She was always looking for the military types who were on vacation from duty.
What did they both have in common? Not serious.
Vanessa was the only one of us who kind of kept herself to herself. I secretly assumed it was because she was still a virgin but never said. She dated but never talked about sex. Not like the rest of us sex-crazed sisters.
“I’m just… done. Men are such fucking assholes. And they…” My voice trailed right off as something came to mind.
A face…
A very handsome face with ice-blue eyes, dimples on dimples in the sharp, perfect angles of his face, and spiky black hair I would have loved to run my fingers through.
“Oh God…” I winced, and the damn memory of the rest of last night came flying right on back into my mind. “Oh my God… no.” Jesus Lord, no…
“What?” Abby asked. “What else happened? I was going to ask how you ended up naked on the sofa.” She chuckled.
“You don’t want to know.” I gasped and covered my mouth with my hands.
I remembered it all. Me getting drunk out of my mind, the guy coming up to me in the bar, me asking him if he wanted to sleep with me, the vomiting, him taking me home, and me taking my clothes off. He’d seen me naked, completely naked, and he left.
Why was I so hell bent on ruining my life?
God, why?
And why in the fuck couldn’t I be the kind of drunk who forgot?
“Yes, your face makes me want to know even more.” Mia laughed. “I’m sorry, and sorry about Brody, but damn, girl, you have to tell us what happened next.”
“I got wasted at the bar.”
“Your car’s not outside… Where is it?” Abby smiled.
My car… Wait… no.
My car was parked near the beach, ten minutes from The Glow. I needed my car for work.
Work!
“Oh my God!” I jumped up out of my chair and shook my head. “What time is it?”
“Eight.” Abby inclined her head to the side.
“Gawhhhhh!!! Why does this just keep getting worse and worse? I have a meeting with Dad at nine.”
Abby rolled her eyes. “Girl, please, I’m sure Dad will understand if you have to take today off.”
I didn’t know why everyone chose to ignore me when I said Dad was like the boss from hell when it came to the PR company. Again, of all of us, I was the one who had to be the most ambitious. We all worked for him in the various sectors of the business.
Me, though, I wanted to run the PR company. Just the way our guy cousins got to be the boss of the real estate companies and the teams. I wouldn’t like to go throwing accusations around and start calling my family sexist or chauvinists, but damn, it was starting to look that way to me.
It felt sometimes that Dad was nice as pie to my sisters because they didn’t really do the type of work I did. In fact, Abby didn’t really do much. I swore all she did was show up to work, and that was fine.
Mia was similar, but Dad had created a role for her. No one could really say much about a made-up role because there was no benchmark and nothing to compare it to. Me, on the other hand… I got the full Peter Cartwright grill because the only person he had to compare me to was himself.
Along with all the qualifications I had, Dad also had an MBA in Business and Marketing, and God knew what else.
He was the bar and the standard I was trying to reach, and hell, there was no way I could be late today or take the day off.
“Can one of you guys give me a lift?” I asked. There was no time to waste. If they could give me a lift in to work, I could make it, just barely, in the rush hour traffic. “Please, I can’t get a taxi. It will take too long. I need to be there at nine on the dot.”
“I have to be at work for nine thirty. I have some new clients coming in.” Mia gritted her teeth.
“Gilly needs his protein shake,” Abby replied, and we both looked at her.
Damn Gilly—Gilman Hawkins—my sister’s best friend who just happened to be the quarterback for The Centaurs. The two of them had gotten on my fucking nerves since the dawn of time. They’d always been like an old married couple, even when they were five. They were practically born together, but I recalled them being five and annoying to me because she’d chosen to play with him instead of me.
Just like now. I was clearly in need of help. And she had to take him his protein shake?
Mia shook her head at her and walked away, leaving us.
“What? You know he’s doing his extra training.” Abby narrowed her eyes at me.
“Abby, as the Lord liveth.” That was another one of Grandpa’s sayings. “You are my sister, and Gilly will have to fucking wait. I need you,” I snapped.
“God, okay. You’re such a drama queen. I don’t know why you’re so scared of Dad. Last week, he sent me flowers and a box of chocolates for doing so good at the press conference.”
Ugh. That was what I meant. Dad was as nice as pie to the rest of them.
Not to me though. I was sure that was the same day Dad had bitched at me for making our meeting run over and making him late for another meeting. He wouldn’t have even been late. He just liked to have his fifteen minutes before anything planned so he could prep. Instead of his fifteen minutes, he’d had thirteen.
The man was a real demon when it came to time keeping. That was how I knew he’d have my ass if I was late.
“I’m going to get ready.” I rushed away from her and hoped like hell today would be much better than yesterday.
* * *
It wasn’t.
And…maybe…
Just maybe I should have taken Abby’s advice and called in sick.
Bad enough that I ran into the office at five minutes past nine. I could have died from the worry over the time alone but possibly revived myself and respawned after the bitching I knew Dad would give me.
However…
I was certain that five minutes must have shifted me into some alternate dimension. Or possibly The Twilight Zone. That was the only place I knew where very strange things happened.
As I rushed through Dad’s opened door, I was greeted by his angry face, but who I saw sitting in the office chair in front of his grand mahogany desk was none other than the guy from last night.
Mr. Gorgeous!
Mr. Gorgeous from last night, who just happened to look better than a billion dollars in his suit. Today’s vision of him made last night look like chopped liver, and last night he’d looked FHM Sexiest Man Alive gorgeous.
Today, he looked like he’d just stepped off the set of some Hollywood film where he was the heartthrob every woman alive would swoon over, and he had the mysterious bad boy vibe that reminded me a lot of James Dean.
This man was here…
Here in the office with Dad, and shit, I was staring.
Thank you very much, universe.
This was exactly how much worse the day could get. I got the feeling there was more though. The air was pregnant with tension the way it was before a storm.
“Taylor, do you plan on joining us, or are you just going to stand there and make us even later than we already are?” Dad asked.
My gaze snapped right back to him, and I rushed up to the empty chair next to Mr. Gorgeous, who I just had to steal a glance at again. It was my brain checking if he was real just like it did last night.
“I’m so sorry. I’m sorry,” I apologized and swallowed hard. “There was a … situation I had to take care of.”
Situation… I sensed Mr. Gorgeous tense next to me. He was well aware of my situation because he was part of it. He just wouldn’t have known that I overslept. Wouldn’t be hard to figure out though.
Who was he?
And what was going on here? Dad never mentioned anything about us meeting with anyone else.
“Okay, let’s get started,” Dad spoke abruptly but
cut me a crude glance, displaying his displeasure at my lateness. It was a habit I’d grown used to. That stare meant he wasn’t done with me and we’d have words later about it. “Taylor, this is Dylan Patterson of Patterson Inc. He’s a consultant I’ve hired to review and assess your business performance.”
There it was…
The storm. It came with thunder and lightning too. It absolutely fucking did.
“What?” I asked. “He’ll be doing what?” I looked at Dylan, literally looked him up and down, forgetting my prior thought on his gorgeousness. That was bullshit in my eyes now.
“You heard me,” Dad replied, intensifying his stare. “Dylan will be with us for the next ten weeks, but to do his assessment, he’ll look over your work of the last year. Once he’s done, we’ll talk about your proposal to run the company. Of course, following the results of his analysis.”
I didn’t know how many times I’d called on the good Lord today, but I needed him again now. I needed some higher power to help me because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This was off the charts unfair and showed he didn’t trust me. Or value me. Not at all.
“Dad, this is bullshit. It’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous and unfair. You know me. You know how hard I work here.” I glowered at him. I’d never spoken to him in that tone before and definitely not in front of people.
“Taylor, this is my company, and I will decide how I want things done,” he threw back.
“But I’ve worked for you for years. It’s not like I just pitched up off the streets and you don’t know me. I’ve taken this company to some amazing places.” That was so true. When I stepped up and really started to shine, it was like I’d taken the company out of the dark ages and brought it to the twenty-first century.
“Business is business. Basically, impress him, and you may impress me,” Dad answered, cold and hard.
I looked to Dylan, meeting his arctic stare.
Yes, that was it. Arctic. That blue that was clear as ice was exactly that. Cold and arctic. There was nothing warm about him.
It was like the person who sat before me now and the man last night were two different people.
The only similarity they shared was that neither were impressed with me.
If I was supposed to impress this man, I’d already lost the battle. No point venturing to the war.
“You will meet tomorrow and discuss how to proceed,” Dad added.
I noticed that this whole time, Dylan didn’t speak.
What was there to say though?
Last night was enough.
Chapter 4
Taylor
* * *
I stood by my office window looking out at the beautiful scenery before me. We were right near the beach, and the palm trees that dotted the coast gave it that tropical feeling I loved.
This was me getting lost in the scenery because it was the only constant around me. I’d read somewhere that psychologists used landscapes as therapy sometimes because certain scenes triggered happy memories.
I wasn’t looking for a happy memory today. It was more the case of trying to tamp down my rage with Dad.
Dad… It was clear to me now that the man was the devil. If not, he was surely rubbing shoulders with old Lucifer himself.
It came to me last night. The understanding of what had truly happened. Dad didn’t trust me. He knew I was good for the company, knew he could hand me the company on a plate. It could even be a silver plate, and hell, he could even give me the proverbial silver spoon too, but he wasn’t going to do that.
He’d already made me jump through hoops, and just like back in college when he thought I was seeing one of his rivals’ sons, he’d had me followed.
Dad had me followed when I was nineteen. He’d thought I was dating Dean Corbleu, the eldest son of Bradford Corbleu, who Dad claimed stole his business idea.
Well, I had a pretty damn good suspicion that Dad had me followed two nights ago too.
He must have had Dylan follow me to start this ridiculous assessment of me. That was the only thing I could come up with because it would have to be the mother of all coincidences if I was wrong.
There was a light knock on my door.
That would be him now. This meeting of ours between him and me would take place in two minutes. I had a good mind to leave him out there for the next two minutes, but I couldn’t be that evil.
There was darkness at work here to wear me down, but I wouldn’t be that evil, especially when the man had seen me home and made sure I got there in one piece.
At least I resembled something more like myself today. Not my business self either. More me in my navy-blue skater dress and my hair down in long cascading waves. It was a smart, casual look I went for in attempt to be comfortable. I’d only thrown on a blazer to give it a more professional appearance.
“Come in,” I called out.
The door opened, and in he came.
In he came carrying a foolscap folder filled with documents. He wasn’t dressed in a suit today but still looked off-the-charts sexy in his white button-down shirt and tie and a pair of beige pants that drew attention to his long athletic-looking legs.
Tension filled my whole body when he looked at me with the same cold stare he had yesterday. It was the eyes. I’d bet he used that asset of his in more ways than one because they were almost like a warning to not look at him too long, or at all.
I was looking though, determined not to let him faze me.
I wasn’t going to allow Dad to faze me either. This company was mine. It was going to be mine, and I wasn’t going to allow anyone to take it from me. I’d fashioned my whole life around it, right from when Dad set it up fifteen years ago and gave me the rundown of what public relations was. I knew that was what I wanted to go into, what I wanted to do, and here I was doing it.
“Good morning,” Dylan said. The beginning of a smile tipped the corners of his mouth but faded.
“Morning,” I answered. I gazed at him and tried to figure him out. I wanted to ask about the other night but held off. It was best to see what he said first.
“Well, do you have any questions before we start? There’s a lot to go through. If you need to grab a drink, you should probably grab one now.”
Drink…
I didn’t even want to hear that word. He was probably talking about water or something hot to drink, but the word ‘drink’ made me recall the other night in full-blown detail.
It distracted me for all of two seconds from thinking of how he effortlessly jumped into business talk, acting like we’d just met yesterday and not before. He looked like he wasn’t even going to mention it.
I wasn’t the kind of person to do that because it was just plain old weird. Besides, all that I’d done wasn’t the sort of stuff you brushed under the rug like it never happened.
“Did my father ask you to follow me? Was that part of the job too? Your assessment?” I asked, completely ignoring his prior comment.
That hint of a smile earlier had been nice; the actual smile on his face now melted my insides, warming my cheeks in a way I didn’t want. I wasn’t supposed to like this guy.
He hadn’t done anything bad to me, and if anything, I owed him a serious forever of thanks. What I didn’t like was that there was something distrustful and disrespectful in being followed.
“He did not.” Dylan shook his head. “It just happened.”
I wasn’t sure I believed him. It was too coincidental. “You just happened to be at The Glow on the night before a big meeting with me?” I narrowed my gaze at him.
“Yeah, crazy, right?” The corners of his lips turned up, bringing out the dimples.
“You knew who I was though? You never asked my name, but I remember you saying my name.”
My nerves scattered as his gaze deepened and the smile receded from his face.
“I did. I did know who you were, and I can assure you I really was just being a nice guy.”
It was funny. I didn’t g
et the impression of him being nice right now.
“Thank you. Thank you for what you did.” I thought I should show my thanks and not be a jerk by forgetting my manners. “That wasn’t one of my finest moments. I am not like that.”
“I will try not to allow my first or second impression of you to have any bearing on my assessment.”
I folded my arms. “Second impression?”
“I hate lateness.”
“I was five minutes late.” I scowled. Who did he think he was?
Dad had already ripped into me about the lateness yesterday as if I was some child, and now this guy thought he should bring it up too.
“It was six, but hey, since my first impression of you was so lasting, I can forgive the six minutes.” He smirked.
My cheeks burned and flushed when he held my gaze, then his eyes dropped to my breasts. I swallowed hard and tried to stand a little taller in my heels so I would look like that stare of his didn’t make me think that he was remembering how the naked version of me had told him I’d wait for him upstairs.
“Like I said, it wasn’t one of my finest moments at all. I don’t usually… um…”
“Ask strange men you just met in a bar if they want to sleep with you?” He filled in. “Of course, that was hardly the worst thing you did that night. It was, however, the thing that first shocked me.”
My chest tightened, and I groaned inwardly. I’d definitely landed myself in this mess. I absolutely had. I was the idiot who thought it would be a great idea to get wasted in front of people and embarrass myself. It was just my fucking luck that I’d embarrassed myself in front of this guy. Someone I’d be working with.
“Can’t you just forget the whole damn thing?” I asked.
He chuckled, and the sound seeped into me. “No,” was all he said, to my surprise.
I was pretty certain a normal person would have just said yes and go as far as understanding.
“What do you mean by no? Why can’t you forget about it?”
“Because it’s not the kind of thing a man can forget.”
I blinked several times. “That is absurd. It’s not like you didn’t know I was drunk off my face. I wasn’t acting like myself. You don’t have to be a complete ass.”
One Last Time ?: Bad Boy Bachelors of Orange County BK 1 Page 3
