by Hart, Rye
“What does your father do?”
“He’s an investment banker,” she said. “He moved into the Avalon when my mother left him. I think it was my freshman year at Yale. His name is Randall Wesley.”
“Randall Wesley,” I repeated very much knowing the name. “I’ve actually come across his name in my work before.”
“Oh really? That’s awesome,” she said, oblivious to the look on my face.
This was definitely going to be interesting, especially since I knew her father very well, and not necessarily in a good way. I changed the subject to the city and her hobbies and sat there listening intently, answering questions about myself as I went. When we were finished with dinner, I paid the bill and then took her on a walk through Central Park. They had some of the twinkling lights for the holidays strung through the trees, and it felt almost whimsical as we walked along.
“Tell me about your mom,” I said.
“Well, like I said before, she divorced my father several years ago and then moved out to the west coast,” she said with a sigh. “She lives in LA with her twenty-four-year-old boyfriend.”
“Does that bother you?”
“A little, I guess,” she said, shrugging. “I mean I’m not a child, I understand that couples divorce. I want them both to be happy, but my mom is dating someone younger than me, it’s a little weird. My dad keeps calling it a phase, but it’s been years, so I don’t think it’s as much of a phase as he thinks it is. What about your parents?”
“My mom and I are really close,” I said. “My dad, well, he’s like that rich old man who no one can ever please. Obviously, he was outraged when I dropped out of school. Now, even with the company as huge as it is and me being labeled a billionaire, he still thinks I’m not living up to my potential. I don’t know what it is, but he’s always been really tough on me. We haven’t been close in a really long time.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, scrunching her nose. “That has to be tough.”
“Yeah,” I said, letting out a deep breath and stopping. “It’s been tough, but I have an amazing life and I have accomplished so much. I try not to let my father’s opinion get the best of me.”
“Good,” she said turning toward me.
I stared down into her beautiful eyes and something came over me, something I couldn’t control. I stepped forward and cupped her face in my hands, lowering my face down and kissing her lips softly. Immediately her body melted into mine and she wrapped her arms around my neck. I pulled her close, feeling an electricity between us that I hadn’t felt in many years. In fact, I hadn’t felt anything remotely close to it since I met my now ex-wife. The feeling was confusing, but I couldn’t help but wrap my arms around Penny and lean into the passion. She was more than beautiful. She was smart, charming, and free-spirited in a way that made me want to broaden my horizons and think about the world around me. It was insane that this girl could have that kind of effect on me in such a short amount of time. I’d already told her way more about myself than I’d told anyone in a long time.
As our lips pulled away from each other, she looked up at me and smiled big, a giggle escaping her throat. I chuckled at her amazing personality and leaned back in, kissing her on the cheek and taking in a deep breath of her perfume. She released her arms from around my neck, and I took her hand, walking back toward the restaurant where the car was parked. The moon was shining brightly in the sky overhead and the sparkling lights of the city poked up over the trees inside the park. This night had turned out better than I thought, and that kiss was the perfect way to end it.
Chapter Six
Penny
My father’s apartment was starting to feel like a prison, and concentrating had become something that I didn’t even know how to define anymore. I packed my things up early and went down to the café, where I knew I could work diligently from one of the corner tables. I was so close to finishing up the development of my software, and I needed to get it done since I had already started to get letters of interest back from larger companies that were going to want a demo of the product very soon. I was actually so close that if I could buckle down, I could be done today. Instead, though, I couldn’t seem to stop thinking about Gabriel. He was on my mind at every turn and it was seriously inhibiting my ability to get things completed.
Every time my fingers started moving over the keys, flashes of Gabriel’s strong, manly arms, and kind, unguarded eyes went flashing through my mind. He was so damn hot that all I wanted to do was press my body against him and feel his hands on me. And then there was that kiss at the park. It was unlike anything I had felt before. There were beams of electricity pulsating through my entire body as his mouth meshed with mine. It was crazy, especially since I barely knew this guy, but that didn’t take away from the fact that I was feeling all kinds crazy about this him after less than a week. I needed to focus on my job, but I knew with the butterflies in my stomach, that was not going to happen very easily.
I stopped typing for a moment and pulled out my phone. I skimmed through the contacts and landed on Gabriel’s name, pausing before sending him a text message. I decided to just send it without rereading it because I knew I would keep myself from sending if I didn’t. I just wasn’t one of those girls who was very good at flirting, no matter the medium. Within minutes, though, he had replied, telling me that he wanted to see me that night. I giggled loudly, looking around to make sure no one had been watching me. Of course I wanted to see him, but what was I supposed to say back?
I set the phone down on the table and went back to work. I didn’t want to seem like I was eager or too excited about him asking me out. I wanted him to think I was mysterious in a way; however, after an hour I couldn’t help myself anymore. I picked up the phone and texted him back, letting him know that I would see him in the infinity pool that night. I set my phone down and nodded my head, excitement shooting through me.
When night time came around, I took the elevator to the fiftieth floor and dropped my towel on the seat as I walked into the warm waters of the infinity pool. Though it dipped over the edge, like a true infinity feature, the entire pool was encased in glass this time of year. My bright teal bikini barely covered anything, and I wore it on purpose, hoping Gabriel would like what he saw. I swam over to the edge and looked out at the view of Central Park. It was really pretty amazing from up there. I quickly turned around in the water as the door opened, and in walked Gabriel. He smiled at me as he walked to the edge of the pool and dropped his towel, revealing that he wasn’t wearing a suit.
He walked into the water and swam underneath the surface, popping up right in front of me. My cheeks blushed, knowing he was completely naked. I could feel his hand run down my side as I moved my legs to stay afloat.
“At least I know you can’t swim away,” he said smiling, leaning in and kissing my cheek.
I grabbed onto the edge of the pool to keep myself from sinking under the surface. As he pulled me into him, I could feel his cock starting to get hard against my leg. I breathed deeply, not knowing what move to make next. Before I could do a thing, though, he reached down and grabbed my ass, pulling me into him, and wrapping my legs around his waist. His fingers lingered over my bathing suit bottoms, and I whimpered softly as his hand slid down and pulled my bottoms to the side. His hand massaged my pussy, his fingers moving from my clit and downward until they slipped slightly inside of me.
I gasped at the sensation and at his brazenness.
“You like that?” he asked, his voice low and husky.
I reached my hand down and grabbed onto his shaft, stroking my hand up and down through the water as I nodded my head slowly. He locked his eyes with mine, and I could feel the heat rushing through my chest. Slowly, we floated to the edge where he could put his feet down. He pressed my back against the glass and I leaned back, feeling his cock swelling larger and larger in my palm. He reached back down and untied the strings on my bikini bottoms, hanging them over the edge of the glass. I moaned softly as his fingers mass
aged through my wetness, pulling a carnal reaction from me. I gripped tightly to his shaft, watching him as his eyes rolled back, and he groaned loudly.
As he moved forward, I released his cock and grabbed on to the edge behind me. He pushed the head of his dick into my pussy, groaning as it slid through my juices and deep inside. He moved it in and out, slowly looking deep into my eyes. I put my hand on his chest and stopped his hips. We stared at each other for several moments in silence.
“Fuck me hard,” I finally whispered over the waves.
He smiled mischievously before grabbing my hips and thrusting into me hard and fast. I leaned my head back and moaned, feeling every inch of him pounding into me. God, he felt fucking amazing, and I looked up at his face, now ravenous with lust. He picked my hips up to the edge of the water and thrust hard, the water splashing into the air. He ran one of his hands down my chest and stomach, rubbing my clit with his fingers. I reached over and pulled my suit top to the side, grasping my tits as they bounced up and down in the water.
As if he were wild with fever, he pulled out and picked me up around the waist, pulling me to the shallow end. He turned me around on the steps and bent me over, kneeling on the step beneath me. His hand slapped my ass, the sound echoing off the tiled walls. I moaned loudly as he thrust his cock forward, pushing hard inside of me. He grabbed onto my thighs and scooted me back, pulling my knees from under me so that I was floating in the water. His hands moved up to my waist, and he started controlling my body, pushing it forward and then tugging back hard, his cock plowing into me. The warm water washed over my clit, and I looked over my shoulder at Gabriel, his eyes dark.
“Fuck,” I screamed out. “I’m going to come.”
“Yeah,” he growled, pushing and pulling faster and faster.
As his cock slid into me, I could feel the eruption in my belly, and I arched my back, screaming as he moved behind me. The waves of orgasm flooded my body, and I couldn’t even hold on to the step in front of me. He pulled out and turned me over as I breathed heavily, staring at him stroking his cock over top of me. He closed his eyes and groaned loudly fisting his shaft quickly. I pushed my tits forward and whimpered as his rock-solid cock pulsated, squirting streams of his hot seed over my body. He groaned loudly, his shoulders relaxing and his dick twitching as it emptied completely.
When his body had relaxed again, he looked down at me, a smile covering his face. I bit my lip, still floating in the same position, shocked that this was how our date turned out. I guess I didn’t mind so much, especially since it was my idea in the first place. I climbed out of the pool and hopped underneath the rinse shower, looking over at him as he pulled a pair of swim trunks from his bag and slid them on.
“I think it’s a little too late for those,” I said teasingly.
He winked at me and dove back into the pool. Instantly I melted into a ball of emotion and lust. This man was going to be some serious trouble.
Chapter Seven
Gabriel
I wasn’t sure if I would ever look at the infinity pool the same way again. I mean it was known to be one of the places where people went to fuck, but I didn’t realize how erotic it could be. Of course, that could also be the company I was sharing it with. Penny looked so hot in her teal string bikini, but I wasn’t wasting any time. I decided being bold was the best answer to that situation. I couldn’t help but chuckle, thinking about the way her eyes opened wide when I first dropped my towel and walked into the water. I could tell she thought she was being bold with that bikini, but I definitely showed her up.
It had been a great night, but now I was stuck at work, staring at my computer screen, with Penny on my mind. She was so damn sexy, and incredibly amazing at the same time. I was starting to think about her way more than I should. My phone rang, and as I grabbed it, I saw Jay’s number pop up on the screen.
“Hey, man,” I said, answering with a sigh. “What’s up?”
“Not much, man,” he replied. “Wanted to see if you wanted to go to the club tonight? Maybe hit up the third floor and get some action?”
“I don’t know, man,” I said. “I’m pretty damn tired.”
“Oh yeah? Did you see that chick from the club last weekend?”
“Yeah,” I snorted. “I did a little more than see her. I fucked the hell out of her in the infinity pool.”
“See? This is why you are my motherfucking hero,” Jay said, clapping his hands.
I wanted to tell him there was more to it than sex, but at the same time, I wasn’t even sure I was ready to admit that in my own head, much less out loud. I didn’t know what was going on, but it definitely had taken everything in my power not to invite her to my place to spend the night. I hadn’t had a woman spend the night in my place ever, at least not at the Avalon. “Yeah, but guess who her father is?”
“Who?” He sounded worried.
“Randall Wesley, the investment banker,” I said.
He was silent for quite a while, and I didn’t blame him at all. Randall Wesley was a name that everyone in the business knew, and not for good reasons. He was a dirty investor, always two steps away from getting in trouble, but always making it through unscathed. I didn’t know if the man had nine lives, or help from inside, but it was insane to watch him work.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, man,” he said, speaking quietly. “The dude is dirty, everyone knows that. Do you think his daughter is oblivious to it?”
“Honestly? Yeah,” I said, chuckling. “Seriously, dude, Penny is absolutely amazing, and she has the best heart of anyone I’ve met in the building.”
“Dude, that’s not saying that much,” he chuckled.
“I’m serious, man,” I said, realizing I was getting carried away but not giving a shit. “Dude, she is seriously mind-blowing. It’s been a while since I’ve wanted to spend this much time around a woman.”
“I don’t know, man,” he said.
“Look, I’ve never been a bad judge of character, except maybe the ex, but I was like twenty,” I said, trying to convince him. “Penny is unlike any girl I have ever met. She is not the typical rich girl whose goals are nothing more than to marry rich and birth heirs to their empires. She has goals, she is ambitious, and she is incredibly intelligent. She’s like the whole package wrapped up in one tiny person—sexy as hell.”
“I know, man,” he said. “I hear you, but I just want you to be careful. Getting wrapped up with a man like Wesley can do more than just hurt you personally. It can hurt your company as well. No one is going to want to work with you if they think you’re dealing with a stock market mob boss.”
“Is that what they call him?”
“No,” Jay chuckled. “But do you like that? I just came up with it.”
“Creative,” I said flatly.
“I mean, hey, man, maybe this Penny chick doesn’t even know about her father’s dirty dealings,” he said, trying to be supportive. “I’m just telling you to be careful because if she’s as smart as you think she is, she could be completely fooling you. I don’t want to see you hurt, or see all the hard work you’ve done your whole life go up in a cloud of smoke because of a man like Wesley. I’m just being a friend.”
“I know, Jay,” I said. “I appreciate it very much. It’s just hard to believe that someone so sweet and so curious about the world would know about her father’s dirty dealings and be okay with them. It would definitely shock me if she was involved in any way, and you know I don’t get shocked very often. This girl is really special, man. It’s starting to drive me nuts when I’m not around her.”
“Wow, man,” Jay said, taken back. “I never even heard you talk about Sarah like that when you first met her. You sound like you are freaking in love already. Maybe you should pump the breaks a bit before you go swimming right off the edge of that infinity pool.”
“It’s not that,” I said. “I mean, she’s incredible. She has all the qualities of a woman who any man would want, but one thing she isn’t is s
omeone who would put up with her father being a crook.”
“All right, man,” Jay said, “then I am glad you are happy. Just be careful with her pops, that’s all.”
“Trust me, Jay, I would never put my company in harm’s way, not for any girl on this planet,” I said.
“Good,” he replied. “Well, have a good night, bro. We’ll catch up soon. Just give me a call if you want to hook up on Saturday.”
“Will do,” I said, hanging up the phone.
I sat there for several minutes thinking about what he said, still sure that Penny had no idea that her father was into some seriously shady shit. Either way, I wasn’t going to get involved with him, just to cover my own ass. I looked down at my buzzing phone and opened the text screen. I had received a new message from Penny. She was inviting me to dinner the next night, Friday, but the catch was, it was with her and her father. That was definitely problematic and incredibly ironic, considering I just had a conversation about him with Jay. I took in a deep breath and sent her a message back thanking her, but letting her know that I had a business meeting planned for Friday night. It was absolutely a lie, but I didn’t know what else to say in that situation. I wasn’t ready to deal with Penny’s father, not yet. I didn’t know what, if anything, Penny and I were going to end up being. Until I did, I was only too happy to stay the hell away from her old man.
Chapter Eight
Penny
“You ready for some Saturday night debauchery?”
Gabby stood in my doorway shaking her hips back and forth and smiling big. I knew I should be excited to go out to Expose and party it up with my best friend, but I was having some serious issues trying to get Gabriel off my mind. She stuck out her bottom lip at me and then handed me a shot. My father wasn’t home yet so I didn’t have to listen to him bitch about the tiny little dress I was wearing, thank God. The last thing I wanted at that point was my father acting weird. Gabriel was doing that enough for everyone. It was like he was a different man than the one I went out with or the one that saved me from Troy in the club that night. In fact, I hadn’t talked to him at all since we had sex. I figured he would have at least texted me back or called me for lunch, but not a single word from him except telling me he couldn’t come to dinner on Friday.
