Playboy Heir

by Brandy Munroe

  Was it my lingering glare that made her cross her arms across her chest?

  What was that look I saw in those piercing grey eyes as she batted her dark sooty lashes? Shock that I would give up my Saturdays to coach a bunch of kids or admiration? Was it possible she was swayed by her own desire and lust?

  Chapter 12

  Haley

  Sitting in the stands, Leona began to explain. "Remember when I told you Aleksander was asking about how to fit into the community? I may have left out a few details," she confessed and shrugged. "Okay, I told him Brad bailed and the team needed a coach. Then I convinced him that Van de Graaf and he would benefit from sponsoring a team from the community with low income families. Then directed him to Betty. But that's all, the shirts and cleats did not come from me."

  "That's all?" I leaned over and whispered because I did not want to create a scene here in the stand where all the other parents could hear me.

  "Well, we also discussed what he was looking for in a personal assistant." Then Leona pulled a file out of her gigantic purse. "Here, it's your updated resume and you're welcome."

  "Why would I need an updated resume?" I questioned as I flipped through the file.

  "When was the last time you did one?" Leona asked.

  "When was the last time I needed one?" I spit out. I was sure I had kept my deep-seeded desired hidden. "Am I being fired?” I panicked.

  "Oh my god, no, nothing like that," Leona said. "Aleksander is looking for a personal assistant and I sent him your resume. I thought you would like to see a copy before your interview."

  "Leona, you know I am studying marketing, not coffee and dry cleaning, right?" I threw, disgusted at the concept, at her.

  "Listen carefully." Leona faced me dead in the eye. "All this rebranding they keep talking about is not about rebranding Van de Graaf. They are a brand of their own already. What they want is to re-brand Aleksander. He is not looking for a conventional personal assistant; he wants a personal PR assistant."

  "I'm taking marketing, not Public Relations,” I sighed in an exasperated huff.

  "It's the same thing," Leona waved me off before I could object. She added, "Instead of marketing an actual product, PR markets an idea, or the idea of what you want a person to be perceived as. So instead of selling shoes, you sell Aleksander, win win, right?"

  I pulled out the resume to see exactly what Leona had put on it. "It's pink!" I exclaimed then sniffed. "And scented. This is far from professional."

  "Yeah, but like I said, Aleksander is not looking for conventional, so this may not be professional but it is definitely memorable," Leona laughed.

  I had to think really hard about what Leona was saying. She wasn't that far off the mark and there was a section on public relations as part of my marketing class. Could I pull this off, I wondered. Would I still have time to finish my marketing degree in case this did not work out?

  I scanned the resume, giving it serious thought. Leona leaned over and whispered, "Again, you're welcome. Now focus on your son, he’s going in for a goal."

  Sometimes it felt like Leona knew me better than I knew myself. I never would have even considered this route. It would get me into the main office sooner, but could I really pull it off? I wished Leona would have discussed it with me before sending my resume off to Aleksander. Just how close would we have to work together? What would he expect of my time?

  I could already feel myself blushing just thinking about being that close to him. Right on cue, as if Leona could read my mind, she piped in, "I know women say that a man in a well tailored suit is to women what lingerie is to men but damn, he looks hot in those blue jeans."

  In order to cover my embarrassment over my blushing I reminded her, "A little too thin for me. You know I like my men squishy."

  "Men? Have there been any other men other than Brad that I am not aware of?" Leona teased.

  "You know what I mean," I answered back. “I like men with a little more meat on their bones.”

  Leona then handed me a tissue and winked. "Then wipe the drool from your chin and stop blushing every time he looks over." She jutted her chin in Aleksander’s direction.

  Oh my god, was I actually drooling? No, Leona was just pulling my leg, getting one up on me. "I'm not drooling,” I protested. “He’s not even my type,” I casually added.

  "Good, because I already warned him and now I am going to warn you, where you and Aleksander are concerned, sex is off the table."

  "You did not!" I screamed, then realized where we were and toned down my voice. "You did not."

  "Look, Haley, he got hurt bad, you got hurt bad, rebounds are nothing but trouble. Concentrate on work and leave the sexual tension for your dreams."

  I knew Leona was right and there was no use arguing with her when she was in her mother hen mode. The only thing left to do was watch the game and enjoy the rest of the weekend.

  After the game I went over to thank Aleksander for coaching the team when he mentioned my resume. "I found a pink scented resume on my desk for a job that hasn't even been formally announced."

  Not wanting to admit I just found out what Leona had done I confidently answered, "Yes, Leona told me what you were looking for and I believe I fit the bill. I would like to discuss it further Tuesday morning if you can make the time."

  Had I just booked my own interview with him? Where had this confidence come from? Would he think me too forward, too pushy to work with?

  "I can fit Tuesday morning in. Be at the main office by nine am," he answered.

  Walking off with Peyton to meet up with Mimi and Leona, the impact of what I had done hit me like a ton of bricks. I actually booked my own interview for Tuesday, my late day at The Boutique.

  An interview with a man who made my insides melt at the sight of him. A man in which the job required me to work with very closely. What had I gotten myself into?

  "I just booked myself an interview for Tuesday morning. It flew out of my mouth before I knew what I was doing, and Aleksander agreed," I blurted to Leona, stunned at what just happened.

  "That's nice," was all she got out before Aleksander showed up beside us.

  "Ready to go?" he smiled.

  "I'm sorry, Shawn called late last night, his ship will be arriving into port early this afternoon.” Leona was using her sing-songy voice again. “I am sure Haley won't mind showing you the town. She is going to need a ride home, anyway."

  What? This was the first time I was hearing about this. Not only was Leona bailing on me, she was leaving me to spend the afternoon with Mr. Tall, Dark and Brooding.

  Was Leona testing me after her warning? She knew me better than that.

  The real question was — was she testing him?

  Chapter 13

  Aleksander

  I was impressed at how well organized the day had been planned. Haley knew when would be a good time to stop and take a rest and when her son would get impatient and need to move on.

  She knew a lot about the town and its history, I noted. I was finding her enthusiasm contagious.

  She let me know that the town was halfway between New York City and Boston, making it a prime cottage location where businessmen could leave their families during the summer season while commuting on weekends.

  "So how long did it take you to rehearse all of this," I chimed in. "You know you sound like a public service announcement, don't you?" Then I began in a monotone voice, "nestled in the white cap mountains you find the small tree-lined streets of this majestic provincial town."

  “Are you making fun of me?” Haley laughed. "Let's move this along." She tugged on her son’s hand.

  We made a trip to the tourist bureau and picked up brochures of all the things Tranquility had to offer. "If I plan on doing all this I will have no free weekends from now until the end of summer," I frowned.

  "Well, then it's a good thing you are going to live here; now you have the rest of your life to experience them." Her face lit up with the brightest smile
that stretched across her beautiful face. I could get used to seeing that smile.

  As we walked along the boardwalk, I found myself wanting to hold her hand. I slid my hands into my pocket to keep myself from reaching over and doing just that. What was it about her that made me feel safe and comfortable and at the same time frustrated and deprived?

  I knew how to relieve the latter — a one night stand in the city would take care of that. But despite what the tabloids wrote, I was not going to be that guy around her.

  Once I had a place of my own, once the men's line was successfully launched, then I would let Manly out to play. Surely there would be single eligible women in this town I would find interesting. I found myself wondering if Tranquility had an online dating site. I wondered if Haley would find it amusing if I asked her to troll the sites for a suitable companion as part of her job as my assistant?

  "We should head back. Peyton is going to run out of stream and you wouldn't want to have to carry him," she laughed.

  We walked in comfortable silence as her son ran ahead of us, but not so far as she couldn’t keep a close eye on him. He seemed to know his limits and was a very well behaved child for only being five. My sister’s kids were way more rambunctious.

  "I want you to know, I read the book," Haley's voice was low, somber. "And I looked you up on the internet. I thought I should know who I might be working for."

  And there it was, the comfortable silence gone. I tried not to let my disappointment show. "Fair enough, what did you think?"

  "The book was very one sided and had inconsistencies," she explained in a noncommittal tone.

  "That's a new one. Inconsistencies, like what?" I wanted to know.

  "Your ex said every time you went to your father's for Sunday dinner, she could see the hatred and tension between the two of you." Haley shrugged. "If you hated him that much, why keep going to Sunday dinner? It didn't make sense."

  "I don't hate my father." It was the only response I was ready to give her.

  "Do you want to tell me your side?" The silence in her pause was audible. "It's okay if you don't." Then she added, "Did you read it?"

  "I didn't need to read it, I lived it." My jaw clenched, a behaviour I immediately regretted.

  "I'm sorry, it's a sore subject. What did you want to know?" I didn’t want to appear closed off or unapproachable. After all, this woman could be my personal assistant. She had the right to know what type of person she would be working for.

  "The women…" she asked, barely above a whisper.

  "Yes. I’m a healthy male who enjoys sex. I won’t apologize for that. We had an open relationship even though we were committed to each other. Random hookups were not uncommon when one or the other was out of town on business.

  Now, I’m simply interested in getting myself established. I don’t need my reputation interfering with my goals. A lot of what has been in the tabloids this past six months have been misrepresentations."

  "Now there's a word, misrepresentation. How much of the book do you believe was a misrepresentation?"

  "If I had to guess, ninety percent." I felt myself opening up as time went by.

  "Were you in love with her?"

  How I answered that question was going to set the tone for Haley’s opinion of me. I had to tread carefully. "I thought I could fall in love with her.” Looking back, were there signs I chose to ignore?

  "You accused her of having an affair," Haley stated.

  "She told me she was having an affair while we were supposed to be in a committed relationship.” I tried not to sound bitter; I didn’t think I succeeded. “She wasn’t hooking up with a random stranger or an old fuck buddy.” She was having a long term relationship with another man while we were together.

  “I guess we have different opinions of what commitment means,” Haley shrugged.

  The comment was not meant to be judgmental or chastising. She was simply stating a fact. Not all the facts of the book were false. I did use Ashley to clean up my reputation. Having the same girl on my arm to events and family dinner. In hindsight, I couldn’t really call what Ashley and I had a relationship. Like Haley pointed out, if we were in a committed relationship, there would have never been any extracurricular activities by either of us.

  “Did you go to work for your father simply to collect evidence to turn him into the FBI?” she questioned.

  “No, I never wanted to work for or with my father. I despise what he represented, but I would never destroy him. Ashley convinced me that by being there, my father might change the things I did not approve of. Turns out she used me to get into my father's firm to have access to Marcas Petrove.”

  Thinking back I should have seen her interest in working with Marcas’s cases as a sign.

  What Ashley hadn’t count on was Marcas' paranoia that my father would indeed do what she suggested. Since she was the reason I was there, Marcas made it her job to put a permanent wedge between me and my father.

  I checked Haley’s expression for any signs of judgment before explaining what had actually happened. She was either a really good actress or a very emphatic person. Something about the soft gently way she was looking at me allowed me to continue.

  “Ashley planted evidence in my apartment that made it look like I was gathering information. Not enough to actually convict my father, but enough for him to question my loyalties.

  What Ashley and Marcas underestimated was the bond between my father and myself. It didn’t take us long to figure out exactly what was going on. My father fired Ashley and Marcas got what he wanted in the process. Insurance that I would never convince my father to discontinue his association with him.

  Marcas quickly tired of Ashley, so with no job and no money, she cashed in on her version of our time together.”

  Haley wasn't challenging my answers, she wasn’t calling me a liar. She wasn't looking at me with disgust; she just listened, absorbing the information. I hoped she wasn’t storing it away to use against me another time? I couldn't help but still feel that mistrust from Ashley’s betrayal.

  But I was also noticing the ice melting from around my heart. A wall of ice I erected to protect myself. How was she able to penetrate that wall with just a look of those piercing grey eyes?

  I couldn't believe how fast the time had passed. We had arrived at the park where we started.

  "I can take a cab," Haley offered, "I doubt your car has a child’s seat in the back."

  "Actually, it does."

  I smirked at the puzzled look she gave me.

  " I spend a lot of time at my sister's in the past six months. I had my baby custom fitted for a child seat in the back. I have a niece and a nephew. It's also where I learned how to coach kids soccer," I informed her. I was feeling comfortable around her. Was it too much to want to trust again?

  As we reached Haley's bungalow, her son was fast asleep.

  "I warned you he might tucker out before we got home," Haley laughed.

  "I'll get him," I volunteered.

  "I can manage," Haley insisted.

  "I know a real woman can do it all by herself, but a real gentleman won't make her. My brother -in-law taught me that.” I took the sleeping child into my arms and followed Haley.

  "You can lay him on the couch," she instructed. "He won't be out long. Would you like coffee?"

  Haley didn't stop to take a breath when she was nervous. Was she nervous having me in her home? Was this a personal line between her and her potential new boss she did not wish to cross?

  It was only coffee.

  "Kitchen's this way," she said as she led me there. "I have one of those one cup brewers, shouldn't take long. How do you take it?"

  "Two cream, two sugars, like Leona's, tall and sweet,” I smiled.

  "I drink mine black, is milk okay?" Haley frowned as she put the sugar bowl in front of me.

  "Milk's fine," I assured at her.

  She took a seat at the other end of her kitchen table. "Thank you for not being ups
et I asked all those questions. If we are going to work together we need to be honest with each other."

  "In the spirit of being honest," I hesitated, "I saw you and who I think was your ex arguing in front of The Boutique. I didn't want to intrude so I left and came back later."

  "Hurricane Brad, Leona calls him. She says he blows in with a lot of hot air and always manages to dampen my day," Haley confirmed my suspicions.

  "Haley Bristol, is that your married name?"

  "Yes."

  "Then your ex would be Brad Bristol. Wasn’t he an all-state, slated to be a number one College draft pick?”

  "Yes, until he blew his shoulder, ending his career before it even began. He still thinks he can heal and make it to the big leagues," Haley sighed. "Things got messy and I had a son to raise, we parted ways, these things happen," Haley explained.

  I felt there was more to it than that, more to her story. I didn’t feel it was my place to push the subject. I did not want her to pull away. I wanted the conversation to be complacent, normal, two people having coffee. I felt a warmth; she read the book, she didn't seem to be judging me. She had baggage of her own. Was that why she was so understanding?

  "Let me warm up that coffee," Haley offered.

  "I used the last of the sugar," I confessed.

  "No problem, I keep a stash of sugar cubes especially for Leona, I will get them down for you."

  I watched as she pulled out a small stool to give her the height she needed to reach deep into the cupboard. I got up to place my cup under the brewer. Just as I placed my cup onto the machine, she turned.

  The stool gave her enough height that our eyes matched and locked. Our lips were so close, barely brushing against each other.

  I took the sugar from her hands, electricity flying as I brushed her skin. "Thank you," I told her as I placed the sugar on the counter.

  I couldn’t help but focus on her soft plump lips as she ran her pink tongue across them to moisten before answering,

  You're welcome. " It came out breathless and needy.