“That sounds like a line I might have heard in some Hollywood chick flick,” Ember teased.
Zander smiled, unfazed. “Maybe that’s where I snagged it from,” he said.
“Are you admitting to using canned material? That is so early millennium, isn’t it?” She said.
“I think that there are a finite number of truly great, memorable lines in history. And the greatest ones have more than just the one application. You can use them in a lot of different ways, and they never go out of fashion. So, I think if you wish to be in good company then it’s perfectly acceptable to say something that has been said before, but you must put your own creative spin on it. People do this all the time, but most of the time they aren’t even aware of it.”
Ember found herself becoming entranced in this man. She could sit there and listen to him speak all night long. That deep bass baritone voice, his tonal inflections, the way he added just the right amount of emotion to key phrases with a perfectly well-placed eyebrow raise or corner mouth smirk—it was irresistible.
“I totally agree,” she said. “When you put it that way you could stand there and recite the entire movie ‘Casablanca’ and I would think it was fascinating.”
“I’m not much of a Casablanca fan,” Zander said in a teasing voice.
“Really? You don’t like the classics?”
“I didn’t say that,” he replied. “I prefer ‘Gone with the Wind’.”
“Ah, so you prefer Gable to Bogart?”
“Gable always had more swag, and he had better women. Most of Bogey’s women were too helpless and whiny for my taste.”
Ember laughed. She’d never met a man who talked like this.
“So, you like strong women?” She teased.
“I do. I love a woman who can hold her own and take as well as dish it out. That is the ultimate turn on. A helpless woman just seems too weak and helpless.”
“What is your opinion of me?” Ember flirted. It was time to see what this guy really thought of her.
He leaned in and smiled. She caught a whiff of his strong, masculine cologne. “Oh, I think you are definitely a strong girl.”
“Well, thank you,” Ember said. “Do you think I would be the type to fall for Gable or Bogey?”
“I think you could have your pick,” Zander said.
“I like to think so,” Ember replied. “So, are you going to buy me a drink?”
“No, but you can buy me one,” Zander said.
Ember laughed. “That is funny,” she said. She hadn’t actually heard that line in a while.
Zander was not smiling. “I’m serious. You should totally buy me another drink. This is after all 2017. You are a strong, independent woman. There is nothing defeminizing about buying a man a drink, now is there?”
She felt her eyes growing wide as her mind scrambled to come up with a witty answer. But after about twenty seconds she realized that she had nothing.
“I guess so,” she said sheepishly.
Zander smiled almost victoriously. “Great.”
He ordered another drink. As the female bartender fixed it Ember noticed the anger emanating off her. She knew that the bartender wanted Zander, as did most of the women around, but could she be any more obvious?
Ember took the moment to glance over at Violet. She was sitting with several other girls who were all watching this flirtation take place and laughing their heads off. They were rooting for her at least.
She had to admit to herself it did feel weird to be buying drinks for a man, but at the same time it was hilarious and a bit empowering. If she’d thought quickly she would have ordered it for him too and she would have picked the drink. Something cheap and lame, like an ultra-light draft beer.
“Wow, this tastes even better when someone else buys it,” Zander said rubbing her face in it.
“Well, you are just welcome,” Ember said mockingly with a smile. After a few moments, “So, are you going to bid on me?”
Zander smiled. “I don’t think you are allowed to ask me that.”
“Hell, I don’t think you are allowed to even be talking to me right before the auction. I guess we are just going to have to learn to live with breaking the occasional rule.”
“I’m more than OK with that, actually. I break rules all the time,” he said.
“Oh, you must work on Wall Street,” she teased.
“Not exactly,” Zander replied. “I own a real estate company; that is the main gig. But I also buy startups and turn them into huge businesses, I’ve ventured into the restaurant business as well. But I don’t want to bore you with the details. This is all about fun; not work.”
“I see, you don’t like what you do? You know they say if it feels like work then you shouldn’t be doing it.”
“Really? Who says that? I don’t know if I’ve ever heard anyone say that exactly,” Zander said. “They do say if you do what you love it will never feel like work.”
“Well, do you?”
“Do I what?”
“Do you love what you do?” Ember asked.
“I do. I wouldn’t do it otherwise.”
“How about you? You never did really answer my question about what occupies your precious time,” he said with that sly smile.
There was a devil in that smile and Ember could not wait to meet him.
“Well, I don’t do anything nearly as exciting as what you do, but it fills the hours of the day. I work for a marketing firm downtown. I’m basically not much more than an assistant right now,” Ember said. She hated telling him this. Somehow it made her feel like she didn’t deserve to be talking with him, but she wasn’t going to lie and make up something to try to prove that she belonged there.
“Everyone has to start somewhere,” Zander said. “Perhaps you haven’t found your calling or your passion yet.”
“Well, I’ve searched far and wide but I haven’t found anything as exhilarating as business for me. I just haven’t been given the chance to actually have input or share my real ideas with anyone. It seems to me that a college education has qualified me to do nothing but secretarial work. It gets a bit frustrating.”
“I hear that,” Zander said. “I was lucky in that my uncle taught me the real estate business early on. He had a small business flipping houses and I got into it at an early age. By the time I graduated college I was pretty much in business for myself.”
“Wow, that is pretty interesting,” Ember said. It also somehow made her feel worse about her own situation. But it was impressive that he’d started that young.
“Well, like I said there was some luck involved in the early part of things. It did take me a bit of time to realize that real estate was a business I wanted to be a part of. Sometimes the muse strikes early and sometimes it strikes late. And sometimes people refuse to see it for what it is.”
“I can get that,” Ember said. “So, are you going to add motivational speaking to your laundry list of accomplishments?”
“I doubt it,” Zander said. “You can talk to people and get them motivated, but then again if they were really motivated then they wouldn’t have come to you to get that motivation, right?”
“Hey, thanks a lot!” Ember said punching him lightly on the arm.
He smiled. “Oh, I wasn’t aware you had a violent streak. But then again, that might be a lot of fun.”
Ember tried to hide the blush. He was starting to flirt with her hardcore now, taking every opportunity to glance at her cleavage and her legs. Not that she minded, but it had been a while since a man had really done that. She knew that it was mostly her fault. This was also the first time in a long time that she had decided to let her guard down and actually be receptive to flirtations from guys. She didn’t know what her deal was or why she’d been in such a stand-offish mood lately with men. It was true that she’d had some bad relationships in the past, but somewhere along the way she’d just become way too comfortable being with just herself.
But this felt good. It felt rig
ht. She was definitely going to have some fun tonight.
And she really wished it was with Zander. She had a feeling he was going to bid highly for her, but it was possible the other men would outbid him. Somehow though, she doubted that would happen.
Suddenly she caught motion out of the corner of her eye. Violet was motioning for her to come along. They had to get backstage and get ready to go onstage.
“Well, that is my que. I have to run,” Ember said. She finished her drink and started to walk away.
“It was nice meeting you,” Zander said. “I’ll see you…. soon…”
She locked eyes with him. He grabbed her hand softly, held it to his lips, and kissed all the while keeping her gaze with his never letting hers go.
Ember felt a school girl giggle erupt inside of her as she slowly walked away trying not to look back. Up ahead Violet and a few others were giggling and pointing at her. It felt like seventh grade all over again.
Ember headed backstage and got ready. She was no longer nervous. Somehow, she knew that she would be spending a lot more time with Zander.
And that was just fine with her.
CHAPTER 6
Zander
Zander stood there for several minutes as if in a daze. He’d watched Ember walk away to join the group and head backstage and he felt a bit lonely. He knew that Ember was special. She was already special to him and that terrified him. He could not remember a time when he’d become so intrigued and fascinated by a woman he’d just met. But there was something about her. It did not make sense to him and it was completely out of character for him, but he was not the kind of guy who ever lied to himself. He knew what he felt and a spark had just been awakened inside of him that he long thought forever dormant. This could be the beginning of something very exciting.
“So, what do you think so far?” Harrison said sidling up beside him and ordering a beer from the hot bartender.
Zander did not answer right away. His head was too far gone in the clouds thinking about the amazing Ember and he also did not want to seem too interested in whatever Harrison was offering him. He needed the man to beg him a bit more. He might even be able to get Harrison to offer him a better deal, especially if he thought that Zander might take some of his ideas and make them better somewhere else.
He decided that he would plant that seed in Harrison’s mind soon. Not now, but soon.
“Well, so far it’s not too shabby.”
“Yeah, I saw you talking to that girl. Wow, she must be new. I don’t remember seeing her around before, but she is remarkably hot.”
“She does have a bit of something special,” Zander admitted out loud. “I might bid on her, but I am keeping my options open.”
“I would expect nothing less from you,” Harrison said. “Oh, by the way if for some reason, you decide not to jump on board this opportunity and then you try to screw me by taking my idea and doing something else with it I will bury you in legal crap so deep your great grandchildren won’t be able to breathe. Do we understand each other?”
Zander slowly turned his gaze to Harrison who was serious as a heart attack. It was hilarious.
“I get you, but you know me. I am lousy at promises.”
Harrison did not seem amused.
He walked away heading towards the backstage area.
Was it something I said?
He sauntered over closer to the stage to wait for the action to begin. After about five minutes he noticed that the place was much more packed than it was before, and at least in front of the massive stage area the tables were now full of guys, many of them with women already, all hooting and hollering.
A striking woman came out to the center of the stage just then. She was tall with long hair, and curves in all the right places. Somehow Zander did not think this woman was up for auction that night. She grabbed the microphone and gave the crowd a smile as she waited for the applause to die down.
“Ladies and gentleman. Thank you so much for being with us this evening. The auction is about to begin. We have assembled a fine collection of beautiful, accomplished women who are sure to strike your fancy. So, without further delay, let’s get started!”
The crowd erupted with cheers and applause as a chorus line of beautiful, magical looking women entered from the left side of the stage. There was something there for every type of guy; the club really went out of its way to showcase every type of woman. There were tall women, short women, blondes, brunettes, redheads, curvy, slender, a few BBW’s, and every race and ethnicity seemed to be represented as well. But it was immediately clear that they were all spectacular, not only in beauty but grace and intelligence. They would each present themselves one by one after they took the stage together. At least that was how Harrison had explained it to him earlier.
The last woman to enter the stage stopped his heart cold in his chest. At first it didn’t even register that she was part of the auction. He’d wondered why she had run off suddenly so quickly, but he just figured it was a ladies night out. Maybe a bachelorette party or something. He must have really been off his game to not put it all together.
Ember was standing there. She looked even more angelic up there under the lights standing beside all of those other angels. But even with them she was a cut above the rest. He was not sure exactly how you could describe it, what it was that made her different and special but it was there. Or perhaps it was just because he’d already met her and interacted with her. He felt he knew her on a personal basis.
Wow, she was really up there. He could not believe it. Suddenly he felt very territorial and protective as he heard the crowd roaring even louder when Ember stepped foot on the stage. It was obvious that she was the ultimate prize of the evening, as she would be any evening he was sure. He had to outbid everyone. She had to be his date. He would not lose to this. The killer instinct he’d honed over several years of cutthroat business was rearing its ugly head and it was hungry for a victory.
Her eye caught his just then. Somehow, she picked him out of the crowd of men in front of the stage who were all now standing. He felt a bit odd standing there with all these other guys who were practically drooling. Ember smiled and winked at him. He laughed softly to himself. The girl had charm oozing out of every little thing that she did.
He felt a weight in his chest almost like the first time he’d fallen in love as a teenager. They would have called it puppy love then but it felt real enough. And right now, he felt no differently. There was something about this woman that had snared him, drawn him to her and now there was no turning back. None at all.
Zander moved to the bar, ordered another drink, this time not even looking at the bartender who was dying to be with him.
“Put this drink on my tab,” he said as he moved around the edge to position himself closer to the stage and closer to Ember.
“Ok, ladies,” Vienna said. With that the women all walked off stage one by one.
Ember winked again at Zander as she left the stage.
“Those are the ladies of the evening!” Vienna shouted. The crowd erupted into an even louder applause combined with some whistles and shouting. “Aren’t they fantastic? Ok, now each one of the girls will come out here and tell you a brief bit about herself. First up we have Nadine Wilkes.”
A sexy blonde girl walked out on the stage as if she owned it. She grabbed the microphone and began to tease the crowd, really playing everything up. Zander was mildly amused but he was not going to waste a cent of his bid on anyone else but Ember.
One by one the girls came out onstage, introduced themselves, and then stepped to the side until they were all standing there waiting to be bid on as Vienna started to go down the line.
Ember stepped out last. She appeared nervous as she took the microphone. Zander thought it was adorable.
“Hi, I’m Ember,” she said. Her voice was weak and she seemed to be having trouble putting her thoughts together.
Zander didn’t understand how a sexy woman like her
could ever lose her confidence, but it was endearing. All the guys in the crowd started to cheer and applaud her before she even really said anything.
Ember laughed and giggled at the reception. As the applause died down a bit she glanced down and caught Zander’s eye. He gave her a wink, a nod, and a smile. He mouthed the words “Go for it!” to her.
She laughed and then the confidence he had seen in her earlier surfaced.
“My name is Ember. I’m a Pisces. I love long walks on the beach during the three months of the year weather really permits that here in NYC. I have a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. I like to live life one day at a time and see where the wind takes me without expectations or regrets. Life is just too short for either, right?”
The crowd began to cheer loudly. Zander clapped slowly as he smiled widely at her. That was his girl, alright.
“Wow, aren’t these ladies incredible?” Vienna said. “Alright, let’s not waste any time. Let the bidding begin!”
Alright, it’s time to go to work.
CHAPTER 7
Ember
Ember took several deep breaths trying to calm her rollercoaster of emotions. On one hand, she was more excited than she had been in longer than she could remember and on the other hand she was scared to death. She’d been about to blow it big time when she first grabbed the microphone, or attempted to grab it would be a better description. It was like her whole body was partially paralyzed. Her throat tightened, her fingers wouldn’t close properly around the microphone, and she was having trouble walking straight.
But as soon as the crowd began to cheer it all changed, especially when she saw Zander looking at her. After she left him to go backstage she began to whip herself up into a panic because she hadn’t told him specifically that she was there for the auction. She hoped he had picked up the hint but judging by his face when she walked on the stage he had no idea. What would he think? Would he feel less towards her? She hoped she wasn’t wrong in picking up an attraction vibe when they were chatting earlier. The conversation had been very easy going with no intentions, no objectives, or motives really. It was just two people enjoying each other’s company and having a good time. It was a real connection. Ember couldn’t remember ever feeling a connection that strongly to a man she’d just met. And it wasn’t just that he was the best piece of eye candy she’d ever laid eyes on. It wasn’t the fact that he had more money than God. She honestly didn’t know what it was. Whatever that thing was that drew two people together and made them both twice as good as they were on their own was happening between the two of them. She hoped that she was not the only one who felt that way. Zander was a bit hard to read. He had that sexy mysterious thing going to the hilt.
Hunter (The Bad Disciples MC Book 2) Page 41
