He looked across the taxi at Toni and said, “Sorry I have to take this.” He didn’t wait for a reply; but simply answered the phone.
“Hey, Patrick. Where are you?”
“Long story. I need a week or two in civilization before returning to Nepal. Mom told me you were in Kuala Lumpur, so I thought we could catch up. It’s only a four and a half hour flight.”
“Great idea,” Douglas confirmed. “When are you arriving?”
“Friday.”
“Great. I’ll pick you up from the airport. Text me your flight information.”
“Thanks. Will do. And can you get me a place to stay?”
“Sure. See you.”
Douglas pocketed his phone before turning to see Toni watching him closely. He had noticed that whenever she felt unobserved, she perused him and got a dreamy look in her eyes. So she does like me. I just have to try harder to break through her defenses.
“That was my brother, Patrick. He is flying into Kuala Lumpur on Friday. He needs a little time in civilization.”
“Is he on vacation?” she asked curiously.
“He didn’t say, but his last assignment was in some rural part of Nepal. So, I’m guessing he’s sick of living in earth holes.”
“What does he do?”
“He’s a photo journalist,” Douglas answered, supplying her with a short list of the various magazine and media sites where Patrick’s work had been published. He thought for a moment and came up with a great idea. Maybe I should take Patrick out and we act like tourists for the day and find something fun to do. And, we’ll need someone with local knowledge, so of course, Toni would need to accompany us.
No letting any grass grow on that idea, he asked her, “Would you like to go out with us on Friday night?”
Oh no, that question came out all the wrong way. And sure enough, she hesitated. He hurried to stop her negative response by adding, “It’s not a date, but I do need your help. I don’t know any good places to go out and have some fun. And you’ve heard my attempt at speaking the language. You can even bring a friend. Please.”
Douglas watched her with a nagging twinge of fear, and breathed with relief when she finally answered, “Okay. But just because your brother is visiting.”
“That’s fine with me.” He grinned at her. He didn’t care why she went out with him as long as she did. It was a great start.
The taxi arrived at their apartment building and they took the lift up to her floor, where he accompanied her down the hall to her apartment. When they reached the door, he put his hand on her shoulder and said, “Thank you.”
He felt the attraction between them and it took all of his self-control not to kiss her.
She shivered and for a moment, he saw raw desire flashing through her eyes. But she quickly regained her composure and her expression grew neutral again. That woman was a queen at masking her emotions. “Nothing to thank me for. Good night.”
Toni opened her door and entered the apartment. After she closed the door, he stood there for a few moments, savoring the shadows of her former presence. She was perfect. Her body had him on full speed, but what really drew him to her were her attitude and her wits.
She was so intelligent, organized, and able to quickly analyze any situation and act accordingly. She really is worth risking a relationship.
Chapter 9
Toni hastily closed the door and leaned back against it with a racing heart and sweaty palms. Her room was her safe harbor and only the wooden door separated her from the man who stirred a turmoil of emotions in her.
When he had touched her for just a brief moment, she had almost lost control. It had taken all of her self-control to keep from jumping at him and wrapping her arms and legs around his body. God, I hate the way my body reacts to him. And this time he noticed it!
She had wanted to kiss him. So badly. Wanted his big hands moving all over her body and not only on her shoulder. But just as quickly as her libido kicked in, so did her logic and she had retracted behind the door. Into safety. She wasn’t a risk taker. She was a controller. She controlled the finances of billion-dollar transactions and whole companies; surely she was able to control her personal life. Her emotions. Especially her emotions.
With a pounding heart, she stood there, listening for his steps to carry him away from the door. But he didn’t move. Her heart kicked up another beat. Would he knock? Will I open the door if he does?
A few minutes later, she heard his steps move back down the hallway towards the elevator. She sagged against the doorway, unaware at how tense her body had been while she waited. She couldn’t decide whether she was happy or sad. You know this is probably for the best. He’s your client. And a few weeks from now, you’ll both be going your own separate ways. Yes, this was the best way for the night to end.
She made herself a cup of tea to calm down, and undressed to go to bed, but she couldn’t get his image out of her mind. His dark hair, with some unruly strands falling across her forehead. Her fingers always itched to move them back in place, and she found herself curling her fingers into her palm just thinking about touching those silky strands.
And then there was his bright grin. The one that made her stomach do backflips and her lips tingle wishing for his kiss.
His dark blue eyes were amazing! He had the kind of eyes that looked stern in the middle of a business negotiation, but then turned so tender and full of emotions when he looked at her. She’d noticed how his looks towards her had changed during the last few days. Instead of seeing irritation and anger at being forced to endure her presence, his looks had grown caring and tender.
She had seen the glimmer of thundering desire in his eyes during dinner. Desire for her.
She struggled to understand how that could be. She’d been dressed in one of her very conservative suits. Her friend Tricia called them her consultant’s uniform. Black, grey or dark blue dress suits. The only thing that added a bit of individuality to her attire were her blouses. And even those were fairly tame. She always went with what she considered a proper business color. White or a very light pastel tone. Nothing that would draw attention to herself or the fact that she was a woman.
Yin Yue, on the other hand, had been dressed to kill. The other men present hadn’t even tried to conceal that they’d been practically drooling over her the entire evening, even with their wives present.
Not Douglas though. He hadn’t been affected by Yin Yue’s deep neckline or ultra-short mini-skirt. At least not that she could tell. No, he’d had eyes only for Toni.
Wang Li obviously liked to show off his much younger, beautiful wife, and by the way he’d acted like he didn’t care who looked. As long as they didn’t touch.
That was just the way it worked here in Asia. Women were nothing but a nice addition to their men. They didn’t carry any value by themselves. That life is so not for me! Toni wanted to stand on her own. She could provide for herself, so why should she become reliant on a man to help give her life worth?
She finally turned off the bedside lamp and tried to get some sleep. It was elusive for quite a while as she tossed and turned, still thinking of Douglas and how attracted she was to him. Even after she drifted off to sleep, the man consumed her dreams.
***
Douglas went up to the roof top gym early the next morning and a huge smile split his face. Yes! She’s here! The most beautiful woman of all swam in the pool. He watched her for several moments, transfixed by how elegantly she moved, and then quickly disappeared into the gym before she could notice he was there. I shouldn’t come here and torture myself like this. But then again, I enjoy watching her so much.
When he arrived at the office a little while later, Toni was already preparing a summary of their meeting yesterday. He admired her for being so efficient and organized, she’d soon be giving out ‘to do lists’ to everyone, including him.
He smiled at the thought. She has guts; I’ll give her that. He didn’t know of many people who would dare
to come to his office and give him a task. Complete with a deadline.
Knock. Knock.
“Come in!”
“Good morning, Douglas.”
“Good morning, Toni. How did you sleep?”
“Perfect. Thank you.” She looked away while saying that, causing Douglas to doubt her sincerity.
She’s lying. The dark circles beneath her gorgeous eyes gave her away, but he let her have her little ruse. For now.
“What do you have for me today?” He didn’t ask because he was dying to be given something to do, he simply wanted to keep the peace with her.
She rattled down her summary, the major tasks she’d already assigned to other employees and then she listed off some other stuff that needed to be taken care of. She apparently had everything under control. This woman definitely is worth her weight in gold.
After she went over the list of things she had assigned him, she grew silent and he could tell that she was suddenly uncomfortable. She opened her mouth to speak, but then she hesitated. I’ve never seen this side of her. She’s seems almost reluctant to say what’s on her mind.
“What else?”
“Hmm… about your brother…”
“Patrick?”
“No, the other one.”
“Which one?”
“The jeweler.”
“Oh, Ryan.”
That answer caught her off guard and she raised an eyebrow, before she asked, “How many brothers do you have?”
“Five. And one sister.”
Like most people did when they heard about his big family, she widened her eyes in surprise. Douglas grinned, it didn’t happen often that she was surprised and he enjoyed it. A lot.
“That’s a lot.”
“Yes, but I got used to it. So what about Ryan?”
“You do realize, that you promised Wang Li to arrange a meeting with Ryan, right?”
Of course he hadn’t forgotten. He saw genuine concern on her face and a little devil rode him to tease her a bit. “No, I didn’t. I meant to ask Ryan, but did I really promise?”
Her beautiful face was now seriously worried and he loved her for that. She always cared about others, sometimes more than she cared about herself.
She started talking in a hurry, her obvious unease with the conversation making her rush to get the words out. “Well. Not in words. But with what you said, Wang Li expects your brother to pay him a visit.”
It was such fun seeing her slightly off kilter and flustered; Douglas decided to take the little game further. “So what happens if he doesn’t want to? Ryan, I mean. What happens if he doesn’t want to travel halfway around the world?”
Toni’s eyes got very wide and a look of shock covered her face, “That would be…really bad.”
Worse than not being able to hold you in my arms when that is all I can think about? He flashed her a grin and casually offered, “So I should probably call him and ask him to come visit in order to save my ass?”
She threw him an irate scowl. “You shouldn’t take this so lightly. Wang Li can ruin your business in Asia if he wants to.”
Douglas grinned at her some more. She’s so damn cute when she’s all riled up. He looked at her, love flooding his chest and let her off the hook, “Thanks for the reminder. And thanks for being worried. I hadn’t comprehended my words were considered a firm promise. But I know I can rely on my family. If I tell Ryan that he has to show up here to save my ass, he will do it without hesitation. He’ll make me regret it for it for the next ten years, but he’ll be here.”
Chapter 10
Toni didn’t believe her ears. Was it really that easy? All he had to do was call his brother, and the man would drop everything to travel halfway around the world for him?
The jolt of jealousy surprised her. Jealousy and deep grief. She wanted what Douglas had, a loving family that supported you, no matter what. Her brother Russell would laugh at her if she ever dared to request something like that.
After their parents had died eight years ago in an accident, they had been left with only each other. At first, he had been as devastated as she was and had thankfully accepted her consolation. But after two years of her clinging to him like a limpet, he hadn’t been able to take it anymore and had kicked her out. You need to get your act together, stop acting like a baby, and start living again.
Those words had hurt and she’d never really gotten over his defection. Had he been right? Yeah. She’d been slowly dying sitting at home. And only when he pulled the rug out from under her, had she been able to pull herself up by her bootstraps and start living again.
Pulling her thoughts from the past and into the present, she nodded to Douglas, “Okay. Once you talk to your brother, I’ll ask Wang Li when would be a good time.” She turned to leave, but then pulled up short when she heard her name.
“Toni?”
He had spoken it in such a soft tone, shivers raced up and down her spine. If only she had an ‘off‘ button for her attraction to him.
“Yes?”
“Don’t forget about Friday, okay?”
“I won’t.” She walked straight to her office and called her best friend Tricia.
“Hi, honey.” Hearing Tricia‘s happy voice had her smiling.
“Hi, Tricia.”
“What’s up? Something horrible must have happened. You never call me in the middle of the day. Aren’t you busy in some super important business meeting?” Tricia sounded worried.
“No need to worry. Everything is fine.”
“Thank God! So what gives me the honor of your call?”
“You remember I told you about Douglas Armstrong? Wanna meet him?”
Tricia was so excited; Toni could almost see her hopping up and down in her mind. “Super-hot and hunky client of yours? Sure I do. When and where?”
“On Friday night. His brother is flying in from Kathmandu and wants a night out in civilization.”
Tricia laughed. “You have come to the right person. We’ll make this an unforgettable evening for him. I know just the place to go. Have you heard about the new bar in the downtown district?”
“You mean Sunrise Bar?” It was currently the hottest nightclub in town with an attached restaurant, located on the rooftop of one of the high-rise buildings in downtown. Great food. Great views. Great drinks. All in crowd gathered there. But it was next to impossible to get a table on Friday night without making reservations well in advance.
“Yep. It’s the place to see and be seen.”
“But don’t you have to make reservations weeks in advance?”
“Honey. Do you remember to whom you are talking? The manager is a friend of mine.”
Toni had to giggle. “How could I forget? Is there a party place where the manager isn’t your friend?”
Tricia joined her giggling. “Not on this side of the world. You know me well, honey.”
“I will leave it up to you to make reservations.”
Tricia continued to giggle across the phone line. “One of my easiest tasks. I told you the manager is a buddy of mine, who just happens to owe me a favor. Is eight o’clock good?”
“Perfect. See you then Trish.”
Well, that was easy enough. Now if the rest of my day would go as well.
***
Douglas waited until nine o’clock that evening to place his call to Ryan.
“Hey, Bro.”
“Hi Douglas. Aren’t you in Kuala Lumpur building some super high tower?”
“I am,” Douglas confirmed.
“So what gives me the honor of your call?”
Douglas hesitated for a moment. Ryan was a very successful and busy goldsmith and jeweler. And he was about to finish up a big project for an art gallery. God, I hope this isn’t pushing the boundaries of brotherly favors.
Mentally crossing his fingers, he told him, “I need a favor.”
“Yep. That sounds bad. The last time you needed a favor, I ended up with bruised rips and a dislocated shoulder.
Do you need me to punch someone?” Ryan was three years younger than Douglas’s thirty-one years, but he was always ready and willing to jump in to protect or seek justice for his brothers. It had been that way since they were all much younger.
“No, not this time. The man I’m building the tower for is the richest man in Malaysia and has a wife that’s younger than I am. Anyway, he purchased a necklace of yours from an auction and his wife loves it. Their anniversary is coming up and he’d love to commission you to create another piece for her.”
“Awesome. When’s he coming to the States? I’m rather busy, but I’ll set aside some time to meet with them.”
“Well, that’s where the favor comes in. She doesn’t fly. Ever. I need you to come over here.”
“You want me to fly to Kuala Lumpur?” Ryan asked, surprise evident in his voice.
“Yep.”
Douglas waited patiently on the line, while his brother sorted out the surprise. “Exactly when did you need me to do this? It’s not like I can just hop a plane for the weekend, you know.”
“Yeah, I know. As far as when – the sooner the better, but it’s up to you.”
Ryan was silent for a while before he spoke again, “I guess I could surprise Kendra with a few days’ vacation. But, you’re paying for everything.”
Douglas breathed a sigh of relief. “Anything you want. Thanks a million. You won’t regret it.”
Ryan laughed. “I’m sure I won’t. But you might when you get the bill. So who is this client by the way?”
“Wang Li.”
“The Wang Li? The real estate tycoon who owns half of Asia?”
“Yeah, you know about him?”
“Sure. The guy is a self-made billionaire who started from rags. He’s also known to be a big art lover.”
Douglas agreed and then asked about their second oldest brother. “Has Dean and Melissa’s baby arrived yet?”
“Nope. But it’s due any moment. Mom is sitting on packed suitcases; she’ll travel to Princeton the moment the baby is born.”
Surprised by Love: A Contemporary Romance (The Armstrongs Book 4) Page 5
