“I thought I did. But every day it changes. It’s going to be a very tough decision.”
Samantha turned to leave but then stopped and came back to Drake. She stood close to him, close enough that it made his attraction to her recognizable in his eyes, at least. It was impossible to ignore the thoughts running through his head when Samantha was that close to him. After years of working together, Drake thought he had worked through all his fantasies about Samantha, but they seemed to still be there.
“Remember, it’s not just about looks, okay?” Samantha said as she looked up at him. “You need a partner. Don’t pick a woman just because she looks good in a bikini. Please promise me you’ll put more thought into this.”
It was insulting that Samantha thought so little of Drake, but he couldn’t really blame her. He hadn’t worked very hard over the years to make wise dating decisions, but the week with all the women had changed him profoundly. He wanted more, and one of the women in his house at that very moment was going to be his match in the next step of his life.
“I’m taking it serious, Sam. Trust me.”
“I do trust you.”
Drake thought he saw a hint of a tear in Samantha’s eyes. She was being serious. It was clearly very important who he chose and that he took everything serious, but that was odd because she hadn’t thought he was going to find a match at all. Samantha didn’t seem like herself lately, and Drake didn’t know what to do about it. She was one of his best friends and not just his assistant. They needed to work through whatever was going on between them so they could continue on with life as it used to be. Drake just needed things to get back to the way they used to be between them.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah,” Samantha said quietly as she turned to leave.
Drake lingered for a moment as he closed the door. He was going to make time to talk to Samantha when this was all over. He needed to smooth things out so they were friends again. Samantha had to continue to be part of his life—there was no other option for him.
“Who was that?” Scarlett said softly without opening her eyes.
“No one, let’s go back to sleep.”
A couple hours of sleep didn’t seem enough for him to function on any longer, and Scarlett looked absolutely perfect all wrapped up in the sheets. Drake wasn’t sure what plans Scarlett had for their day but was pretty sure a few more hours of sleep would serve them both well.
As he climbed back into the bed and wrapped his arms around Scarlett, Drake couldn’t stop thinking about Samantha. Something had changed between them over this week. Her hard and fast rule about them not having a relationship was clearly still intact, but Samantha seemed to be wavering on her commitment to that rule.
A strong feeling started to fill Drake’s gut. It was a familiar feeling, but one that he hated to have. Second guessing himself or feeling uncertain just wasn’t something Drake liked to deal with. In business, it hardly ever happened. In his personal life, he felt that pain in his gut every time he dumped a woman.
The week had been much more emotional than he had thought it would. But he needed to get over it. It was finally Scarlett’s day, and Drake was going to give her the undivided attention she deserved.
He stroked her hair softly as she lay on his chest. The soft, luxurious strands of her brown hair slid seamlessly through his fingers as he drifted off to sleep. He didn’t set an alarm; he didn’t care at all how long they slept. He was finally feeling content and his day with Scarlett could be spent totally in the bed with her; he was perfectly fine with that as an option.
Chapter 4
“I’m going to sleep our whole date away,” Scarlett said as she rolled herself closer to Drake.
She had no idea what time it was, but she didn’t care. Unlike all the other women at the house, Scarlett hadn’t actually planned a date with Drake. She wanted to see where their time would bring them, and dancing the night away had been a pretty good start. Scarlett didn’t actually care how they spent their 24-hours; all that was important to her was that they had time together to see if they were a good match.
“I think we better get going if you have plans for today.”
“I don’t have plans,” Scarlett answered.
“You didn’t plan a date?”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not really a date planner. I like to spend time with my man doing whatever strikes us as fun to do at that time. Like we did last night.”
Drake gently touched her cheek and pulled her closer to him so he could kiss her. The soft gentle kiss had Scarlett wet instantly, and she became quickly aware that she was naked in bed with Drake. Oh, it didn’t matter too much that she was naked with him, but Scarlett didn’t like the fact that she had no memory of the night before. Well, very little memory of the dancing and no memory of what they had done once they got back to his room.
Her mind raced as she tried to put together her thoughts, and the distracted look on her face caught Drake’s attention. He wasn’t exactly sure what was going through Scarlett’s mind, but he suspected she wasn’t normally much of a drinker. After only a couple drinks, Scarlett had been flying high and having a blast the previous evening.
“Is everything alright?”
“I’m not normally like this,” Scarlett said, pulling the sheet up around her breasts. “I don’t sleep with guys on the first date.”
“Never?”
“No, I never have. It’s okay. It’s not a big deal. I just think I had a little too much to drink last night.”
“You were pretty wild last night. Do you remember what happened when we got to the room?” Drake asked with a raised eyebrow.
“No.”
Drake pretended to be shocked by her answer, but he pulled her close to him and started to stroke her hair again. He didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable, and it was very endearing that she felt that way. Especially after the scene she had put on in the house during the poker game. Drake had really enjoyed her naked show, but the realness of that moment was much better for him.
“I can’t believe you won’t remember all those great acrobatic tricks I did. I mean I had you hanging from the chandelier.”
Scarlett instantly knew he was teasing her. Drake’s sense of humor was one of the things she liked about him, but it was a really big thing for her. She couldn’t stand it when guys took things so seriously. Life was short, and it was meant to be fun, no one should spend their life worrying or being unhappy if they had another option.
It had been hard for Scarlett to find a man that had the right combination of being hardworking and being fun. Most of the men she had dated were one or the other. They either worked constantly and took life very seriously, or they hardly worked and spent most of their time having fun. Scarlett wasn’t going to settle for a guy like that. She had to find someone who understood how to work hard as well as how to enjoy life.
“You’re teasing me,” she whispered as she looked at him seductively.
“Yes, I am. We didn’t have sex. You were way too exhausted, and I’m a gentleman.”
“That is for sure.”
The phone on Drake’s nightstand rang and startled the both of them. Drake reached over and grabbed it on the first ring. He chuckled at whatever the person on the other end said, and Scarlett was about to make her way to the bathroom when Drake handed her the phone. She hadn’t planned on staying wrapped up in his bed while he talked to whoever was on the phone, but she was pretty shocked when he handed the receiver to her.
“It’s for you my dear,” he joked.
Scarlett’s eyes got big as she held the phone up to her ear. She had given the house number as a way of contacting her in an emergency, but after talking to her staff the previous evening, she couldn’t imagine why they would be calling her at the house only a few short hours later.
“Hello.”
“Scarlett, I found a place, and you simply must go look at it today.”
<
br /> “Today? I’ll take a look on Monday; it can’t be all that urgent.”
“Scarlett, this isn’t like Atlanta real estate. You need to look at it today, or it’s going to be gone. It literally matches every single thing you requested, and it’s below your price. I’ll text the address to the phone you called me on last night as well as your phone. No matter what, find the time to go look at it and don’t let it slip by. It’s perfect.”
“Alright, I’ll do my best. But today isn’t really a good day.”
“Make it a good day and go sign the contract on this place.”
“What would I do without you?”
“Probably be living in a shack in financial ruins,” Scarlett’s assistant teased her.
“I have no doubt.”
As Scarlett hung up the phone, she turned to look at Drake, who had a huge smile. He had only heard Scarlett’s end of the conversation, but it was enough for him to know they suddenly had plans for their date day. He liked listening in on Scarlett’s conversation a little bit; it gave him a small glimpse into her life outside of his house.
Drake knew very little about Scarlett’s business. The only thing he knew so far was that she ran a successful advertising agency and worked with film and studio people often. Atlanta had become a massive filming location because of Georgia’s tax credits, and Scarlett’s business had taken off over the last few years.
“Should I get dressed? Are we going to look at something?” he said with a vast grin.
“Yes, if you don’t mind; I think we better go look at it before my assistant flies out here and kidnaps me to take me there.”
“Samantha is like that with me too. I always have to listen to her, or I’m in big trouble.”
“She’s a smart woman. I think you’ll always go the right way if you’ve got her on your side.”
“You two have been very friendly this week. That’s nice to see,” Drake said, standing up and flashing Scarlett his naked body as he walked to the bathroom.
“Yes, she’s probably going to be my friend long after this is all over, and I’ve returned to my regular life.”
Her words hit Drake hard, and he froze in his spot. He turned around to face her and thought for a moment. He had been about to ask her how she knew he wasn’t going to pick her. He had almost told her she should make plans to be with him and be friends with Samantha, but obviously, he couldn’t say that. He hadn’t even finished his date with her, and there were several other women in the house who he had strong feelings for. Drake bit his tongue and turned back toward the bathroom.
“Care to join me for a shower?” he asked.
“I think I’ll run back to my room real quick. How about we meet downstairs in fifteen minutes?”
It surprised him that she didn’t want to join him for a little fun in the shower. He would have loved to feel her naked wet body pressed up against his to get their day started. There wasn’t much else he could think of while he rushed through his shower and made his way downstairs.
To his surprise, Scarlett was dressed and waiting for him when he arrived. She certainly was a no nonsense woman, and that was sexy as hell. Scarlett was dressed in a tight pair of jeans, a white T-shirt, and a blue blazer. She looked sexy, casual and businesslike all at the same time. As she walked toward the car, Drake couldn’t help watching her delicious ass move in the tight hugging jeans. His first inclination was to reach out and slap her ass, but he stopped himself. Scarlett wasn’t the kind of woman who would appreciate a gesture like that; Drake was sure of it.
“Thank you for humoring me and going along with this,” Scarlett said sweetly as they got into the car. “I’ll make it up to you later.”
“Oh, yes. I think that’s a for sure plan.”
Now that was the sexy, flirty girl that Drake couldn’t resist. Scarlett’s smile instantly made Drake smile. Just being near her had him smiling like an idiot and constantly worrying about what he might say or do. He hadn’t had that feeling around any of the other women. Scarlett made him nervous. She made Drake feel like he was a teenager again and that was exciting as hell.
Scarlett looked out the window as they pulled out of the driveway, and Drake let his eyes take in the full beauty of her breasts. It was only a quick glance as he turned to watch the road again, but Drake’s mind sped away with thoughts of his cock thrusting between her size double F breasts.
He could imagine her big brown eyes looking up at him and her sweet smile as she wrapped her tits around him. His throbbing cock would thrust slowly as she stuck out her tongue and touched the tip of him with it. She’d wait for him to build up so hard with excitement and then she would let him release all over her tongue. Oh, the thought filled his mind, and he couldn’t get it out of there for the entire drive.
His hands tingled with the idea of touching Scarlett’s naked body again. The anticipation thrilled him, though, and he found it hard to think of anything else as they made their way to the location Scarlett needed to get to.
“Thank you for spending our day like this. I’m sure it will be boring for you, but I appreciate it.”
“Sure, where are we going again?”
“I’m looking at purchasing a building here in town and expanding my advertising agency.”
“What? Really?”
Drake couldn’t hide the happiness and surprise that he felt. If Scarlett was going to be right there in Los Angeles, that would make things even easier than he could have hoped for if he chose her. Obviously, he wasn’t going to pick a woman purely based on her location, it was the twenty-first century and travel was easy, but having her close by was a definite plus.
“It’s not because of you,” Scarlett added. “I’ve been wanting to open a second location and my dream was L.A., so if it works out, that will be great. If it doesn’t, I’m okay with that as well.”
“Crush my dreams. I’m still going to choose to believe that you’re moving here all because of me.”
Drake’s pretentious smile would have turned away many of the women, but Scarlett knew he was joking. Drake understood business far better than most people, and he understood what a huge business venture it would be for Scarlett to add another office to her company.
Los Angeles was the obvious best choice for her second office, but it was going to be extremely expensive to set up shop there. Luckily, she had been doing very well and had enough money saved up to make a building purchase without straining her financials. Scarlett thought it was going to be much harder to staff the new location and get in good with the local film groups than it was going to be to find a building. But her assistant didn’t agree and had insisted they needed to move quickly, so there Scarlett was, looking at the building.
“My assistant says this building is the absolute perfect place, so maybe you can help me decide if you think it is as well?”
“Of course, I will. I’ve bought many buildings in this area and sold just about as many. My one big mistake is never buying large enough. I always underestimate the amount of space I’m really going to need.”
“I thought men had more of a problem with overestimating size.” Scarlett winked at Drake.
“Touché.”
“Wow, this is a nice building,” Scarlett said as they pulled up to the address. “Are you sure this is the right place? I can’t believe a place like this is within my budget.”
“It’s the address you had. Let’s go in and talk to the realtor. Sometimes places like this have huge parking issues or infrastructure issues that will need to be worked out.”
Scarlett couldn’t help feeling extremely excited at the idea of opening her own advertising agency in L.A. The building was almost too perfect to imagine. The front was modern with floor to ceiling windows, and as they walked inside, it looked just as well maintained and modern. She grabbed Drake’s hand and held onto it, squeezing him with excitement.
“Welcome,” the realtor said.
The realtor took about an hour to show the two of them aro
und the property and talked to them about all the positives the building had to offer. It was a great deal and Scarlett, as well as Drake, was waiting for the bomb to drop. There had to be something wrong with the property if they were selling it at that price. Certainly they could have gotten at least half a million more than their asking price.
Finally, Scarlett got up the nerve to ask the question that was on her mind.
“Why is it listed at this price?”
The realtor laughed and then looked at Drake, who had a similarly serious expression and nodded for the realtor to answer Scarlett’s question. Suddenly the realtor didn’t look so confident. That was a huge warning sign to Scarlett, and she was instantly on alert for what was up with the deal. She wasn’t going to be taken by some scam or by a property that wasn’t as it was described.
“Um, the owners are divorcing and the funds are needed for the estate. The wife cannot purchase her home from her husband without the funds from this property.”
“Thank you for your candor,” Drake added. “Is this property yours?”
Scarlett looked at Drake quickly and then at the realtor. She wasn’t exactly sure how Drake had figured out that the property was really the real estate sales person’s, but it was extremely impressive. She wasn’t nearly as good with people as Drake was.
“Yes, it’s mine.”
“We will take it,” Scarlett said firmly.
“Wait a minute, let’s talk about this,” Drake said in a very firm and superior tone. “Are you sure you don’t want to think about this?”
“There is no talking. Could you wait outside for a minute, Scarlett said to the real estate saleswoman.”
The saleswoman went outside quickly and got on her cell phone as Scarlett and Drake talked just inside the main entryway. She continued to glance back at the couple while they discussed the property.
“I appreciate your opinion, but this is my business, and I’ll be making my own decisions.”
“Yes, but you should check the property out more. She’s desperate; you could probably get her to knock down a few hundred thousand dollars with some tough negotiating. Don’t just say you’ll take it at the listed price.
The Billionaire Bachelor - Box Set: The Billionaire's Hunt - A Complete Ten Book Alpha Billionaire Romance Box Set Page 49
