Regardless, I couldn’t agree with the “monster” assessment. An annoying, self-entitled prick who needed to stop bossing me around, sure. But not a monster. He might intimidate everyone else, but I would be damned if he intimidated me.
At first, I didn’t think it was a coincidence he’d approached me at the bar that night. His strolling into Pace the next day had been one hell of a coincidence. But after we’d had that talk in the conference room, and I had some time to think with a clear head, I realized that if he had wanted to use me to get to Ronny, he wouldn’t have given me a fake name. Anyway, he didn’t seem like the kind of person to beat around the bush.
When push came to shove, I was more frustrated with myself than I was with him. Because, as much as my mind waffled between whether or not I should give Aaron Patterson the time of day, my body had already decided it didn’t give a fuck. Just the thought of those dark eyes brought me back to that night in the bar and how it felt to have his hand running up my thigh. It had only made things worse when he had leaned in close at the sandwich shop the other day—the heat rolling off his body, bringing back memories of what could have been.
I reached the coffee shop and absentmindedly ordered for Caroline and myself, lost in my own head. When a dark-haired man walked up beside me, my heart skipped a beat. Thankfully, it wasn’t Aaron, but the fact that I thought it was him was enough of a jolt to make me put him out of my mind and move on with my day.
In the end, my feelings toward him didn’t matter. He was trying to buy out my cousin’s company, and that alone made me want to stay far away from him. I didn’t know why the universe felt the need to keep putting Aaron in my path, but I would do everything in my power to sidestep him.
Apparently, he didn’t have the same thought.
I had just logged back onto my computer when I heard the elevator door open. Ronny didn’t have any meetings that afternoon, so I assumed Caroline had come up to pay me back for the coffee. However, I didn’t hear the telltale clicking of Caroline’s heels approaching me, and when I looked up, my jaw almost dropped.
Aaron stood in front of my desk, looking hot as hell in his suit and a pair of dark sunglasses. Despite the chilly weather outside, he looked more suited to a beach in Ibiza or somewhere in the Mediterranean. I could easily imagine him sipping cocktails in the courtyard of a villa somewhere.
“Afternoon,” he said as casually as if we had bumped into each other on the street.
“What are you doing here?” I hissed, looking around to make sure nobody had noticed him.
Several people tossed us curious looks on the way to their desks, but otherwise they ignored us. It occurred to me that maybe I was making this weirder than it needed to be by making a fuss. As far as everyone else in the office knew, Aaron simply had business interests here, not personal ones, and it would be wise of me not to make it look like anything was going on between us. Because nothing was.
I allowed my shoulders to relax and continued, “I thought I told you to stay away.”
Aaron ignored my comment. “I came to take you to lunch.”
Out of all the things he could have said, that was not something I would ever have expected.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Why?”
“Because it’s the afternoon, and I thought you might be hungry.”
That just confused me even more. I had no idea what was going through his head, and I studied him suspiciously for a long moment. Part of me wondered if my mind was playing a joke on me, but clearly, that wasn’t the case. Finally, I said what I should have said the moment he arrived at my desk.
“No.”
“It wasn’t a request.”
Having him standing in front of me helped to remove the rose-colored lenses that had developed over a week of shameful late-night fantasies. “That doesn’t mean I can’t say no.”
“Actually, that’s exactly what it means,” Aaron said, shoving his hands into his pockets.
“Well, I already took my break,” I declared. “So, sorry you came all this way for nothing.”
Aaron didn’t seem deterred. “I’m going to take you to lunch with me.” Then, in a voice that was a little gentler he added, “Trust me, you’re going to enjoy it.”
I hated the part of me that wanted to go with him, the curious part, and the one that hadn’t gotten laid in way too long. My eyes flicked toward Ronny’s office down the hall. He’d locked himself in there again, and I doubted he would notice if I took another break. I brought my gaze back to Aaron, hoping he hadn’t noticed my momentary weakness.
“You are so full of yourself.” I thought my continued rejection might take his confidence down a few pegs, and I wondered what that would even look like, but his response didn’t satisfy my curiosity.
“I’ve never heard that before.” The tone in his voice told me otherwise.
“I’m surprised somebody hasn’t tattooed it on your forehead.”
Aaron’s mouth twitched into a small smile, and I couldn’t help but feel proud of myself for cracking his icy exterior. He leaned against my desk. “I have a car waiting for us downstairs,” he said before turning away. “I’ll give you five minutes, and then I’m leaving.” He didn’t look back at me as he strode toward the elevator.
I watched him walk away, my mouth hanging open.
First, he told me what happened between us needed to stay quiet, and now he was showing up at my office demanding to take me to lunch? None of it made any sense, and I couldn’t bring myself to think he might just want to take me on a date. Which begged the question—what did he really want?
I fidgeted in my seat for a moment more, tapping my pencil against the keyboard. Then, with a muttered curse, I snatched up my purse and headed out the door after him.
I tried to convince myself curiosity made me decide to go, but it was more than that. I’d considered standing him up, sure, but something deep inside had urged me to take the opportunity.
That’s how I found myself with him in a small café. Despite its modest size, it had a distinctly French flair—from the stark and chic décor to the unpronounceable items on the pastry menu. The table we sat at was too small—too intimate—for my liking. They had obviously chosen the style with lovers in mind, pushing us closer together than even the average cramped New Yorker would like. I did what I could to angle my body away from his, but the inch or two of space between us was hardly a buffer.
We had ordered our food (a croque madame and chai for me, and a double espresso straight and a slice of quiche for Aaron), and the server had just set the items in front of us, when I let my cool exterior fade.
“What do you want?” I demanded, taking a bite out of my sandwich as if it had wronged me, refusing to give in to the instinct to act cute and ladylike in front of a hot guy. “Clearly, this isn’t a social occasion, so you might as well just spit it out, now.”
Aaron took his time draining his tiny ceramic cup of pure caffeine, then wiped his hands off on his napkin, looked me dead in the eye, and said, “I want to hire you.”
“I’m not looking for a new job,” I snorted with disbelief. “And if you think I’d work for you, you’re crazy.”
Of course, this whole thing had just been a ruse to make Ronny look bad, to add insult to injury by stealing away his administrative assistant—and his cousin, no less. I was just a pawn in one of Aaron’s schemes, and while part of me felt triumphant at figuring him out, another part of me felt disappointed. Had I really wanted Aaron Patterson to want me?
“You didn’t let me finish,” Aaron said. “I want to hire you, but not as an assistant. I want to hire you as my girlfriend.”
It took me a moment to process what he had just said. When I realized I’d been staring at him open-mouthed, I shut it with a snap. “I’m sorry, I think I stroked out for a minute there. Did you just say you wanted to hire me as your girlfriend?”
Aaron looked calm—too calm for my liking. “You catch on quick,” he quipped.
�
�I don’t even know how to respond to that.”
Aaron seemed delighted to have thrown me off. “You’d make twice as much as you’re making now,” he said with a casual shrug. “You’ll get to go to all the exclusive New York parties and dinners, and you get the privilege of being seen with me.”
My face flushed red, and my hands curled into fists underneath the table. None of that sounded even remotely interesting to me, and I thought of my poor mother, clutching her heart and crying out to all the saints, should she ever learn that a strange man had offered her daughter escort work. Whatever impression Aaron had gotten of me that night in the bar, or during our few brief conversations since then, it was becoming apparent to me that it was the wrong one.
“Oh, you think that’s a privilege?” I asked. “Because from where I’m sitting, being paraded around as Aaron Patterson’s prostitute is pretty damned demeaning.”
Aaron leaned back in his chair. “I’m not asking you to prostitute yourself,” he clarified. “No sex involved and nothing romantic, for that matter. I’m offering you an above-board, no-strings-attached job opportunity. No doubt you’ve heard about my reputation.”
“Everyone has heard about your reputation. That’s kind of the point of having one.”
Aaron nodded and then leaned over to press his shoulder against the glass of the café window. I followed his gaze, watching as wealthy widows walking tiny dogs, young lovers with their arms wrapped around each other, and children tugging on their father’s hands all filed by. Manhattan rushed on; its inhabitants oblivious to the drama unfolding just a pane of glass away.
“Apparently, my lack of a serious relationship has been the talk of the New York gossip columns,” Aaron said, still gazing out the window. “I don’t normally care what other people think, but I’m tired of answering the same questions over and over again. More importantly, I like proving people wrong. There’s been talk about whom I’m taking to the Annual Board of Directors’ Gala next week. I’d like you to go with me and pretend to be my girlfriend for a while. It kills two birds with one stone.”
“I’d rather not.” I raised an eyebrow. “The last thing I want is to be linked to the man who’s trying to buy my cousin’s company.”
“Is that what this is about? Because that’s just business,” he responded. “I don’t see what it has to do with you and me.”
“There isn’t a ‘you and me,’” I shot back, pulling myself as far away from him as the tiny table would allow. A server walking by almost tripped over my chair as I did so, and he almost spilled his tray of steaming lattes, but I couldn’t make myself feel too bad about it. “Nor do I want there to be.”
“You can protest all you want, but I remember you feeling differently the other night.”
“I thought you didn’t want to talk about it.”
“No, I said it should stay between us,” Aaron clarified. “And that’s what’s happening now. We’re discussing it, just the two of us.”
“This is ridiculous.”
Aaron smirked at me. It was the same smirk from the bar, the one that told me he knew what I was going to say before I said it (that whatever I planned to say would work out in his favor). “If it’s so ridiculous, why are you still sitting here?”
That was a great question. Why was I still sitting there? Nothing was stopping me from getting up and leaving, and yet, I couldn’t bring myself to do it, because … because, God help me, Aaron’s offer actually intrigued me.
I stared down at my sandwich and tea and wondered how I’d ended up here, accepting lunch at a swanky café, from one of New York City’s most notorious men. This was all a terrible idea. But, no matter how much my rational brain tried to steer me away, my gut instinct—which I had always let guide me in life as well as in business—told me to hear him out. Not because of the money or the social status he promised, but because I wanted to know his intentions.
“Why me?” I asked. “If you’re half as popular as they say you are, I bet there are a dozen New York socialites who would love to be your faux girlfriend.”
“But they would have expectations,” he said. “They would want more. You don’t seem to want anything to do with me.”
Even though I could follow his logic, it didn’t make me any less confused or any more willing to go along with such an outrageous plan. Aaron seemed to sense that I was ready to bolt because he kept talking.
“You don’t need to answer right this second,” he explained. “But I will need an answer from you soon. You have my offer. If I have to invite someone to these functions, I want it to be someone I can carry on a conversation with, and that’s harder to do than you might think. You have until the end of tomorrow to give me your answer.”
I hated how conflicted I felt at that moment.
I hated how arrogant and self-assured Aaron was.
I hated how I couldn’t seem to stay away from him, despite that.
Most of all, I hated that I still remembered how his hand had felt on my thigh, and the promises he had made that evening.
“I … will think it over,” I acquiesced. “But that’s all I can promise.”
Aaron gave me a triumphant smile. “I know you’ll see things my way.”
I’m so screwed, I thought. And, evidently, not in a fun way.
5
Aaron
“The numbers are accurate. I’ve checked them three times.”
I rubbed my tired eyes, the phone hanging between my fingers as I pressed the receiver to my ear. I had spent the entire night going over the figures as many times as Hank had. “So, someone changed the numbers.”
Hank paused, and I could picture him on the other end of the line, chewing his lip as he always did when he had to present me with news he knew I wouldn’t like. “It could be a glitch,” he offered. “Finances fluctuate all the time. It’s possible some invoices hadn’t gone through processing yet when we ran the reports the first time.”
He was trying to find an explanation for the inconsistencies we had uncovered. Hank had compiled the list I had asked for, but the dip in revenue had disappeared. Thankfully, I still had the original report he had sent, but my chest felt tight. I knew I wasn’t crazy, and I knew what I had seen.
I didn’t realize I had been silent too long, until Hank called my name a few times. “Mr. Patterson, are you still there?”
I dragged my attention back to the phone call. “Yeah, I’m still here,” I said. “Keep an eye out and let me know if you notice any changes.”
We hung up, and I pushed myself away from my desk. My eyes hurt from staring at the computer screen all morning—not to mention, last night—and I needed a break. Closing my eyes, I leaned back in my chair and focused on my breathing.
I only had a moment or two of rest before my mind wandered to other matters.
Audrey had occupied my mind over the past couple days more than I would like to admit. I’d given her a day to provide me with an answer to my offer, but it had been almost a full two days since our lunch meeting. She still hadn’t gotten back to me with her decision. I had to admit that it pissed me off. My patience only extended so far. When I gave a deadline, I expected it to be met, and I didn’t like to be kept waiting.
I should have withdrawn my offer to her already, but I couldn’t bring myself to do so. I wanted to see what she would do.
From our few encounters, I knew Audrey had no trouble refusing something when it didn’t suit her. I figured that if it had taken her this long to decide, it was because she was considering accepting my offer. After all, why wouldn’t she? I was attractive, smart, and rich—everything women wanted. Not to mention, if she was serious about working in marketing, being seen with me would only help her. At the end of the day, most people made decisions that benefited themselves. Audrey would be no different.
My phone rang, and, for a brief moment, I wondered if it was her calling. Then, I remembered that I had given her my cell number, not my office extension.
I ans
wered the call with a quick, “Patterson.”
“Rift just signed the deal!” Devon’s excited voice announced. “Got the contract back an hour ago, and it’s all processed. They’re officially our new clients.”
It was great to hear good news for a change. Devon had been going back and forth with Matrix’s lawyers since our meeting. Pace had approached them with an offer to counter ours, but they just couldn’t match our benefits.
“Of course they are.” I grinned, leaning back in my chair. “We’re giving them everything they want and then some. It wasn’t that hard of a decision.”
Devon sighed. “For once, Aaron, can you just say, ‘Thank you, Devon,’ and not act like you know everything that’s going to happen in the world?”
“I like my way better.”
I was just hanging up the phone when the door to my office burst open. Audrey came marching in, followed by a stuttering Nora.
“Miss, you can’t just barge in here!” Nora insisted. “You need an appointment to see Mr. Patterson.”
Audrey looked like she was on a mission. “This will only take a minute,” she told my assistant before rounding to face me. “Okay, I have questions that need answering before we talk further.”
Nora was noticeably alarmed, but I got to my feet and gestured for her to leave. “Miss Miller is fine, Nora,” I reassured her. “Excuse us.”
With a nod, Nora hurried out of the room and closed the door behind her.
“Audrey, it’s nice to see you again,” I said, leaning against the front of my desk. I mostly meant it. She looked tired, and there were noticeable circles under her eyes as if she hadn’t gotten much sleep.
“No pleasantries. Let’s talk business.” After pulling it as far from me as she could, Audrey sat in the chair across from my desk and crossed her legs.
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