The Very Rich Man (The Very Manly Series Book 3)

by Laura Stapleton

  “I agree. There might be a volcano in that mountain and tomorrow? Good bye, Peru.”

  “Optimistic much?”

  “Realistic,” Chloe stated. “And nothing but.”

  “I’m sure.” He nodded ahead. “This is the building.” Darian put his hand on the seat next to her. “And you’re good with running around this evening? I can’t guarantee anything, but sightseeing, dinner, more sightseeing. Sound good?”

  “Sounds amazing. Let’s get the meeting started, the problem found and fixed, and get out.”

  “That’s my kind of assistant.”

  Chloe kept a little to the side and behind Darian. She like how the receptionists of both genders gave him an appreciative look before their expressions showed stark terror at THE boss being there. She also understood their panic. Each person passed them off to someone else. She expected him to become angry at some point. Instead, he stayed calm and chatted with the new victim until they relaxed. He had the same line of questioning for everyone, underling to higher management.

  “So do you think Withers might wander in before one, or will he wait until he knows I’m here before strolling in?” asked Darian.

  The older, sterner woman squared her shoulders. “Mr. Withers is very busy and has a very tight schedule.”

  “I can appreciate that. I’m somewhat busy, myself. Would it be possible for us to wait in the conference room for him and his staff when they decide to arrive?”

  “Certainly. This way.” She walked down the hall to a set of double doors, opening them. “Your meeting will be in here. It’s not ready, yet.

  Darian strolled in. “I can see that. I’d like refreshments brought in. Nothing major, just coffee, water, tea, and finger foods.”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” she said with pursed lips and left.

  He leaned over and bumped Chloe’s shoulder. “You’re catching flies.”

  She closed her mouth. “Sorry, but my goodness. She’s something.”

  “And what that is, I have no idea.”

  “You’re so bad.” She nudged him. “Still, I’ve already learned a lot from her just now.”

  “Which is?”

  “Be ready for guests arriving early. If you have a meeting, you’ll have provisions for your attendees. Also, and I’m not sure if I should be so bold, but lose the attitude.”

  “It’s probably sexist for me to say atta girl.”

  “Yep.”

  “Everything else seems silly, too, so how about a decent dinner tonight as a way to make up for my caveman ways?”

  “Perfect.”

  “We have an hour. I have some things to get done now so I can take off the rest of the day. You don’t mind?”

  She knew the question was more of an order. “Of course not. I’d like to go through my to-do list as well.”

  “Great.”

  The hour passed with only a service person coming in to set up refreshments. Chloe poured each of them a coffee. She finished summarizing an article he’d asked for and set aside her tablet. Good thing the room had no windows. Otherwise, she’d have to fight the urge to stare out instead of work. A rustle at the doors caught her attention and she heard Darian mutter “Finally,” under his breath.

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Lawrence, Ms. Anders. I trust Mrs. Scarpetti took good care of you?”

  “Withers. A pleasure. Mrs. Scarpetti needs a refresher course on business etiquette. See that she gets it or finds a less visible line of work. Gentlemen. Let’s get started, shall we?” Darian settled in his place at the head of the table.

  No one talked to her and she didn’t mind. The women looked straight out of the movies and the men each gave her a skirting glance before talking to Darian almost exclusively. Chloe took the chance to freshen both of their coffees while others picked at the food and drink.

  Three hours later, Chloe’s brain pulsed with each heartbeat. She eyed the snacks, wishing she’d taken the time to grab a few. A cookie and some celery sticks would beat the coffee heartburn she had. But knowing her luck, crumbs would fly everywhere and celery? Far too noisy in the echoing room. Besides, the rapid fire questions and answers kept her busy looking up things for her boss while he worked out financials with the team. Most of it went over her head, but still, she could Google the heck out of whatever subject they brought up.

  The men and women made noises about finishing. She sat straighter, resisting the urge to slump in relief. Darian stood. “Team, thank you for being here. I appreciate the chance to talk this through and will send my recommendations by this time next week.”

  Chloe tuned out everyone while shutting down the notes app. They’d done a good job of ignoring her and she wanted to keep it that way. Standing with a little bit of a stretch, she took it easy until the feeling came back to her legs. She scooped up both cups while wondering at how no one else cleaned up after themselves. After filling her cup halfway with stale coffee, she drank, grateful despite adding fuel to the heartburn she already had.

  “So what’s on your agenda tonight, Dare? Staying in town, I hope.”

  She glanced over to where her boss and one of the women, Sabrina, she thought, stood talking. Oh wow, she cringed at the intimacy. Intruding on a persona conversation was not a happy surprise to the end of the workday. Chloe threw away his empty cup and fussed with hers. She dug around the ice water for the few remaining cubes, keeping her back to them. Cold coffee wasn’t her favorite, but all the water was gone and this pretending was better than loitering around Darian at the moment. She made a gagging face when the woman giggled and her boss replied in a low tone.

  “I am, but am all booked up for the evening.”

  “That’s a shame. I was looking forward…”

  She found herself leaning their way to listen as the two exited the room. Chloe chuckled at herself, carefully putting a lid on her drink.

  Darian peered into the room, frowning. “Ms. Anders? Aren’t you ready yet? Let’s go.”

  “Yes, sir!” She hurried over, seeing the woman still at the elevator. “Oh, did you want me to fix you something while you ride down with Ms.…?”

  The other woman’s face brightened and then fell when Darian replied, “No, I’ll get something later. Come along so we can get going.”

  She nodded, ignoring the chilly glare from Sabrina. Chloe stared ahead while the other two chatted about business. She listened in, only because he might need her to remember something about the conversation. The last time she’d blocked out his talks with other people, that very thing had happened. He asked for a fact and Chloe had no clue, not even a guess.

  “Catch you later, Sabrina.”

  “Hope so, Dare.” He kept smiling until the doors closed. They were alone, he leaned against her, “Did you listen to all of that?”

  “I tried not to.”

  “Sorry for that. We need a hand signal or safe word before something like her.”

  His objectifying a person nagged at her. “Something?”

  “Yes.” Darian glanced at her as the doors opened to the lobby. “I rarely refer to people as items, but she’s not quite human. I’ll have to tell you more later. It’s a long story.” He went to the desk. “Hi, Nancy, is it?” She nodded and he went on. “My car should have arrived.”

  “It did, sir. He left to circle the block.” She gave a nervous grin to Chloe.

  “Sounds good. Have a great day.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  Darian strolled toward the huge glass doors. “You’ll need to text the travel department. Tell them I want the suite, not the room, at my usual New York place for tonight. Use the word suite, too. Otherwise we’ll end up with one king bed for the both of us.” He grinned at her gasp. “Nice idea ordinarily, but not appropriate. I’m used to Betty handling all this.”

  She dug for and found her tablet, cheeks still hot from his amusement at her expense and a little shamed by not handling the arrangements herself. He might be covert about his laughing, but still. She punched
in the instructions, wondering if all caps for suite was enough or should she add bold to it as well. “Will they have it ready for you by tonight?”

  “They’d better have it ready for both of us by the time we get there.”

  She glanced at him. “Don’t tell me, you own the hotel, too?”

  Darian laughed, waving off the driver and opened the door for her himself. “No, I’m more into construction than hotel management.”

  He shut the door and went around to his side. Too late, she realized she sat in the back seat again. “Do I need to be up front,” she asked as he sat.

  “No, you’re good.” He did his buckle and nodded at her to do the same. “Besides, that’d leave me alone and seated behind the driver.”

  “You have a point.”

  “Stop worrying about the seating arrangement and start looking out at the city.” He leaned forward. “The Four Seasons, please.”

  Chloe stifled a gasp with a cough as he settled in and buckled up. She’d heard enough about the hotel. She’d not packed any evening gowns or even her best jewelry. “Where will I be staying? Just curious.”

  “With me, of course.” Darian took his tablet from his briefcase and began tapping. “I want you nearby, but not underfoot.”

  “All right. Cell phones mean I’m never that far, anyway.” Her cell dinged and she checked the incoming message. “Travel just texted. Turns out, the Royal Suite is available. Someone canceled.”

  Their vehicle eased to a stop. “We’re here, sir.”

  “Good, thank you.” He waited until the driver opened his door against the oncoming traffic.

  Chloe let herself out and went to the open trunk. “I can get your case, too. It’s a roller, after all.”

  “No, you can’t. I’m at the gym enough to grab my own, thank you.”

  She blushed, grinning at his retort. “I’m sure, but I’m still on the clock, aren’t I?”

  “We’ll talk about that,” he said, walking on to the front door. Darian paused and turned to her. “I forgot about our driver. Go on and claim my room, or start the process and I’ll settle up out here.”

  His forgetting two things in a row surprised her. The usual hotel room and now tipping their driver? Something was off with him. She made a note to mull his behavior over later and went inside as the porter opened the door.

  Chloe smiled at him before remembering people didn’t do that here. Ah well, she thought, too late to pretend at being anything but a goober. She squared her shoulders once inside. The columns, marble surfaces, and fresh flowers? No, orchids. Everything looked like a movie or swanky television show. Both sightseeing and hiding in her room sounded good right now.

  She heard the wheels rolling and turned to her right to find Darian catching up with her. “Gorgeous, don’t you think? One of my favorite places to stay.”

  “But not your usual?”

  “Not when you’re with me. Betty liked it here, too.” He stepped up to the front desk. “Hello. I have the Royal Suite for tonight.”

  “Let’s see.” The woman’s keyboard clacked for a few seconds. “Yes, you do, Mr. Lawrence. It doesn’t say anything here about a guest, though.”

  “No? Why ask for two separate rooms in a suite if not for an additional and professional person?”

  “True. Let me update the records.” She resumed her furious typing before declaring, “It’s done. You’ve stayed at our terrace park suite before, so you’ll know where the Royal is.”

  “That I do. Thank you.”

  “Certainly. Will you need help with your bags or a car service today?”

  “No to the bags, yes to the car service, but later.”

  “It’ll be arranged whenever you decide, sir.”

  “Thank you.” He turned to her. “Ms. Anders? I’d like to get settled in, go over some notes and find food. I’m half starved.”

  “Sounds good.” She followed him as he stepped into the elevator first.

  His stomach gave a loud, whiny growl. “Not in that order. Change into comfortable clothes, grab dinner and go over notes, and finally sight see?”

  The doors closed and the gravity shifted, leaving her a little light headed. Darian wasn’t the only one starving. That airplane snack had been a long while ago. A smarter woman would have scooped up some food at the meeting on her way out of the room. Chloe sighed, wishing she had thought of doing exactly that. “Any ideas on what you want for dinner? Everything sounds good right now.”

  “We have the entire world on this strip of land.”

  “Wow.” She followed him out into the hallway. He made a beeline for their room. Chloe paused for a moment. Room? He’d said suite, implying more than one. She’d brought a true overnight bag just because it was something Betty recommended. Her pajamas weren’t businesslike at all. He unlocked the door and held it open for her. She walked down a long hallway to a tiny living area. Chloe smiled at her idea of small. From what she’d heard about Manhattan, that tiny to her was huge out here.

  “My bedroom is back here.”

  She turned to see him at the entrance of the suite and a door she’d not noticed before now. “Sounds good.” Maybe she was supposed to sleep on the little sofa in the tiny living room. She shrugged. Had to be more comfy than home. She went in, loving the view of Central Park.

  Darian peeked in. “Didn’t you get the floor plan from travel?” She shook her head and he motioned for her to follow him. “You’ll need to update them on when you’re traveling with me. Your bedroom is down here, past the kitchen and second living area.”

  “Second? Kitchen?” She’d seen a few convenience sized grocery stores. A few snacks and she’d be set. “If I could find a grocery, I could just eat here.”

  “Every type of food is within five miles from here and we have room service. Are you sure you want to cook?”

  She liked both the possibilities and his smile. “You have a point.”

  “I know.” He examined her room from the doorway. “Nice. How about I check room service, see what it offers before we decide to go out?”

  Darian disappeared before she could answer. Just as well because she needed a pit stop. She went into the bathroom. Marble surroundings led her to wonder if the owners had stock in a quarry somewhere. The room was almost too luxurious to touch. She hurried to get the business side of the room done so she could see how deep the tub was. Even the hand towels felt like heaven and she wanted a bubble bath just to wrap up in the terrycloth robe afterward. The TV in the room was too much. She wanted to watch from the tub if only because she could.

  Chloe left the bathroom with a mental promise to return and kick off her shoes in the bedroom. She heard Darian talking and wondered if it were about their food. Exploring everything in their suite to find him sounded fun. She found him too soon, in the larger living area.

  “I’ll need the chicken curry and penne pomodori. Yes, please. The recommended pinot noir is fine. One moment.” He put a hand over the phone receiver. “You like Italian?” She nodded and he asked, “Cheesecake to share or one each?”

  “Probably to share.”

  His grin let her know he didn’t believe her. “One each, please. Great, thanks.” He hung up the phone and began unbuttoning his jacket.

  She laughed. “No sharing?”

  “Not for your first time, darlin’. It’s a New York cheesecake. Your thighs will hate me later, but your tummy will love me forever.”

  “Right.” She narrowed her eyes as he loosened his tie and undid the top shirt button. First words, then action, and her pulse rate jumped. Somehow, she doubted her thighs would ever hate him.

  “It’s true, and besides, we have notes to go over. Eating here saves time.” He took off his jacket and pulled the silk tie from around his neck. “Besides, I didn’t want to stay dressed for dinner.”

  “Oh, oh. Well, I, um,” she stammered. “I’d thought clothes were required at work.”

  Darian chuckled. “Yeah, they are, even in New York. So i
f you brought anything more comfortable for public consumption, change out and meet me here.”

  She backed up toward her own bedroom, not liking what the wicked gleam in his eyes did to her. “That’s what I thought you meant.”

  “Sure you did,” he teased. “I’ll keep an ear open for room service since I’m closest to the main door.”

  “Sounds good.” She hurried to her room. Each item of clothing he’d begun to remove left her a little more breathless. Crazy, because he’d worn polo shirts around her before. She’d seen glimpses of his chest hair, nice, and had met him in the gym a few times when something needed immediate attention. It was the gym’s humidity and heat that always got to her, not his athleticism. Or smooth skin. Not those sleek muscles, either. None of that.

  Chloe grabbed her casual clothes from the overnight bag before she dissolved into a sweaty puddle. The lights beginning to carpet the cityscape helped her decide to keep the drapes open. She went into the wonderful bathroom to change. Checking the body lotion’s smell, heavenly, she smeared some over her knees and elbows. It might be crazy to be in love with four walls, but yeah, she was.

  Darian had hinted at sightseeing, so she smoothed on some moisturizing tint. A knock at the main door got her attention and she went to check.

  Darian got there first. “Hello. Come on in.”

  The man wheeled in a little cart loaded down with food, wine, and desserts. Like on television or in the movies, the main courses had domes on them and the wine was in an ice bucket. Even if they did nothing else this evening, Chloe considered the trip a dream. She trailed after both men, closing the door behind them.

  His cell chirped and Darian retrieved it from one pocket and his wallet from another. Holding out the wallet, he said, “Clo, take this and give him a tip while I take this.” He walked away. “Yes, can it be ready in an hour, maybe hour and a half? I’d like to go during the moonrise.” He continued down to his bedroom, still talking. “VFR? Really? How do you medivac someone, then…?”