First we stopped in a little boutique shop where she insisted I buy a casual outfit to replace my business suit. I didn’t argue much, because I was already sweating and the thought of spending the day stomping around in my pumps was excruciating.
Her taste was exquisite. We settled on a fuchsia halter-top with a beautifully beaded strap around the neck and lightweight linen pants. I would have chosen neither on my own, but had to admit that they looked great on me. Finally, I found a pair of sandals that I could comfortably walk around in. I dropped close to $400 at that store, but I tried not to think about it.
As we headed to the next shop, my business suit and pumps safely stuffed in a shopping bag, I felt the hot sun heating the bare skin of my arms.
I looked at my arm. “This top would look so much better if I wasn’t so darn pasty white.”
Rina stopped walking and grabbed my arm. ““You know you’re right! Let’s go get a spray tan!”
“Right now?”
“Sure, it won’t take much time.” She was already opening her phone and searching for a place to tan. “And the dress I’m imagining you in tonight will really show off your back and shoulders. A nice golden tan would look even sexier.”
“Tonight? What do you mean?”
She looked up from the phone. “You mean Jason didn’t tell you anything about this trip? Men! They don’t understand at all. They can roll out of bed, brush their teeth and they’re ready to go.”
I was confused. “Rina, what’s going on tonight?”
“We’re going out to a fancy club downtown,” she said matter-of-factly.
I shook my head. “I don’t think I’m invited. That’s not – ”
She cut me off. “Oh, I think you are. Trust me. And you’ve got to be prepared. No worry. There’s tons of shopping here. We’ll have no problem finding something for you. I’m an expert at spending other people’s money.”
“I really don’t need to do any shopping.” I protested. “I’m only going to be here a couple of days. I can make do with what I brought. Besides, my trip down here wasn’t really a social-”
She didn’t let me finish. “Oh no! You can’t just ‘make do’ – not tonight! We’re going to a top club. Prime table service out by the pool. No way you can just ‘make do’. And your tanning idea is just spectacular. Let me find a place…”
As Jason had warned me, there was no talking Rina out of anything. I felt ridiculous getting sprayed in every nook and cranny, but couldn’t deny that the results looked good on both of us. By the time we made it out of the salon - waiting extra long to make sure our skin was extra dry before we dressed - we were both starving.
We found a cute restaurant with outdoor seating under a large umbrella to have a light lunch and some cocktails.
“Thanks for putting up with me, Lily. I’m having a great time,” Rina said between sips of her drink.
“Me too. I thought I was going to spend the day in boring meetings. I’m glad I didn’t miss seeing a little bit of Miami. Thank goodness Jason came and rescued me.”
Rina’s eyes narrowed speculatively. “Jason was so stressed when we met him at the airport last night. I’d never seen him that way. He was so grumpy; I was a bit worried. But you seem to have such a great effect on him. He was much happier this morning.”
I felt my cheeks heating. “He’s under a lot of pressure at work lately. I’m sure getting away from all of that helped.”
Rina went on, “He’s such a great guy. I’ve been hoping he’d find the right woman and settle down, but he’s always been so jaded when it comes to women. A lot of that has to do with his wealth. He was successful at a fairly young age and that attracted the wrong type of woman to him. It’s made him wary – to say the least.”
I was uncomfortable talking about Jason with her. He was my boss after all. Yet, it was almost impossible to stop myself. “I wouldn’t say he was wary of women. He certainly seems to have plenty of women around him all the time.”
“Not really.” It felt like she was searching my soul. “Not ones that meant anything to him. But, I sense a change in him. Hmmm, maybe? We shall see.” Her voice grew breezy and then she changed the subject.
For the rest of lunch I asked her mostly about herself and Adam, steering the conversation far away from the dangerous subject of my boss. After lunch, we hit the shops again in search of what she called the perfect ‘little black dress’ for the evening that I wasn’t even sure I was attending.
In every store, big name designer or one I had never heard of, she effortlessly had all the store clerks jumping to her attention. She had a great eye for fashion and she could see the potential of a garment right off the hanger.
“You don’t mind that I’m taking over, do you?” she asked, not really expecting an answer. “This is my specialty.”
At the second store, we found the little black dress for me. It turned out to be a slinky, sparkly silver slip of a dress.
“Are you sure this is a dress and not lingerie?” I looked at it on the hanger dubiously.
She nudged me toward the dressing room. “Try it on. Not only will this look spectacular on your figure, but it is just the dress to wear to the club tonight.”
I slipped into it and stared at myself in the mirror. It was perfect for a sexy bombshell, but not quite for a quiet administrative assistant who devoured romance novels in her free time.
Rina demanded to see me, so I poked my head out of the door. She grabbed my hand and pulled me out in front of a large tri-fold mirror. When she looked me over, she clapped her hands with pleasure. “This is the one. It’s perfect. You look fabulous! Look at your curves. And those long, tan legs. Holy smokes, Jason will have to beat the men off you with sticks.”
“Don’t you think it’s a little too much? Or maybe what I mean is - not enough? I feel naked.” I couldn’t even believe I was contemplating buying it. The dress was $1,200. Never in a million years did I think I’d ever spend so much money on a piece of clothing.
Rina shook her head adamantly. “Darling, there’s no doubt about it. This is the one. It just screams sexy without being too obvious. If you’ve got it, darling – flaunt it. And you’ve definitely got it! Now, hurry up and get changed. We have to find shoes still.”
For the next two hours, we popped in and out of shops. We settled on a pair of turquoise heels with thin straps and a small turquoise clutch. I winced as my pocketbook took another hit.
Finally, Rina convinced me to try on swimsuits. I told her that I had plenty of swimsuits at home, but she insisted. At some point I quit arguing with her and just tried on what she suggested. We settled on a black string bikini with gold metallic accents. I couldn’t believe that such a small amount of material could demand such a high price tag. While the clerk was ringing it up, Rina tossed a colorful sarong onto the pile.
“What? You need a cover-up too!” She shrugged innocently.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t even know how to wear one of those things. Okay, I’ll buy it, but I think I’m all shopped out.”
Rina’s eyes lit up. “Oh, there’s a million ways to tie a sarong. I’ll show you how to tie it that’ll look so sexy with that bikini. And I’ve got some really gorgeous drop earrings that you can borrow for tonight. So, I guess we can call it quits.”
I really didn’t think I’d like Rina so much, but we’d ended up having a lot of fun. And it was true; she was good at spending my money for me. I had saved up a lot of money to go on the Paris trip with Becca that never happened last summer, and I had blown through most of that in one afternoon on a few pieces of clothing. I didn’t regret it though. I knew everything I bought made me look terrific. Plus, I did make a decent salary and never really splurged on myself.
I added the new shopping bag to my growing collection, and we headed out of the store. “Where to?”
Rina thought out loud, “Well, it’s getting late and I’m not really sure how a seaweed wrap is going to affect our brand new spra
y tans. I’d hate to mess it up. Why don’t we head back to the hotel?”
“That sounds like a good idea,” I agreed.
Rina was reading her phone. “Adam just texted me. He and Jason are going to get dinner at the club. Why don’t we go back to the hotel and take a quick nap. Then we can have a light dinner at the restaurant before we get ready for tonight. We need to be ready to head out by 10PM or so, even though that’s considered deplorably early.”
“Rina,” I hesitated. “I’m not really sure I’d be welcomed to go out with you…”
“Lily, you’re coming and I’m not taking no for an answer!”
It was about 8PM when my phone rang. I was back in my hotel room after eating dinner with Rina. I was surprised to see that it was Jason calling.
“Did you have a good time today?”
“Yes, I had a great time. Rina is really fun.”
“Great.” He paused for a moment. “You’re planning to come out with us tonight, I hope?”
“Did Rina tell you to invite me? Because, I’m really fine with not-”
He didn’t let me finish. “No, I’m inviting you. I thought you’d want to experience the nightlife in South Beach. It’ll be fun. Don’t you ever let your hair down some?”
I was taken aback. I sputtered a reply, “Well, uh, sure, uh – sometimes…”
Jason chuckled. “Good. We’re meeting in the lobby at 10 o’clock. I’ll see you then.”
Getting ready was easy. I showered, realizing that my tan had darkened even in the few hours since I’d gotten it, and then applied my makeup for a night out and styled my hair a little more glamorous than normal. After I slipped on the tiny dress, turquoise heels and earrings that I borrowed from Rina, I studied myself in the mirror.
I wanted to scrub the makeup off my face and undo my hair. I didn’t recognize the girl staring back at me. She was too sexy. What would Jason think?
In the end, I left everything as is. After all, South Beach wasn’t known for its dowdy girls.
I was the first to arrive in the lobby; I guess I wasn’t used to being fashionably late. I was standing by the fountain, watching the elevators when a man spoke to me from behind.
“Lilliana, I didn’t know that you were here in Miami?”
I spun around and saw Bill Travers, the COO of the company, eyeing me from head to toe. “Hi, Mr. Travers.”
“Looks like you’re going out?”
I wanted to shield myself from his prying eyes as they settled on my chest. “Uh, yes – I am.”
“Well, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He winked at me and then added, “Have a good time.”
I smiled weakly at him as he left. Something about the man, besides his lecherous gaze, creeped me out.
A few minutes later, Jason emerged from the elevator followed closely by Adam and Rina. Everyone looked stunning. The men both wore dark, well-fitted club clothing with just the right amount of casual aloofness to their formality. I didn’t thing Rina could ever look bad, but the purple dress she wore was a head turner. I took a deep breath as they approached; eternally grateful that Rina had talked me into buying the dress I was wearing.
The smile on Jason’s face looked forced as he approached and I worried again that he didn’t really want me there. “I hope we didn’t keep you waiting long, Lilliana?”
“No, just a few minutes.”
Rina looked back and forth between us and then blurted out, “You look gorgeous, darling! Doesn’t she look gorgeous, Jason?”
Jason nodded. “Absolutely. You look terrific.”
The compliment had been forced from him, but what did I expect? He was my boss. I had to remember that.
We took a cab to the club. Jason sat in front with the driver and I focused on the incredible sites as we headed toward South Beach. Ocean Drive was humming with activity - neon lighting and palm trees competed for my attention. Here the night had barely started.
Jason opened the cab door for me when we arrived at the club. His hand on my back, he steered me past the long line of people waiting to enter. After speaking with someone, we were escorted to our private table on the terrace.
Rina grabbed my hand and pulled me onto the couch that formed a semi-circle around our small table. “Isn’t this great? The dance floor will only get even more packed in the next couple of hours and it’s so obnoxiously loud in there.”
Music was blasting outside as well, but at least I could hear her. Adam slid onto the couch next to his wife, leaving Jason with no choice but to sit next to me. Sitting so close to him left my body on high alert – it was tingling with awareness of him.
I didn’t have much time to think about it; however, because two bottles of champagne complete with sparklers shooting out of them, arrived at our table. I leaned over to Rina. “I can’t believe this place is like this on a Tuesday night!”
“Too bad you’re not staying through the weekend. You can spot celebrities on the weekend in South Beach if you know where to look. You wouldn’t believe what goes on. It’s insane!”
We didn’t move from the table for the next couple of hours. We didn’t need to. Our drinks were constantly refilled. It was hard to keep track of how many drinks I’d had, because they were often refilled before I was even finished. I didn’t even want to know how much this VIP service was costing.
Rina and I were giggling together like old friends. She was telling funny stories from college about Jason and Adam. As we drank more and more, I kept finding myself sitting even closer to Jason. At one point, our legs began touching thigh to thigh, and it was all I could think about. Jason was only inches from me. Was I subconsciously moving closer to him? Did I lean in to him a little too much when he spoke to me? It was hard to tell and I was quickly getting to the point of not even caring about appearances.
I was just about to ask Jason something, when Rina grabbed me by the hand and stood. “Come on, boys. It’s time you danced with us. Let’s check out the dance floor.”
Adam seemed especially reluctant, but eventually Rina convinced him to come with us. The four of us headed inside the club and to the dance floor, currently bathed in flashing purple strobe light.
I had no inhibitions about dancing. When Rina had pulled me up to stand, I had noticed a slight dizziness. I knew I was drinking too much, but I just couldn’t muster up the good sense to be cautious. I was having too much fun.
The four of us were dancing close together on the packed dance floor when somehow a guy worked his way into our tight group. Before I could realize it, he was dancing very closely with me and subtly working me out of the group.
I heard Rina, who was just on my left, shout out to Jason, “Go save Lily! Jason!”
I probably could have gotten away from the overzealous Romeo dancing with me, but I really wanted to see what Jason would do. Romeo seemed emboldened by my lack of response to his tactics; soon his arms were looping around my waist and he was pulling me in close. I was focused on the drama playing out just next to us though. Rina was clearly ordering Jason to step in and save me. Just like the perfect friend ought to do.
A few moments later, Jason was stepping in and telling Romeo to back off. Romeo took one look at Jason and quickly realized that he was outmatched. He shrugged and then retreated, probably to find his next victim.
I smiled my thanks to Jason. He had saved me, but what I didn’t expect was that he’d take the place of Romeo. His hands rested casually on my hips, so that I couldn’t move away. Feeling uncertain, I placed my hands on the sides of his shoulders and we swayed slowly in our crowded portion of the dance floor.
His hands were burning me right through the fabric of my dress. We were so close. I felt dizzy as I looked up at him. The music, the crowd, everything seemed to disappear into the background.
His gaze was so intense, but there was a hint of a satisfied smile on his lips. “It’s interesting seeing you outside of a work setting. You’re always so serious at work.”
My mouth o
pened in indignant surprise. “Well, so are you!”
“True.” He chuckled. “I’m enjoying seeing this side of you.”
I felt myself softening. “Well, I’m having a good time.”
An electric current seemed to crackle between us.
“So am I.” His voice sounded raspy and his eyes were smoldering with heated lust.
I knew he was going to kiss me. My hands clung to him, maybe pulling him closer. His head lowered slowly and I closed my eyes, waiting for his lips to touch my own.
“Maybe we should head back to the table.”
My eyes snapped open and I blinked with confusion. “Sure.” My voice sounded unsteady.
Rina and Adam were nowhere in sight when we got back to the table. I sat down while he checked his phone.
Jason frowned. “Adam just texted me. They went back to the hotel. Rina was tired.”
I was alone with him. Rina had ditched me – probably on some misguided mission to get us together. “Would you excuse me for a moment? I need to use the ladies room.”
I scurried off to the restroom, needing a few minutes alone to regroup. While I was waiting on line, I pulled out my phone and dialed Becca’s number. I needed to hear a friendly voice.
“Hello?” Her voice sounded muffled.
“Becs! It’s Lily.” I couldn’t keep the excitement out of my voice.
Her response was rather muted. “You do realize that it’s after midnight, right?”
“It is? Oopsy. Sorry, Becs.” How had it gotten so late already?
“You sound drunk.”
“Hmmm?....maybe I am a little tipsy. I’m having a great time in Miami! I’m dressed to kill and I think Jason is duly impressed.”
That got her attention. “You’re out with Jason? Jason Kaine?”
“And Rina and Adam. But they went home. It’s just Jason and me now.” I giggled.
Impossible (to Resist) Boss: Billionaire Romance Page 10
