by E. L. Todd
“Perfect.” He kissed my hairline before he moved from underneath me and scooted to the edge of the bed. He pulled on his boxers and stood up, six feet and two inches of pure man. “I’ll try to look hot enough to be your date.”
“Then come naked.”
He pulled on his jeans and smiled down at me. “I would, but I know my lady doesn’t want everyone checking out my package.”
“True.”
He pulled his shirt over his head.
I grabbed the key from the nightstand and held it up to him. “I want you to have this.”
He stared at it for an instant before he took it. “And what’s this to?”
“My apartment. Duh.”
“Yeah?” He grinned before he added it to his key ring.
“That way, I don’t have to get out of bed every time you come over.”
He chuckled. “I should have known your motive would be laziness.”
I got out of bed and pulled on one of his t-shirts I’d stolen from his drawer. “Or maybe I want my man to come and go as he pleases.”
He hooked his arm around my waist and pulled me in for a kiss. “Much better.”
***
I checked my appearance in the mirror because I had nothing else to do. Zeke still wasn’t off work, and I wasn’t sure when he would walk through the front door. He said he would text me when he was on the way.
I wore a skintight black dress that was backless, showing my back down to the top of my ass. Jessie put my hair in an elegant updo and let me borrow a pair of diamond earrings. Jessie saved me a ton of money because she did my hair for free and let me borrow anything out of her expensive wardrobe.
I glanced at the clock on the wall and realized I was already twenty minutes late. Five or ten minutes was fine, but by the time he showered and got dressed, we would be nearly an hour late.
Zeke, hurry your ass up.
I finally got a call from him. “Are you on your way?”
“Baby, I’m so sorry.”
Oh, that’s not good. “What’s up?”
“I was supposed to get off work thirty minutes ago, but one of the other physicians came down with something. Threw up in the bathroom, so I had to send him home. Looks like I’m gonna be here pretty late. I called a few other guys, and I’m waiting for them to call back.”
Disappointment flooded me in waves. I’d already said I was bringing someone, and now I would show up stag. It was too late to bring someone else. I wanted to have a fun night with Zeke, eating and drinking then having awesome sex afterward. “It’s okay. I understand.” As a doctor, it’s not like he could just walk out. If he did, people could die.
“Rae, I’m sorry.” He could hear my disappointment through the phone despite my attempt to mask it. “I’d be there if I could.”
“I know you would.” I hid my sadness better this time, not wanting him to feel guilty. “It’s fine, really. I’ll come by your place when it’s over. I still want that awesome sex.”
His smile reached through the phone. “You got it, baby.”
“Alright, I’ll talk to you later.”
“If something comes up, I’ll let you know.”
“Okay.” I paused on the phone like there was something else to say. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I didn’t want the conversation to end. Instead of going to this work function, I wanted to stay on the phone with him all night. Even when I could hear him breathing over the line, I missed him.
Zeke felt it too, whatever it was. “I can’t wait to see you.”
“Me neither.”
“I’ve got to get back to work...”
“Okay. Bye.”
He paused before he said it back. “Bye.”
***
Forty-five minutes later, I darted inside and tried to blend in. The vice president of the company stood at the podium, droning on about raising money for kidney disease directly caused by diabetes.
Jenny waved from a table in the rear, saving Zeke and me a spot beside her.
I slipped into the chair, grateful I didn’t have to sit alone.
“Where’s your sexy man?” she immediately asked.
I brushed off the sadness in my heart. “He had to work late. Couldn’t get out of it.”
“That’s too bad,” she said. “I wanted to meet him.”
“Believe me, I wish he were here too.”
Jenny pushed a wineglass closer to me. “I hooked you up, though.”
“You’re a lifesaver.” I grabbed the stem and took a long drink, letting the dry wine wash away my disappointment.
Jenny looked me up and down as I sat in the chair. “By the way, you look hot.”
“Thanks.” I nudged her in the side. “You do too. So, what did I miss?”
“Something about raising funds for diabetes... The dinner was sponsored by Toscana’s...Mr. Price said a few things and mentioned the dance card fundraiser...”
It took me a second to realize who Mr. Price was. I’d only known him as Ryker, and it was strange hearing him referred to in such a formal way. “Dance card?”
“Mr. Price is going to randomly hand out ten numbers to women in the audience. And then the guys bid on each woman for one dance. It goes to the charity.”
It was kind of an interesting way to raise extra money. It didn’t cost anything, and it was a good way to get the employees to interact together. “I guess that’s cool.”
“Oh, and dinner is about to be served.”
“Excellent. My favorite part, other than the booze.”
***
After dinner, Jenny excused herself to the bathroom. It was outside the conference room and all the way down the hall, a formidable walk if you were wearing four-inch heels like I was. When I dressed up like this, I mapped out my movements carefully, so I wouldn’t put my feet through unnecessary hell.
Everyone else at my table had left to mingle with employees they knew, so I was left sitting alone, thinking about Zeke and the fact that he wasn’t there. I poured myself another glass of wine then felt a pair of eyes burn into my skin. The look was smoldering, turning fire into ash. I knew who it was without even looking.
Ryker was sitting at the front table, his vice president on his left and a woman on his right. In a black suit with a gray tie that fit him to a T, making him look like a Calvin Klein model rather than a CEO.
Our eyes met, and instead of letting it be awkward, I raised my glass and gave him a friendly smile.
His expression didn’t change. He stared me down with the same intensity, making me feel like a target, and he was the bullet.
I turned away and sipped my wine. I knew Ryker and I would have to acknowledge each other’s existence at some point during the night. Now that it was over, we could both move on. It wasn’t that long ago when Zeke and I ran into him at the bar. Both men pretty much whipped out their dicks along with measuring sticks.
Ryker left his chair and walked past the tables, heading straight for mine.
He wasn’t going to sit with me, right?
He pulled out the chair beside me and held his tie against his chest as he sat down. His green eyes were vibrant with life, and his shoulders were just as broad and powerful as I remembered. His chin was free of hair, like he shaved right before coming to the charity gala. “I’m surprised to see you sitting here alone.”
“Jenny had to pee.” I grabbed the bottle of wine and set it in front of him. “Would you like some?”
He poured himself a glass. “I meant you didn’t bring a date.” He set the bottle down with a thud then took a drink.
“Zeke had to work late.”
Disappointment filled his eyes. “I thought he worked during the day.”
“He picked up a shift at urgent care.” I wasn’t sure why I was explaining anything to him. My personal life was really none of his business. I wanted to ask if he brought anyone tonight, but then I remembered I didn’t give a damn. “So, how’s the gala going?”
“We’ve rais
ed a lot of money, nearly twice as much as last year.”
“That’s great.”
“It is. People have been generous this year.” He pulled out a number from his pocket along with a roll of tape. “Since you’re the most beautiful woman in the room tonight, I’d like you to have a dance card.”
I ignored the cheesy line. “I don’t think anyone is going to bid on me.”
He released a sarcastic chuckle. “Oh, they’ll be fighting for you.” He placed the tape along the paper and handed it to me. “Put it on the front of your dress.”
“And what if I don’t want to participate?”
“Come on, sweetheart.” The old endearment felt familiar. He used to call me that all the time, nearly every single day. “You don’t want to help out? That’s not the woman I know.” He continued to hold out the number, knowing I would take the bait.
After I rolled my eyes, I snatched it. “No wonder why you doubled the money raised this year. You’re quite the salesman.”
He grinned then returned the tape to his pocket. “Why, thank you.”
I pressed the card to the front of my chest, the number ten in a large black font. I looked away from Ryker and watched the small number of people on the dance floor, holding their drinks. “What’s new with you?” I never thought I would be able to talk to Ryker this way, so casual. He used to make my body tense up in all sorts of ways. He used to make my spine shiver and my mouth go dry. All those feelings seemed to have disappeared.
He crossed his legs and rested his hands in his lap. “My life is pretty uneventful.”
“You haven’t tried a new kind of shampoo? A new kind of cereal?”
He smiled, his eyes lighting up. “I miss talking to you.”
My heart skipped a beat, and I suddenly felt cold. After the night he broke my heart, we never spoke to each other the same way again. I saw him at the funeral, but he was a different person then. When I ran into him after work, he wasn’t the man I remembered. Even now, it wasn’t the same. “I’ve been on a Cheerios kick lately. Back to the classics, you know.” I steered away from his comment and pretended I didn’t hear it at all. His meaning wasn’t clear, and I wasn’t going to waste time trying to figure out what he meant. Ryker liked to play games. I learned that lesson the hard way.
“I don’t eat cereal. Never have.”
He hardly had any food in his cabinets. Everything he ate was fresh, sitting in the refrigerator. “What’s Safari been up to?”
“Rex moved out, so I think Safari misses him.”
“’Bout time,” he said with a chuckle.
“But he moved across the hall from me.”
His laughter died away. “Wow. That guy needs to get a life.”
I talked shit about Rex all the time because I was allowed to do it. But when someone else outside the group said something mean, that shit didn’t fly. “Don’t talk about Rex like that.” I gave him a silent warning with my glare, telling him this was a line he couldn’t cross unless he wanted a broken nose.
Ryker never backed down from an argument, not even with me. But this time, he yielded. “I didn’t mean it that way, sweetheart. And you know it.”
“I hope I misunderstood you.” I was fiercely protective of my brother. Yes, he annoyed the shit of me. Yes, I hated him sometimes. Yes, there were times when I wanted to murder him. But I had his back through and through. If someone crossed him, they crossed me. Period.
Ryker changed the subject before it became more tense. “How are the girls?”
“Good. Kayden is seeing Rex. They seem happy together.”
He grinned. “I knew she had a thing for him.”
“Well, she fooled the rest of us for a long time. Jessie is the same. Playing the field and having a good time.”
“Good for her.” He drank his wine then set it on the table. “You look beautiful tonight. Jessie loan you that dress?”
I wanted to look nice for Zeke, but he wasn’t there to witness it. “Thanks. And yes, she’s my personal stylist.”
“She does good work.” His eyes took me in, dark and smoldering just the way they used to. “I hope you gave her a good tip.”
“I tip her in wine.”
He chuckled. “That’s better than cash.”
I wanted to ask about his family, but I wasn’t sure if it would just bring him down. Last time we talked about it, he seemed pretty heartbroken.
“How’s Groovy Bowl?”
“Really well. Rex already paid me back.”
“Good for him. Owning a business is hard.”
“I can only imagine.” I didn’t have the patience or the discipline to delegate tasks to workers. And crunching numbers all day would bore me to death.
“How are things down in there in the hole?”
I assumed he was talking about the lab. “Good. Jenny and I worked together on a micro congestant last week. We got pretty good results.”
“I don’t know what a micro congestant is, and I’m not asking.” He grinned before he drank his wine.
“You’re right,” I said with a smile. “It’s pretty boring, even for me.”
“You’re such a nerd.”
“Hey,” I said in mock offense.
“A sexy nerd.” He gave me that fearless stare, not caring how that compliment affected me. With his charming air and handsome features, he thought he could get away with anything. His arrogance used to be attractive. Now, I was immune. I fell for his charms before, and I wound up crying for nearly a month straight. It was a miracle my heart recovered after the way he brutally shattered it.
I set my wine down. “Excuse me, I have to powder my nose.” I left the table and walked away, feeling his eyes drill into my ass the entire time. Without turning around to check, I could feel the penetrating gaze pierce into my back, staring at the bare skin in the backless dress.
But I kept going, already knowing what it was like to be the recipient of that look.
***
“Time for the dance card fundraiser.” Tom, the VP, stood on the stage and called up the woman with number one taped to her front. She was in her thirties, a cute woman from accounting.
The bidding began, and men fought for a dance.
“I’ve got five bucks—ten—twenty anyone?” The numbers kept moving higher. “I’ve got thirty-five. Can I get forty? Forty!” The bidding ended at fifty dollars, and the woman walked off the stage and joined the man who paid for a dance.
Jenny had returned from the bathroom, and now she sat beside me. “This is kinda barbaric, don’t you think?”
“It’s just a dance, Jenny. It’s not like it’s a date or something.”
“But still. It would have been more fun if the girls bid on the guys.”
“True.” But the only man I would have bid on wasn’t in the building.
“And you know who I would have bid on?” She chuckled and batted her eyelashes. “Mr. Price. I would love to feel those manly hands on my hips.”
I’d never told her about Ryker and me. Since we worked together, I kept it a secret. No one needed to know the boss had broken my heart. It was easier this way. “He is a looker.”
“He’s gorgeous.” She swooned right on the spot, her hands against her chest. “He said hi to me in the hallway once. My knees practically gave out.” She’d clearly warmed up to him even though she was once terrified of him being the new CEO of the company. She nearly quit her job because of it.
Tom went down the list of women, and the ninth contestant took home the winning bid of a hundred bucks.
“Your turn,” Jenny said. “I think you’ll break the record.”
“I hope this ass fetches a decent price.” I smiled before I walked to the front of the stage. When I was positioned beside Tom, I waved to all my coworkers in the audience.
“Here’s the lovely, Rae,” Tom said. “An environmental chemist down in the lab. We’ll start the bid at five dollars. Do I have any takers?”
Before anyone could make a b
id, Ryker raised his bidder number into the air. “Two thousand.”
Everyone in the audience craned their necks to look at their CEO, shocked by the fact that he just bid on one of his own employees and started at such an outstanding amount.
Even my jaw hit the floor.
“Uh...” It took Tom a second to recover. “Uh...Twenty-one hundred, anyone?”
Nothing but crickets.
“Sold to Mr. Price.” He hit the gavel against the surface of the podium. “Gentleman, take your ladies to the dance floor.”
I stared Ryker down from my spot on the stage, still shocked by the stunt he’d just pulled. He brought unnecessary attention to the two of us, and of course, everyone was wondering if there was something going on between us. It wasn’t clear what his motivations were. If he was trying to make me laugh, it was a terrible joke.
I walked down the steps, and he met me at the bottom, his hands in the pockets of his slacks. He eyed my legs the whole way down, and once I was on the floor, he was still taller than me despite my heels. “What the hell was that?”
The slow song came over the loudspeakers, and the couples paired off.
“What?” He grinned as he grabbed my hand, interlocking our fingers just the way he used to. Once, he pinned me to the bed with my hands above my head as he thrust into me. The touch immediately elicited memories I forced myself to forget. “I did it for charity.”
“You could have bid on someone else.”
He led me to the center of the dance floor then pulled me into his chest. One hand snaked around my waist while the other grabbed my hand and held it against his chest. He took the lead and began to sway with the music. “Why would I bid on them when I could bid on someone I actually like?”
“It would be a great opportunity to get to know them.”
“No, thanks.” His face was dangerously close to mine. If we weren’t in public, I would worry he might kiss me. His hand tightened on my bare back, his warm fingers feeling the smooth skin. “Money spent on you is money well spent.”
“Thanks,” I said sarcastically. “You make me sound like a nice whore.”
He chuckled. “Definitely not a whore. You’re a diamond.”
“A diamond?” I asked.
