I gave her a look to keep her voice down. In return she gave me a Cheshire-cat smile from behind her glass, one five-inch heel swinging.
“What? You think none of these six figure salaries have heard the word fuck before?”
I chuckled and shook my head at her.
She and I were new friends, had met less than six months ago while playing golf at Cherokee Town and Country Club. As usual I had been there with Brock and two of our investors, maintaining healthy business relations.
Vanessa was golfing with two women I knew who sat on the board for the club, and they seemed to be having a far better time than I was.
My eyes kept gravitating toward the three women. After the game was finished and they were enjoying afternoon cocktails at a table near ours, Vanessa caught me looking and came over to introduce herself. She knew who I was, which had me at a disadvantage. She said she was a lawyer, specializing in corporate law, and gave me her card.
Two of the men at our table had heard of her, although Brock had not. I looked her up, found her reputation flawless, and put her on retainer immediately.
But what I loved most about her was that I’d found a woman friend who had class and style but who could make me laugh like I was a kid again.
My upbringing was so stuffy and it only got worse after I turned sixteen and my parents were in that accident. Living with my grandparents, I felt like the fun was choked out of me. There was a goal attached to everything I did. I was taught to be hyper-vigilant about appearance, thinking always of rising to the top, which of course included social circles. My high school and college years were only about grooming me to take over my grandfather’s corporation.
I never went to wild parties like my friends did, only the ones that were at the country club, or had some sort of upwardly mobile reason for me to attend. I didn’t keep many friends long term because I was always studying. The few football games I attended in high school were when my grandfather was out of town.
Trying to be perfect had given me an ulcer by age twenty-three. I took over the company at age twenty-seven. That was last year. Before meeting Vanessa I hadn’t belly-laughed since I was nine and someone put a toad in Mrs. Wallaby’s desk, making her scream and pee herself in front of the whole class. So when Vanessa’s eyes grew bored that night at Whiskey Blue, I blinked to my martini and tried to be more like her.
“What do you want to know, that Ethan Cocker tried to bend me over his desk, too?” I smirked, hoping I didn’t look like a phoney.
Her eyes sparkled again and she leaned forward like I wasn’t a hopeless case. “Did he?”
On a shy laugh I leaned away from her. “No! Of course not! In fact he was a cocky bastard!”
“Emphasis on cock,” she smirked.
“Oh my God, you’re too much.”
“What did you talk about?”
“How much I wanted him to bend me over the desk.”
Vanessa laughed and glanced to her left. “Sure you did. I would’ve paid money to see you do that.” Her smile faltered long enough for me to follow her gaze.
“What is it?” I asked. “See someone you know?” She didn’t answer, so I prodded her. “Vanessa, who are you staring at? I can’t see around this column.”
Her dark eyelashes fluttered and she came back to me, smile returning. “I thought I knew someone. An ex. But it wasn’t him.” Under her breath she added, “Thank God,” and took a sip of her martini.
I didn’t like the look on her face, almost like she’d been afraid for a moment. “You okay?”
The frown vanished and she smiled, “Yes, I’m fine! Everything’s fine.” Twisting in her chair she scanned the other cabanas, the breeze lifting her dark-brown hair. “Do you see anyone interesting?”
I knew she meant men. “Not that I’ve seen.”
Turning back to me on a sigh, she asked, “Brock and you ever…?”
“No!”
Vanessa laughed and held up her pinky. “He have one of these?”
“How would I know?” I laughed, reaching over and making her put her hand down. Anyone who looked would know what she was talking about. “But I doubt it. He’s a big guy.”
“That’s not always an indicator. Speaking of big.”
“I was waiting for you to say something.” When Ethan had pulled out there was almost an audible gasp in the room. He was more than well endowed.
“You think his family has that surname because of their size?” Vanessa smiled, not speaking quietly enough for my liking. But that was part of the fun, and why I was always on the edge of laughter with her. She cared little for what people thought, her elegance inarguable despite her crass sense of humor. I envied this quality, though I knew I’d never emulate it.
“What are you saying? That long ago when they were doling out last names they…” I couldn’t finish, though I wanted to.
She smirked, “Yes, they took one look at his great, great, great, great-grandfather’s cock and said, Cocker! That’s your name, because buddy, you earned it.”
I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. Vanessa was right there with me, bent over and cackling with abandon.
“What’s tickled your funny bones, ladies?” a deep male voice interrupted.
I looked up and discovered Ethan Cocker standing above us. His chestnut brown hair was tousled as usual, but he was dressed like he’d stepped off a GQ magazine, dark grey, stylishly cut jeans and a white cotton button-up, sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms. The white made his skin look even more sun-kissed and in his hand he held a whiskey with a single cube of ice floating in the center.
Vanessa lost her voice for once.
I blinked like I’d forgotten who I was.
His smile turned into a smirk as he glanced between us and settled on me. “You haven’t introduced me to your friend, Boss.”
“Oh, so now you’re claiming you work for me after all?” I sarcastically shot back.
Vanessa’s eyes darted to me. From her reaction I heard how angry I’d sounded. She had questions in her eyes, wanting to know what had transpired between us that I hadn’t told her about.
I cleared my throat and looked up at Ethan again to avoid her searching stare. His smirk was waiting for me and my heart began to pound. He was incredibly handsome. Those chestnut eyes of his, I could disappear in them.
In an effort to gather myself I said, “We were laughing about surnames and their origins.”
Vanessa brought her glass to her lips and added, “Yes, family history and how certain traits are passed down.”
Ethan glanced to her for a moment, but came back to me. “Like how the name Smith was given to Blacksmiths.”
“Exactly.” I gave him a strained smile, trying to be polite. But the air was awkward and I had no idea what to say.
He was eyeing me like he was out of words, too. He licked his lips and glanced to Vanessa, “Well, I’ll let you get back to it.” He turned on his shiny heel and left us gawking after him. Vanessa and I didn’t speak, we were distracted, incredibly interested in who he was with. When he joined three people standing around a high table inside, his fingers floated up to touch the shoulder of a pretty girl with warm brown hair almost like his, but without the blondish streaks at the end. I felt a little sick at how familiar she was with him, so comfortable as she asked him a question. He replied, and she looked over at us. So did the black-haired man and the tall blonde he was with.
I glanced away like the police had just spotted me after I robbed a bank, but Vanessa wasn’t so quick.
“I wonder if his date knows what he was doing yesterday with your intern?”
“Stop staring, Vanessa,” I muttered, growing more embarrassed.
She faced me, her eyelashes falling toward my martini. “Don’t you need another?”
It was nearly empty, but I replied, “No.”
She suggested, “You could go in there and order a fresh one.”
“There are servers for that,” I breathed, chest heaving
slightly. I didn’t like the reaction I was having. Would this happen every time he was around? I was extremely jealous of his date and secretly begging God that she wasn’t his girlfriend. I couldn’t stand the idea that he’d cheated on her, plus I’d want to steal him from her and what would that make me? A bitch, that’s what. “He’s on a date. What do you want me to do, flirt with him anyway?”
“I would,” she smiled. “But it wasn’t me he was staring at.”
My body tingled with hope, which was ridiculous. All those things he’d said about women in the workplace, why in the world would I want to kiss someone like that? I was a total feminist and he was, regardless of his good looks and compelling appeal, a sexist slacker. “He was just talking to us. For a very brief moment. There’s no way he was staring at me.”
“Oh no?” Vanessa asked, her gaze drifting back inside. “Then why is he staring at you now?”
I cut a quick glance to Ethan but his back was turned, and nobody was looking our way. Frowning I met my friend’s eyes. She chuckled, “Made ya look.”
“Not funny.”
“You want him,” she challenged.
“No, I just find him irritating, that’s all.”
Her eyes narrowed and she set her glass down. “I’m going to the ladies room. Excuse me.”
As her heels clicked away I frowned toward the skyline, buildings glinting against the darkness, a sliver of a moon high above them. And somewhere above that was Mother Nature laughing her ass off.
9
ETHAN
My sister muttered, “Ethan, her friend is heading this way.”
I shot a quick glance over and locked eyes with the sultry brunette. She veered left towards the restroom and I turned back to tell Tobias, “You see that?”
He smirked, “Follow her to the bathroom. Works every time.”
Hannah smacked her husband’s shoulder, her new wedding ring glinting in the candlelight. “Tobias!” He captured her hand and kissed her fingers, holding her look.
Emma grumbled, “Give it a rest.”
Hannah asked her, “How’s Cora treating you these days?”
“Still a bitch,” my sister answered, taking a sip of her Pinot Grigio. “I sold a house in the highlands last weekend and you know what she said?”
Before she launched into the story about her real estate job, where she worked under one of our uncle’s ex-girlfriends, I excused myself and headed to the patio.
Charlie Reed looked stunning that night, the suit replaced by a low-cut navy blue dress and nude heels, her red hair curled in soft waves. The part that killed me, other than those smooth curvy legs, was the smoky eyeliner she had on. It made the cobalt look ethereal. If more C.E.O.’s looked like her I’d stop mocking office jobs and take one permanently — the office right down the hall from hers. Get a nameplate and everything. She was so fucking beautiful to me.
Staring at the sky, she didn’t hear me walk up. This was twice I would take her by surprise, which wouldn’t have been my preferred choice but as I had limited time before her friend returned, I had no other option.
“You like the view?” God, it was lame, but I was on borrowed time here, and she excited me too much for my cool, don’t-give-a-fuck, A-game.
Like someone shot a gun next to her eardrum she jumped. “You like scaring people?” Her eyes flashed.
“Not really,” I flatly replied, bringing my glass to my lips and leaving it at that.
Charlie held my look like she didn’t know what to say. With neither of us speaking the tension grew. This kept happening, and I wondered if she was as dumbfounded by me as I was by her. I expected her to break the stare, but she didn’t. She was letting me know she was in control, at least of herself. I wanted to know if she wanted to be in control of me. The idea was intoxicating.
“What are you doing after this?” I asked.
Her lips parted. “You are incredible!”
I joked, “My reputation precedes me?”
“Not your reputation, your gall!”
“Gall? I haven’t heard that word used since my Grandpa Michael last shouted at my Uncle Jett.”
“Are you saying I’m old?”
“Old fashioned.”
Charlie’s eyes sharpened. “I am very current, thank you.”
“Your wardrobe is. Your vibe is not. You look stunning by the way.”
She blinked. “I don’t know how to take that.”
Glancing toward the bathroom for her friend, I blurted, “How about you tell me what you’re doing after this.”
“I’m going home.”
“Alone?”
Her lips parted again. She glanced down. I did the same. God, I couldn’t wait to hold those ankles up by my ears. See if I could hear the ocean as I dove down and tasted her salty little shell.
“Back again?” her sultry friend asked as she slipped back onto her seat, glancing between Charlie and I with interest.
“Mr. Cocker was just leaving.”
I corrected her, “No, Mr. Cocker was just asking if you’d like me to come home with you tonight.”
Charlie’s cheeks flamed red. “I’m your boss!”
“Then it’s not harassment.”
Her friend quickly accused me, “You say that a lot, don’t you?”
I stared at her, not sure how to take that. Slowly I answered, “Noooo. I don’t.”
Charlie cleared her throat and her friend’s eyes flickered before she said, “I just assumed you did because…you were so quick to say it just now.”
I muttered, “Uh huh,” not following her.
“I’m Vanessa.” She held out her hand and as I shook it she explained, “I’m her lawyer. So no, you’re not harassing her at the office or ruling your power over her in order to intimidate, because the truth is you don’t have any.” She pulled her hand back and smiled. “But you are here uninvited, asking for an invitation that clearly won’t be given to you, so either you leave now or it would be considered harassment.”
“I see.” My eyebrows twitched. “Vanessa, is it?”
“Yes.”
“What are you doing after this?”
She stared at me, her smile opening in shock. “You are something else!”
“Because if both of you want to come back to Ms. Reed’s place with me then we could have some fun.”
They made noises of stifled shock and laughter, but I knew there was no way Charlie would take me up on this offer. I’d pegged her right when I called her old-fashioned. Truth was I didn’t want her to accept. I’d be paying attention only to her and Vanessa would definitely get pissed. This brunette wasn’t the to-be-ignored type.
They looked at each other and Vanessa was clearly on board. “We could.”
Charlie stammered, “No, don’t be ridiculous.”
“Why not? It would be fun. Let’s do it!”
“No, Vanessa.” To me she demanded, “And why are you offering up my house?”
“Because I never bring women back to mine.”
“Too many empty pizza boxes and video games?”
A grin flashed on my face, then I shut it down. “You guess that from my work attire?”
“Yes, I did. What are you, thirty or twelve?”
I almost said I’m not quite thirty, but stopped myself because why the fuck was I defending who I was to her? There she was insulting me again, and the worst part was I was taking it personally.
One of the many things I liked about being a fucking billionaire was doing anything I wanted to, and that included wearing what I felt comfortable in.
My ego fired up. I held her look and smoothly asked, “Is that why you wanted me to call you Ms. Reed? Because I make you feel old?”
Her spine shot up and she flushed with anger. “I’m only twenty-eight!”
“You act fifty-eight. I bet you even play golf.” She glanced to her friend and they both frowned. “Oh, was that a hole in one?” Before she had a chance to tell me what a terrible joke that was, I blurt
ed something I didn’t even know I was going to say, “I’ll tell you what, Ms. Reed, tomorrow morning I’ll pick you up and take you golfing. If I win you go out on a date with me.”
Vanessa tensely interrupted with, “And if you lose?”
I searched for something good. When it came to me I held Charlie’s slightly nervous gaze and smoothly told her, “If I lose I’ll finish encrypting Wyntech’s servers for free.”
Her eyebrows lifted and she glanced to Charlie. They exchanged a wordless conversation, the kind that only good friends and family can have. After the unspoken decision was made, Charlie and I locked eyes. “Deal.”
I stared at her and cocked my head as I realized, “You’re better than I think you are, aren’t you?”
“I was raised on the green, Mr. Cocker. You’re about to be my slave.”
My eyebrow twitched, and so did my sleeping shaft. I took a sip from my glass and murmured, “Promises, promises,” before turning on my heel and walking back inside.
I realized I’d forgotten something. I would have preferred to leave on that great line, but I had no choice but to turn around and give her my phone. “Put your address in here.”
She smirked and took it from me, muttering, “Smooth one, genius,” as she clicked away. Her eyelashes flashed up and she smiled, offering the phone.
My heart stopped as we stared at each other. I tried to recover but my, “I’ll pick you up at 9:00 A.M.,” came out a little shaky.
“Okay,” she quietly said, cobalt eyes flickering. She blinked and straightened her neck. “Be prepared to lose.”
“I never lose, Gorgeous.” Heading away for the last time I told myself, don’t look back.
I looked back.
She gave me a little wave and I chuckled, feeling anything but cool and detached as I rejoined my family.
10
Cocky Genius: Ethan Cocker (Cocker Brothers of Atlanta Book 9) Page 5
