by Mika Lane
She laughed. “You’re right. The older ones are, well, older. I had another baby since we last spoke, sweetheart! In fact, I just got him down, and now he’s crying again. Bill!” she screamed into the phone. “Honey, go get the baby.”
All the commotion made my ovaries shrivel.
“Nara, I’ll get right to the point since I’m calling you so late.”
“Okay.”
“Are you comin’ home for the reunion or not?”
Oh shit. The damn reunion.
But before I could come up with another good excuse—I’d already used several—she continued. “Now look, I know you have to come a long way. But you can stay with me and Bill and the kids if you don’t want to stay at your mom’s house,” she offered. The dread that came with even considering attending the reunion left me in goose bumps.
“Gosh Becca. I’m not sure I’ll be able to come back for that.”
“What? You’re kidding, right? Everyone’s gonna be there. It’ll be the party of the year!” she insisted.
Was she kidding, asking me if I was kidding?
Of course not. Because for her, it would be the party of the year.
The old guilt had been building, and now, it lodged somewhere in my gut, like a huge ball of something toxic. Could I actually tell her I didn’t want to go without insulting her? No, impossible.
But she was more than oblivious to my apprehensions. I mean, how could I go back there and tell everyone about my new life as a CEO and entrepreneur in New York City? For one, they’d look at me like I had three heads. And second, I was afraid of rubbing it in their faces—I’d gotten out, and they didn’t. Then, there were the fuckers I’d slept with. Thank god I hadn’t gotten pregnant. I might never have escaped.
“Becca, can I let you know later whether I’m coming? And if I can’t make it, I promise to come home another time. I’d like to see you and Bill. And the kids.”
“All right, sweetie. But let me know soon. I know these tickets are gonna sell out, and I want to make sure we have one for you. I’m head of the committee again in case you didn’t know,” she said. The crying started up again. I guess Bill wasn’t that good with babies. Too bad she wasn’t closer. She’d be a perfect test mom for Mommy Knows.
“Good for you, Becca. You’re always so organized and smart.” Actually, I’d had to help her through algebra, and she’d only squeaked by with a D.
“Sorry I woke you. I’ll let you go. I need to go get my baby, anyway. Bill couldn’t change a diaper if his life depended on it. Oh! Speaking of which. You datin’ anybody?” she asked.
“No. No, I’m not.” She didn’t need to know about Brodie, and she certainly didn’t need to know about Simon. That story would make her head explode. Green card marriages just didn’t happen in places like where I grew up.
“Good night then,” she sing-songed.
After that disruption to my evening, I couldn’t get back to sleep. I tossed and turned, tormented by the thought that I’d gotten a life Becca never could have imagined. Granted, I’d made it happen with hard work, and a little selling of my soul—as in the marriage to Simon—but was it fair?
On the other hand, she could actually be perfectly happy with her life. Hell, maybe she felt sorry for me, living up here in the big, bad city with no husband or kids.
Without the money from Simon, none of it ever would have happened. But look where I was now. That was what happened when you sold your soul.
Chapter 18
Brodie
What an evening. A beautiful night with a gorgeous woman, delicious food and wine. And I’d fucked her senseless.
Or should I say she fucked me senseless? She was the one who’d taken control, after all.
Which was fine by me. In fact, thinking about it even now gave me a raging hard-on. There was nothing like a woman taking over, and knowing she wants you more than anything. Christ almighty.
I got to the hotel extra-early Saturday morning since I’d taken off early Friday. I didn’t have any calls or texts, and no news was good news, but I liked to keep an eye on things over the weekend. And I had been feeling particularly protective of the hotel since I’d found out my partners were up to no good. I still hadn’t settled on what I was going to do about those bastards, but I had some ideas brewing.
When I arrived, I went straight to Joel’s office. Before I entered, I knocked. The last thing I wanted was to walk in on him fucking Pam. If they were still doing each other. Which they’d better not be.
“Come in!” Joel called. “Brodie, where were you last night? I can’t remember the last time you missed a Friday here.”
“I had other plans,” I answered.
He broke out in a huge grin. “Dude. You dating somebody? Who is she? Tell me.” He leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head.
I took the seat opposite his desk. “Her name is Nara.” He didn’t need to know any more than that.
He held his hands out, palms up. “That’s it? That’s all you’re giving me? Brodie, you’re killing me.” He looked at me expectantly.
“Okay. Okay, buddy, I get it. Let’s go over the weekend.” He flipped a few papers around on his desk and pulled something up on his computer.
“Do we have any VIPs coming in, Joel?”
“We do. Just a sec. Okay, here it is. Last night was quiet, celebrity-wise. But tonight, we have Aerosmith coming in. They have a show at the Garden.”
Shit, I wish I’d known about that. I’d have gotten tickets. One of the perks of being a hotelier was easy access to backstage passes.
“Oh, one other thing. I almost forgot. The annual Spinsters party is on tonight.”
“Oh damn, I nearly forgot about that one. I may go. What about you?” I asked.
He nodded slowly. “I might. Not sure yet. May have plans.” He looked up at me guiltily.
“Oh for chrissakes. Are you still doing Pam? Wait, never mind. I don’t want to know. I’m leaving right now.”
“Okay, Brodie, thanks for stopping by—”
Who was I to say anything? I mean I’d messed around with chicks at work before, the most recent being Sonya. Joel could do what he wanted. I just didn’t want to know about it.
I went to my office and texted Nara.
hey gorgeous. up for a party tonight?
I wasn’t sure if she’d respond right away. Given that she was at work, she could be up to her elbows in baby shit.
actually, that sounds great. when and where? and what to wear?
i’ll pick you up at eight. dress sexy. like always.
:O
I was on my game. And that seriously felt good.
* * *
I drove my Telsa to Brooklyn to get Nara since the limo driver had the weekend off. When I pulled up to her place she walked out, wearing this long slinky number tied behind her neck, plunging into a deep V below her gorgeous breasts. She wore some sort of high-heeled sandals, and her hair was long and loose. I sprang a hard-on so big I almost couldn’t get out of the car. I buttoned my sports jacket to cover the evidence and grabbed her hand as she descended the last steps of her building.
Damn.
“Yowsa,” I said as I greeted her on the sidewalk with a long, slow kiss.
“You don’t look too badly yourself, Mr. Hotel.”
“Thanks, Miss Happy.”
We walked to my car, and she stopped, hands on hips. “No way. Are you actually driving? Like driving a car? With four wheels?”
I rolled my eyes. “Believe it or not, yes. The driver’s off for the weekend. Besides, I kind of miss being behind the wheel.” I helped her into the car, and we headed back toward the hotel.
She had her hand on my thigh as we worked our way over the Brooklyn Bridge and back to the city. Thanks to her, my hard-on raged the whole drive. That would need addressing later.
The Spinsters’ party was held every year in our biggest ballroom, and let me tell you, I always looked forward to this shindig, which was full of New Yor
k’s most beautiful women. I’m not sure why they called themselves The Spinsters since they were anything but. The only thing they had in common with old maids was that they were mostly unmarried. I said mostly, because the party was such a hot ticket that some women would lie about their marital status to get in. Couldn’t say I blamed them.
On top of providing some serious eye candy, this group hired the best party planners in town. This year’s setup did not disappoint. When Nara and I walked in we were left speechless, so blown away we were by the décor. It amazed me what people could do with a hotel ballroom, even when it was in my own hotel.
There were intimate seating areas set up all along the periphery of the room. White sofas, loveseats, and benches were clustered around coffee tables lit by flickering votive candles, buckets full of champagne bottles, and platters of hors d'oeuvres that looked damned good. It was like a dozen private little clubs.
And as if that weren’t enough, special lighting made glittery reflections across the floor, up the walls, and over the ceiling. The effect was like being under water.
“Wow.” Nara slowly took in the dramatic setting.
I put my arm around her waist and pulled her closer. Nuzzling her ear, I said, “Wow is right. You are the most gorgeous thing in this whole party.”
She dropped her head back and let out that laugh I loved, both elegant and down to Earth at the same time. And I was right. She was the most beautiful woman there.
“Brodie!” a voice shrieked in my ear. Before I knew it, I’d been pulled free of Nara and caught in the bear hug of a female whose face I’d not yet seen.
“Hi,” I said, trying to sound enthusiastic. Nara just looked shocked.
“Darling, you never called me,” the phantom hugger said, pulling away so I could finally see her face.
She was right. I hadn’t called her. I had fucked her, but not called her. She had been nice enough and even pretty, but the night I’d met her, she hadn’t stopped talking long enough for me to even learn her name. That had bugged me. Well, obviously it hadn’t bugged me enough to keep me from doing her, but I wasn’t going to hang out with her again.
Funny thing was, as much as I’d whored around and enjoyed it, my desire to continue doing so was suddenly tempered. What was that all about?
Nara extended her hand to the talker. “Hello,” she said, smiling.
The woman’s smile faltered as she looked Nara up and down. “Do we know each other?”
“No,” Nara said with the world’s sweetest smile and dropped her hand. “And I don’t think we will.” She hooked her arm through mine and led me away.
That’s my girl.
As we walked through the party, heads turned and nodded. I introduced Nara to those I thought she would enjoy meeting. Even so, more than one woman looked her up and down and turned to their friends for a quick debrief. I wished Nara wasn’t subject to this petty bitchiness and realized I probably wouldn’t be back for next year’s party. In fact, I didn’t think we’d even hang out at this one for very long.
“Brodie!” Joel said with Pam on his arm. Jesus, these people were indiscrete. Guess the cat was out of the bag.
“Hey, Joel. Pam.” I introduced them to Nara.
Pam placed a hand on Nara’s arm. “Nara, let’s run to the ladies’ for a sec while the guys talk business.”
“Okay.” Nara looked at me with raised eyebrows and turned to go with Pam.
Joel nudged me like the frat boy that he was. “Yo, Brodie. You done good there. She’s a looker. She another one of your trust fund babies?” He had no idea how annoying he was. And he seemed to be forgetting that I was the boss.
“She’s founder and CEO of a tech firm.” I nodded to the mayor as he passed by with his usual entourage of beautiful women.
“No shit? I don’t know any chicks who are tech anything, much less CEOs. Damn.”
I hadn’t known any, either. But I sure as hell was glad I did now.
Chapter 19
Nara
For some reason, I let a woman I’d just met, Pam, drag me off to the ladies’ room. I guess I was caught up with being polite. She had hooked her claws through my arm like we were best friends, and led me through the noisy, tipsy crowd. One dude stepped right in front of me and shook his finger to start a drunken conversation. But good old Pam nipped that in the bud as she directed me into the restroom like I didn’t know how to pee on my own.
I would rather not have left Brodie’s side. The Spinster party he’d brought me to was full of New York’s best and beautiful—as well as the biggest bitches on wheels I’d ever seen. I’d never been scrutinized and looked up and down so much. Not that I minded a whole lot. I was pretty confident. But it was unsettling to have people looking at me like they wished I’d curl up and die. That, I was not used to.
“So, Nara. Such an interesting name,” Pam said, holding the bathroom door open for me. But the look on her face said anything but interested.
“You and Brodie make such a good-looking couple.”
“Thank you. That’s very nice of you to say.” Not sure where she was going with all that, but I figured I’d have some fun with her.
“So look.” She placed a patronizing hand on my arm. “I felt it was my responsibility to tell you not to get your hopes up about Brodie.”
Probably best not to laugh in her face. With wide eyes, I said, “Thank you for letting me know that.” My feigned interest egged her on. She was practically gleeful.
“You see,” she whispered conspiratorially, “he’s just such a ladies’ man, and is still not done sowing his oats.”
I nodded and whispered back, “Good to know. Thanks for looking out for me.”
She touched up her lipstick in the bathroom mirror, looking awfully pleased with herself. “Happy to help. I just felt you should know.” She fluffed her hair.
I could think of a few things she should know, but I wasn’t going to waste my breath. Like what a great fuck he was, and how we’d shared some of our darkest secrets…
“Should we go back to the guys?” I asked.
She sighed deeply. “Sure. We’d better. They’ll start to wonder if we met someone new.” She threw her head back and cackled.
I dumped Pam and made a beeline for Brodie, whose gorgeous head towered over the crowd. I wasn’t surprised to see a couple women batting their eyes at him, and his weird employee, Joel, was trying to get in on the action.
But as soon as Brodie saw me, he extended his hand and caught mine in his large palm, bringing my fingers up to his lips in the most gallant freaking gesture I’d ever seen. I’m sure the women watching assumed I was just his flavor of the week. And maybe I was. But I could have fun for a week. I was a big girl.
He leaned toward my ear. “Hey, wanna take a walk?”
A sexy tingle zapped through me, and I could swear I wobbled for a moment.
“Let’s do it.”
He grabbed me by the hand, leaving Joel and Pam open-mouthed as if we couldn’t possibly have fun without them. We dodged cocktail dresses, expensive suit jackets, and trays of champagne as we headed toward a nondescript door that looked like it could be opened only from the other side. As we got closer, Brodie whipped out a laminated badge and waved it, causing the door to pop open just enough for us to slip through. The benefits of ownership, I guess.
As unremarkable as the door was, the hallway on the other side was even more so. It was as if the hotel was a beautifully decorated stage, and the rest—the backstage—was ordinary and dull.
Brodie led me from the stark white hallway to a stairwell, which we climbed to another maze of halls. We finally entered what that looked like a storage room with a huge window spanning an entire wall. I drew closer and found it overlooking the ballroom hosting the Spinsters’ party.
A thousand dressed-up New Yorkers flirted and drank beneath us in a sea of mostly black clothing, with the occasional red or green dress adding color. “Look at all those people,” I said.
Brodie’s arm fell around my waist. “It is a great view, isn’t it? We come up here to check and see how our events are going. It’s a great perspective.”
I fished through my purse. “Can I take a quick photo?”
“Sure. Go for it.”
I showed Brodie my great shot, a freeze frame capturing the party below. It miraculously omitted the unpleasantness that hadn’t been able to follow us to our secret hiding place.
I turned to Brodie, his palms smoothing my cheeks, leaving me to rub into him like a cat wanting more. He ran a finger down my arm to my hand, where he clasped my fingers. With his other hand, he caressed the nape of my neck—kneading and releasing. I closed my eyes, spellbound, letting my head fall into his cupped hand.
He gripped a fistful of my hair, and his lips crushed mine with dizzying passion. In contrast, he held my other hand as if we were kids on a first date. He blew my mind. First, he rode around in a limo, but he also stopped to check on a homeless man. Then, he was heir to a hotel fortune, but his dad was in prison. And last, he was working hard to make his business partners whole, even though they were scheming behind his back to get rid of him.
And from what I could tell, he handled it all with grace.
I could learn from this guy.
With a small tug, he pulled the bow of my halter dress, untying it and sending it slithering to the floor to land in a silky puddle around my feet. He pulled back from our kiss to see he’d left me wearing nothing but a lace, strapless bra and matching thong panty. He smiled.
“Can those people see us up here?” I asked, inching away from the window.
“Nope,” he responded. “It’s mirrored on the other side.”
Oh, this could be fun.
“Well, in that case,” I murmured, backing against the window until my ass cheeks pressed on it. He followed me, leaning his hands on the glass just behind my shoulders. His weight ground into me, his hard cock announcing itself with enthusiasm as he ran kisses up and down my neck. His hunger shot straight to my core, leaving my nipples hard and my clit heavy and swollen.
