by Mika Lane
“Yeah. Can you believe it? Wait ‘til you see the place.”
The elevator doors opened, and I got a whiff of what promised to be an incredible dinner, thanks to the cook he left behind to feed me. Maizy gasped.
“Oh. My. God. Look at this place,” she said, walking in and doing a three-sixty degree turn.
“Yeah. Lawyering has been good to Steve,” I said, looking around with her.
Two walls’ worth of windows provided expansive views of Lower Manhattan, and the other walls were covered in what I was sure was very expensive artwork. Maizy was drawn right to it.
“Check this out,” she said, craning her neck to see more.
“You can walk around. No one’s here except the cook. I’m gonna check in with her. You feel free to roam.”
“Okay,” she said, wandering down a marble-tiled hallway.
“Hello, Mr. Cato,” the cook, Mel, said.
“Hi there. Smells great,” I said, heading over to the stove to get a look at our feast.
“Dinner will be ready in half an hour, Mr. Cato. Can I bring you and your friend some drinks?”
“That’d be great, thank you. Um, I’ll have a scotch, and she’ll have some champagne.”
I settled into a cushy sofa in the living room while I waited for Maizy to return from her snooping. Mel dropped off our drinks just as Maizy made her way back. God, I loved watching her walk through that gorgeous apartment.
“This place is out of control,” she said, continuing to look around. “Just, wow.”
She settled into the sofa next to me. “Oooh, bubbly. Thank you.”
“So, Eva still ragging on you?” I asked.
She rolled her eyes. “Of course. She wouldn’t be Eva if she wasn’t.”
“Right. Right.”
Go ahead. Ask her.
“So, um, what happened with her brother-in-law?”
There. I’d done it.
But maybe I shouldn’t have. Maizy’s face went from pink to bright red in a second. She looked down at the bubbles rising in her champagne flute.
“He’s nice. Yeah. Nice guy.” She nodded.
Okayyy, we won’t talk about that then. But it was funny because she usually didn’t mind telling me about her dates.
Things were different now. At last.
“How ‘bout you? Any more online adventures?” she asked.
“Nope. They haven’t worked out that well for me.” I shrugged.
“And what about your promotion? Are you totally psyched? Will you be getting a penthouse like this?” She threw her head back and laughed, one of my favorite sounds.
“I don’t think I’ll be getting anything like this, anytime soon. Don’t think I’d want it, anyway. And I’m not sure I’m all that excited about the promotion, either.” I hadn’t shared this with a soul.
Here come the questions.
Her brow furrowed. “What? Are you serious?”
We moved over to the dining table, where Mel was serving.
Oh, what the hell. I didn’t have to pretend with Maizy. “To be honest, I don’t really like the work I do. Never have. In fact, I kind of hate it.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re kidding. Is this a joke? I thought you loved your work.”
“Everyone thinks I love it. That’s how I got promoted, I guess.” I sliced into what must have been the most perfect filet mignon I’d ever had. I could get used to Steve’s life. No doubt about it. But I probably never would.
“Wow. I had no idea. I’m so sorry. I never knew,” she said.
Her compassion got me. Right in the gut. Not that I expected any less. It was what I loved about her.
Oh, shit. I said love.
Whatever. It felt damn good to share my big secret with her.
I looked at the ice cube melting in my scotch, creating blurry streaks in the amber liquid. “I’ve hated it for a long time,” I confessed. And boy, did it feel good to get it off my chest. “I just haven’t been sure what to do about it.”
“What would you rather do, work-wise?”
“Maybe something in nonprofit. I’m just not really liking law.”
She looked at me like I had two heads. “I’m astounded. You never said anything. Not a thing.” She took a sip of her champagne. The way she was looking at me just then…well, something was different.
I was getting the distinct feeling that the friendzone might at some point be a thing of the past for me.
Chapter 15
Maizy
What a freaking palace Cato’s boss Steve lived in. I was just blown away by the views, the marble floors, and the outright fanciness. No wonder people became lawyers. And no wonder it was so cutthroat at the firm. Everyone wanted to live like Cato’s boss.
But I had to say, not even my boss lived quite like this. ‘Course she wasn’t one of the founders of the firm, and she hadn’t been around as long as Steve had. But she was still doing okay. I’d been to her house, after all.
Damn. Cato wanted out of the law firm. I never would have guessed that, not in a million years. He’d always seemed to love his work. But I had to say…it made me like him even more, that he had other interests and wasn’t driven entirely by the money. I could totally see him working in nonprofit, maybe running some sort of agency, or even being their in-house counsel. He wouldn’t get paid the same, but he had simple tastes. He’d do just fine.
And maybe even be happier. Nothing wrong with that.
We’d finished up a cooked-to-perfection filet mignon served to us by Steve’s cook—how many people had someone freaking cook for them?—who was now laying out some kind of homemade ice cream thing with espresso coffee poured over the top. It had an Italian name I would never remember, but it was beyond delicious.
“So what are you going to do about Eva’s mandate?” Cato asked.
Hmmm. How much to tell him…?
“I don’t know. What would you do if you were me?” I asked.
Ha. Deflection.
He sat back in his dining chair, head tilted while he studied me.
“I have an idea,” he said.
I wasn’t sure why, but my heart started to thump. And the room grew warm.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Well, you could date me,” he said matter-of-factly, as someone might announce rain was coming.
And there it was. The elephant in the room.
When you’re friends with someone for years, have lunch and drinks every week, cry on each other’s shoulders about dating and such, it seemed as though something like this was bound to happen—a growing affection. How could it not?
Because it sure was for me. And it looked like it might be for Cato.
“You think I should date you, do you?” I asked, my voice shaking.
He shrugged. “Yup. You would if you were smart, anyway.”
Whoa. He was going for it.
“Well, I guess we’re gonna find out if I’m smart.”
Why not have a little fun?
“Look,” he said, “I know you have another guy you’re dating. Actually, maybe even more than one. I’d like you for myself, but I am patient. But if you’re going to date around, I think you should give me a chance, along with anyone else you’re seeing.”
He walked over to my side of the table and reached for my hand. I stood and followed him to the sofa, where our evening had started. Somewhere along the line, Mel had lit a fire in the living room fireplace. The room was toasty, and after the bubbly, I didn’t have a care in the world. No job crap, no sister crap, and best of all, no dating crap. I was relaxed and ready for a good time as I sank into the plushy sofa.
I reached for his hand.
“I think that is a fair request, Mr. Cato Lowell.” God, I wanted to kiss him so badly just then. So I figured I would. No time like the present, and all that…
I leaned toward him, and he tilted back for a split second, not something a girl wants to see when she’s trying to be gutsy. While I tried to figure out w
hat to do next, he must have screwed up his own courage, because before I knew it, I was enjoying his mouth on mine.
Bingo.
God, he felt good. I wanted him to drink me until there was nothing left. There was something so magical—and comforting—about falling for someone you trusted so much and knew so well.
Never mind that I’d been with the other guys just before. But it didn’t matter. I wouldn’t let it. Cato’s touch was fresh and new. Really, all of them were so totally different and yet so completely magical. Special. Beautiful.
God, I wished I could have them all.
But in what kind of world does that happen? And when all was said and done, who knew if any of them would want me, anyway?
I could end up alone, with no promotion, and still distrusted by folks at the firm who thought I was a single floozy.
Exactly where I’d started.
But for now, I relished Cato’s fingers in my hair as he clenched a handful every now and then as if to ensure it was real—and that the moment itself was real. And I found myself searching for his assurances as he searched for mine, running my fingers through his hair in return, like he might go away at any moment.
He pulled back and looked at me sternly.
“You know how long I’ve wanted to do this?” he asked.
He’d wanted to do this for a while? He’d wanted to kiss me?
No complaints here.
“No. I never knew. And by the way, we work together,” I pointed out. Not that I wanted anything to stop. I just thought I should call out the obvious.
But he didn’t seem worried about a thing as his lips brushed over mine, then across to my ear and up my temple, where he stopped. His breath was light and warm on my skin.
My eyes fluttered closed. I didn’t want the moment to end.
He pulled me to standing. Holding one of my hands, he bent to remove my shoes. When he straightened back up again, he was several inches taller than I—taller than I ever remembered him being, I guess because I always wore heels when I was around him. He then began to work the buttons of my silk blouse, so very slowly, his gaze catching mine to ensure I was okay with his advances.
Hell, yeah, I was okay with him removing any and all of my clothing.
When my blouse was open, he untucked it from my skirt and tossed it to the sofa behind me, stopping to admire my nude lace bra and the nice cleavage it gave me. Reaching around, he unzipped my pencil skirt, pushing it down over my hips until it fell to the floor at my feet.
Taking a small step back, he looked me over from head to toe as I stood there in my bra and panties.
“Beautiful,” he murmured. “Beautiful, just like I knew you’d be.”
Good lord. If he kept talking like that, I might just have to marry the man.
“C’mon,” he said, leading me toward the bedrooms.
We entered a sumptuous room that reeked of expensive, well, everything. Some talented interior designer had decorated it with richly textured fabrics in amazing, unexpected colors. It smelled of the old, crackled leather on the chairs in the corner that overlooked the city. But most breathtaking was the unobstructed view of Central Park and beyond. Cato lowered the lights in the bedroom so we could see better out the windows.
He walked up behind me, his hands falling on my shoulders. He pushed aside my hair, his lips traveling down my neck. His touch was soft but strong at the same time, left a trail of fire on my skin and a throb between my legs. I had to feel his lips again on mine, and I spun around to face him.
“I’m so glad you invited me tonight,” I whispered.
“Thank you for joining me. You don’t know how many times I’ve thought about this.”
God. How many hints had I missed? What an idiot I was.
I went for the buttons on his shirt and pushed the starched fabric back over his shoulders. He might have been a fat kid at one time, but those days were long past. I brought my lips to his broad shoulders and ran them over his beautifully defined pecs. He smelled like a dream—spicy deodorant mixed with a long day of hard work. Oh, if I could bottle that, I’d be a rich lady.
As I ran my kisses up his neck to his ear and back to his mouth, my hands flew to his belt buckle where I made quick work of his pants and boxers. They thudded to the floor in a puddle at his feet, and he released me long enough to remove his shoes and then the rest of his clothes. He stood before me, and before the window overlooking the best part of Manhattan, fantastically nude, his now fully-erect cock bouncing against my stomach as my mouth returned to his.
Was I flying? Because it sure felt like it.
My Cato. My dear, dear Cato. What had taken us so long?
Because I couldn’t help myself, I felt for his erection, and when my hand landed on it, he gasped loudly.
“Do you have a condom?” I murmured into his ear.
This might have been our first date, but I had to have this man inside me or I was going to lose my mind. To hell with respectability. It would seem I didn’t have any, anyway.
“Yeah, baby,” he said, leading me to the bed. He reached for his trousers on the floor and after rummaging through a pocket, produced one that he tore open and rolled down his hard length in one smooth movement.
He lay me back on the bed and reached to unhook my bra. He slid my panties off after I kicked my shoes aside, and we were both naked together for the first time after being friends for years. Something about it was so precious, I found I had a lump in my throat, which I quickly swallowed away. I could be mushy later.
He looked over my nakedness, slightly shaking his head like he couldn’t believe what he saw. He parted my legs and climbed up on the bed between them.
“Are you ready for me, beautiful?” he asked.
Oh, hell, yeah.
I couldn’t speak, so I just nodded. He was so striking in the dim room, which was lit only by the glow of the city lights. I could make out shapes and angles, but the details were indistinct. It all added to my exhilaration.
He hovered over me, the warmth of his body whispering across my skin. He got closer, so close that he pressed against my dripping core and lay his forehead against mine in such an intimate gesture, I wished he could just swallow me. Swallow me whole.
I felt myself open as he pushed, entering me a scant inch. I drew my breath, and he pushed further. I couldn’t help but roll my head back and forth in ecstasy and in anticipation of more.
Oh, my god, I was with Cato. Cato, my darling, sweet work friend. And now, lover.
His mouth landed on the side of my neck while he held himself up with one hand, the other kneading my breast as he drove himself inside me, deeply, all the way.
I screamed. I couldn’t help it.
He pumped me fast, sliding in and out like lush silk. I was immediately in heaven. The sensitive nerve endings in my core drove lightning through my entire body, where it exploded out of my every pore.
His lips brushed mine one more time before his moans filled the bedroom. I felt like all of Manhattan could hear us coming, and I didn’t care. I wanted everyone to know how our coming together was complete and total magic. I was awestruck. This was a man I’d get to see every day. Well, at least Monday through Friday.
Chapter 16
Von
“Stanley! Get in the car!” I yelled to my black lab. Out of all the dogs I had, this one was just out of his puppy stage, and for some reason, was taking longer than usual to train. I worked with the little bugger day in and day out, and he was still the naughtiest dog I’d ever had.
I rotated which dog I took to work every day, and the ones left at home were taken out by the dog walker. It really boosted their socialization to come to the office and be around people and other animals, although they were kept out of the examination area—I couldn’t have them catching anything from other sick animals.
Stanley finally tore himself away from whatever stinky thing he was smelling and hopped into the backseat of the car when I started the engine. He was sm
art enough to know that meant his ride was leaving, and if he wanted dinner and a warm place to sleep, that he’d better get with the program.
So he clearly wasn’t dumb. Just hard-headed.
All day I’d been looking forward to my dinner that night with Maizy. In fact, I’d been looking forward to it since the day she’d come in with her kooky sister and rat named Cher. Beautiful, together women were hard as hell to come by, and I didn’t want to let this one slip through my fingers if I had anything to say about it.
I got home and put Stanley out on the terrace to play with the other dogs. That way, they’d be out of the way while I was making dinner. I wanted to put on a nice spread—tasty, but not too fancy—so I planned to make the spaghetti and meatballs dinner my mom had taught me. It was pretty much always a crowd pleaser.
I knew she’d like my apartment, too. When my parents had passed away, they left me a small chunk of change, which I’d turned into a down payment on a pretty nice New York apartment. It wasn’t a palace by any stretch of the imagination, but it had two levels with access to a huge rooftop terrace. Not bad for a vet from Smalltown, USA. My only regret was that my parents had not lived to see it, nor how successful my vet practice had become.
The only thing missing in my life? A nice woman to share it with.
Sure, there were tons of women in New York. And I had plenty of dates. Just not very many who I wanted to see a second time. And even fewer who I wanted to see a third or fourth time. Actually, there were pretty much none who I wanted to see a fourth time, now that I thought about it. I don’t think I’d had a fourth date with the same woman since I’d been in veterinary school.
Maizy was different, though. I mean, of course I didn’t know her very well. Actually, I didn’t know her at all, if I were to be honest about it. But the minute I saw her, something jolted me. I know it’s totally cliché, but it truly was like someone was standing behind me, pushing me toward her. Like maybe my mom or dad were watching and wanted to let me know not to let this one slip through my fingers. Something similar had happened to me before, mostly just when I saw a hot girl whom I wouldn’t have minded seeing naked. But I wanted way more than that with Maizy. Her sexy braininess grabbed me and hadn’t let go since I’d first seen her.
