Big Ben

by Nana Malone

  “A fight over rice?”

  “You have no idea. We take our dishes seriously. Of course, being Ghanaian, I know we make the best.”

  He guffawed. “It’s hard to argue when my taste buds are exploding with joy. Is that plantain?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. I made it into kelewele. Chopped up and spiced.”

  “Oh God, I used to live on plantains when I lived in Jamaica. But they were sweeter, not as spicy.”

  “Yeah, same sweet plantain, but this particular recipe is just spicier.”

  For the next couple of hours, we ate and laughed, and things were easy between us. Too easy.

  “How has no one cooked for you before? Mom always said the fastest way to someone’s heart was through food. I’m surprised some socialite hasn’t figured it out yet.”

  “Socialites are busy figuring out what’s in it for them. They want all the trappings of the money, so they wouldn’t put themselves in the kitchen.”

  “I guess they want that sterile life. Like a hotel.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, they do. And they want that lifestyle where they never live anywhere and never form real connections with people. “This is probably the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me.”

  I shifted uncomfortably in my seat and tucked one foot under myself. “Well, Ben Covington, you and I could both probably use some new friends.”

  He raised his glass, leaning over to clink it with mine. “To new friends. To the best kind of friends who cook for you.”

  “Somehow I feel like this is going to bite me in the ass.”

  He grinned. “I knew you were dirty. I’m happy to bite you anywhere you like.”

  “You are incorrigible.”

  “I know you’ll be shocked, but I’ve been told that before.”

  I wasn’t shocked in the least.

  Ben

  I’d made a grievous error in judgment.

  When I suggested we come down to the theater, I hadn’t thought through the whole alone-in-the-dark scenario where it would be difficult to think about anything other than getting Livy beneath me.

  I hadn’t thought about how close she would be or the smell of her shampoo. Or that I’d be feeling warm and happy and really mellow from her cooking for me.

  So I was sitting next to the woman I wanted, who more than likely needed time, and I had a raging erection.

  When I got the text from East asking if I was coming up to watch the Tottenham match, I kept my reply vague.

  Ben: Busy.

  His response was instant.

  East: Busy doing what? Long night of wanking? Get your arse up here.

  Ben: Told you, busy. Plans.

  East: Found someone new to shag, did you? You’re using one of the rooms?

  Ben: Stay out of my business.

  East: You’re in the movie theater. What the hell are you doing in there?

  Ben: Why are you stalking me?

  East: Because you’re being cagey. And I see you have a guest. I will immediately

  turn off the surveillance. Because nobody needs to see that.

  Ben: You’re an arsehole.

  East: I know. Have fun with the woman you’re not into.

  I turned off my phone. I didn’t need my mate getting into my head. Besides, this was about Livy. I’d told her cook’s choice on a movie. We had thousands available. What she chose surprised me.

  “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon?”

  Her grin was sweet. “I love this movie. And the screen is so big. I’ve only ever seen it on TV.”

  “Your pick, you can have whatever you want.”

  She snuggled into the seat next to me. “Ugh, I should have brought a blanket. Can we pause so I can go get one? I might pick up some sweet and salty popcorn too. You want any candy or anything?”

  “Oh, you’re adorable. Hold on.” Did she really think I was going to send her upstairs to concessions?

  I pulled a remote out of the side of my chair and tapped in a request.

  She frowned at me. “What are you doing?”

  “You said you wanted a blanket and popcorn, right?”

  Her brows lifted. “Seriously?”

  I grinned at her. “Owning the place has some perks.”

  “Jesus. What’s it like to get everything you ever want? Doesn’t that get boring?”

  I shook my head. “Nope. And I don’t always get everything I want. Some things I have to work for. And it’s better when I work for them.”

  Way to be obvious.

  “But it must be odd to press a button and have blankets appear out of nowhere.”

  “Well, I pay people to make sure that those things happen for anyone who stays here. I want people to know comfort. To have a sense of being taken care of. Like you have family even when you’re far away.”

  Her smile warmed me from the inside as she grinned up at me. “So, you do this at all the hotels so that people have a sense of family?”

  Heat started to creep up my neck as the embarrassment hit. “A little. When I was a kid, I would watch people bend over backward to make sure that my father had everything he needed exactly how he needed it. And eventually they got so good at their jobs that he didn’t even have to ask; whatever he needed would just appear. But then I noticed at school and other places that most people didn’t have that, and I wanted to provide that kind of experience for people.”

  “Why, Bennet James Covington, you do care about people.”

  I brushed off the sentiment. “It’s my job.”

  We were interrupted by one of the bellhops. “Mr. Covington, here are your popcorn and blankets.”

  Olivia grinned up. “Thank you so much.”

  Tucked into her blanket, she scooted closer to me. But the arm of the seat was in the way. I hit a button on the remote, and the arm retracted down, forming a love seat of sorts.

  Her eyes rounded. “What? That’s insane.”

  “It’s great, huh? Come on. If you want a cuddle, let’s do this.”

  “You’re spoiling me. How will I ever return to normal life?”

  It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her she didn’t have to. What is wrong with you? “Oh, I’m sure you’ll manage.”

  She grinned. “Or I can just bring my normal life back to you, and therefore, I shall not be tempted by such extravagances.”

  “Sweetheart, I have no idea what normal even is.”

  “No, you wouldn’t, would you? Is it lonely? I mean you live in the hotel. Before I turned up, it looked as sterile as a hotel. You have no personal touches in the loft. Don’t you want that?”

  I thought about East’s place with his photos and art and that lived-in quality. “I guess I don’t put the effort into that. I focus on other things. You don’t realize how lonely you are if you’re always doing something else.”

  “Well, not to worry, I shall add warmth.”

  I smiled down at her. She was so close, smelling sweet and inviting. Where had she come from? How had she found me? Why was she already changing the shape of how I thought, what I wanted, what I needed from my life?

  “You’re staring at me.”

  “I’m aware. I’m trying to remember that you’re my friend right now.”

  “It shouldn’t be hard.”

  All I had to do was forget that I knew exactly how she tasted. All I had to do was pretend that I wasn’t desperate to taste her again. Should have been easy, right?

  Except it wasn’t. Because I wanted her. I wanted more from her. I wanted to kiss her, taste her, remind her how combustible we were together. I could do all of that. But she hadn’t finished dealing with the git she’d been involved with, and I could tell that she wasn’t ready.

  But when I kissed her again, I wouldn’t stop myself. I wouldn’t stop until she was mine. And she wasn’t quite ready for that. “Watch the movie.”

  “Yes sir, Mr. Covington, sir.”

  “God, that sounds so sexy. Can you say that again?”

  She threw popcorn a
t me. And just like that, the tension eased. The monster clawing at me from the inside, demanding me to take her, to mark her, to make her mine, receded just a little so I could focus on the movie. I wanted her to be comfortable around me, not forever running for the hills. After everything she’d been through, she needed time. So I could be patient.

  Are you sure about that?

  20

  Ben

  I saw him the moment I entered the hotel. Marcus Van Linsted. It wasn’t like he was subtle. There he was, at the bar in the lobby, sitting on the throne as if he owned the place.

  No motherfucker. I do.

  I took my time striding over to him. “Is there something you need?”

  Around me, bartenders and waiters clamored to get to us, and I waved them off. I wasn’t having a drink with that fucker. And he wouldn’t be staying.

  “Covington, is that any way to treat a guest? Remember, a gentleman above all.”

  “Right. But power is king and it’s my hotel, so what do you want?”

  “I know what you’ve been doing.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “I know you’ve been skulking about asking members to vote against my son.”

  “Why would I do anything like that? To vote against him, they’d need someone else to vote for.”

  “Like you’re not making a play for Director Prime.”

  I frowned. “I’m not.”

  To the average person, Marcus Van Linsted might have seemed affable. Friendly even. But I knew better. I knew that this was merely a showing of his teeth. “You won’t win this, Covington. My son will be the next Director Prime. And you and your friends will fall in line, or there shall be dire consequences.”

  “That sounds like a threat. What happened to a gentleman above all?”

  “Yes, well, as you said, power is king. And it’s good to be king.”

  “Marcus, if you just came here to postulate about rumors and innuendos, I can’t help you.”

  “How is your new operations director? What is her name again? God, it’s so hard to remember these things. It’s something foreign sounding. Ashong, is that right? I’ve heard that you two have gotten quite cozy.”

  I lifted a brow. “You’re paying such close attention to me? Then you should know I’m not a threat to you or coming for your seat. The last thing I want is to be Director Prime. I just want to make sure your son doesn’t get it.”

  “Wouldn’t it be better to turn your sights to making sure that your pretty little operations director doesn’t get hurt? She has a penchant for getting into trouble.”

  My brow snapped down. “Gentlemen don’t go after civilians.”

  “Who said I was going after her? Come on now. I would never do such a thing. I am, above all, a gentleman.”

  He was nothing of the sort. “It sounded like you just threatened her.”

  “Well, if we are breaking rules, then you should remember that secrets whispered are never to be revealed. How did you find out who the Five were?”

  Fuck. He knew that we knew. They knew someone had access to the files we’d copied onto the drive.

  I kept my face impassive. “I’m not one to share secrets, but I will tell you this; If you go after my operations director, I will forget that I’m a gentleman.”

  He grinned. “You forget, my specialty was strategy and politics. I wouldn’t have to lift a finger. I could just as easily ruin her life from the background. Her boyfriend, the one you so conveniently forget she has, just the wrong word here or there would tip him into making different decisions, putting her just out of your grasp. Don’t play with me, Covington. I will win.”

  “Who said anything about playing?”

  “If you must do this, just remember, enemies and friends are of the same coin. Loyalty is a fickle bitch. You come for my family, and I’ll come for you. How much are you willing to lose?”

  I met his gaze levelly. “Everything. I am willing to lose everything just to make sure Bram pays.”

  He stood and gave me a nod, then he stalked out.

  So much for the secret approach. He knew, and he was ready for a fight.

  Ben

  I rubbed the back of my neck as I started to plan. “So, the whole plan to get to Downs is in jeopardy now?”

  Bridge nodded. “Van Linsted’s trying to get to Downs first. Downs isn’t usually close and is notoriously cagey. Bram can’t exactly go all the way to Australia to see him because there’s been bad blood in those two families for years. And Downs rarely makes an appearance, so while he’s in Paris, this is his chance… and ours, too.”

  East nodded. “I found an elusive art piece by Pierre Bonnard. Downs is crazy about his work, so I arranged for a viewing and auction. He’s definitely coming.”

  I rubbed my jaw and tried not to let the frustration get to me. “It’s like we take one step forward and then two steps back. So I have to get to Downs, but somehow not let Van Linsted get to him?”

  Bridge nodded. “Yup. That’s the crux of it. It’s a two-man job.”

  East shrugged. “Can you take a date?”

  “I don’t trust a date. But I guess Jessa is an option.”

  East looked hopeful. “Maybe your cousin will let her come out?”

  I laughed. “My cousin Roone is extremely protective of his wife.” Without seeming to recognize that Jessa, while a princess, was first and foremost a badass and could take care of herself. “But I just remembered, she’s on vacation. Working while they’re traveling, but still, on vacation. Last I checked they were in Thailand. There’s no way she’d get here quickly enough.”

  Bridge rolled his shoulders. “Well, there is always your new employee.”

  My brows snapped down. “Livy? No.”

  “Oh, so she’s ‘Livy’ now? I kind of like the idea. She’s charming, certainly elegant enough. And, since she’s your new flatmate, you can ask her easily enough.” East went full Benedict Arnold.

  “She’s not my new flatmate. We all agreed I need to keep her safe. That’s what I’m doing.”

  Bridge grinned. “Yeah, right down the hall from where you sleep.”

  “I’m not trying to bang her.”

  My mates just laughed. They didn’t get it. I liked her. She was smart, funny, and had a vulnerable side that she showed to so very few people. Unfortunately, she’d shown it to me.

  “Okay, fine. I can take her with me and explain the trip as being one for work.”

  East nodded. “Okay, good. We’ll provide extra security. It’ll be discreet, just to make sure there’s no funny business. I don’t want you guys taking some wrong turn down a Parisian alley and not coming back to us.”

  Unfortunately, he wasn’t entirely wrong about how things could go. “You make it sound like people are trying to kill me every day.” It was so funny because it was true.

  Bridge just raised his brow. “Oh, someone can actually make jokes now.”

  “Sorry, just trying to ease the tension. None of this is funny. But I’ll get it done. I’ll bring her with me.”

  “If anything seems off at all, call it off.”

  The hell I would. “I’ll make it happen.”

  After our meeting, I found Liv in her office on a call. She gestured at me to have a seat. When she finished, she turned to me. “Hey, I was going to text you. What do you want for dinner? Sushi?”

  We’d developed an easy routine over the last week. We ate together, and she forced me to watch television and play Scrabble. I had her work out with me in the mornings. Just like a real couple. Nope. Like friends. Because that’s what we were.

  “That works. You doing all right?”

  “With Jessa technically out of the office, I’m handling a lot of what she usually has on her plate. So it’s a learning curve, but I’ve got it.”

  “About that. There are a couple of client meetings that I need to handle in Paris. Normally Jessa would come with me, but since she’s on vacation, would you like to come?”

&nbs
p; She stared at me. “Paris?”

  “Yup, Paris.”

  “Now is not the time to play with me.”

  “I shit you not, Paris. So, are you in or out?”

  “When do we leave?”

  “In a couple of days.”

  She grinned so wide her dimple peeked out. Christ. I wanted to do everything in my power to make her that happy all the time.

  “Thank you. You won’t be disappointed.”

  “I don’t think I ever could be.”

  “While we’re there, there’s an event. Black tie. I might need your help keeping a competitor occupied while I close the deal with a client.”

  She lifted a brow. “Dare I ask who?”

  “Bram Van Linsted.”

  She arched a delicate brow. “Let me guess, he’s going to try to stop that meeting from happening.”

  “He is. So we’ll need to go covert.”

  “I’ve always wanted to be Bond,” she said with a sly grin.

  21

  Livy

  I’d finally managed to get Ben to stop hovering and let me go back to my old flat to pack for Paris. His idea that I could buy clothes there was bullshit. I could, but it was a business meeting. I needed to have my things.

  Having familiar things would also help me feel a little more like me. Since meeting Ben, I’d been on my back foot. Or at least it felt that way. Like I was just a little bit unsteady all the time. And no wonder. Since that fateful moment in the closet a month ago, I’d gotten mugged, gotten a new job, lost my boyfriend, moved in with my boss, and found out that someone might be trying to kill me.

  The tell-tale ding of the front door told me that Dexter’s code had been punched in, and the pit of my stomach dropped. Shit. It was way too early for him to be home. What the hell was he doing there? I hadn’t anticipated a fight.

  Technically he still lives here.

  Ben had sent me back to the flat with Todd, who doubled as a bodyguard and driver. Ben said he’d get dropped off there after he was done and we’d ride to Heathrow together. I should have had Todd come inside with me, but I’d thought it would be a relatively quick trip.