Cute and adorable?
I sit there confused, looking at Gabriel as a look of horror flashes on his face.
Oh no! The only guy in my life that’s a perfect 10 thinks I’m cute and adorable. Damnit! Why can’t I be sexy for once? Why can’t I be…more like Analise or Porn Star Meg?
“I didn’t mean it to sound creepy,” he says, his eyes shifting to the side.
“No, I get it. Cute and adorable is what you would call a child, and I guess I do put off a certain naive vibe. I know this.”
He’s fidgeting almost as though he’s as anxious as I am. And for some reason, he’s been avoiding my gaze.
“And now the final reason I wanted to have you over for coffee,” Gabriel says.
“And what’s that?”
“I don’t want you to just speak for me, that’s never been my ambition for you.” He holds out a rather expensive looking necklace with a heart-shaped pendant. “I want you to look at the data I have on this USB and derive your thoughts based on the information—the facts. Tell me your findings. I want to see if our thoughts align. I’m not going to ever force you to agree with me, but I can’t be blindsided.”
I reach out, taking the necklace, analyzing it until I find the unlocking mechanism. It’s clever, and probably rather pricey. I wonder if the diamonds lining the heart are real.
“I’ll keep the hounds off you, or at least most of them. I’m sure nothing I can say will keep Tom away.” He gives me a wink, and I’m positive I turn shades of red past the beet stage.
Not knowing what to say, I rise from my chair.
“Make sure you finish ordering the finishing touches to your office. I want you to be comfortable, and don’t let Analise barrel you over. Next week, I’ll show you your new home—where you will remain for eternity. I hope you don’t mind, but it’s already furnished. You can put in the finishing touches, of course.”
“Thank you so much. I truly appreciate this opportunity,” I say, turning to leave.
“Oh, and Remi,” Gabriel says. “What I say stays between us.”
CHAPTER 13
Gabriel’s mother wants grandbabies…
My heart sinks as I watch Remi leave. My chest feels hollow, broken. I don’t know what it is exactly I feel for her, but it’s damn sure more than lust.
I know I shouldn’t have played the footage of her fall, but I wanted to make sure she knew that I am aware she’s seeing Tom, and that I was fine with it.
But…I’m not fine with it. In fact, I’m in a sorry state. I was up all night thinking about her, her legs wrapped around Tom’s waist, her back arched. It was terrible. I even played elevator footage just to make sure he went home alone, and he did, but it didn’t make me feel any better.
She has the right to date whomever she chooses. If she wants to date Tom, great. Maybe she can win Tom over to my viewpoints. I should be happy about this development. Ecstatic.
I try to rationalize what’s going on, to make it into some kind of benefit, but deep inside, I feel shredded.
My phone is buzzing, telling me my mother is trying to get ahold of me. It’s Friday, which means I’m supposed to have breakfast with her.
But all she’ll be doing is talking about the wedding, and it’s slowly taking its toll on me.
I push the notification to silent and send a text to Analise, telling her to get down to Remi’s office. Then I head to the elevator.
I reach my mother’s floor and walk out into Old Hollywood elegance. She loved being an actress and living out in Los Angeles, and I’m sure if she were given the opportunity to do it all over again, she would have stayed there.
She greets me warmly, arms outstretched.
“I was beginning to think you’ve been avoiding me!” she gasps.
“Well, mom…I hate to tell you, but I was. That’s what you get when all you talk about is flowers and babies.”
Her face feigns offense, then she moves in to plant a kiss on my cheek.
My mother is gorgeous. One of the most breathtaking women of her time whose looks have extended far past what people consider the standard prime. After my father’s death, I urged her to move on, but she says that being a widow suits her.
I think being with my father broke a part of her. She can never trust again.
We sit, and her servants begin setting out an array of delicacies, none of which will be consumed by myself and very few by my mother.
“We are looking at a west ceremony followed by an east ceremony. We’ll fly the guests straight from here to China.”
“Two ceremonies mom, I got it.”
“They’ve sent over their own florists and decorators to assist with ours, which is rather pushy if you ask me. I mean, isn’t that why they are having their own ceremony? I’m half tempted to send my own people over there.”
I place my hand on hers and try to feel empathy, but all I feel is frustration.
“I know this may all seem rather trivial to you, being a man, but trust me when I say this extends beyond the wedding. This is a power play.”
I almost laugh. What would my mother know about power in business? Sure, she’s beautiful and was a phenomenal actress during her day, but she was never into business.
The coffee is calling to me, so I take a cup, black. I think of Remi pouring in her stream of sugar, and I wonder if she’s looking at coffeemakers right now.
I think about the strands of hair falling in front of her face. Her pushing her black-framed glasses up the bridge of her nose. The way her brow arches when she’s confused—something I noticed today for the first time.
“You know,” my mother says in a hushed voice, glancing around the room, “I’ll wager that Sayo is a virgin.”
I spit my coffee out into my hand, and down the front of my suit.
“Jesus, Gabe!” My mother claps her hands, and a woman appears with a linen. The damage is done, though, and I’m going to have to change.
“I’ve had eyes overseas ever since the engagement,” my mother says as though she runs a network of spies. “Sayo is seen out often with friends, but never with any men. My sources tell me it’s been this way for years. I think her father made sure to keep her away from men to make her more appealing to businessmen like yourself.”
I don’t have the heart to tell my mother that no, Sayo’s father didn’t give a flying fuck if she dated men as long as they had the appropriate number of zeros in their bank account. She just doesn’t like men at all.
“Isn’t that smart, though?” she asks, looking for approval.
“Yeah, I guess. He may have just doomed her to a lifetime of shitty sex, but at least she won’t know any better.”
My mom breaks out in laughter. It’s music to my ears. I may not agree with all of her ideals, but one thing is certain: she loves me more than anything, and she would never knowingly put me in the situation that I’m in. I honestly think I’m the reason she never left my father, despite his many affairs and his poor treatment of her. She didn’t want to put me through that.
“Oh, Gabriel,” my mother dramatically clutches her chest, “I can’t believe you’ve grown up. I mean, you’re near thirty, and it feels like just yesterday you were pulling on the hem of my dress. I can’t wait for my grandbabies. I can see them now.”
I picture them as well. A true light that will eventually come out of my upcoming marriage.
I think back to my grandfather Maxwell Icor and his wife, my grandma Eileen. They met before the rise of Icor Tech, and despite the fact that she never once stepped foot into business matters, they loved each other deeply. She balanced him and his eccentric tendencies. She was humble, loving, and loyal. When she died, my grandfather turned into a shell of himself until a year later, when he died. As much as I loved him and hated to see him go, there was relief in that he died with a smile on his face, the name Eileen on his lips.
“Mother, I assure you, I want children just as badly as you want to see me have them,” I tell her, and it’s not a
lie, but the circumstance involving my procreation would be vastly different.
“Sayo is bringing with her a new chef that specializes in worldly cuisine.”
“It makes sense. I’m sure she’s going to crave all the dishes she had growing up.”
“Yeah, but I wonder how we should handle Thanksgiving.”
“I think we should keep the same menu and ask her if she’d like us to add a couple dishes.”
“I suppose you’re right.” My mother looks nervous, like she’s almost afraid to bring something up. “I’m just a little scared of change. I never imagined you’d marry a woman from China, and to be honest, I don’t at all care, but I worry. What if she doesn’t want to teach my grandkids about Santa? What if we can’t go trick or treating?”
I place my hand over my mother’s and lean in to kiss her. I see her eyes are moist and that these are very real fears for her.
“Mom, we’ll deal with everything one step at a time. Us Icor’s are good at negotiating, and I’m sure Sayo and her mother have a few fears of their own. I swear to you, I will take my dying breath before I allow anyone to take the rite of passage of dressing up like an idiot with my children just to consume massive amounts of pandered sugar all night long.”
My mother smiles as best she can, but I can see the unknowns are weighing on her. I feel bad because she really doesn’t do much, so there’s nothing to take her mind off her worries. All she has is this wedding and thoughts of grandchildren.
“Have you thought of volunteering?” I ask.
She looks at me quizzically. “Volunteering?”
“Yeah. You could teach acting to a group of kids.”
She looks off into the distance, clearly dismayed. “I…I left that behind…long ago.”
“Think of how much you could help aspiring stars. We could set up a fund for those showing promise. You can use your industry connections.”
A panicked look lights my mother’s eyes. It’s not that she doesn’t want to do good in the world. It’s just her confidence has taken a toll. When my parents first married, she was everything to my father—until she wasn’t. Pregnancy and age took their toll, and my father started lavishing younger women with attention, rather flamboyantly. My mother hated leaving the Tower, out of shame. Sadly, I didn’t learn how to be a man from my father. Instead, I learned how not to be a man from him.
I decide to let the topic fall away. “Well, I better get to work,” I say, getting up from my seat.
My mom rises immediately, rushing towards me. I know she needs me and that I should spend more time with her, but it’s hard.
“I love you, ma, and I promise you’ll have rugrats running around here before you know it.”
CHAPTER 14
Remi is a master of seduction…
“This machine grinds the beans before pressing them. It assures you a fresh cup of coffee each time.” Analise eyes the coffee contraption on the page as if it were a diamond necklace.
I’ve looked at over twenty coffeemakers this morning, and none of my mechanical engineering knowledge is coming in handy. And with Analise leading the cause, I can barely get a word in edgewise.
“I don’t really care about all those special features.”
Analise sighed, clearly annoyed that I’m not coveting her knowledge. “Well, what type of bean do you like?”
“Folgers.”
“Are you kidding me?” Analise rolls the catalog up and beats me over the head with it.
“I have to stop looking at these catalogs.” I push the stack sitting on my desk to the side and face my computer. “There’s work to be done.”
Analise sneers. “But are you doing the work? Or is Gabe?”
My heart skips a beat. I feel suddenly sick.
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about me saying anything. I’m close with him.”
Close with Gabe? How close?
I stare at her folded ever so neatly in the chair. She’s both exquisitely beautiful and highly intelligent. Heck, I’m not even gay, and I’m mesmerized by her. Why wouldn’t he be fucking her?
“Gabe made it clear that he wants me to come to my own conclusions,” I finally say.
“Then he’s probably pretty confident you’ll come to the same ones he has.”
I need to stop looking vulnerable. If psychology class taught me anything, it’s that apex predators prey on the weak, and Analise is clearly an apex predator.
“Are you worried that maybe I’ll start helping him come to these conclusions,” I ask.
Her brows scrunch in confusion.
I followed it with. “It’s okay, though. I’m sure he’s coming just fine with you.”
Analise's mouth opens, her head tilts. She’s confused, and to be honest, I’m a little confused myself.
“Are you trying to make a sexual innuendo?”
What the hell did I just say?
“Oh my God—you really did go there! It must have been killing you! Eating you up inside.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, my hands shaking over my keyboard.
“There is NO getting out of this. You tried to insinuate that I’m fucking Gabe, but that’s not all. You insinuated that I would care if you’re fucking Gabe!”
“NO!”
“You like him,” Analise says with a smirk.
“No! God, what is wrong with you?”
“What is wrong with me? Do you want to go over what you just said?”
Why am I so stupid? I haven’t even been in my position a full week, and I’ve just given this woman all the ammo she needs to make my work life hell.
“Oh, there’s no need to get embarrassed. He’s Gabriel Icor, a handsome billionaire who even straight men lust after. The only reason I’m immune to his charms is because I grew up with him.”
That got my attention.
“So…there’s nothing there?”
“With Gabe? No. Nothing, nada, zilch.”
For some reason, I’m relieved, although it’s ludicrous. It’s not like I would ever have a chance with a 10. It’s startling enough that I had a date with a 9, and Gabriel seems quite okay with that development.
“So, how did your date with Tom go?”
“My date with Tom? It was more of a business meeting,” I say, avoiding eye contact.
“A business meeting? Funny how Tom has never taken me to Deco 6 before. I don’t think I remember him taking me anywhere alone.”
I look down and away. I’ve never had ‘girl chat’ like this before. Part of me wants to participate, but another part of me remains guarded.
“So, give me the deets!” Analise draws her chair closer.
“Well, if you must know—I made a fool of myself.”
“Really? How so?”
“I don’t know where to start, the multiple falls I had throughout the night, or the fact that I loudly proclaimed I wasn’t wearing panties.”
“You weren’t wearing panties?”
“It’s not like I planned it that way. He freaking texts me saying we’re going to Deco 6, and I didn’t have anything to wear. I had to borrow a dress from the ‘Porn Star Next Door,’ and I just kind of forgot.”
“And when did the underwear confession come out?”
“I was standing out on Deco’s patio…the wind was blowing.”
Analise’s hand rushes to cover her mouth. “So, he got a visual?”
“No! Thank God. I just kind of blurted it out.”
“Oh my God, you poor thing! If any other woman had said that, I would have assumed they were just trying to play stupidly innocent when they’re really just trying to screw a filthy rich man. But you…you’re practically Amish.”
“Amish? You realize I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering, don’t you?”
“New wave Amish.”
I look around to make sure no one is listening even though the door is closed. “Do you mind if I ask you a question.”
“Shoot.”
; “What is Tom’s type? I just…can’t figure out why he’d ask me out. And I wonder if he’ll ever ask me out again.”
Analise exhales, and I take that as a bad sign. It figures the one man I have a chance with would end up uninterested.
“I would say,” she bites her lip, her head bobbing from one said to the other, then back again, “he’s not a bad guy, and he certainly doesn’t have bad intentions, but he’s Tom, and he doesn’t really know what he wants. I don’t know if he’ll ask you out again, but you don’t have to worry about him spreading rumors or lies about you. You could end up fucking for a month, tell him you’re no longer interested, and it will be business as usual.”
I swallow, unsure of what to say. Fuck for a month? I don’t know how I could possibly do that without developing feelings.
“Do you want him to ask you out again?” she asks.
“I don’t know,” I reply honestly. “I mean, he’s attractive, brilliant, and respectful…but I’m just so new to this.”
“Well, have you thought of asking him to keep it casual?”
“Keep it casual?”
“Yeah, late-night rendezvous, no strings attached?”
“I could never!”
“Why not? I mean, he’d even take you to dinner if you wanted. There are worse fuck buddies to be had.”
Maybe having a fuck buddy wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Tom could get me through the awkward phase of losing my virginity, and I won’t really have to take my mind off my work.
But you’d fuck it up. You’d call too much. You’ll get too attached.
“I don’t think I’m made for that type of relationship,” I say, “but I would be open to at least trying it with the right man.”
“That’s literally the only type of relationship I’m made for.”
“Oh? What’s it like?”
“Harder than one might think.”
“You must have so many options.”
“I don’t want to act like I’m not lucky—I know I am! I was born into wealth and good looks, but that doesn’t mean I attract the right kind of men. Men of similar upbringing usually come at me with motives. Respectable men of lower standing in society are too afraid to approach me.”
The Billionaire's Board Page 9
