“Look, I get it,” said Kevin. “You don’t like me. Honestly, I don’t like you either, but business is business and I need to get someone to bankroll my restaurant. But you—” He jabbed his index finger in the middle of Austin’s chest.
Austin caught his hand and held it in midair before dropping it with a firm flick of his wrist. The movement caused the guy to stagger back a few steps.
He really wanted to walk away, but he needed to stay until security arrived and stopped Kevin from making an even bigger scene.
“Yeah, you. You’re just a big, fat waste of my time,” Kevin slurred. “But I guess that doesn’t matter to you, does it? You’re a Fortune. You don’t care about the little people. Except for Felicity. I think you like her. And the real kicker is I think she likes you, too. But the only reason a chick like her would be interested in a loser like you is because of your money.”
That was rich, coming from a guy who’d spent twenty-five hundred dollars on a table and the so-called friends he’d invited to share it with him had apparently deserted him. Austin almost felt sorry for the guy. But it was kind of difficult to muster the empathy between the insults the guy was hurling at him. The only reason Austin hadn’t walked away was because as host, it was his responsibility to make sure the guy didn’t provoke someone else.
“You’re not the only game in town, Fortune.” He bellowed the words and people were starting to stare. “I can walk out of here and have the money I need by the end of the month.”
“There’s the door,” Austin said, gesturing with a wide sweep. “No one is stopping you. In fact, it would probably be a good idea if you left. Let me call you a car. You’re in no shape to drive.”
“I can drive if I want to,” Kevin slurred and slurped what was left of his drink.
“Good luck getting your keys from the valet.”
Kevin smirked. “This isn’t even about business, is it? It’s about Felicity. You take and take and take from the little guy. You probably don’t even want her, but you can’t stand to see her with someone like me. Yeah, her and me, we’re just disposable goods to guys like you.”
Austin’s blood started to boil at Clooney’s mention of Felicity. But he wasn’t going to let himself be baited by a drunk who would probably regret his foul attack as much as he regretted the hangover that was sure to hammer his thick head tomorrow morning.
“You might have all the money in the world, but you didn’t have to work for one cent of it. I don’t think you even know what it’s like to work hard to get a woman like Felicity.”
Now he wasn’t even making sense.
“You kept her busy all night to keep her away from me. Didn’t you?”
“That’s her job. That’s what I pay her to do.”
“You get her to do all the hard work, so you can sit on your candy ass because you’ve never had to work hard for anything in your life. You don’t have the character. You ain’t got nothin’, Fortune.”
Where the hell was security? If Clooney got any more agitated, Austin was prepared to walk him outside himself. But he hated to create any more of a spectacle than had already been made.
“She deserves someone a whole hell of a lot better than you.” Clooney shoved Austin’s shoulder, but Clooney was the one who staggered backward. In the process, his arm knocked over a glass of champagne that was still sitting on Kevin’s empty table.
Finally, security arrived. The guy put a hand on Kevin’s shoulder. “Come on, buddy. I’m going to help you get home.”
As security walked Clooney toward the door, Kevin said a few choice words as he tried to pull out of the guard’s grasp. “I can find my own way out.”
Then Felicity walked into his path. “Fortune wants you,” he told her. “I think you want him, too.” He twisted around, and his legs got tangled up as the security guard continued his forward motion. He would’ve fallen, if not for the guard holding him upright. Sadly, it didn’t silence him. “Go for it. You two deserve each other.”
With a horrified expression on her face, Felicity joined Austin and they watched Clooney stagger out the door.
“What in the world was that about?” she said.
“Your date had a little too much to drink. He’s kind of an angry drunk.”
“Well, there goes my ride,” she joked. “It’s a good thing I’m staying here at the hotel and don’t need a driver.”
“I’ll walk you home,” Austin said. “It’s probably my fault he got so drunk. He said I worked you too hard tonight and kept you from him. Did I?”
Felicity laughed. “Are you kidding? He knew I had to work tonight. It didn’t help matters when he got a little handsy out there on the dance floor.”
“It’s a good thing I didn’t see that,” Austin said. “I would’ve thrown him out a long time ago.”
It was later than he realized, and soon the band announced their last number, a soulful rendition of Can’t Help Falling in Love.
“Dance with me,” Austin said.
He offered his hand. She took it, and he pulled her into his arms. They swayed together to the music. When they’d danced earlier, it had been such a surprise, what with Savannah’s sudden shoe malfunction. Austin chuckled to himself.
“What is it?” Felicity asked, her words hot in his ear.
“I was just thinking about the timing of my sister’s broken shoe earlier this evening.”
“Yes, that was unfortunate, wasn’t it? Or fortunate, actually. Yes, I think it was fortunate.” She rested her head on his shoulder, nestling into him.
He pulled her closer, marveling at how good she felt, at the way his hand felt on the small of her back, at how she fit so perfectly against him, her curves magically tucking into the dips in his body. Her hair smelled of flowers and sunshine and everything that was good and right in the world. He could get used to this. God, he wanted to get used to this and from the way she was leaning into him he got the feeling Felicity could, too.
Chapter Eleven
After the ballroom emptied out, Austin and Felicity returned to the Sazerac Bar in the hotel. They had an hour before the place closed and both of them were too wound up to call it a night. They decided to have a casual debriefing over a bottle of well-deserved champagne since they didn’t have to drive. As Austin said, they’d earned it after the event being a smashing success.
“This is the second week in a row that we’re sipping champagne in the Sazerac,” Felicity said. “Is this a new thing? Because, I could get used to it.”
They clinked glasses. “All in all, I’d say the gala went off without a hitch,” Austin said.
Felicity shrugged. “Except for the missing basketball and Kevin’s drunken performance.”
She started to add Savannah’s broken shoe, but that hadn’t been a hardship. Felicity noticed later that Savannah had been wearing a pair of shoes. Felicity didn’t know whether she was able to fix hers or she had a spare pair up in her hotel room, but it didn’t matter. If Savannah had orchestrated the shoe malfunction, she wanted to hug her. If she did, did it mean that she was quietly advocating for Felicity and Austin to be together? At least that was one Fortune in her corner.
“But the gala was sold out, thanks to Kevin grabbing the last available table,” Austin offered. “And Charlotte was a no-show.”
And I got to dance with you, feel what it’s like to be in your arms. “That is true. We found the basketball and security discreetly handled Kevin. So, for all the important reasons, it was a pretty darn successful gala.”
The bar was empty, except for the two of them and another couple, who looked so wrapped up in each other that they seemed oblivious to Austin and Felicity’s presence. So, essentially, they were alone. The place felt like a cozy cocoon. Kevin, Macks, Charlotte and other inconveniences of the outside world seemed far away.
“Did you always want to go into
advertising?” Austin asked as he refilled her glass.
“No, getting an undergrad degree in advertising and an MBA seemed like the most practical degrees for me. The most marketable.”
“What would you have studied if practicality didn’t matter?”
“Something that had to do with flowers.”
“What? Like being a florist?”
Felicity laughed. “I’ve never heard of a florist degree. I think that’s mostly on-the-job training.”
Austin smiled. “Of course. I’ll blame it on mental exhaustion and champagne. So, what would you have studied?”
“Something really nerdy like botany.”
His brows lifted. “Really?”
“I wanted to be a botanist. I love flowers—especially roses. I wanted to experiment with creating new rose species.”
“You seem to know a lot about roses already. Could you still do it as a hobby?”
Felicity scoffed. “Yeah, in all my spare time.”
“You have to make time for the things you love,” Austin said.
“This coming from the man who proudly proclaims he’s married to his job.”
“Touché.”
Felicity shrugged. “You’re right, though. Someday I’m going to get that greenhouse for my backyard. Then I’ll do it. I’m weird like that. I don’t want a fancy car, expensive shoes or a designer purse. I want a greenhouse.”
“I don’t think it’s weird at all. It’s kind of refreshing, actually.”
Felicity wondered if he was thinking of Macks.
“Did you ever call Macks Cole back? We’ve been so busy with the gala that I didn’t have a chance to ask you.”
“I did.”
Of course, if Macks hadn’t talked to Austin, no doubt, she would’ve kept hounding Felicity until she did. But Felicity wanted to hear it from Austin.
“Did you give her your personal cell phone number like she wanted?”
“I did not.”
“Why not?”
Austin smiled, and his right brow shot up, a look that Felicity could’ve inferred as none of your business or that Austin just didn’t want to talk about it. But she wanted to know.
“I know it’s none of my business, but I’ll play the mental exhaustion and champagne card, too, and ask you anyway. I’ll blame it on that and double down. Why not, Austin?”
“Because I didn’t want to.”
Ugh, how did that go over? Macks didn’t like the word no.
“Good to know,” Felicity said. “So, I guess that means you’re not dating her anymore.”
She’d already pushed this far, why stop now?
“I never was dating her. But while we’re on the subject of dating, are you still seeing Kevin?”
“I’m not.”
Austin’s smile smoldered. “Very good to know.”
* * *
After the champagne was finished and Austin had paid the bill, he offered to walk Felicity to her room. As fate—or booking a block of rooms would have it—both of their rooms were on the hotel’s tenth floor, but hers was farther down the hall than his. Still, it didn’t seem right to say good-night and let her walk the rest of the way alone.
So, they walked past his.
“This is me,” she said and stopped in front of her door. “Thanks for the champagne.” She pulled her card key out of her purse, but instead of opening the door, she leaned against it, gazing up at him.
She looked so damn gorgeous and her lips were so inviting. He wanted to lean in and kiss her, so they wouldn’t have to talk anymore. He wanted to lose himself in the taste of her, bury his face in her silky, long hair and stay there until he forgot about the very real fact that she was leaving him, one way or another.
“What are we going to do next year without you to organize the gala?” he asked, because it was a legit question and because even though talking was the last thing he wanted to do right now, it was his last option and he was grasping at straws since he wasn’t ready to say good-night. He was testing the waters to see if she wanted to call it a night. It was two o’clock in the morning. It was too late to suggest they go out somewhere else, and even though propriety wouldn’t allow him to ask her into his suite for another drink, he was still stalling for time.
“No matter where I end up, your new assistant can always call me with any questions, and I’ve kept good notes over the years.”
He rested his shoulder on the wall so that they were both leaning toward each other. “Just stay,” he said. “Don’t leave me. I know that’s not fair, but—”
“I don’t want to leave you. I may not work for you much longer, but if I can help it, I won’t leave you.”
He reached out and touched a strand of her hair, needing to know if it was as soft as it looked. It was. He twirled it around his finger.
Then the next thing he knew, her lips were brushing his. It was a feather-soft kiss. One that could’ve stopped there, if she’d wanted it to, if she’d turned around and let herself into her room.
But she didn’t.
He rested his forehead on hers. Her lips were a fraction of an inch from his. “Felicity, I don’t want you to regret this. I don’t want you to think I took advantage of you—”
“I know exactly what I’m doing, exactly what we’re about to do. I’ve wanted this for so long. I think you want me, too, Austin. Don’t you?”
If you only knew.
She leaned in and those lips were teasing his neck, her hot, delicious breath was in his ear.
“Austin, I don’t mind if you kiss me. I want you to kiss me and we don’t have to stop there.”
Every inch of his body responded as his arms fell around her waist and he pulled her into his body. She slid her hands down to his butt, closing the distance so that his body was perfectly aligned with hers.
He didn’t give her the chance to say anything else. Their lips found each other, and he showed her exactly how much he wanted her. As her mouth opened under his, passion consumed him. That moment, if he’d had the key to her room, he would’ve opened the door and walked her backward right into the bedroom and made love to her. Instead, he deepened the kiss and pulled her even tighter against him.
He wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, but when they came up for air, Felicity looked dazed. Her hand flew up to her kiss-swollen lips.
That’s when Austin realized someone was walking toward them. He turned and saw his father letting himself into one of the hotel rooms four doors down.
Felicity flinched away.
“Austin. Felicity.”
“Dad.”
Miles pinned them with a steely glare. His mouth was drawn into a tight, thin line. “It was a nice party. Let’s...uh...talk about everything first thing Monday morning. My office.”
* * *
The moment Felicity disappeared inside her hotel room, Austin’s cell phone rang. He muted the volume, so it wouldn’t disturb the other guests as he made his way down the hallway to his own room.
He let himself inside his room and answered. “Hello.”
“You are damn lucky you took my call.” Miles sounded as if he was spitting fire. Austin almost hung up on him.
“Yeah? And what if I hadn’t? What would you have done?”
Miles didn’t answer his question. Instead, he jumped right into the tirade that Austin knew was coming.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Austin? Fooling around with your personal assistant? Are you trying to get Fortune Investments slapped with a sexual harassment lawsuit? How stupid can you be?”
“It’s not like that, Dad.” Austin flung his tux jacket onto a chair and toed out of his patent leather loafers.
“Yeah, well, I have eyes. I know what I saw. I know exactly what was going on. So does everyone else who saw you dancing with her at the gala
tonight. You just provided all the corroborating witnesses she will need when she gets pissed off at you and decides to sue our asses.”
“All we did was dance.” It was taking every ounce of strength Austin possessed to keep his voice low and level. The soft champagne buzz had evaporated. In its place, the start of a headache was beginning to pound. Austin scrubbed his free hand over his eyes and then raked his fingers through his hair.
“It didn’t look like you were dancing in the hallway. Or maybe you were saving the dance for after you got inside the room.”
“Go to hell, Miles. What we were doing is none of your business. I’m not sixteen years old. What makes you think you have the right to tell me how to live my life?”
“I don’t care how old you are. When you work for me, I have the final say on things that will affect my business. Your fooling around with your assistant could come back to bite me in the ass.”
“She’s not going to be my assistant for much longer. I have feelings for her. Besides, I know Felicity. I’ve known her for almost five years. She’s not like that. She wouldn’t turn around and try to take us for a ride.”
“That’s what you said about Kelly and look at how things ended up. Look what it cost us. I had to bail out your ass.”
“Really? Are you really going to keep bringing that up? Because if you are, I’m going to hang up on you right now. I paid you back every penny of what I owed you. So, I made a mistake with her. Felicity is not Kelly. I am not going to stand here at nearly three o’clock in the morning trying to justify my feelings. You do not get to dictate who I see.”
“I do if the two of you work for Fortune Investments. You are not above the rules, Austin. And the rules state that there is no fraternizing. Especially when it comes to an executive fooling around with a subordinate.”
A Fortunate Arrangement Page 14
