by Leigh, Anne
“They want to go over the latest earnings report so it’s going to be a long one,” he was still saying as he typed on his computer.
Matteo started the day at 9:45 AM. By ten o’ clock, he’d read all the e-mails that his assistant, Elaine, had flagged for him to read. Then he was off to meetings and calls throughout the day. He ate lunch around 2 where he’d have a protein-packed meal with veggies on the side, snacks were the single-packaged almonds that were kept inside the big glass jar on the left side of his corner table overlooking the construction of another hotel that T & T Inc. was renovating.
I nodded silently and asked, “What time do you think you’ll be done today?”
His hands stilled and his eyes perused my face, we hadn’t talked much when he drove us to the T&T Headquarters, a stone’s throw from The Alliance, their flagship hotel. From here, I could see the gleaming windows and the utter magnificence of the structure that Aunt Ava said took a year to complete.
“Why?” Now that his full attention was on me, I couldn’t take a breath. Matteo’s features didn’t have an ounce of softness. The angles of face were chiseled from his French ancestors, but the slope of his mouth was generated from his Italian roots. He didn’t have to tan to achieve that golden skin. His father’s genes had generously given him a look that was always blessed by the sun. He was a cute boy, but as a man, he was devastating.
And when his grey eyes were entirely on me, I had a hard time remembering why I needed to be out by six tonight.
“I, ah, I’m meeting someone,” I answered. It was silly, but I felt like I was being scrutinized.
“Who?” The slight cleft of his chin deepened. Yeah, he had a cleft. It was one of his best features. It reminded us mortals that he wasn’t like us. That he really was a descendant of past Roman emperors.
I decided that it wasn’t any of his business, “What time will we, you, be done?”
“Who?”
“What time?” I repeated, as I kept my hands in front of the notepad I’d been writing on while he was saying some important business pointers. I was only there to learn about non-profits, but Matteo thought that it would be beneficial for me to see how T & T Inc. worked so I could see how each arm of the business affected each part.
“Not until you tell me who you’re meeting after work.” His penetrating gaze was dangerous, he could submit anyone to telling him the truth. Couple it with the boldness of his voice, the truth serum would be useless if Matteo was the interrogator.
A soft knock on the door gave me reprieve, “Sir, your ten thirty is on the line.”
Elaine opened the door and I sighed.
Matteo had a telephone call from New York that required his attention.
I saw it on his schedule yesterday.
“Can you tell Hassim to hold it? Give me five minutes,” Matteo said to Elaine.
Elaine, a fifty-something charming lady who could easily become one of my besties because she made me laugh, asked in confusion, “Sir?”
“You heard me, Elaine,” Matteo said dismissively. “It’s taken him forty-two hours to get back to me. He could wait another five minutes.”
“He was in Dubai, Sir,” Elaine said. “Their satellite was down; all wireless communications were out.”
“No excuse.” Matteo shook his head. “Please close the door when you leave.”
I stood up to follow Elaine.
Someone was in a bad mood this morning.
I wasn’t going to stay here for this.
“Where do you think you’re going?” A strong arm on my left hand halted my progress. “Just Elaine. Not you.”
“I’m not your employee.” I said with a tinge of annoyance in my voice, “I can go whenever I want.”
With a slight lift of his chin, he remarked, “Really? Not according to what you said this weekend. Remember when you told your parents that you were going to be wherever I was. That you weren’t going to go anywhere without my knowledge? To me, that’s as valid as any employee contract that the employees here have signed.”
Elaine had a surprised look on her face, but she closed the door as Matteo asked.
Now that his body was only a breadth of an inch away from mine, I felt smaller, more aware, and all of my senses were heightened.
Not in a creepy kind of way.
But in a holy shit, he smells so damn good, kind of way.
Because he did.
Matteo’s scent reminded me of oceans and countryside meadows wrapped in woodsy vanilla spice and man.
“Where were we?” His breath was minty fresh, making the fine hair on my face and neck rise and warm up, “Ah. Who are you seeing tonight? It can’t be Nic because he’s now back in Minnesota. Or Greyson who’s in New York. Or Geneva. Or your sister.”
I didn’t mean it to, but my voice cracked anyways, “A friend.”
“A new friend?” God, why did this devil have to be so handsome?
“A new female friend or a new male friend?”
I turned my head to the side, watching the clock on the side if his desk. His five minutes was now reduced to two and a half.
“None of your business,” I reiterated. He was free to do whatever he wanted and I was too. I was having fun learning the ropes of managing a business with him, but I was also free to do what I wanted with my time here.
“So it’s a male friend.”
He reached his right hand under my chin and slowly turned my face towards him, up, up, to meet his eyes.
“What’s the name of this male friend?” This time gone was the gentle wave of his voice, it was replaced with a darker, commanding edge. “I don’t know everyone here in this city, but I know a lot of them.”
I was busy admiring a pair of shoes at Barney’s when a voice suspended my daydreaming. The price was way above my budget and I wasn’t one to spend money on frivolous things such as shoes. Travel, yes. Bags, maybe. But shoes didn’t make me want to cough up anything over a hundred fifty bucks unless it was necessary.
An All-American guy, sandy blonde and all, reminding me of Kassius, had said, “Alissa?”
I didn’t recognize him at first, but when my brain computed the freckles on his face, which made him cuter, and the ocean blue eyes, recognition pierced through me.
I’d met him a few times at the Tanners’ house during birthday parties.
His hair was shorter, but the carefree air that he emitted whenever he was around was still there. We talked for a few minutes before he excused himself or he was going to be late for a meeting.
“Deckard,” I muttered as Matteo looked down at me, waiting for my answer. I had a feeling that he was going to keep me in his office as long as it took for me to give him a name.
“Hopkins?” Matteo’s eyes were questioning. “When?”
“I ran into him while I was shopping yesterday.” Matteo wanted to go with me, but he had a late meeting that he couldn’t get out of plus I didn’t need a bodyguard. I was fine on my own. I borrowed his car, and picked him up after I had a light dinner and then he dropped me off at his parents’ house.
“No.” One word.
“No on what? That you can’t believe I saw him?” I chuckled, “I know right? Small world.”
“No. You’re not going out to dinner with him,” he said as his lips formed a tight line and his jaw became tense.
“What?” I said aghast, pushing away from him, backing away from him so I could give him a moment to gather his senses.
“You heard me.” He said, his expression unchanging, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a call waiting. Do you want to listen in or step outside while I talk to Hassim?”
“You can’t tell me what to do.” I gritted my teeth. “I’m going to go and have dinner with Deckard.”
“No.” He tapped on his wrist watch. “I’ve kept Hassim waiting.”
He stepped behind his desk and lifted the phone to take the call, “Hassim. It’s nice to finally connect.”
I didn’t hear the rest of the
conversation as I walked to the door and slammed it without any thought as to what anyone would say.
Arrogant asshole.
I so did not miss you.
Despite the No’s that His Highness had decreed, I was able to get out of the office at five thirty, hopped in an Uber, and got ready for my night out with a friend.
Matteo was immersed in meetings with lawyers most of the day and while perusing through contracts was an essential part of owning a business, it wasn’t something that I’d jumped for joy in learning. After my fifth yawn, Matteo had looked over at me and called Jessica, head of PR, and asked her to give me a taste of her world for the rest of the day.
I was about to thank him, but then he’d leaned over and reiterated that I should text Deckard and say no. With that order, I’d kept my eye roll to a minimum, and went out of my way to not be in his sights. When he texted around four o’ clock that he had to cover for his mom for a last-minute pitch meeting, I’d given him a thumbs up and let him know that I’d be taking an Uber back to his mom’s place.
He’d texted me to wait for him, but I ignored his texts and focused on what Jessica was teaching me.
It was easy to see why Jessica was the head of Public Relations. She had a charming personality and she could take three phone calls all at once while answering e-mails and drinking coffee. Her veins must be filled with caffeine because she drank two cups of black coffee within a span of three hours. She answered all of my questions easily and never gave me the impression that I was inconveniencing her. I was pretty sure it helped that she had a British accent because it made people listen to her more.
When I’d brought this up, she laughed and said we could be best friends.
When she told me that she wouldn’t tell Matteo where I was since he’d been ringing her non-stop, I gave her a high five and welcomed her onto my friends’ list.
When she’d ordered me to get out of her office at four forty to get ready for my date, which I’d argued that it wasn’t and she’d responded with a you bet it is, I’d given her a hug and asked her to meet me for lunch sometime tomorrow.
By the time I was done putting on my high waisted dark denim jeggings and a white sleeveless top, Deckard texted that he was waiting for the security guard to let him in. I’d talked to security and within minutes his car was parked in front of the Tanner’s house.
I was already waiting for him outside before he pushed on the brakes.
He looked like he was going to step out, but I motioned for him to stay inside his car while I got into the passenger seat.
It felt like I was a teenager going on her first date without her parents’ knowledge or permission.
I shook my head at the thought because Mom and Dad were pretty cool about me dating as long as I abided by my curfew and I introduced them to the guy I was going out with.
I was feeling this way because Matteo was acting so weird today, and had the audacity to say that I couldn’t go out with Deckard.
“Why do you have such a sour look on your face?” Deckard asked, making me glance at him. He was wearing a slim fit linen blue shirt that highlighted the dark tan he was sporting.
“Nothing,” I replied while I clicked my seatbelt on.
“You sure?” The smile he gave me was flirty and maybe, just maybe, Jessica was right. This was a date.
I gave myself a mental shrug. If it was, then I’d just have a fun night with him. I didn’t know him that well, but I knew him well enough that he wasn’t going to try anything that I wouldn’t want him to.
If he did, then he’d have a couple of broken bones by the end of the night.
On my third date with a boy at the ripe age of sixteen, he’d tried to cop a feel inside my bra. I’d said no twice. On his third try, I bent his thumb the other way and he never looked me in the eye again. Nic and my dad never knew that story. If they had, the Croswell’s second son would be hanging upside down on our front porch. I handled it on my own and I hoped he learned his lesson.
“I’m sure.” I gave him a gentle smile and nodded, “Let’s go.”
“Alright.” He didn’t seem too convinced, but he pressed on the gas anyways and drove us towards the traffic-filled roads of Vegas.
We talked about school and life. He’d just graduated from NYU and was in town to spend some time with his folks before starting his internship with a law firm. I was surprised that he was pursuing law, he didn’t look like the argumentative type.
He’d merely chuckled and responded, “I want to help out the people who can’t afford legal services.”
That upped his attractiveness meter.
Don’t get me wrong, Deckard Hopkins was handsome. He could easily stand in for any of the A & F models when A & F was the hottest commodity in town.
He reminded me of a blonde Adam Senn.
And the looks he was getting from the ladies as we entered the Mexican-American restaurant only showed that he was an attractive man.
But the fact that he wanted to help out other people made him ten times more palatable to me.
My sister and I always believed that looks weren’t as important as principles.
A guy could be the hottest guy on the planet, but if he was the biggest asshole, then he might as well put himself inside a dumpster because he reeked of a bad attitude.
Deckard pulled the chair out for me, and with a smile, he said, “My phone’s been vibrating non-stop.”
“Oh yeah?” I replied and thanked him. “Do you need to go?”
We’d just arrived at the restaurant, but if he had to go, I wouldn’t detain him.
“No.” He shrugged his shoulders coolly, “I’m just surprised that Matteo’s texting.”
My stomach lurched.
I hadn’t looked at any of Matty’s texts because first of all, they were irrelevant to what I was doing tonight. I had free will and my free will wanted to catch up with an acquaintance.
A server clad in a green shirt with the words NATURA-MEX and black pants approached our table, “Welcome to Natura. Is this your first time here?”
Deckard shook his head, “I’ve been here a few times and I love your food,” then gesturing with his hand, “It’s this beautiful lady’s first time here. I’d really like it if you wowed her so she’ll come back with me.”
My face flushed at his endearing sentiment, “I like Mexican food and I’m also partial to American food so it’s already a win.”
Alan, the server, described the specials, and I was already salivating by the time he was done.
“Everything!” I exclaimed, my right hand fisting the air. “I want to eat everything.”
Deckard laughed, “Alrighty then, we’ll get everything.”
Alan’s shoulders shook and before he left our table we’d decided that everything would consist of a mild spicy chicken and cheese quesadilla, beef tacos with pumpkin seed sauce, and avocado-lime rice and beans.
I asked for a refreshing iced watermelon shake as Deckard and I fell into another easy conversation about life.
Everything about him was easy.
He gave easy smiles.
His laughter came out as easily.
And the flirting innuendos were just as abundant.
We stuffed ourselves with so much of the delicious food that I had to second-guess myself when he asked if I wanted to try out his favorite dessert place in the city.
Normally, I didn’t pass up dessert, but if I put another morsel of food inside my mouth, his BMW would be a witness to my gluttony. If we hit a bump on the road, I might just throw up.
Deckard asked about Matteo and I’d given him an honest answer. We were friends and Matty was showing me how T & T Inc. worked.
As we passed by the street leading up to the Tanner’s household, I thanked him for a wonderful night.
Deckard graciously accepted my gratuity and said, “You mentioned that you’re here for the rest of the summer, before you go back to Berkeley. I was hoping we could do this again. I’d really l
ike to see you again. I had a lot of fun tonight.”
“Me too.” I did. There were no awkward moments between us. The chatter flowed like a river, and neither one of us were short on smiles.
“I have to go to Monterey with a bunch of college friends, but I’ll be back on Saturday. You free that day?” He’d stopped his car after we passed by the security gate, and now his car was on idle while we talked.
“I have to check.” I answered, “Aunt Ava wanted me to check out a few boutiques with her and I’m not sure what time we’ll be done.”
I promised her I would go shopping with her and she’d been so excited. Knowing Aunt Ava, that woman could shop for hours.
“Okay.” He was facing me and I could see the longing look in his green eyes as the ample lighting from the Tanner’s house hit his face. “Text me?”
From what I’d gathered throughout the evening, he was a good person and although I didn’t feel the constant butterflies inside my stomach and the tingles in my spine that was always there when Matteo was around, I was willing to give Deckard a chance.
“I will.”
Deckard stepped out of the car and in a flash, he was there opening the passenger door for me.
“Ali, I really had a great night.”
“Me too,” I said as I placed my purse on my shoulder. “Thank you.”
Before I could move my feet, Deckard gently pulled on my waist, decreasing the distance between us.
He lifted a stray hair from my face and with a soft caress, his thumb nudged on my chin, “I’ll be looking forward to your text.”
With my head, I gave him a simple nod, “I will.”
He lowered his own head and as his lips touched mine, I waited for that familiar excitement that came with first kisses.
To me, first kisses were priceless.
They were preludes to the sizzle and burn of how much chemistry you have for each other.
And sadly, I didn’t feel it with him.
I gave him a polite hug before he got back into his car and waited until his car was out of sight before stepping inside the house.
I’d kept my phone on silent the whole time I was with Deckard.