by A. C. Arthur
Moments later he was gone and Riley closed her eyes, ready to welcome a deep sleep. It wouldn’t be the first time that a meditation session had lulled her into slumber and she hoped it wouldn’t be the last. But just when she started to slip into dreamland, she felt him touch her.
“What are you doing?” she asked when Chaz’s strong hands and arms moved under her and lifted her from the bed.
“Helping you get cleaned up.”
“No.” She pressed a hand into his chest just in case he didn’t believe she was serious. “I can do it myself. I don’t want your help.”
A muscle in his jaw twitched and Chaz continued walking. He stopped at the bathroom door.
“I wasn’t going to go in with you, Riley. I know you much better than you think.”
He set her down, and when her feet touched the floor, Riley backed away from him.
“I hope you don’t mind but I used one of the washcloths in your closet.”
Because he’d needed to clean up, as well. Her gaze dropped briefly to his now-zipped pants. His shirt was unbuttoned but his chest was covered by a tight black tank. She looked back at him. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he replied, and Riley stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.
* * *
Chaz had admitted to Riley that he couldn’t leave. What she didn’t know was that he’d meant more than just physically getting up to leave her bedroom. By that time he’d had his dick in his hand and his desire to see how far they would go to find their pleasure was a top priority. But aside from that, something else held him to her. It was the oddest and most intense feeling he’d ever experienced. He wanted Riley physically but there was also this nagging desire to just be with her.
Chaz didn’t want to “be” with any woman. Committed relationships, live-in girlfriends, long-term associations, none of those were his thing. And not just because he’d made a name for himself as one of the world’s top bachelors—that was a persona he’d facilitated to grow his business. Now that Conversation Media was a global success, he didn’t have to sacrifice so much of himself to sell the brand. The problem was that he’d adopted a lot of the professional persona into his personal life over the years. It worked for him because he’d watched relationships come together and inevitably fall apart. His uncle was on wife number eight and he was only fifty-seven years old. That wasn’t a promising scenario for Chaz.
Riley stirred and he leaned down to kiss the top of her head.
It was morning. He’d spent the night in Riley Gold’s bed, in her penthouse, with her wrapped in his arms. They hadn’t had sex. The meditation/masturbation session had been enough to wear them both down. Chaz sensed their very busy workweeks had contributed to that, but he wasn’t about to debate the issue.
Last night he’d watched her come out of the bathroom with a perplexed look on her face. He hated that she’d fully expected him to leave. As if he could share something so intimate and thoroughly enjoyable with her and then walk out without saying a word. It dawned on him later that he’d done that many times before with other women.
He was wearing only his boxers when she returned, and when he extended his hand for her to join him on the bed, Riley had simply walked around to the other side and climbed in. She turned out the light on her side and Chaz lay down and turned down the light on his side. Seconds later he’d pulled her into his arms and there she’d stayed all night.
“I don’t know how to do the morning after,” she whispered.
Chaz rubbed his hand up and down her arm, enjoying the feel of her soft skin. He’d been doing that all night. Touching her, smelling her, taking in every aspect of this woman who he’d thought he knew.
“Neither do I,” he replied. “How about we make it up as we go?”
“How about we just get up?” she said and started to move.
Chaz did not want to let her go. He did not want this mood to be over. It was beyond what he’d imagined having dinner with her would be. That both unnerved and excited him.
She shocked him by dropping a quick kiss on his chest before pushing up and away from him. Her curse came next.
“I’m late. Dammit! I have a meeting with RJ and a conference call with my distributor and I’m late!”
Riley jumped out of the bed. She snatched a peach-colored silk robe from the chair and thrust her arms into it as she moved across the room.
Chaz sat up in bed. “You’re an executive, Riley. You can definitely cancel a meeting.”
She was already across the room, pushing a button on the wall to open the door of a massive walk-in closet. “I’m not canceling. This is important. We’ve got deadlines and he’s trying to say he can’t produce the numbers we’ve already presold. It’s a catastrophe and I have to fix it.”
She was talking while moving up and down the aisles in the closet. From what Chaz could see there were more than a dozen aisles of clothes. He could only see the first row of shoes but figured she’d have just as many shoes as she did clothes. Straight to the back was a wall of accessories. Riley came out with clothes and shoes, a necklace dangling from her fingers and a look of sheer panic on her face.
Chaz eased out of the bed. “No worries. I’ll call for my car. He’ll get you there in no time.”
“But what about you?”
Chaz walked toward her, not giving a damn about the morning hard-on tenting his boxers until he stopped in front of her and watched her gaze dip down.
“I’ll get a cab or I can wait here until my car comes back. You should get your shower. He’ll be here quickly after I place the call.”
She looked back up at him. “Ah. Yes. Shower. I should do that. Thank you.”
Chaz grinned and leaned in to drop a quick but soft kiss on her lips. “Stop thanking me, Riley. If I’m sleeping with you I can certainly make sure you get to work.”
She pressed her hands against his chest. The chilly links of her necklace eased over his bare skin.
“So we’re sleeping together?” Her eyes were wide with concern but Chaz didn’t detect any regret in her tone.
“Yeah. After last night I’d say we are. You cool with that?”
She swallowed and blinked and then squared her shoulders.
“I believe I am. As long as we’re discreet. This cannot get out, Chaz. It has to stay between us for however long it lasts.”
Her tone was adamant, which told him that was the line and he needed to decide if he dared to cross it. Not today.
“I can do a private affair with you, Riley.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him again. “I can do just about anything with you.”
Every part of her relaxed and a smile touched her lips.
“I can do a private affair with you, too, Chaz.”
She came up on the tips of her toes and kissed him, tilting her head as her tongue met his. He was instantly dragged into a heated and sensual moment that was going to change both of them forever. She pulled away first and looked at him for a few muted seconds before going into the bathroom. Chaz stood there, trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened. Then he grinned.
He was having an affair with Riley Gold.
CHAPTER TEN
“ARE YOU OKAY?” RJ asked as Riley stood from the conference room table and began pulling her sketches together. The drawings had been spread out along the table after the PowerPoint presentation. Then the models had come in wearing the designs and she, RJ and several other members from the production team had gotten up to inspect each one personally.
“I’m fine,” she said. “The beading on the Elisa gown needs work. Everything about this line rests on the details. It was in the sketch so I’m not sure why it didn’t translate into production. I may just write a memo to the production team. That way they’ll all know to pay closer attention. But the gown will be ready by the first sh
ow so there’s no need to worry about that.”
RJ was perched on the side of the table as he listened to her, and when she came close enough, he grabbed her arm to stop her from moving.
“I wasn’t talking about the gowns, Riley. I’m asking about you.”
Her brother was six years older than her, tall and slimly built. He had a deep voice just like their father, but he was also overprotective and prone to hovering just like their mother.
“You came in late this morning. Very late.”
“So you want to dock me? I’m here at the crack of dawn every day, even on Saturdays, and I stay well into the evening every night. I don’t take sick days and only one vacation per year. Come in late one morning and I’m being scolded like I’m a slacker.”
She yanked her arm away from his grasp.
RJ put his arms up in mock surrender. “Whoa. I’m just asking as a concerned brother because I know how hard it is for you to go off script. Which is why I wondered what happened when I called your office and Korey told me you weren’t in yet and that he hadn’t heard from you.”
Riley was now snatching the sketches off the table. When she grabbed the final one, she smoothed the stack and slipped them into a case.
“And now you’re brooding because you don’t like to be wrong.” RJ chuckled. “Come on, Riley. Just tell me that everything is okay and I’ll leave you alone. I can respect your privacy.”
Her head snapped around at those words. “Liar. You probably already called Mom and Dad to see if they’d heard from me. And then you would have found Major and Maurice in whichever woman’s bed they awoke in this morning to question them.”
He chuckled. “As a matter of fact, I called Major and Maurice first.”
Riley shook her head. The Gold twins were infamous for their identical dashing good looks and their prowess with almost every woman they encountered. They were also a part of the Babysit Riley Club, in which each of her brothers proudly held membership.
“That was so unnecessary. I was just a little late.” She’d been an hour and a half late because she’d been sleeping too soundly and too comfortably in Chaz’s arms.
“But you’re never late.”
That was true.
“I apologize.”
“No need to apologize, Ri. You’re entitled to some time for yourself. It’s just that we know you, and when something changes, we worry. But I’m glad to see you’re just fine and on top of things with this new bridal collection. Your reports are amazingly detailed and the plan you’ve mapped out for marketing is stellar. I believe we have a winner here.”
That sent happy vibes throughout her body. “I’m glad to hear that because I want to revisit the specialty shops idea again. I know Dad said he didn’t want to detract from our flagship stores in Manhattan, Beverly Hills and Paris, but I really think these smaller, more focused shops will hit a section of the market we’re missing.”
They’d had this discussion before at meetings with her father; his top two designers; Major, who was the technical developer; Maurice, who was in charge of public relations; and Janel Lindsey, the CFO. The same conversation had also been held during family dinners at their parents’ house. Each time, her idea for expansion on a smaller scale was shot down, regardless of her market research on the idea. The Gold brand was big; everything they did had to be big or they didn’t do it. That was what her father insisted.
“You know how Dad feels about that.”
“He’s wrong.” She knew she was being adamant, but she couldn’t help it. She was positive the idea could succeed. Riley hoped that with the successful launch of this couture bridal collection, she could convince her father that she really did know what she was doing.
“Well, let’s just take on one thing at a time. The projected sales numbers for the Golden Bride Collection look great and the campaign you’ve outlined is amazingly thorough. If the marketing department follows through with everything you’ve pitched here, we’re looking at a major victory for the company.” RJ seemed pretty excited by that thought.
Of course he was—more sales meant more accolades for him. Not that he needed them. As the firstborn he was going to slide into the CEO position at RGF the moment their father retired. Major and Maurice didn’t want that job. But Riley could see herself doing it. She’d also seen herself as a phenomenal chief executive of market research and she knew that she was ruling that position right now. So RJ could have the CEO spot, Riley planned to make her mark right here and right now.
“I have to call Sigmund again. I missed our call this morning. But I need to stress the importance of having enough stock to fill all the preorders. Once the show is over, stores are going to need dresses to sell.”
“Maurice will have all the online specs ready to go so ordering will be possible,” RJ added.
“I don’t want there to be a wait for delivery in the first few weeks of the launch. I want brides to see these dresses, fall in love with one and plunk down their cash to buy it. And I want them to have their dresses in hand well before their wedding dates so they have more time to adore it. Especially since they’ll only have it on for one day.”
RJ eased off the table and went to grab his notepad and empty coffee cup. “There’s my sister. For a while I was wondering why you were going so hard on this collection when I knew weddings were not your thing.”
Riley picked up her half-full bottle of water. She tucked her tablet under one arm and held the sketch case in her hand.
“Oh, you know I’m never getting married. But I can relate to a woman’s dream of the perfect wedding.” Probably because she’d had it once, a long time ago. Even before Walt, Riley had dreamed of what her wedding would be like. The problem with that dream was that she’d never really thought there would be a man who she wanted to marry. Blame that on the low self-esteem that had plagued her throughout her teenage years, which she’d finally overcome when she was in college. She’d taken a chance with Walt because it was a good business match and she had liked him in the beginning. The problem was marriages shouldn’t be built on “like”—or infidelity for that matter.
“Well, you’ve conveyed your thoughts to the design team and they’ve come through in spades.” RJ led the way to the door.
“They did. I’m really pleased with everything they’ve done.”
“The show’s going to be great. Rehearsals are already planned to start early next week.”
“I’ll be there,” she said as they walked down the hall, past conference rooms and mini fitting spaces, where designs could be examined and altered.
“You know, Ri, you don’t have to do everything. I feel like you’ve been trying to make up for what happened with Walt and that’s just not necessary.”
It was. Calling off the engagement had cost the company a lucrative deal with one of the world’s top clothing distributors. On top of that, her parents had been friends with Walt’s parents for a very long time. The breakup had been about more than just her and Walt. It had severed a business connection and a friendship. Right or wrong, Riley carried that guilt.
“I should have never agreed to marry him. The entire relationship was a mistake. One I plan to never make again.”
“Well, you know how I feel about relationships, so you’ll get no argument from me. But I would like to see you socializing a little more. Going to parties just to have fun instead of reeling in designers for the company. Taking more than one vacation. Sleeping in one morning because you work too many long days and nights in the first place. You know, stuff like that.”
He nudged her when he finished and grinned.
Riley smiled back while shaking her head.
“I know you’re not talking. You are the biggest workaholic of us all.” Which was true. Major and Maurice were the most relaxed of the Gold siblings, while Riley and RJ took the job, the company and their family obligati
ons much more seriously.
He shrugged as they moved to the elevators. “You might be right about that, but I do at least take the time to go on a date here and there. You’re on this solo crusade when I think a little socializing might be good for you every now and then.”
“Wait a minute. Are you, my big brother, telling me to find a guy to sleep with?”
“Whoa. Oh no! Full stop! That is not what I said. Let’s just change the subject.”
Riley chuckled at RJ’s completely over-the-top but hilarious reaction as they stepped into the elevator.
“Yeah, I think changing the subject might be a good idea,” she said and laughed a little more.
* * *
“What’s your vision for ChatMe? Do you see yourself finding the woman of your dreams through your singles app?”
Chaz was momentarily taken off guard by the question. He hadn’t custom designed a singles app. That had not been his vision at all. And the part about finding the woman of his dreams... Just no.
“ChatMe will be a hub for a certain demographic to socialize, share their triumphs, issues, goals, etc. The app was never intended to be just about dating.” He gave the response in a smooth and relaxed tone even though on the inside he was irritated by the question.
Maybe because Riley had said something very similar last night.
“Okay, I hear you.” The interviewer’s name was Valeria and she was the owner of a popular blog and YouTube show. She was pretty and had already expressed her personal interest in him prior to requesting a formal interview.
Chaz had declined the personal invite but accepted the professional one because her blog and show had over two million subscribers.
“But you have to admit that your following in the past few years since you blew up on social media has been women. Many of whom are looking for a way to reach out to you personally.”