Chapter 36
Next to me, the guy in the dark blazer was saying, "C'mon, you're pulling my leg."
I laughed. "I am not."
The stranger was tall and good-looking in that classic sort of way. He smiled down at me. "Prove it."
"Why should I have to prove it?"
"Because," he said, with a glance at my drink, "I could get in trouble, contributing to juvenile delinquency and all."
I was still laughing. "Why? You didn't buy the drink. I did."
"Yeah, but I'm determined to get the next one." He gave me a boyish grin. "You don't want me getting in trouble, do you?"
I rolled my eyes. "Don't worry, you're completely safe."
"Oh yeah? Why's that?"
I lifted my glass in his direction. "Because I'm sticking to just one tonight." I smiled. "But thanks anyway."
"One drink?" he said. "Where's the fun in that?"
Technically, I was on my third drink if I counted the two beers at home, but that was hardly worth mentioning.
So instead, I glanced around. "Well, there is the music." In truth, the music wasn't that great, or maybe it just wasn't my style. But I did like the crowd. The club was located directly on the beach, and it had a good mix of people my own age, along with some quite a bit older.
As for my new acquaintance, he was somewhere in the middle – a decade or so older than myself, but a long way from retirement.
Regardless, I wasn't here to get drunk. I was here for a change of scenery. As it was, I'd been nursing my first drink for so long that the ice cubes had gone watery.
Now, the guy was eyeing me with mock concern. "I still say you're not twenty-one."
It wasn't that far-fetched. I did look a little on the young side, mostly because I was shorter than average. Even so, the guy was obviously joking, not that I minded.
Until now, I'd hardly laughed all day. "Do I need to remind you," I said, "they checked my I.D. at the door?"
"Yeah, but it could be a fake." He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper "People do that, you know."
I did know. In fact, with a little help from an older friend, I'd actually gotten into quite a few nightclubs in the two years before reaching the legal drinking age.
At the memory, I almost snickered. "I have heard of such a thing."
"Uh-huh." The guy held out his hand, palm-up. "C'mon, let's see it."
"See what?" I asked.
"Your I.D." Now, he looked ready to snicker, too. "Just between us, I'm an expert."
"In what? Fake I.D.s?"
I'd been at the nightclub for almost an hour, and I was finally starting to relax, mostly because the guy's conversation – as ridiculous as it was – was keeping my mind off everything that had driven me here in the first place.
We were standing just a few feet away from the main bar, within sight of the crowded dance floor. The music was mostly techno – the generic kind that made it hard to differentiate one song from another.
I'd been hoping to dance, but not to this – which made me doubly glad for the guy's conversation while I passed the time.
With another laugh, he nudged his hand closer. "C'mon, show me, and I'll tell you a secret."
I eyed him with mock suspicion. "What kind of secret?"
"If you wanna know, fork it over."
I smiled. "Not without a hint."
"Alright." He made a show of looking around. "Guess who I spotted in the men's room."
"Who?"
"A famous athlete."
"How famous?" I asked.
"Gold medal famous."
"You mean the Olympics?" Now, I was intrigued in spite of myself. "Really? Which sport?"
He gave me a playful wink. "Sorry, can't say if you're under-age."
Already, I was laughing again. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Sorry, rules are rules."
I'd never been a huge sports fan, but I was curious what he'd say next. In the spirit of things, I reached into the pocket of my sundress and pulled out my license. But I didn't hand it over. Rather, I held it up, flashing it badge-style, so he could take a quick look. "See?"
He looked at the license and then at my face. "Are you sure this is you?"
"What? It doesn’t look like me?"
"Well, you don't look twenty-five, that's for damn sure."
"Oh yeah? Well, how old are you?"
"Older than twenty-five."
"How much older?" I asked.
He lowered his voice and leaned a fraction closer. "Old enough to know what I'm doing."
I leaned back. "Sorry, what?"
He gave me another wink. "I'm just saying, I've got a few tricks up my sleeve."
I hesitated. I'd found the first wink charming, but the second one made me feel a little squirmy, especially when paired with the comment about tricks up his sleeve.
Something new in his demeanor suggested that the trick was mostly in his pants.
Eager to change the subject, I said, "So, who's the athlete?"
He gave a little swagger. "You can't guess?"
I stared up at him. "You don't mean you?"
Grinning more broadly now, he extended his index finger and shot me with an imaginary gun. "Bingo."
I wasn't quite sure I believed him. "So, you were an Olympic athlete? Really?"
"What, does that surprise you?"
I hesitated. "I just never met one before. So, um, what sport?"
"Polo."
I tried to think. "You mean water polo?"
"No." He frowned. "Polo-polo. With horses."
"Oh." I was trying to think. I didn't even realize that polo was an Olympic sport. Then again, I hadn't followed the Olympics since high school.
The guy was still frowning. "Is something wrong?"
"No, it's just that--" I paused in mid-sentence as I spotted a familiar figure in the crowd.
Oh, crap.
It was Jaden Bishop – my boss, my nemesis, and my own personal thorn in the side.
In further bad news, he was staring straight in my direction.
And he did not look happy.
Damn it.
Why was he here of all places? And where was Victoria? More than two hours had passed since I'd seen them together at the office. For all I knew, she was still there, squeezing the broccoli.
Naked.
Or maybe she was on some airplane, headed back to New York.
Or – oh, God – maybe she was here. With him.
I felt my brow wrinkle in concern. Across the club, Jaden was still frowning.
But why?
I didn't know. And I didn't want to know. Already, I'd had more than enough of Jaden Bishop for one day -- cripes, maybe even one lifetime.
Deliberately, I looked back to my new acquaintance. "Sorry, what were you saying?"
"Nothing," he said. "You were the one talking."
"Oh." I forced a laugh. "What was I saying?"
"Got me," he said looking suddenly annoyed. "You never finished."
It was actually kind of strange. Sometime within the last two minutes, he'd gone from Mister Friendly to Mister Disgruntled. For some reason, it reminded me of Jaden, and I didn't like it.
At the thought, I snuck another glance in Jaden's direction, only to feel my eyebrows furrow in confusion. He was gone. I scanned the crowd, but no saw no sign that he'd ever been there at all.
I almost scoffed out loud. This was just like him, too, to come in and get me all stressed out for no good reason.
I said a silent vow. Not tonight.
Next to me, the stranger said something that I didn't quite catch. Maybe something about horses? Polo horses?
I sighed. I had no idea.
I looked back to him and said, "Sorry, what?"
He looked down toward the floor. "I said, do you wanna see it?"
Obviously, I'd lost total track of the conversation. And now, I was almost afraid to ask. See what?
I was still trying to figure it out
when a familiar male voice answered the guy on my behalf. "No," he told the guy, "she doesn’t."
Chapter 37
I whirled to look. Sure enough, standing directly behind me was my troublesome boss, who frowned down at me like he'd just caught me humping a bar stool.
I stared up at him. "Excuse me?"
"I wasn't talking to you." He looked past me toward the stranger. "I was talking to him."
Oh, for God's sake.
As I watched, Jaden gave the stranger a hard look. "She's not interested, so fuck off."
I stifled a gasp. What the hell?
Now, I was glaring. "What's wrong with you?" When he made no reply, I turned back to the stranger and said, "I'm really sorry."
The stranger's gaze darted from me to the jerk standing just past my shoulder. The stranger made no reply, not that I could blame him. After all, this wasn't exactly normal.
Speaking loud enough for Jaden to hear, I said, "His manners really are atrocious."
From behind me, Jaden said, "Yeah. They are. But he's still leaving if he knows what's good for him."
My gaze was still on the stranger. What could I say to make things right? Words utterly failed, even as the guy started backing slowly away.
He looked scared to death, which made total sense.
After all, it was perfectly normal to be afraid of a crazy person.
I whirled back to the maniac in question and said, "Will you please butt out?"
"Sure," Jaden said, "as soon as he's gone."
Through clenched teeth, I said, "Just what's your problem, anyway?"
"Nothing that his leaving won't help."
Well, this was rich. Just a couple of hours ago, he'd been doing God-knows-what in his office. In contrast, I was doing something perfectly acceptable, and more to the point, away from the office.
This was none of his business.
I turned back to give the guy yet another apology, only to freeze in confusion.
He was gone.
But that was impossible. He'd been there just a moment ago. Silently, I scanned the crowd. Finally, I spotted him weaving his way across the packed dance floor, jostling random people as he went.
From what I could tell, he was heading toward the rest rooms. I kept watching. No. Not the restrooms.
The side exit.
A moment later, he plowed through the door like the place was on fire. This was oddly fitting, considering that the alarm sounded for like two seconds until the door swung shut again, leaving those standing near the door gaping after him.
A hard scoff escaped my lips. Well, that was delightful.
I whirled back to Jaden and demanded, "What was that about?"
"The guy's an asshole."
My jaw clenched. Speaking of assholes. "Well you are the expert."
"Yeah. I am."
I made a sound of frustration. By now, I'd just about had it. "In case you didn't realize it, I just insulted you."
"What? By calling me an asshole?"
I gave a tight shrug. That had been the implication, but it seemed beyond stupid to say it outright, unless I wanted to be unemployed.
Jaden practically snorted, "That's no insult."
"What?"
"Yeah. I’m proud of it."
Funny, he didn't look proud. He looked mostly pissed off.
If so, that made two of us. I was still glaring. "You do know we're not at work, right?"
"Hell, I know all kinds of things."
"Sure you do."
He gave me a hard look. "And what are you doing here, anyway?"
"What do you think I’m doing here?" I made a sound of disgust. "I’m having fun."
He gave me a dubious look. "Are you?"
Alright, that had sounded slightly ridiculous, but he was totally missing the point – as usual. "Okay fine," I snapped. "I was having fun 'til you showed up."
"Yeah?" His mouth tightened. "It didn't look like it to me."
I crossed my arms. "Is that so?"
"Yeah. You looked tense."
Well, maybe Victoria could give me a massage. Hold the broccoli.
But I didn't say it. Not only did I not want to give him the satisfaction, really, this was none of his concern.
And besides, I hadn't been truly tense until I'd seen Jaden, here of all places. "Of course I was nervous," I said. "I saw you giving me that look."
"What look?"
"That pissed off look."
"Yeah?" he said. "Well I saw you before you saw me."
"So?"
"So you didn't look like you were 'having fun’."
I tried to think. When exactly had he spotted me? Was it after that second wink? If so, Jaden might've been right about the fun factor, even though I'd never admit it in a million years.
Regardless, that was no reason for him to run the guy off like that.
"Well, guess what?" I said. "I don't care what you think." My voice rose. "And why should I be on the defense all of a sudden? You were the one who behaved like a total jackass."
As that final word hung between us, I sucked in a horrified breath. I'd just called my boss a jackass. Shit. To think that earlier today, I'd left the office without a peep, only to lose it here, a couple of hours later.
So much for self-control.
But it was too late to take it back now, and besides, maybe I didn't want to. I mean, it's not like he deserved an apology or anything.
Still, I felt compelled to remind him, "And just so you know, you're not the boss of me here."
His jaw tightened. "Yeah? Well I'm not here as your boss."
"Oh really? Then what are you here as?"
He looked at me for a long moment before muttering, "I don't know."
"Yeah? Well, that makes two of us, because I didn't appreciate it."
"You didn't appreciate what?"
"Oh come on. You know what. You scared that guy off for no good reason."
In front of me, Jaden looked anything but contrite. "You sure about that?"
"Of course I’m sure. I was there, remember?"
"Don't you mean you were here?"
"What?"
"There is here," he said. "We haven't moved."
I felt like screaming. "Why does that even matter?"
"I'm just saying…"
"Well don't." I felt my gaze narrow. "And besides, you're just trying to distract me."
"From what?"
My chin lifted. "From telling you exactly what I think."
"Yeah? And what's that?"
"That you were incredibly rude."
"Not as rude as he was."
"Who?"
"Derek, the Douchebag."
I paused. "Derek? Was that his name?"
"What, you didn't know?"
"No. I'd only been talking to him for like five minutes."
Jaden's expression darkened. "Is that all?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Because the guy moves a little fast, don't you think?"
I had no idea what he meant. "What are you talking about?"
Jaden edged closer and said in a low voice, "His cock."
Chapter 38
Around me, everything seemed to fade into the background as that single word hit with a thud.
I studied Jaden's face. I didn't know what he was getting at, but he looked deadly serious. I gave a confused shake of my head. "What?"
"You heard me."
Yes. I had. But I didn't know what Derek's privates had to do with anything. And now, I didn't know what to say. I mean, what could I say?
Finally, it was Jaden who broke the silence. "What, you wanted to see it? After knowing the guy five minutes?"
"Wait, what–" And then it hit me. No. The stranger – Derek – he'd been offering to show me something. Surely, it wasn’t…?
I gave a bitter scoff. In truth, I had no idea.
And why was that? It’s because I'd been so distracted by Jaden giving me that look of loathing from across the room.
; I looked away and muttered, "You know what? Forget it. I'm going home."
"Good," he said. "I'll walk you to your car."
"Good?" I said. "No, it's not good. You totally ruined my night."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. It is." I meant it too, but not in the way it sounded. In reality, the night had started to go downhill the moment Jaden had walked into the office with Victoria. But that wasn't what we were talking about now, and I had no intention of bringing it up.
For what felt like the millionth time, I reminded myself that he was only my boss. Nothing more. And besides, we weren't talking about Victoria. We were talking about the guy named Derek.
I sighed. "Look, I don't even know what he said, but I can tell you this, I can handle myself just fine. So, even if he did say something crude, it's not like you had to run over here and be such an ass about it."
"Don't you mean asshole?"
"What?"
"You said 'ass', but you forgot the 'hole.'"
I gave him a thin smile. "Oh, trust me. I didn't forget."
Asshole.
And with that, I turned and began striding toward the exit. And what did he do? He started walking with me. I turned to glare at him yet again. "What are you doing?"
"Walking you to the car, like I said."
"I didn't drive a car. I drove a truck, as you of all people should know." Yes, I realized that it didn't really matter, but I wanted to prove him wrong about something, anything. He was too damned sure of himself, and I'd had just about enough.
He gave a loose shrug. "Alright, then I'll walk you to your truck."
"Hah! It's not my truck. It's your truck."
Take that, Mister Know-it-all.
To my infinite annoyance, he responded with yet another shrug. "Alright."
Alright? As a response, it was oddly unsatisfying. "Forget it," I told him. "I don't need you to walk me out."
His jaw tightened. "That's what you think."
"No. It's what I know." I was glowering again. "And besides, I think you've done more than enough already."
"Yeah? And you wanna know what I think?"
"Not particularly."
"I think you need to be more careful."
"Well, guess what?" I said. "I don't care what you think. I’m not at work, which means I don't have to listen to you."
"Yeah, but you should."
"Oh really?" I snapped. "Why's that?"
One Bad Idea: A Billionaire Loathing-to-Love Romance Page 16