by Lainey Reese
As they ate the best burgers that Riley had ever tasted and sipped from the same soda, Trevor told her about the center. He told her how he’d come up with the name. She laughed and told him that that just happened to be one of her favorite movies. She said it was campy, and he needed to watch it again in order to appreciate the joy that could be had in a truly awful movie. As they talked, Trevor was filled with a fresh wave of hope.
Riley was touched by his commitment and filled with admiration that he had single-handedly brought this together. She was excited that they had this in common, thrilled that there was more than just good looks and amazing sexual skill to these men. She eagerly told him about her own efforts back home, feeling a little embarrassed since her accomplishments would be meager compared to his. But it was common ground for them, something she had been doing as long as she could remember, and she was happy that there would be more than just sex between her and these two.
Trevor tried to keep calm, but a warm kernel of love started in his chest and spread as she continued to talk. She told him about volunteering at food banks with her mother, then about helping in a soup line once a month with her youth group. Her dad was a tree hugger she said, and from him she’d learned a love of nature. Together they had planted trees and did neighborhood cleanup projects every summer. She also told him about the Christmas canned food drive that she had started when she was only a teenager. She’d been a student helper to a fourth grade class and had noticed that more than half the students were poorly dressed and underfed. So she’d gone to the principal and started a food drive. Before long, the entire community had gotten behind it. That Christmas they had raised enough food, clothes and toys that every low-income family in that school had gotten a delivery. It had gotten much bigger than she had dared hope for and a local charity had come to help with the organization aspects, and it had continued every year since.
“That’s why I went to work for the bank,” she told him. “I needed a good paying job if I was ever going to get out of my folks’ house, but I didn’t want to do just anything, you know? But volunteer work in Washington doesn’t pay, that’s why it’s called volunteer. Well, I found out about CRA. Do you know what that is?” He did but didn’t say anything because he could tell that she was excited to tell him. “It’s the community reinvestment act. It means that if a bank is going to be making money in a community, that bank has to give money back to that community. At the bank, I get paid full wages to volunteer. It’s the best of both worlds. They don’t care what charity I volunteer at as long as I’m volunteering. The bank gets CRA credit for it and pays every employee to do eight hours of volunteer work a week. I get to do the work that I love, and I get paid for it too. Now I can make enough money to live on my own.” Then she wrinkled her nose at him. “Of course, I still have to put in time at the bank. But it’s a small sacrifice to pay and it’s not that bad, I guess. It’s definitely worth the trade off.”
Trevor could have told her that she was never going to have to work at the bank again, but he didn’t. She was so excited he did not have the heart to start pressuring her. They had agreed to give her these two weeks, and he would stick to that. She didn’t know it yet, but she had just sealed her fate. She’d shown him the one thing that he had needed to see to know that she was in fact the one for them. Her heart.
They finished their dinner, and he took her on a tour. The tour didn’t get farther than the pinball machine she’d beelined to earlier however. She was as good as she had bragged and proceeded to wipe the floor with him. Before long, they had a crowd and every time she humiliated him, they cheered for her, the traitors. When he gave up, she took on all challengers, and beat them into the dust as well and showed no signs that she was ready to leave. In the end, he’d had to carry her bodily away while she had laughingly protested that she had at least another hour in her.
“C’mon, sweets,” he said as he carried her toward the door. “Let’s go to the club and see how Cade’s doing.” Riley panicked at that. The clothes that he had scrounged up for her were an old pair of sweats with a drawstring to keep them on, and about a mile cut off the bottom of the legs. Top that off with the matching sweatshirt that was long enough to be a dress and Cade’s club was the last place she wanted to be seen. “I can’t go there. Are you crazy? Have you looked at me?” He thought she looked adorable, but he didn’t want her in a panic so he told her, “Don’t worry. I’ll sneak you up to the penthouse. You can change before we hunt him up.”
Chapter Eleven
Cade was working hard at concentrating on business. It wasn’t easy. Riley’s scent clung to him elusively. He would turn his head to answer a question and it would drift by. He would wave a hand to say hello to someone and it would come again. Every time it did, he would see her. He would see them. Her body quivering under his…her mouth on Trevor while he pounded into her from behind. It made him edgy and distracted. He longed to just go back to the townhouse and have one more night with her before reality set in. Surely, work could wait for one more night. Why when they’d found Riley, was it impossible for his managers to handle these problems alone?
Ann caught up with Cade in his office. He was snarling at a stack of invoices on his desk while he reamed someone on the phone. She felt a frisson of desire shiver along her spine at this show of power from him. She walked quietly to his desk, sat her hip on the corner of it and leaned over until she was sure he could clearly see down her blouse. She had dressed with care tonight, picking the colors and fabrics that complimented her most. Her make-up was perfect and her hair was a shiny, chic gloss around her face. She knew she had never looked better, and had enough confidence in herself that she was sure if he would just look at her, he would forget about whomever that little tramp was that he had dug up this weekend. He couldn’t be serious about her. She’d let herself get fucked in a booth for pity’s sake. For all she knew, he had dumped her already. She reached out one red tipped finger and ran it around the ear that did not have a phone on it. Then leaned forward to whisper in it that she had something to discuss with him, making sure her voice was light and breathy.
“Look,” Cade said curtly to the person on the other end of the phone. “I pay you for a specific service. If you can’t provide that service to the specific obligations in our contract, I’ll find a new company that can.” Then he disconnected, cutting off the sputtering of the moron on the other end. The manager had assured him that the shipment of alcohol they had delivered had been verified and signed for. Cade stared at the invoice. It was several cases short, and Annie herself had verified it. He looked at her leaning on his desk. Her long slender body was dressed exceptionally well today and she was again showing him her small pert breasts.
He had never paid much attention to her. She had always just been a shadow around the house. He’d thought she was a harmless little thing, even though she was given to fits as a child. When his father had called him and asked if he had a position for her, he hadn’t had to think about it. His father considered hers a dear friend. He had gotten her trained for the work and never had a problem with her. She was professional, if a bit aloof. His managers said she was efficient and on time. He did hear the occasional complaint that she was a bit of a snob, but he’d shrugged that off. Everyone was entitled to his or her quirks.
The relationship between them had been cordial and pure business for the entire year she’d been here. Until a couple weeks ago when she had started dressing and acting like she wanted much more than just business from him. For the first time he had looked at her as a woman. She was a beautiful one, she needed some curves sure, but he was a man who appreciated women in all their lovely forms. He hadn’t felt the need to dive right in. He’d instead wanted to feel things out first. Considering the family history, not to mention the fact that he was her boss now, he’d wanted to tread carefully. He had of course wanted to see what Trevor thought. Trevor had been shocked at his first sight of her. She no longer even remotely resembled the dirty l
He realized by her posture that she was hoping to start on that offer here and now. He thought it best if he made himself clear and save her from as much embarrassment as he could. He reached out carefully to her gaping blouse and started buttoning while he talked as gently as he could. “I have been meaning to talk to you since I came in tonight. I’m sorry that it’s been put off. Things have been crazy this evening.” He sent her a sad smile, seeing the way she tensed as he went on. “You are a beautiful woman. I could have swallowed my own tongue the first time I saw you all decked out like this. I want you to know, though, that I have met someone. Someone who is becoming important and that means that I’m going to have to pass on what you are so pleasantly offering.” He brushed the back of one hand on her cheek, mistaking the flush that came over it as embarrassment instead of the anger that it was. “I mean what I say when I tell you that I want you to stay. You’re an asset to the restaurant. I couldn’t be happier with your work here. I know that things might be awkward for a while between us, but I hope that you won’t let that ruin the progress you’ve made here. You should also know both Trevor and I are extremely flattered that you were interested.”
Ann just nodded and put her head down. If she spoke, she knew she would shriek like a banshee and ruin every chance she had at getting him to change his mind. She put a hand to her eyes, hoping he would think she was crying, and he would give her some space. It worked. He kissed the top of her head before he left the office, shutting the door quietly behind him.
Instantly, she jolted from the desk. She was so angry she actually stomped in place, repeatedly. She fisted her hands and ruined her hairdo by madly flinging her head from side to side. Who did that sanctimonious prick think he was?
“Oh, we’re flattered, he says,” she mimicked, like a school yard bully. “Oh, I want you to keep working, blah blah blah. What a fucking asshole.” She kept ranting and mocking, so furious she wanted to break his head in. Nobody brushed her off.
Just because he had money didn’t mean he could throw her away like garbage, she thought while resentment stewed in her belly. She had to gather herself. She wasn’t going to take this. She had watched them date three other women while she had waited for Cade to look her way. Three. Over a year of dragging her ass to work while she’d waited too.
Well, no more.
She was going to do something about this. She had waited long enough, and she was not going to wait until they tired of this one, she was going to get rid of her, and get rid of her now.
Cade walked into the restaurant, guilt nagging at his mind. Maybe he shouldn’t have said anything. Maybe if he had just ignored her, she would have gotten the message and backed off. Then he shook his head, it was better this way. Clean, clear and direct. She deserved that from him. He was absorbed in his thoughts and was wondering if he should go back in and see if she wanted to go home for the rest of the night when he stopped dead in his tracks and every thought flooded right out of his head.
Riley was standing by the hostess station waiting to be seated. She was wearing that last black number that they had gotten for her, and her body was beautifully outlined in it. Her luscious breasts managed to fill the deep vee of the neckline without looking like they were about to fall out of it. Her hips were perfectly rounded with the material stretched flat across them, the dress just tight enough to hint at the mound of flesh at the apex of her thighs. Those thighs. Her legs were short but so amazingly formed that he felt his knees go weak just looking at them on display in that short, short skirt. Her dainty feet were strapped into killer black heels that allowed her tiny pink toes to peek out at him.
When he managed to tear his gaze from her body to her face, it was like a punch to his solar plexus. Her lips were painted a deep, mouthwatering red, her eyes a smoky grey and her hair was held back from her temples highlighting the high arch of her cheek bones to fall in curling waves down her back.
She looked like a vision of sensual delights, and he wanted to show her off and hide her away at the same time. It was a confusing mix of emotions, all tangled inside him with a possessiveness that was new to him. He and Trevor normally liked to show off their women, dressing them as scantily as they dared, enjoying the lust that sprang to others eyes when they took them out. Now, he wanted to kill every man who dared to think of her the way that he was, and he caught himself actually glaring at Gary who had come up to talk to her.
Where the hell was Trevor? Cade could not believe he had left her alone in a public place. Just as he got within hearing distance of the two, Gary reached out and ran a finger down Riley’s neck. Through the red haze of anger that clouded his head, he heard Gary say, “So I see the boss has staked his claim.” Riley pulled back from him with a small smile and was about to say something when Cade snarled from behind her.
“Yes, Gary, I have.” His hands clamped onto her shoulders, and Riley jumped and would have stumbled on her ridiculous heels if not for the death grip he had on her. He leveled a stare on Gary that had the shorter man forgetting that they were friends and saw real fear from the other man. “It would be best if you remembered that, and refrain from touching her in the future.”
“Cade,” Riley’s whisper was shocked. There was real threat in his voice. She knew he was a strong man, really that had been made clear this weekend, but the fierce waves of menace that were pumping off him was not something she would have expected. She knew a flirt when she saw one, and she could tell that Gary was a harmless one. His manner was the same tongue in cheek tease that it had been that first night. This aggression from Cade was so out of proportion to what had happened she had the insane thought that next he’d be lifting his leg on her.
She smiled apologetically to Gary and elbowed Cade in the ribs while she did it. Gary did not wait around to see what would happen next, he just left them with a mumbled, “yes, boss” and cleared out of there before Cade decided to follow up with the threat that was plain on his face.
“Well, that was pleasant.” Riley turned to face Cade, pulling from his grip. “You know if you didn’t want guys flirting with me you should have bought me different clothes. Like jogging suites and muumuus.”
Even if Cade was a little shocked at his own behavior he had a point to make. “He shouldn’t have touched you. What was he thinking stroking you that way?” Cade’s voice had risen on that last, and Riley put her hand on his lips to quiet him. “Jeez, will you be quiet.” She smiled at the other couple waiting to be seated.
“He’s just a flirt, it was nothing. Besides, look at me. I must have used half a tube of concealer and your hickies still bleed thru. I look like a leper.” She said it with a quiet laugh as she leaned in nose to nose with him, the whole situation turning funny to her as she noticed he kept glaring at the men who looked in her direction.
It may be small and completely anti-women’s movement of her, but his display of possessiveness was thrilling something deep inside her. Something he would never see. No, sir. It would not do to let him know she liked his Neanderthal antics. She was secretly going to love this side of him though and hoped that Trevor shared this same trait. She had a suspicion that it had to do with the fact that they shared her. If there was any fear that they would be trying to share her with anyone else it was obliterated in the menace that was still pumping off him like heat rays from the sun.
Cade couldn’t decide what to say. She was laughing—laughing—and he wanted nothing more than to pound on something. He finally managed to pull his composure together and since they were handy, took Riley’s lips in a kiss meant to melt her laughter and remind her of who she was laughing at. It worked. When he pulled back, she was breathless, and her eyes were unfocused. He gave her a brisk nod and said, “We’ll talk about this later. For now where the hell is Trevor?”
“Right behind you,” Trevor said from over Cade’s shoulder. “What’s up?” Then he saw Riley, and his mouth literally dropped open. “Holy shit. Little one, look at you.” Trevor then pleased her right down to her toes when he too searched the room for any man who might be looking at her.
Cade gave a not too friendly shove to Trevor’s shoulder. “What do you mean, look at you?” He glared from Trevor to Riley, not sure who yet, but one of them was going to be in serious trouble for Riley being in here unescorted. “Didn’t you see her already? Didn’t you bring her in here?”
“No,” Trevor said, getting a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. “I was in the bathroom and Riley said through the door that you two would meet me here.” His glare turned to stone on Riley. “You told me Cade was taking you down.” Cade clamped one hand onto Riley’s wrist while Trevor came around and clamped onto her other one.
“I never said Cade was up there,” Riley protested, really getting worried about the anger that they were directing at her. “All I said was, and I quote—Cade and I will meet you in the restaurant. Then I came down here to find Cade. It’s not like I had to travel across town to find him.”
Cade bit out thru gritted teeth, anger boiling his blood, “I made myself clear to you the first night what kind of club I run here. The restaurant is fine, but you had to walk through the club and around the building to get here. Do you realize what could have happened to you? What kind of danger you were in?”
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