“Thank you. Good-bye,” he said.
“Bye,” she replied. He hesitated a moment and smiled at her. God, she was gorgeous. He felt like he should say something more or do something. Stay and get to know her. Something. But he couldn’t. She was too young. She was probably working her way through college or something.
He turned around and left with the fancy box in hand.
Emerson walked out toward the sidewalk to hail a cab. He glanced back at the little coffee place, called Bliss, and smiled. The barista was going to remain on his mind for quite some time. She was cute, petite, and had a sweet personality. He nearly chuckled aloud. Of course she was sweet. She worked at a place loaded with sweet things.
As he looked for a cab, he felt the hand touch his arm and then link through. He jerked to the right.
Olivia fucking St. James. Stone was right. The chick is stalking us.
He pulled his arm from her grasp and stepped back from the sidewalk.
“Olivia, what are you doing here?” he asked with an attitude, and he didn’t care who heard. The woman was out of line. This was no coincidence.
“Oh, Emerson, is that any way to greet me? What a surprise bumping into you here in SoHo. I didn’t know you did business around here? Or was it just to visit Bliss? They make some very delicious desserts in there.” She rolled her tongue over her lower lip and batted her silly fake eyelashes at him. Some women looked sexy with the false eyelashes, but Olivia looked cheap. The barista’s eyelashes were real, and she was genuine. Emerson could tell. He shook the thoughts of the barista from his head and focused on the situation in front of him.
“I know damn well that you don’t hang around here. Why don’t you just keep walking, and forget that you even saw me. I’ll do the same.” He turned to walk down the street. Perhaps if he walked a block, he could hail a cab quicker and get away from the Fatal Attraction chick.
“Emerson, please. Don’t be so angry with me.” She grabbed onto his arm and caressed his jacket sleeve as if he were her pet. He wasn’t any woman’s pet.
“Olivia, release my arm. I told you to never touch me again,” he stated firmly. She gave one of those sad looks that was an old game of hers. He wasn’t biting on the bait. He was done with her. It had been months. What was wrong with her now?
“But I need to talk to you. It’s about Stone. He was with another woman. I caught them together. He cheated on us.”
He widened his eyes at her.
“Cheated on us? There is no ‘us,’ sweetheart. Take a walk, and leave Stone and I alone. We’re not interested. I never really was to begin with.”
Her sad expression instantly turned into one of nastiness and vengefulness. She gave him the once-over.
“I was the best thing the two of you ever had. You’ll never find another like me.”
“Well let’s sure as shit hope not. One huge mistake is enough for a lifetime. Now leave us alone. I’d hate to get the police involved.”
“Don’t threaten me,” she stated aloud, causing some passersby to look at them and pause. She pretended to cry. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and laughed.
“Go take some acting lessons, lady. Stay out of our lives. We’re done here.” He turned around and headed down the street. He wouldn’t look over his shoulder, even though his gut warned him to not keep his back to Olivia St. James for long. He might wind up with a knife in it.
That thought unsettled his stomach. But as he hailed a cab, looked over his shoulder, and saw she was no longer there, he thought about the tasty raspberry brownie bites, and one very sweet-looking woman, too young and inexperienced for such hard, demanding men, like him and Stone. They made stupid decisions when it came to women and having sex. They preferred the noncommittal types. It was easier that way. The women they slept with knew their roles and didn’t ask for more. They would be dropped and never called on again. Those women were ready for action the moment they received a text message or phone call. It was that simple, and simple was the best way to avoid getting hurt and being used.
Chapter 2
“What is this?” Stone asked, walking up to Emerson’s desk and picking up the fancy pink box. It had the word Bliss on it in stylish script. As soon as he lifted it, he could smell something incredible.
“Oh, just some raspberry brownie bites. I stopped at a place for coffee and a snack, but then you called, and I couldn’t indulge in the pleasure. Of course seeing Olivia had made my satisfied belly sick,” Emerson said, and then he stared at the box. Stone had a funny feeling.
“What’s with the look?”
“What look?” Emerson asked then quickly turned away.
Stone undid the bow and opened up the box. “Wow. These smell and look incredible.” He picked one up, knowing that he would need to work out a bit more in the gym later if he ate more than one, and took a bite. He felt that instant satisfying feeling inside. It was like finding pleasure in one simple bite. “Holy shit, these are fucking fantastic.”
Emerson leaned back in his chair, elbows on the armrests and pen in one hand. He was smiling at Stone.
“I know. I was shocked, really.”
Stone reached in and took another one, then leaned against the desk. He took his time savoring the taste. “Where did you say this place was?”
Emerson looked at him and then the box. His best friend seemed to be daydreaming or something.
“Dude, where’s the fucking place? What’s wrong with you?”
“It’s in SoHo. Man, Stone, it is a really nice little place, and there was this barista—”
“A barista?”
Emerson locked gazes with Stone.
“A fucking gorgeous barista.” Emerson shook his head and closed his eyes. Stone chuckled. He had never seen Emerson act like this. The man was straight-faced all the time, and never sought out women. He was particular about who he slept with. He hadn’t even liked Olivia, but Stone had talked him into sharing her, and she was all for it.
“What did she look like?” Stone found himself asking.
“She had brown hair, big brown eyes, and thick, long eyelashes. Her lips were sensuous and she was petite, Stone. I’m talking no more than five feet four.”
Emerson’s eyes widened. “And her body?” he asked. He was getting excited. She seemed too good to be true.
Emerson leaned forward in his chair.
“Stone, she has an incredible body.”
“When are we going back there?” Stone asked and Emerson widened his eyes and then shook his head.
“We can’t.”
“What the fuck do you mean we can’t? You described her as if she’s the woman we’ve both have fantasized about. All you have to tell me now is that she’s smart, isn’t a stalker like Olivia, and that she’s single.”
“She’s too young.”
“Too young? How fucking too young?” Stone asked, feeling himself getting all worked up over a woman he hadn’t even met.
“Young,” Emerson said then nodded his head as if totally disappointed and there was no need to continue the conversation.
“Wait, young like in her twenties or young like, holy shit the chick is under eighteen?”
“I think she’s in college and working there to pay her way. It would be too much of a worry if she were over twenty-one to date her and know if she could be trusted. Olivia is in her twenties. Look how her true colors came out. It’s not worth the chance.”
Stone ran his hand up and down his cheek and chin, feeling his dusting of whiskers right on schedule of late afternoon.
“Maybe she just looked young? How do you know she doesn’t have money? Why would you think the worst about her? Was she wearing a lot of makeup? Maybe some foundation, too?”
“That’s something else about her, she wasn’t wearing any makeup. She could be working her way through college. I don’t know. As attracted as I was to her, I would worry about her intentions, too. Women cling to men in our positions. It’s hard to differentiate the t
ruthful ones from the liars.”
“Fuck. You had me so fucking excited until you let me know this chick could be on a Clearasil zit commercial for teens. Is there any way that you could be wrong? Maybe Olivia has spooked you?”
“Spooked me? Hell, I can’t stand that woman. No, this is different. I’m telling you that she’s probably underage.”
He grabbed a hold of the box, pulled out another brownie bite, and popped it into his mouth. As he chewed, he stared at Emerson and saw his disappointment.
“Well, I don’t know if I can wait three years to check this woman out. Maybe another trip there this week will be in order for you. You can find out how old she is, if she’s in college, and if she’s single.”
“I don’t know. She saw me in my business suit. She’s going to assume that I have money and I’m set.”
“You don’t know that. Hey, but if you go in there and converse with her, find out more about her, just don’t mention that you’re a fucking billionaire. Say you work for the company, but you’re at the bottom, making your way up.”
“Lie to her? I don’t think that’s the best way to start off a possible encounter with the woman. She seemed sweet.”
Stone raised one eyebrow at Emerson.
“So did Olivia until her beast claws came out. Play it safe. Feel her out and if you think she is what we’ve been both looking for, then let me know and I’ll go with you the next time.”
Emerson sighed. Stone couldn’t believe that they were actually discussing this woman in such depth. They always did what they wanted, and went after any woman they were interested in. Sure, sometimes they were pompous and demanding, but they had yet to meet a woman who captured their hearts. Starting off with a little lie or in this case, nondisclosure shouldn’t be a big deal if things progressed.
“I guess when I go meet the clients on Thursday I can stop in for another coffee.”
“Yeah, and grab another box of these. These are incredible.”
“They have other items there. But then I saw on a blog post online that shop has multiple items plus specialty items that the owners themselves make. They’re called Toni’s special touch.”
“Toni? Like Toni as in a guy?”
“Yeah, but I guess to go along with the theme of pink and a fancy signature, he spells his name with an I instead of a Y.”
Stone nodded his head.
“It’s pretty cool actually.”
“It is. It was a great place and perfect location. It was really crowded, too. Maybe I’ll check it out again. If there isn’t a wait.”
Emerson leaned forward and took a brownie bite from the box and popped it into his mouth. Stone watched him and wondered if maybe Emerson was wrong about the woman’s age. But if he weren’t, the least Emerson could do was bring back something as tasty as these brownies, and Stone could let his stomach fall into total bliss.
Chapter 3
Vince walked into his cousin Sammy’s bar in Brooklyn. He immediately saw all the familiar faces, and then his uncle Marty.
“Hey, Vince, what’s going on? We haven’t seen you in weeks,” Uncle Marty said, and then pulled him into a bear hug, despite his much smaller height. Uncle Marty was five feet seven, fat in the belly, and a hairy man to boot.
“I’ve been busy,” Vince replied, hugging him back. Vince could feel his uncle’s multiple rings on his fingers rub along his spine. The man looked like the stereotypical gangster. Slicked-back hair, hairy chest showing with the gold chain and crucifix, as well as the over-the-top use of cologne. The man smelled like a fucking whorehouse.
“Hey, Vince.” His cousin Sammy shook his hand next and then three of his uncle’s main guys gave nods hello.
Vince took a seat at the bar.
“What would you like?” Sammy asked.
“A shot of bourbon.”
“Whoa, what’s up?” his uncle asked, turning around in his seat at the bar to talk with Vince. Vince just waited for him to ask about Bliss and Toni. Fucking Toni is driving me crazy. I can’t take it. I’m going to have to apply more pressure. I need this. If I don’t land her and that place, my father and uncles are going to disown me.
“I’m good. Just have a lot on my mind that’s all,” he replied.
“Sounds like you need to get laid,” one of his uncle’s men stated then chuckled as he gave his buddy an elbow. That guy, Twist, was one sick son of a bitch. He had gotten his name from killing people with his bare hands, simply by twisting their necks. Vince avoided him and the other guy, Venom, as much as he could. Vince gave the guy a small smile, acknowledging him, and Twist gave him a look, as if he could see through Vince’s bullshit.
Did he think that Vince wasn’t capable of killing someone? Lately, he’d been feeling as if anything was possible. He would do just about anything, too, to prove to his father that he was legit.
He felt the smack to his shoulder.
“There’s my boy. He don’t need a whore when he’s got a sweet, sexy young woman in SoHo,” his father Butch Saggaretti stated as he joined his son.
Vince swallowed.
“That woman is fucking fine,” Twist remarked.
“But with baking those goodies she does, she may wind up as big as a fucking house in ten years. That won’t be so pretty,” Venom said, and he and Twist laughed.
“You two take a walk,” Uncle Marty Mollicone ordered, as he saw Vince’s eyes squint toward Twist and Venom. Vince wasn’t sure if his uncle could tell he might react to their teasing or if he was trying to keep the peace around the bar.
“How is Antoinette doing?” Butch asked. “You haven’t brought her by the house in months. I know she’s busy running the business and all, but you need to teach your woman to relax a little. Your mamma’s been wondering about her.” Sammy placed a glass of vodka and club soda down on the bar next to Butch.
“Well, things have been a bit rough,” Vince said. Maybe if he just shared a little bit of the truth, his father would understand.
But one look at Marty and then Butch, and he instantly knew they were pissed
“What the fuck do you mean things have been rough? What did you fucking do? Did you cheat on her? It was an easy fucking plan. How did you fuck this up?” Butch asked his son.
“I didn’t fuck things up. She started making all these demands and she wasn’t serious about me.”
“She fucking dumped you?” Marty asked, sounding completely annoyed.
Vince released a sigh. “We’ve been apart for six months.”
“Fuck. How the hell did you screw this up?” Marty asked Vince.
“I don’t know. As soon as I started talking to her about getting serious, getting married, and working the business together, she started to close up on me. Next thing I know she’s accusing me of using her.”
“And?” Butch asked.
“We had a fight. I drank too much and she was screaming at me, telling me what to do and to get out, so I hit her.”
As his uncle and father started carrying on about hitting Antoinette, and then about keeping women in their place, Vince thought about that night.
It was over and he knew it. Antoinette hadn’t been intimate with him in weeks. He stopped at a bar with friends, drank too much then waited for her to close up shop. He walked with her and tried to ease things over, but she just ignored him and told him things were over. By the time he walked her to her apartment upstairs, he shoved her inside and shook her, screaming at her to take him back and to not end the relationship. She was crying. She started accusing his family of killing her grandfather, something they never discussed before. Sure it was true, but he had worked really hard on convincing her that he wasn’t involved with that and their situation was like Romeo and Juliet. The families battled, but they were meant to be lovers forever. She called him a loser and a liar, and he hit her.
She fell to the floor from the blow and stared at him in shock. But it was too late to go back. He was desperate to keep her and seal the deal between them. Hi
s father and uncle wanted her storefront. They wanted him to marry her and trick her into letting him own more of it for security and safety. She told him to go fuck himself and swung at him. He retaliated and hit her again, then threatened to kill her.
As he calmed her down, as he told her that he loved her and was sorry, she shook in his arms. He wouldn’t leave, and he knew when they made love that night that the emotions weren’t reciprocated. She did it to get him to leave her alone. He would never make love to her again.
“Hey, did you hear me? What the fuck are you doing to resolve this situation?” Butch asked.
“Yeah, if you can’t handle this, then maybe we need to do this our way. We can start threatening her. Maybe have some guys waiting for her after hours or something. There’s ways to scare that bitch into defeat. If need be, we can lay it on good, but you need to be her husband. You need your name as a partner so when she dies, you get the entire place,” Marty suggested.
“No. Just give me some time. I saw her tonight. She’ll come around. She’ll need me. There’s no one else she can go to.”
“What about her uncle?” Butch asked.
“Her uncle is a dried-up nobody,” Marty stated with a thick Brooklyn accent.
“He’s a somebody, he’s just not exposing himself publicly. He doesn’t want anyone to know what he’s involved in,” Butch added.
“He’s not a threat to us. That’s why we can go after his niece. This deal is not blown. Not by a long shot. She wants to play tough? Let’s see if she can handle our kind of intimidation,” Butch said then pulled out his cell phone.
Vince watched then looked at his father.
“You love her, don’t you?” he asked.
“If any other guy touches her, I’ll fucking kill him,” Vince said then downed the second glass of bourbon.
Their Sweet Desire [Power Surge: The Billionaire Club 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 3