“Okay, I was instructed to give this to you, only if he wasn’t with you.” He slides his hand off the card and I see his cheeks go pink. “And you have nothing to worry about, Miss Flynn. We’re a discreet bunch of people here.”
I nod and take the card then walk to the elevator. My heart is thumping as I squish the thing in my hand, balling it up. I have a feeling I know what it is and I don’t want the temptation.
In the elevator, I think about what I’d be giving up by messing Damien over. What I’d lose for my family. And it’s just not worth it.
As I leave the elevator, I toss the waded card in the trashcan, just outside of it. “Thanks, Ryker, but no thanks.”
All the way to our suite, I think about his dark good looks. His dancing eyes, his kissable lips. And I know I will never allow myself to taste his kiss or feel his intimate touch.
Opening the door to our room, I feel a warm breeze move over my face. It brings to mind how his hot breath would feel as he kisses my body all over. His hands would bring heat to my skin as he grazes them all over me.
Pulling my clothes off as I go into the room, I find the bottle of wine and retreat to the bathroom. A bath is in order. A nice, long, hot bath might help me to forget about the handsome man who wants me.
Something has to help!
RYKER
“I thought you hated him, Ryker?” Ian says as I address the board about letting Damien’s company make our boosters.
“I hate the way he treats his woman. But this is business. I did my research and if we let the Russian government make them, they can and most likely will, give our technology to all companies in Russia who make these kinds of things. If Damien makes them, only his company and ours will have this booster.”
“Should I even try to talk about using an American company?” Sandy asks.
I smile at her. “What do you have for us? Anything near this good?”
“No, but Steel Corp will make them for only ten million each,” she says, knowing there’s no way in hell I’ll pay that over nearly free.
With a shake of my head, I look at Ian. “We can take a vote if you like.”
“No,” he says as he admits defeat. “The fact is, I didn’t know the Russians could do that. It would put us nowhere near the lead in the race for Mars. Go with Markov Global. It makes the most sense.”
“It does,” I say and have to smile. “Meeting dismissed!”
Making my way to my office, I open the door to find Bridget sitting in my chair. She jumps up as I come in and I laugh.
“Sorry, sir.”
“Not a problem. Get Damien Markov on the phone. I have great news for him and I feel a celebration coming on,” I tell her as I toss my briefcase on the chair by the door and head to my private bathroom.
It’s quite likely Damien will bring Gia to dinner when I invite him to meet me, so I can tell him the good news. I know I should bring a date and I have no idea who I should bring on such short notice.
When I walk back into the office I see Bridget has the phone in her hand. “Mr. Markov is waiting on the line for you, sir.”
“Good,” I say as I walk over and take the phone out of her hand.
“Should I leave, Mr. Crawford?”
Shaking my head, I point at the chair for her to take a seat. She does as I say, “Hello, Damien. How’s your day going?”
“It’s alright. Are you about to make it better?” he asks.
I want to ask how Gia is doing but I know that’ll piss him off, so I just say, “I can try. How’d you like to meet me for dinner at The Capital Grille at eight tonight? I’m bringing a date, so bring Gia along, if you’d like.”
“I don’t like to mix her into my business,” he says, making me mad in an instant.
I chill, though. I want him to bring her. I’ve been thinking about her nonstop since I left my number with the front desk and she never called it. I know she was going to come into that bathroom two nights ago, I heard her outside the door.
“Tonight, business will be short and celebrating will be long,” I say as I watch Bridget fidget in her seat.
“I will see if she cares to come with me,” he says and I find that’s not enough for me.
“Reservations have to be made,” I say. “Is she around? Ask her if she wants to come.”
“You said you’re bringing a date too, right?” he asks.
“I am,” I say and my eyes settle on Bridget. “I’ll be bringing my personal assistant, Bridget. You’ve met her.”
With a laugh, he says, “Her? Okay, I’ll bring Gia. We will see you there at eight. Is it formal?”
“Yes, see you at eight,” I say and end the call with so much cheeriness, it’s slipping into insane proportions.
“You’re bringing me?” she asks as she looks at me with wide dark eyes.
“Do you mind?” I look at her and think she’s surprised.
“No! Not at all. I just thought dates weren’t a thing you wanted to do with me.” She gets up and paces a little. “You see, here’s the thing, well, how do I say this?”
“Just spit it out, please,” I say, feeling a bit annoyed.
“I have a girlfriend now.”
“Huh?” I ask as I’m more than stunned. “You’re a lesbian?”
“Bi,’ she says. “And my girlfriend is jealous. She doesn’t know just how much I assist you. I tell her I’m on birth control to keep my monthlies in check.”
“You’re bi-sexual and you have a girlfriend?” I ask again, in disbelief.
“Yes, Mr. Crawford,” she says as she looks a bit nervous.
“For tonight, it’s Ryker. And only for tonight. Is this girlfriend going to be anywhere near that restaurant tonight?”
“No, she works at a bar. As long as I’m home by two in the morning, she’ll be none the wiser.” She offers me a weak smile. “But, no sex. If you get me home too late to take a shower, she’ll know and boy will there be hell to pay. That woman loves my ass.”
“Noted,” I say as I didn’t plan on doing much with her anyway. “Can I ask you something, Bridget?”
“Of course,” she says as she stops her fidgeting and pacing.
“Do you like it when I fuck you?”
“Of course!” She fans herself. “Your great, sir!”
“But you’d rather be with a woman. Are you with any other men?”
Shaking her head, she says, “For the last five years, it’s been strictly women. And then you, when I was hired for you.”
I feel more than a bit sick as she gets nothing out of it and now I can see that as clear as the nose on my face. I don’t want to tell her she’s no longer going to be needed for my frustration releasing any longer. I need her to go with me to the meeting. But it is over.
How blind am I?
GIA
“He’s bringing her?” I ask as Damien tells me we’re going to meet Ryker and the woman he said was Ryker’s personal assistant and his slut.
“Yes, so you will get to see the man for who he truly is. I hope this will settle you about him. Talking in your sleep, has me knowing that you think about him,” he tells me, shocking me.
“What? Why are you just now telling me that I’ve talked about him in my sleep?” I ask as I cringe at the memory of the steamy dreams I’ve had every time my eyes close.
“What did you want me to say to you, Gia? Hey, what’s up with you screaming obscenities that end with that man’s name on your lips? You bitch about not getting enough sex, but you seem to be getting plenty, in your dreams.” His light eyes hold mine as he looks at me like he’s caught me in a lie or something.
“I can’t help my dreams,” I say as I go to look in the closet for something nice to wear. “Should I go to get my hair and makeup done, Damien?”
“Why, you want to look nice for your dream lover, Gia? Of course, by all means, please go use my money to pretty yourself up for the man who would use you and toss you away like he does all the rest.”
I ignor
e him and go to the closet. “Red or blue?” I ask him as I hold out a couple of dresses.”
“Black should work,” he says as he walks past me to pull a tux out of the closet. His face is near mine, his cheek, nearly touches mine. “Like your soul.”
“Damn it, Damien!” I toss the dresses to the floor and hurry to the bathroom. “I can’t help my damn dreams!”
“But you can stop thinking about the man. You can think about me and what I’ve done and will do for you. You could think about pleasing me, sexually, instead of him.”
I spin around and glare at him. “You’re never here! How could I even do that?”
“Are you telling me that you’ve forgotten how to be spontaneous? Are you telling me, you’ve forgotten how easy I am to please? You don’t try, Gia. You never try anymore.”
“Because you ignore me, almost entirely,” I shout at him.
“Shouting at me, is not a thing I allow. You know this. So, lower your voice when you speak to me,” he says as he begins to pull his clothes off in front of me. “I am here now. There are hours before we must leave. Are your hair and makeup more important than pleasing your man?”
I tremble with how I’m going back and forth with what I should do. Damien’s right about Ryker. The man is bringing his tramp to dinner. And the man who takes care of me is open to sex right now.
So why do I feel torn about what to do?
Part 2 - The Target
RYKER
Waiting in the bar area for Damien and Gia to show up at the restaurant, I feel the air stir as the door opens. A chill runs through me as I turn back to find them entering the dimly lit room. “They’re here, Bridget.”
We get up to meet them as the hostess leads them to us. “Your guests have arrived, Mr. Crawford. Would you like to be seated at your table now?”
“Yes, please,” I tell her and reach out for Gia’s hand first.
She places it in mine. “Ryker, how are you doing this evening?”
“Better now,” I say then leave a kiss on top of her hand. I let her hand go and nod in gesture to my date. “This is Bridget. Bridget, this is Gia Flynn. You’ve met Mr. Markov.”
“Of course,” Bridget says as she lightly shakes Gia’s hand and then I find Damien giving her a hug.
“Nice to see you again, Bridget,” he says. “Please call me Damien.”
“I will,” she says as he lets her go.
He shakes my hand with a quick movement. “Ryker.”
“Damien,” I say then extend my arm toward our waiting hostess. “Shall we?” Placing my hand at the small of Bridget’s back, escorting her out of the bar.
“This is a very lovely restaurant,” Gia says as we walk through the entry way to cross from the bar to the restaurant. “Thank you for inviting us, Ryker.”
“Thank you for coming, Gia. I was worried Damien was going to leave you at the hotel,” I say as I look at her, over my shoulder. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“You, as well, Ryker,” she says and gives me a smile.
Turning to look back in front of me, I feel my heart beat a bit faster. The woman certainly does more for me than I can recall feeling for anyone else. Too bad she’s wrapped herself around that man.
The black dress, she’s wearing, holds her body in a way that makes every curvy stand out. The neckline is deep, separating her perky breasts. There’s no way she has a bra on, underneath it.
It has me wondering if she has any panties on as the dress is tight and I think I’d see the lines of them if she did. The thought of how available she might be right now has my cock stirring.
I’m thankful to get to our table, so I can hide my reaction from them all. Holding out a chair for Bridget, I help her to take the seat then take my own. Damien holds out a chair for Gia and leaves a kiss on top of her head after she sits down.
I watch the act too closely and he catches my grim look. “Ryker, should we order Champagne?”
With a nod to our hostess, I say, “Have our waiter bring a bottle when he comes to us.”
Curtly, she nods and leaves us. I can’t stop looking at Gia. Her hair is down, flowing in dark waves over her nearly bare shoulders. The dress has short sleeves that hang at the very edges of her shoulders. The length is short and her red heels are high. I can picture one of her legs wrapped around me as I push her against a wall.
“I can’t wait to hear what you have to say, Ryker,” Gia says as she looks at me then gestures to Bridget. “How long have you two been seeing one another?”
Bridget looks at me with the same expression a deer gets when headlights hit it. “You answer that one, please.”
With a chuckle, I say, “She’s been with me only a few weeks after I took over the CEO position. But dating is new to us.”
Bridget sighs and looks at Gia. “Very new.”
“First date?” Gia asks as she looks at us.
Bridget nods and I find Damien smiling. “Good for you, Ryker. Making an honest women out of her.”
I don’t even care what he means by that as I look at Gia and find the red lipstick looks great on her plump lips. She used a silver eyeshadow along with blacks to make a smoky eye. “Tell me, Gia, are you going to go see your family while you’re here?”
“We don’t have time for that,” Damien answers for her.
I watch her look down with a frown on her gorgeous face. “No time?” I ask. “I can send you on my private jet, if you’d like.”
She looks up at Damien with hope. “Can I do that?”
His jaw tightens then he looks at me. “That would be nice of you. But it’s not necessary.”
“When was the last time you saw them, Gia?” I ask her.
“Two years,” she says and that just pisses me off.
Letting it go, for now, I see our waiter coming with the bottle of champagne and four flutes. “Here we go,” I say as he places the glasses on the table.
“I am Devin, I will be your server this evening. Your Champagne is on the house tonight, as we’ve been informed we have not one but two very talented men at this table tonight. I’d like to welcome you both, Mr. Markov and Mr. Crawford, to our fine establishment, this evening. I’m on the list for the Mars population program, you two are a couple of heroes in my book.” He pops the bottle open and fills our glasses.
“I am hoping Mr. Crawford here, has some great news for me, this evening that will get us that much closer to getting there,” Damien says.
I hold up my glass and say, “Devin, you might like to stay for this, it’s a momentous occasion, after all.” I turn my eyes to Damien. “Apollo Engineering has decided to accept Markov Global’s proposal to manufacture our new rocket boosters.”
Damien’s smile is huge as he lifts his glass and clinks it to mine. “That is something to drink to, Ryker. You will be happy with our work, I promise you.”
The ladies join us in clinking the flutes of golden bubbly and then we all drink to the new deal. Gia’s eyes rest on me and she gives me a smile. “So, you will be coming to Russia to visit then?”
“My engineer, Ian and I will be coming,” I tell her. “Along with a few others.”
Gia’s eyes move to Bridget. “You as well, Bridget?”
Bridget’s hand flies to her throat. “Oh! I doubt that.”
Damien is quick to say, “You should bring her, Ryker. The nights get cold in Russia. I’d hate for you to sleep alone.”
Gia looks away as if the thought bothers her, which I love. So, I test those jealous waters a bit. Putting my arm around Bridget, I lean in close. “Maybe you should come.”
The way Gia’s head snaps back to look at me with wide eyes has me nearly laughing. She watches, closely as Bridget fidgets, not knowing what to say. “If you need me, sir.”
I tense at her reaction. She’s not getting that I need her to play a part. And Gia’s eyes narrow, telling me she’s getting wise to my ploy. There’s a dancefloor not too far away, where some other couples are dancing. “Dance with
me, Bridget.” I get up and take her hand, leading her out to the dancefloor, away from them, so we can talk.
When I turn back to take her in my arms, I see Damien leaving Gia alone at the table as he has his phone to his ear and is walking away to make a call.
“I don’t want to explain everything, Bridget. I need you to pretend we’re more than we are. And leave the ‘Sir’ out of things, please. Just go along with anything I say. I won’t be taking you to Russia when we go. But you act as if you will be going with me. Do you understand me?”
“Yes,” she says. “You like her, don’t you?”
“I’m not about to answer that question, Bridget. Now, please leave me and go to the restroom, so I can take the opportunity to have words with Gia, alone.” I let her go and she nods as she leaves me on the dancefloor.
Making my way back to Gia, I find her looking up at me when I get to the table, alone. “You seemed to have lost someone,” she says.
“As have you,” I sit down and run my finger around the rim of the glass in front of me. “Did you get the message I left for you the other night?”
Her smile lets me know she did. “No.”
Pink fills her cheeks as I say, “Lies are easily read on your beautiful face, Gia. Why didn’t you call me?”
She meets my gaze. “I knew what you wanted.”
“So, again, I am asking you why didn’t you call me?” I grin at her. “You were about to meet me in that bathroom.”
“But I didn’t and the man, who has done so much for me, got me out of there, so I wouldn’t make a fool of myself. I’m quite thankful for that. I’m not interested in becoming a notch on your bedpost, Ryker.” She picks up her drink and I notice the slightest tremble of her hand.
Getting up, I walk over to her and pull her chair back. “Dance with me.”
“That’s a bad idea,” she says but then Damien walks up behind her. I had seen him coming and made my move on purpose.
“Nonsense,” he says. “Dance with him, my darling. I trust you.”
Gia eyes him as she gets up. “As you wish, Damien.”
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