“Eight months,” came out in an angry hiss.
“Damn, Grayson. What’s going on?” Luke stood, taking charge. He was the head of this family. Time to act like it. “Are you showing up to auditions half in the bag?”
“I wish.” Gray stretched and flipped down his shades to hide his eyes. “I wish I had something else to blame other than my crap talent.”
He hated hearing that. “Are you still taking classes?”
“No.” Gray swung his legs around on the chaise to face him. “I got all those parts right away and then there was no time for classes. I got caught in a typical catch-22.”
“Maybe now is a time to start them back up. You have plenty of money.” And time, but he didn’t say that, because wasn’t it obvious?
“Nah, I think I’m too broken at this point.” Gray put his head down and let the rest of the scotch sit untouched.
“Hey, I have an idea.” He set his own glass aside. “Why don’t you work for the hotel for a while. Just to give you something to do.”
“Like what? You and Tristan stole the top titles.” His resentment seeped through like a gravy stain on a white tablecloth.
“They’re not just titles, Gray. We work for them.” At least he was working for his bossy role now. “What about in PR? We’re gonna need some real schmoozing when this place has a fresh look. Have you seen the renderings Laney hung up in her office? Real chic man, totally you.” He nudged his brother in the shoulder.
“I don’t know anything about PR,” Gray said, keeping his head down.
“Why don’t we hire a PR consultant to get a good campaign going and you can be our front man.” He also wanted hot young people in his lobby bar. His brother was a magnet for that. “Get you seen. Remind people who you are.”
“I don’t know.” Gray scrunched his nose. “Maybe.”
“Dad wanted us to work together,” he reminded his brother of the words in his father’s final letter to them, read by the lawyer.
Gray slid his shades further down his nose and laid a deadly look at him. “He wanted you and Tristan to work together. He didn’t care about me.”
“Tristan will say the same thing.” It was like his dad wanted an heir and forgot about the two spares. So Luke had kept his relationship with his father on the DL.
Luke turned away and the colors of the city scape held his attention. Steel-colored buildings and blue skies all around him, that damn pink halo haunting him. Had it always been there?
“PR, huh?” Gray now nodded, his spirits looking up.
“Yeah. Let’s do this.” He gave his brother a fist bump.
“And I would have to work downstairs in the offices?”
“Yeah. There’s an open one with a window.” He laid back and enjoyed the sun on his face. “You’re a Hart. That gives you power.”
“I like that.” Gray smirked. “And I’ll get to meet this little assistant you screwed.” He gave his brother a once over. “If she liked you, she’ll love me.”
Fucking-A.
Lexi
STABBING THE SALAD she had to hike six blocks to find, Lexi skimmed through Chevalier’s agreement at her desk. What a beast. She loved her contracts classes, but she wasn’t sure this qualified as a contract. The main terms and conditions seemed very boilerplate. Meaning, the company wouldn’t likely amend them.
She’d also downloaded another version from their website after her mother had applied. Just in case. She set the t’s and c’s aside to look at the business proposal. Ah! The meat of the deal.
After noticing everyone had left the office suite, she dumped the printout in her work bag. She figured it was time to get acquainted with her hotel room, her new digs for the foreseeable future.
Luke also never returned after storming away at eleven am.
At seven pm, the hotel buzzed with energy. The Sterling stood alone on Fifth Avenue and its stain-glassed windows bathed the lobby in shimmering sparkles of every color. Dark brown beams crisscrossed the high ceilings creating a warmth that rained down on the scene.
Spotting the snazzy bar, her tongue tingled for a drink. Why not? She didn’t think any employment contract could tell an assistant what to eat or drink in the off hours. After a few steps in that direction, Lexi stopped short.
Luke, Tristan, and the handsome man she’d seen earlier sat in a seating area on one of the tiered levels just past the bar. A woman with long dark hair was with them, too. Tristan’s pregnant fiancé, she recognized from the photo on his desk.
Something was wrong, their body language seemed stiff and it appeared the third man was being reprimanded. Oh...he must be the other brother. Boy did that family score big in the gene pool lottery.
Lexi exhaled in frustration, she just wanted a damn drink. The Harts weren’t drinking, though. All she saw were two bottles of Acqua Panna and several skinny glasses filled with water. Hmmm.
Sighing, she realized it was her first day. She and Luke had already gotten off to a horrible start. She needed this job. And the Chevalier contract was her ticket to a free ride for one semester. Her last semester. That was more important than a drink.
For tonight. Happy with her decision, she waited for a luggage cart to pass her so she could head toward the guest elevator. Luke stood in that tiny fraction of time and immediately their eyes locked. As much as she wanted to look away, she couldn’t.
The stare penetrated her. She didn’t feel hatred, but his face was blank.
Smile, please. Just a smirk. Maybe it’d all been an act today. To show he was the impervious boss who would never sleep with his assistant. All while hiding how he was dying for her.
When she got no expression, she turned away first. And hey, that felt great. Victory tasted sweet. She squared her shoulders and sashayed toward the elevator bank. Several well-dressed older couples meandered off one of the cars. Chatting about the show they had tickets for. Checking out a Broadway performance was going on the to-do list since she’d go bonkers sitting in her hotel room alone every night. She should get to know the city from this view. As a resident. With cash to spend, instead of a broke commuter student lugging apples and pretzels around.
She slipped in the elevator and reached into her purse for the room key Tristan had given her earlier that day. The doors slid closed, but a hand, strong and sculpted stopped it. Not thinking anything, she went back to looking for her room key.
Then she caught the scent. Spicy musk and laundered shirts.
Luke got on and her heart pounded against her ribs. She slinked into the corner when his eyes filled with fire. Was it lust or hatred? She knew where the lust came from. But, what had she done to make him hate her?
She swallowed and bravely broke the ice. “Hi there.”
“What floor?” he asked, his voice low and gravelly.
“Seven,” she answered, shuddering.
He grunted. “That’s a shitty floor. Don’t unpack, I’ll get you a better room.”
Instead of asking why he let his hotel have a shitty floor, she said, “It’s fine. I don’t want to be a bother. I won’t be here very long.”
“Right.”
She cocked her head toward hm. “Why are you in this elevator?”
“All elevators go to the penthouse floor.” He tapped the panel with the sexy mysterious slot for his key card. “The private outside entrance doesn’t get much use, to be honest.” He leaned against a dark scraped panel, his hand gripping the rail. Tight. White knuckling it through this conversation.
“Good to know,” she mumbled. Pressing her bag against her chest, she said, “I started going through the contract. How would you like my notes? Written or...oral?”
His jaw jumped at that. All men loved their dicks sucked and Luke goddamn loved it. And she loved doing that to him. God, the pleasure she got from the power she had over him in those moments. He’d stopped her on and off to kiss her. His tongue sweeping deep into her mouth, like he loved the taste of his own dick. Filthy and hot. That was Luke Ha
rt.
He had moaned so deeply when he came down her throat, grunting, “God, I love this. Take it. Take it down your throat, baby. You suck me so good.”
The words echoing in her head, made her center throb. Everything about that night, the hours they shared, marked a wicked connection she was sure he couldn’t deny either. He hadn’t banged her in the elevator on the way up and sent her back down. He’d savored her. Over and over again. His touches were soft when he wasn’t punishing her with his brutal love.
Where was that man? He really shut down that side of him because now she worked for him? It seemed awfully silly and a waste of time.
“Damn it.” His breath hitched. “I never pressed 7.”
She almost giggled, feeling like she’d distracted him.
Glancing up at the panel to see where they were, she slammed 16.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice harsh.
Getting the hell away from you. “I’ll get out here and wait for a down elevator. Or take the stairs.”
“The stairwell is dark,” he strained through clenched teeth.
She scoffed. “I’m guessing that’s something you’re gonna need to address if you want that deal to go through. There’s an initial inspection and then one every six months after that.”
“I know. Tristan is taking care of that with Laney.” His breathing seemed labored. Was it so hard to be in this cramped space with her?
“Good. Looks like you have everyone taking care of this for you.” The car stopped and when the door opened, she breathed in relief to be getting off. “Good night, Luke.”
He held the door open. “Don’t take the stairs, okay?”
Shrugging, she said, “Fine. Why are you standing there?”
“I’m waiting to see you get on another elevator.” His face was even.
“If you don’t trust guests in the stairwell or waiting on a random floor all alone, I think you have bigger problems than...”
“Than what?” he blurted and stepped off, letting the elevator close and disappear.
Great.
“Then the best lay you’ve probably had in years now working for you. You’re pissed off. I get it. I need money to finish school. Okay? Can you appreciate how I’m willing to suffer the humiliation that you used me?” Each word tasted like fire, admitting how he’d shattered her.
“I didn’t use you.” He narrowed those blue eyes at her, even in anger they made her stomach feel like molten lava. “I don’t use people.”
She laughed to push past the awkwardness. “Right. You don’t need to use people. I bet they line up for you.”
Luke’s got a bit of a reputation.
He shook his head and went to hit the elevator’s UP button. She lunged forward to hit the DOWN button, their hands slapping together. Electricity shot up her arm and she pulled away, but next her wrist was in his hand and he pulled her against his chest.
His breathing was so ragged, but she didn’t know him well enough to tell if this was anger or passion. Maybe a little of both. He said nothing, just stared at her, his eyes wild and dark, despite the usual electric shade of blue. He pushed her against the wall, between the two elevators.
Fearing she’d make him do something he’d regret like kiss her or lift her skirt and show her who’s boss, she slapped the button as soon as her fingers found it. A few seconds later, an elevator opened and mercifully it was going down. Much like their relationship.
“This one’s mine,” she said, struggling to breathe.
“They’re all mine,” he answered.
Say I’m yours, too and I’ll go anywhere with you.
His eyes turned beady like a war raged on in his head, but he let her go. “Have a good night, Alexis.”
She carefully ambled into the car. Using her full name meant somewhere in the haze of anger he’d been paying attention to what the hell happened and how they ended up in this bizarre mess.
“I plan to have a good night. Because I’m going to raid your minibar.” She released her breath when the door closed.
Although her stupid threat was a lie. Lexi would never do that. Maybe she’d stay up all night reading his contract. Let it put her to sleep. It was a labyrinth of exhibits and schedules and appendices.
A lawyer’s wet dream.
CHAPTER NINE
Lexi
In the gym on Friday morning, Lexi got down on her hands and knees with a sheet of 8½ by 11 paper and attempted to figure out the dimensions of this closet of a workout space. But she’d also been pondering how she’d gotten in such deep shit in one week. Luke had barely looked at her and spoke even less since Tuesday night in the elevator. Tristan had hired her to work on the contract. And with Jessie still taking care of Luke’s day-to-day king-of-the-world needs, it gave him an excellent excuse to ignore the hell out of her.
“Looking for something?” a deep voice slid across her back. “If it’s me, I’m right here.”
She may not have banged every man in Manhattan, but she wasn’t naïve. Being down on all fours deserved a sexy comment from a man. Any man. That voice, though. She pulled herself to stand grateful not to smell the rubber treads anymore.
The face staring at her made her stumbled back a step.
The ginger. The man she’d seen the other morning and the same man being interrogated by Tristan and Luke. After fiddling with Google, she learned the man gawking at her was Grayson Hart. Actor. Jeez, they really were better looking in person.
His height bent her mind into a pretzel, too. She wondered if that hurt his chances getting roles. His IMDb profile looked sort of bare.
“Does that work?” she asked, smiling.
“Does a woman on her hands and knees give me a leg up?”
“Or her leg up?”
He laughed. “I’m Grayson Hart. I hear you’re Luke’s new assistant.”
“Lexi. Intern, actually. I’m helping him with the partnership agreement. I go to NYU law school. Sort of.” She was so sick of adding qualifiers to her status.
“Sort of?” His right eyebrow jerked up.
“I had to drop out this semester. Tuition problems.” It didn’t matter how many times she said it, the sting wouldn’t go away.
He narrowed his hazel eyes at her. “Did you know I’m a billionaire?”
His directness threw her off balance. “From what I read, the hotel has made you and your brothers very successful.”
“You’re smart, right?” He sauntered toward her.
“According to my IQ test.” She slithered back, smiling.
“Let me write you a check.” He traced his square jaw with long thick fingers. “I won’t miss the money. Go back to school. You don’t want to work for my brother. He’ll break your spirit into a million pieces.”
She breathed in that suggestion. Was he serious? She had a real sense he was. Never had her world seemed so small and worthless. This man could just buy her off with chump change. Make her go away. “Did Luke send you in here?”
“Of course not.” He sounded insulted.
“Why are you in here, then?” She gave up on measuring the room and crumbled the sheet into a ball. The cramped space only fit one treadmill and one sad-looking cycle thing. There weren’t even any mirrors!
“I saw you come in.” Gray’s smile was so disarming.
“So you followed me in here to offer me a bribe?” She crossed her arms, challenging him.
“Sugar, it’s not a bribe. It’s a gift.” He pushed a hand through his hair. “I heard Tristan and Laney talking about you. What happened at school. That sucks. Let someone help you out. Wouldn’t you help someone if you could?”
She thought about that. If she were a billionaire would she carry around her checkbook, looking for dreams to make come true? Probably.
“And you’d just write me a check for thirty-grand?” She wondered if she’d have to pay taxes on that.
“Sure. I’m jealous of you.” His voice got small for such an enormous man.
“Your dream of finishing school can be bought. Mine can’t.” He leaned against the wall and looked down.
“I put some hard work in there, too, you know. Money got me in the door, but my brain will get me my degree. It’s the same with your acting. Throw your money at the most expensive acting coach and pull out of your funk.” When he shrugged, she swallowed and said, “Can I ask you something?”
“Does it have to do with sex?” His eyes lit up, the sparkle so beguiling.
But she couldn’t stop thinking about Luke. “No.” Why hadn’t he come in here? Because she was in here? “Do you want the hotel to be a Chevalier partner?”
“I’d much rather answer a question about sex.” He slid his finger along one of the treadmill handles. “I don’t know about business stuff.”
“If you want this hotel to survive, partnerships are the way to go. Chevalier is the best type of partner because its members are looking for places like The Sterling. They don’t want cookie-cutter bistros that serve the same damn thing at ten thousand other hotels just like it. Sure, continuity has value. But The Sterling will never be cookie cutter. What?” she asked him because his face had turned pale and his jaw hit the treads.
“Will you marry me?” Grayson got down on one knee.
She laughed. “For a man who’s so beautiful, you’re kind of easy.”
“When it comes to women, I am easy. I don’t have much to offer these days.”
“Don’t say that.” If she had Gray’s money in her hot little hand, would Mrs. Canter at NYU put her back in her classes? God, it was so tempting. The partnership was vital to the success of the hotel. Luke and Tristan hadn’t been able to get it done until now. They...needed her.
“So, no to the money and no to marrying me?” Gray pouted and pushed off his thigh to stand, once again towering over her.
“Grayson...” She practiced bedroom eyes and let the lust come out in her voice. “If I married you, I don’t think we’d leave your penthouse for a month.”
“Now you’re talking.” He licked his lips, but comically because he knew she was playing with him. “Screw everyone. Come on, run away with me.”
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