Club Abbott: The Deal (Club Abbott Series, #2)

by Hazel Kelly

  Which was bittersweet.

  After all, the last thing I needed was a beautiful woman distracting me from getting my club up and running. Then again, maybe it would be advantageous that I was looking forward to spending more time with her.

  Sure, she rolled her eyes every time I said something flirtatious, but at the same time, the smile never dropped from her face during our meal. Not once.

  Which meant I got to enjoy her dimples for two hours.

  And while the tasty food at Bellini’s probably had something to do with her glowing expression, I don’t think the meal deserved all the credit.

  Though it ticked me off when she tried to snatch the bill from my hand.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” I asked, moving it out of her reach.

  “Buying dinner.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “Can we at least go Dutch?” she asked. “It’s only fair.”

  I peeked inside the slim leather folder. “Put your wallet away, Carrie.”

  “But it’s not like it’s a date-”

  “It’s my treat.”

  She reached her card across the table. “Just put mine in there with yours. They’ll split it.”

  I slid it back towards her and reached in my pocket. “No they won’t. They only take cash.”

  Her eyes went wide.

  I slipped some money from my wallet and slid the crisp bills inside the folder.

  She picked up her card. “Thanks.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” I said. “Depending on how our next stop goes, you might have a chance to get me back.”

  She furrowed her brow. “Our next stop?”

  I nodded.

  “If you think I’m going home with you just cause you bought me dinner-”

  I raised my eyebrows.

  “Then you’ve completely misjudged this situation.”

  “Actually, I thought maybe we’d swing by the club to save us having to make the trip tomorrow, since it’s only up the road.”

  Her cheeks turned bright red.

  “Unless you’re too drunk.”

  “I’m not drunk,” she said, rolling her shoulders back.

  “In that case, I’m flattered that the thought of going home with me crossed your mind.”

  “It didn’t.”

  I pursed my lips to hide my amusement. “My mistake.”

  She swallowed.

  “So do you like that plan or would you rather meet up again tomorrow evening?”

  Her brown eyes looked darker than ever in the dim restaurant, and she looked at me like she didn’t trust me… though I was fairly sure it was herself she didn’t trust.

  “I’ll leave it up to you because I realize it’s getting late and-”

  “Fine,” she said. “Let’s get it over with.”

  “Great. I can’t wait to show you the place.”

  “I can’t wait to see it,” she said, her tone suddenly more professional than stroppy.

  She was quiet in the Uber, keeping her eyes on the street outside her own window during the journey. I didn’t know if she was tired or tipsy or just pleasantly full, but I didn’t care. I was enjoying her company.

  Plus, I was so eager to see what her initial thoughts on the space were at that point, I couldn’t bear the thought of having to wait even one more day.

  After all, it was a win win situation.

  If she had loads of good ideas, I’d hire her on the spot, and finding a talented designer would be one less thing I had to worry about.

  And if I realized she was more style over substance, I could fuck her senseless like I’d been dying to do all night, and I wouldn’t have to worry about blurring the lines of our professional relationship…

  Though part of me feared I’d already compromised my objectivity.

  Still, she made me feel relaxed, which was a welcome change from the recent stress I’d been under as a result of my dad’s doubts and my mom’s lies.

  And despite the fact that she seemed hell bent on pretending she found no comfort in my company, I suspected the feeling was mutual.

  By the time we arrived in the meat packing district, the regular Thursday night festivities were kicking off. Smartly dressed young men and women were strutting their stuff on the sidewalk, and bare legs jutted out of taxis everywhere I looked.

  Of course, there was only one set of pins I was interested in and they were torturously hidden by Carrie’s pencil skirt.

  “Ta da,” I said, when we arrived.

  The brick building was completely dark, and she seemed increasingly skeptical as she joined me on the sidewalk.

  “Does the electricity work inside?” she asked, watching as I fumbled with the lock attached to the chains on the door handles.

  “No,” I said, popping the lock open and looking at her. “Does your phone not have a flashlight?”

  She rolled her eyes.

  I opened the door and stepped around the corner, flipping several switches. One by one, they started buzzing as they lit up along the high ceiling.

  “You’re locking us in?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” I said, bolting the door. “For our safety. The lights work, but the security system doesn’t yet so-”

  “Okay.”

  When I turned back to start the tour, she was looking around the massive room and her eyes were bigger than I’d ever seen them.

  “This space is humongous.”

  “I know, but don’t you think it has great potential?”

  She nodded. “You could pretty much do anything you want in here.”

  “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”

  “It won’t be cheap, but-”

  “That’s fine,” I said. “I’ll make it all back the first quarter if everything goes according to plan.”

  “So the budget isn’t really a major constraint?”

  I squinted at her. “Will you take advantage of me if I say it’s not?”

  She shook her head.

  “Great,” I said. “In that case, time is really the only constraint.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Time?”

  I nodded. “I want to launch on New Year’s Eve.”

  Her lips fell apart. “Are you serious?”

  “I never joke about business.”

  “Okay, then,” she said, taking her coat off and laying it with her purse on a stack of wooden pallets by the wall. “Why don’t you walk me through your vision?”

  “Sure,” I said, laying my coat down by hers so I could gesture down the high ceilinged stretch like an air traffic controller. “I want to have some smaller, connected rooms off to the left around that corner, but I want to leave this big open space as it is so there’s a big wow factor right when you walk in.”

  She pushed some hair out of her face. “Oh there’s a wow factor alright.”

  My eyes dropped to the bare skin at the neck of her cream colored blouse.

  “And the high ceiling is absolutely fabulous,” she said, looking up. “There are so many cool things we could do with the lighting.”

  I smiled. “Just wait till you see it from upstairs.”

  Chapter 15: Carrie

  I’d never seen him so excited.

  I mean, I realize I didn’t know him that well, but when he was talking about his vision for the space, he totally lit up. He spoke quickly, moving his hands like he was painting the picture with broad brushstrokes.

  And I could see it.

  I could imagine the bar along the back wall- the one he said would be the longest bar in the city if he could pull it off. I could imagine the cozy booths in the VIP section, the slick color scheme, and the lounge area he wanted to put in the women’s bathroom so there would never be a horrible line down the hall.

  For the next hour, he hardly stopped for breath while he told me about his aesthetic and what he wanted the place to feel like when it was finished.

  And it was obvious that I’d underestimated him.

&n
bsp; He had impeccable taste and had clearly been in a fair few clubs in his day because he knew exactly what he didn’t want: narrow hallways, bars that were hard to get to, coat rooms that charged money, tacky drinks, and cheap furniture.

  He wanted his club to be like heaven- if heaven were full of beautiful young people looking to party.

  And the more he talked about it, the more convinced I became that he was going to pull it off whether I helped him or not. So the question really wasn’t whether I could do the job. It was did I want to go along for the ride?

  Of course, he wasn’t the only one questioning whether I could do it.

  I’d never done a commercial space on such a large scale. I was used to doing small, domestic spaces where the only thing that had to be taken into account was the client’s personal tastes… and I’d never had a client whose ultimate goal was entertaining a thousand people every night of the week.

  However, I think I did a good job acting like I wasn’t completely overwhelmed by the project. After all, I wanted the contract. Hell, I needed it. Not just for the immediate cash flow, but for the doors it could open for me.

  Besides, why wouldn’t I be able to do such a massive space? Sure, it was a bit more industrial than what most people wanted for their private residences, but I was confident that my good taste could get me through.

  I was following Ben up a set of stairs towards an unlit lofted area we hadn’t explored yet when he turned around.

  I stopped abruptly, wondering why he paused before we reached the landing… and whether I’d been caught admiring the way his expensive pants stretched across his ass.

  “I think this is the best view of the space,” he said.

  I kept my hand on the railing and looked over my shoulder. “You’re not wrong. You can see everything from here.”

  And even though “everything” meant a dirty floor that smelled of sawdust and a bunch of junky palettes left behind by the previous owners, I could imagine how it might be transformed by funky lights, smiling faces, and drinks glowing in people’s hands as they moved across the dance floor.

  “So what do you think?” he asked.

  I leaned against the railing. “I think it’s amazing.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Yeah? Cause you’ve been so quiet I was starting to worry.”

  “Not at all. I was just taking it in.”

  He sat down on the step above me, put his arms on his knees, and sighed. “Well, that’s a relief.”

  I let go of the railing and sat down beside him.

  “Carrie?”

  “Yeah?” I turned to look at him. His face was gently flushed, but his eyes were still bright and his smile… I swallowed when I noticed his lips and raised my eyes again.

  “Can I trust you to be honest with me?”

  “Of course,” I said, holding on to my knees and regretting the extra glasses of wine I’d had with dinner.

  He squinted as if he were afraid of what I might say. “Do you think some of my ideas are doable or am I in way over my head?”

  I was so relieved I didn’t think he was crazy cause I swear to god in that moment he looked so hot I would’ve said whatever I thought he wanted to hear. “I think you’re ideas are brilliant and that you can definitely pull this off.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Yeah?”

  I nodded. “Absolutely.”

  He looked at me in a way no one ever had, as if I were glowing like a star. “God I could kiss you for saying that.”

  My stomach clenched and I felt a gush between my legs.

  He raised a hand and rested it along the side of my face, sliding it down until he was pulling my chin towards him with his finger. Then he leaned in and gave me a soft kiss, keeping his tongue to himself.

  I put a hand on his shoulder and pushed myself away, my eyes bouncing back and forth between his. “Wait-”

  He furrowed his brow. “What?”

  I looked at his lips and a hot coil tightened inside me. “Are you my client or my boyfriend right now?”

  “I don’t remember calling off the act. I think we’re still playing make believe.”

  My breath was as shallow as my mind was cloudy with wine. “In that case,” I whispered. “I liked what you were doing there.”

  He kissed me again, more forcefully this time, and when his tongue parted my lips, my legs felt so weak I was glad I was sitting down.

  A few swirls of his tongue later, I was completely lost in him and didn’t give a shit how wrong it was that I was showing a strange man such concentrated sexual attention when my engagement ring was still a phantom limb.

  All I cared about was getting more of that feeling Ben gave me, that sensation that I was beautiful and light.

  He wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me into his lap, sliding his hands up my skirt so I could straddle him on the stairs.

  I could feel the length of his hardness beneath me as I leaned into his kiss.

  For a moment, I tried to resist the urge to rock against his dick, but knowing he wanted me that way made me feel so sexy I couldn’t help myself.

  And his hips didn’t stay still either. He egged me on, holding the back of my neck all the while so he could probe my mouth with his greedy tongue, enchanting me so thoroughly it stopped feeling like make believe.

  Soon, the energy building inside me was too much. I didn’t even care how much was at stake. My pussy was too warm, my need for him too intense.

  I reached for his belt and undid it without looking, sliding the strap through the loop as I grinded against him, gasping for breath between his deep kisses.

  Then I felt his hand on my wrist.

  “You in a hurry?” he asked, clearly amused.

  “I’m sorry- I-”

  “It’s okay,” he whispered. “But you’re not ready for me yet-”

  I was going to object when I felt his fingers against the heat between my legs.

  He raised an eyebrow as he stroked my wet panties. “You’re closer than I thought, though.”

  The energy in my body pooled in my core, and my limbs felt weak. All I could do was will him to take me.

  After all, I knew I’d crossed the line, and I wanted to get this mistake over with so I could start regretting it as soon as possible.

  But if the look on Ben’s face was anything to go by, he had no intention of putting me out of my misery any time soon.

  “Please,” I said.

  And that’s when I learned I should be more careful what I wish for.

  Cause a second later, he pinched the waistband of my lacey underwear in his fingers and tore it in half.

  Chapter 16: Ben

  Her eyes grew wide at the noise.

  When she looked down, her torn underwear had pulled around one thigh like a garter.

  “Sorry,” I said. “I’m a bit clumsy when I’m in a hurry.” I lifted my ass and pulled my pants down just far enough that my dick sprang up between us.

  “You’re right,” she said, lifting herself up so I could push my pants down around my knees. “I’m not ready for that.”

  I grabbed her hand and wrapped it around my dick, feeling a surge at her touch.

  She pursed her lips.

  “You want to go for a ride, right?” I asked, my eyebrows flashing up. “So sit on my dick already.”

  She took a deep breath, her chest rising in front of me.

  I knew she couldn’t do it. Few women could. But if she thought she could rush things with me, she’d have to learn the hard way.

  I grabbed my dick and dragged it along her slit.

  But she kept her eyes on me.

  They were so big and trusting it seemed a shame to hurt her. But it would only take a second, and I would make it my business to kiss it and make it better.

  “I don’t think you’ll fit,” she said, her voice suddenly timid after having sounded so gung ho a moment ago.

  “There’s only one way to find out,” I said, slipping the tip in just enoug
h to make my head disappear.

  She groaned as her face twisted. “Oh god.”

  I slid a little further, furrowing my brow as her tight pussy tried to choke me out.

  “Stop,” she breathed.

  I froze.

  “You’re too big,” she said. “I didn’t know-”

  I pulled myself out.

  She squeezed two fistfuls of my shirt in her hands and took a deep breath. “I’m so sorry-”

  “Don’t worry about it,” I said, laying a thumb across her fat bottom lip. “You just got a little ahead of yourself.”

  She nodded.

  “How about we do things my way?”

  She swallowed.

  I slipped two fingers inside her and watched her eyelids fall to half-mast.

  She pulled herself towards my chest and kissed me again so urgently it made me want her more than ever.

  I churned my fingers against her hot center and rubbed her clit with my thumb, relishing the way her whimpers poured into my mouth.

  Every now and then, her body fucked against my hand, and I felt a rush in my dick at how bad she wanted it.

  And I couldn’t wait to give it to her.

  Just as soon as she was so high she wouldn’t care what the fuck I tried.

  “Stand up,” I said, slipping my fingers from her.

  She was unsteady on her feet as she rose over me.

  “Lay down at the top of the stairs,” I said, pulling my feet from the legs of my pants.

  She started up the stairs on her hands and knees, giving me a view of her snatch that I would never forget.

  “Wait,” I said, grabbing one of her ankles.

  She fell forward on the landing, holding herself up on her elbows as she looked over her shoulder.

  “Spread your legs.” I crouched beside her bare ass and ran a hand over it. It was so smooth and round, so fucking beautiful.

  “Ben- I-”

  I slid my fingers back in her wet pussy, working her from behind, trying to ignore how badly I wanted to slide my dick inside her.

  But women always said I felt even bigger from behind, which meant I couldn’t do that with Carrie.

  Not yet.

  So I stuck my tongue in instead.