Riana was confused. What did the time of the month have to do with anything? “Why?”
Loraine’s lips spread in a knowing smile. “You haven’t paid the rent yet.”
Riana giggled, and then it built up to a hysterical laugh. “I was supposed to pay Claire’s half, too. She went on a shopping spree and spent everything she had.”
Loraine laughed so hard she fell off the couch. “’Ain’t karma a bitch!”
* * * *
Riana caught the tears for the hundredth time that night. She’d promised Loraine she wouldn’t cry, especially at work, because their boss was a dragon lady. But she’d never felt so much anguish and loneliness since her mother died.
The death of her mother was so unexpected. One moment they were all together with her brother Reno, laughing and joking as they toured NYU, and the next she was getting a phone call from the hospital. They had gotten into a car crush and Reno was lucky to have survived. Everything went downhill from there.
Immigrations discovered Reno was an illegal immigrant, and after his two months’ recovery in hospital they deported him to Bahamas. Riana was lucky. Their mother had come to America when she was pregnant and Reno was four, so she became a citizen by birth. She wanted to go back with Reno but he wouldn’t have it.
“You would be throwing away the chance of a lifetime,” he’d said. “Everything Mom went through to give us this opportunity would have been a waste. I’m finished with college, and besides, I wouldn’t be able to pay for your tuition if you threw away the scholarship.”
And to top it all off, the man that drove their mother out of New Providence, also known as her sire, had died and left his run down hotel to Reno.
Apparently, it had been Reno’s plan to go back home for the inheritance, but he hadn’t wanted to tell her in case the hotel business was a flop and he ended up stuck there.
Reno had a point. Riana would have never agreed to their mother being left alone and going back to save that man’s business, nonetheless. She may not have known her father, but she despised him all the same.
She shook her head, even more disgusted with the male species.
How much time did a man, specifically her father, need to admit that he was already married?
Riana’s mother had been in for the shock of her life when she’d gone to see him at his hotel and a lady with the body and the air of a super model had demanded to know what Riana’s mom wanted with her husband.
Just thinking about her mother’s pain made her want to cry all over again.
“Hey.”
A gentle, deep baritone voice spoke behind her, startling her. She quickly turned around, hurriedly wiping her cheeks dry with the sleeves of her shirt. Getting fired tonight would just be the perfect cherry on her disastrous day’s cake.
“I’m sorry, sir. Would you like me to get you anything? A drink, an appetizer, or directions to the auctioning…” She stopped abruptly when the sound of his deep chuckle filled the hallway. She groaned, ducking her head. She was rambling. She always rambled when she was nervous.
“I’m fine,” he said, amused.
Riana felt his warm fingers at her chin. He pushed her head up and she didn’t resist. Riana found herself staring at a wide chest, broad shoulders, and muscular arms perfectly encased in a clearly expensive black suit jacket before her eyes trailed up, taking in his amused face and the deepest brown eyes she’d ever seen.
“Hi,” Riana sighed.
He chuckled, giving his head a slight shake. “Hi, yourself.”
He rubbed her chin with his thumb and Riana drew in a quick breath, pulling her bottom lip into her mouth, her eyes still staring into his.
“Are you alright?”
She nodded.
“No more crying, okay?”
She nodded.
“Good. Because he doesn’t deserve you or your tears. You are too beautiful to be crying over a dirt bag.”
She nodded again, the edges of her lips rising to a smile, her bottom lip still trapped between her teeth. She was too caught up in the man’s mind melting looks to grasp what he was saying.
How is it possible for a man to be this hot? Her eyes did a slow perusal from his obviously designer shoes, to his thick thighs, up his wide, jacketed upper body, and back to his Greek god face and raven hair to match. It should be illegal for a guy to be this hot.
He chuckled again, standing to his full height to tower over her so that her head was on par with his chest, and dropped his hand from her chin. “I’m glad I provided a good distraction.”
Riana whined inside at the loss of contact, which surprised her enough to bring her out of her daze. “What?”
He lowered his head and Riana had to press against the wall to try and move away from him. He brought his hand up and placed it on the wall close to her ear and leaned even closer to her. Riana thought he was going to kiss her, and it oddly excited her. She wanted him to kiss her.
A total stranger.
Correction, a smoking hot total stranger.
He let out a lusty sigh and stared deep into her eyes before shifting them to her lips. Riana swallowed audibly then ran the tip of her tongue over her dried lips.
“I wouldn’t mind providing another kind of distraction. One that would leave you feeling very relieved for dumping your ass of a boyfriend, just for his shortcomings.”
“Thanks, but no thanks.”
Riana jumped and turned to face Loraine’s voice but the hot guy remained as he was—apparently not at all bothered that they’d been caught almost—damn—kissing. Loraine stared at her with a raised brow, an exasperated look on her face. She shook her head and Riana could read the action—you never learn Riana.
He sighed and casually straightened, putting a very large distance between them.
Riana felt her face heat and she quickly looked away from her friend and definitely away from the hot guy who had, moments ago, cornered her with his large body and towering height, like a cat to a mouse.
She bit her lips together to keep the smile hidden. She liked being cornered by him.
“Sir, your girlfriend is looking for you.”
“Girlfriend!” Riana blurted out looking at Loraine.
With a pitying look, Loraine nodded. “Yes, girlfriend.”
Riana turned to the man but he didn’t spare her a glance. He just smiled that seductive, mind numbing smile and said ‘excuse me’ before he walked away confidently.
Riana slumped against the wall and groaned. “Do I have stupid written on my forehead? Because if not, I think I should. Brand my stupidity right here,” she said, and smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand, “so that I will always be reminded by every guy who sees it right before they hit on me.”
Loraine grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “You are a waitress of a catering company and he is a billionaire entrepreneur. He acquires businesses then tears them down and throws the pieces to the hyenas for a quick buck. You do not want to be like one of those poor, unfortunate businesses that he sets his eyes on. Allan Sinclair is a big no-no, Riana.”
Allan Sinclair? He didn’t look like an Allan. His name should be big, imposing, and downright sexy to suit him.
Riana shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind for one night,” she drawled the words out before even giving them a thought.
“What?” Loraine half-yelled.
Riana turned to look at the direction in which this Allan Sinclair had disappeared. She may not have been conscious of it when she was with him—when his hot breath was on her face, his lips inches away from hers, his body so close she could feel the heat radiate from it—but now that she thought about it, it didn’t seem like a bad idea. It would be one night of unadulterated, mind-blowing sex that would put Claire and Steve’s affair to shame.
Yes, she decided, that’s what I want. To finally be at the receiving end of great sex that would make her scream her lungs out and fry her brains, not the ten seconds Steve always gave her. Well, she now understo
od why. He was giving it all to Claire and Riana was just his by-the-by. For once she wanted to come first, both by action and deed.
Loraine gently turned her face to the side. “You see the super model dressed in hooker red going into the manager’s office? I don’t think she’ll be all for the mind blowing sex with her boyfriend you are conspiring in your dirty little mind.”
Boyfriend. Riana let out a tired sigh as she rubbed her face with her palms. He had a girlfriend and after what she went through that night, she wouldn’t do that to another human being. “I think I’m losing my mind.”
Loraine chuckled. “Oh, no. You have the right idea, just the wrong guy.”
“Loraine, Riana, I need one of you to get to the floor now and the other to get the extra champagne from the manager’s office,” their boss yelled right before she stepped back into the kitchen.
“I’ll go to the manager’s office,” Loraine offered.
Riana knew she was trying to protect her from the tall, hot, and sexy girlfriend who had just crushed her fantasy, but Riana wasn’t going to allow it. If she was to get those brown eyes out of her mind, she needed to see the girlfriend. “No, I’ll do it.”
“Are you sure?”
Riana smiled. “Yes, I am.”
Riana walked silently to the manager’s office, her thoughts still deep in those brown eyes. She hadn’t realized she’d walked in unannounced until she heard the familiar noises. She blinked repeatedly, just to make sure she was really seeing the girlfriend bent over the desk, her hooker dress bunched up at her waist, bearing her breasts, her thong around her knees and an enthusiastic man, who was not Allan Sinclair, with his pants around his ankles pumping into her like a rutting dog.
“Oh yes, fuck me, Michael. Harder, faster!” she screeched.
Riana quickly rushed out and shut the door. It was like watching Claire and Steve all over again and her chest twisted in pain and her eyes burned. She couldn’t watch another betrayal.
“Oh, no you don’t. Don’t you dare start crying again.”
Riana jumped and looked up. It was the hot guy again. Allan Sinclair. She couldn’t let him see what she just did. It would rip him apart like it was her. She placed herself in front of the door. “Don’t go in there.”
He smiled. “Why?”
Why? Think Riana, think. “Just don’t.”
If he wasn’t looking at her, she would have smacked her head. Really, dangling a carrot? Where is Loraine when I need her!
“Ah-ha,” he responded slowly with a nod.
Riana yelped when he pulled her from the door, and gathered her against his chest, one arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders. She struggled to move but his grip on her was unyielding.
He swung the door open. “What are you hiding—”
“Don’t!” But even as she said it she knew it was too late. She heard a gasp behind her and the woman’s voice cry, “Allan!” and the man’s voice shout, “It’s not what you think.”
Riana shook her head then buried it in Allan’s hard chest. Steve had said those same words to her and they slashed through her chest like a knife. But this time the pain was for Allan, not for her.
“It never is,” Allan responded. His voice was so low and cold that she felt a chilling fear rush through her.
She flinched when she felt his fingers under her chin again. Not wanting to piss him off even more, Riana looked up at him. Even with the smile he gave her, she could clearly see the storm brewing in his eyes.
“Thank you,” he whispered, then released her shoulders and her chin. She knew she’d just been dismissed, but she didn’t want to leave him alone with this. It wasn’t something a person should confront without support; she knew that all too well.
He gave her another smile. “I’ll be fine, Riana.”
The way he said her name sent a shiver of another kind through her body. Without thinking, she moved up on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing him in a tight hug. She felt his hand rub her back and she knew she needed to let go, as good as holding him might feel.
She drew in a breath, taking the scent of him in her lungs. He smelled like a wet forest after a rainy day. Refreshing. Then, acting without thinking, again, pressed a kiss to his neck.
“You’ll be alright because you deserve so much better,” she whispered in his ear, then, with all her courage gone, she didn’t waste any time high-tailing out of there, without a backward glance—champagne be damned!
Chapter Two
Allan watched Riana’s back as she ran away. He chuckled. The bold, slight girl who’d barricaded the door to keep him out now ran like the devil was nipping at her heels.
When he’d first seen her crying, he was ready to walk right past her. But the way she had forcefully wiped her face dry, a new determination mirroring on her face, he’d just had to go and congratulate her on being the first female he’d met who hadn’t acted like the world was over after catching her boyfriend cheating.
And it was quite obvious she’d caught her boyfriend cheating on her. If it had been just an ordinary break up, she would have looked different. He’d watched his baby sister move from one break up to another, all for different reasons, and that made him an expert on ‘Breakup Body Language.’
But when he’d seen her brown eyes, with faint strokes of green in them, staring up at him like he was a world wonder, he was hooked. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the color play in hers. And when she’d sighed it took all he’d had not to laugh and press her against the wall with his body.
Allan wasn’t vain but he’d seen the common effect of his appearance on her face and if he wanted to capitalize on it, like he occasionally did, it wouldn’t have been very difficult. Her breakup and her obvious attraction to him would have made her easy prey.
But he wasn’t that much of an asshole to hurt her even more. Maybe another woman, sure, but not her. So he’d dropped his hand from her chin and took a step back to take a good look at her. She’d been about a foot shorter than he was; he could see the crown of her head, covered in wavy black-brown hair held back with a hair tie. He’d liked how her ponytail was border line unruly, thick, big, and frizzy. That only reinforced his theory that she was half black and half something else. Probably Caucasian. He’d dated women of all races and knew all their secrets. Especially when it came to hair. He’d looked down at her body. The waiter’s uniform had done him the biggest favor by wrapping her tight in all the right places. She’d had curves that’d made his mouth water and a specific part of his body tighten ready to be milked. He’d taken a step forward, and she had responded by taking a step back, her back pressed against the wall like he’d wanted to do before. If it wasn’t for the startled look in her eyes, he would have acted on his desire to seduce her and pressed his body against hers trapping her even more. He’d leaned down, just to tease her and he spoke, though he wasn’t sure what he’d said. All his attention was on her lower lip that slowly slid out of her mouth and the tip of her tongue that’d peeked out, tempting him to catch it with his teeth.
Right before he could do just that, her friend had appeared breaking the spell. He’d rushed off only to be tracked down by her friend—Loraine. The threat she’d issued—‘Don’t play around with Riana or you’ll deal with me’—had made him laugh and come to respect Loraine. Her loyalty, aided by her last name, had made him take Loraine seriously. He’d promised to stay away from her and asked if she’d seen his girlfriend Theresa.
He hadn’t understood why Theresa was hiding away when she was the one who’d not only dragged him to the auction but had volunteered him as one of the men to be auctioned off—him and a two week trip to Venice paid by him. That he had minded. Donating money to the cancer foundation he hadn’t minded at all. After losing his mother to breast cancer and his father to pancreatic cancer, he was ready to give as much as he could in the fight to finding a cure.
He hadn’t taken the test yet because he was afraid he might have the cancer gene.
Melody, his baby sister, had already taken the test and she was in the clear. The doctor had said the odds were one to two or none at all. Melody was clear which left him, the one out of the two.
“Allan…honey?”
Theresa’s voice brought him out of his thoughts and he quickly turned to her. She’d fixed her clothes quicker than it usually took her when she was bent over his desk, her ass in the air and her legs wide apart in invitation. And if he remembered correctly, she never had to give him directions on how to fuck her. Neither did she recover so quickly.
His eyes shifted to Michael. His new employee was just fresh out of college. Working for Sinclair Enterprise was a ‘once in a life time opportunity,’ as Michael had put it. Allan had appreciated his enthusiasm and eagerness that he did one thing he never ever did—he employed an infant. He was now fumbling with his pants as he hurried to zip them up. A young, inexperienced graduate. What else did Theresa expect?
“Michael. Theresa.”
“Mr. Sinclair,” Michael squeaked.
Allan scoffed and shook his head. How could he have been so wrong about this kid? He would never survive in his business. If Michael couldn’t face him boldly with confidence even after he’d been caught shagging the boss’s girlfriend by his boss, how was he going to survive the takeover Allan had planned in Venice?
Allan had invited Michael to Venice to try him out with a chain of hotel he wanted to take over. A good working experience for the kid, and it also would have freed up more time for Theresa. She’d nagged him long enough about his long work schedule and the month he needed to be in Venice would have dealt with that.
But oh no, Michael was too busy attending to Theresa’s needs to even think about how he was screwing himself over. And Theresa, well, she no longer had a reason to nag him. Michael seemed to have stepped in for him in his stud duties just fine.
Allan looked at them again, standing a few feet apart from each other and strangely, he didn’t give a shit if they wanted to go at it again once he closed the door. He had a few condoms in his wallet he could give them if they’d run out already. That’s if they were using any.
Her Venice Affair (The Albury Affairs) Page 2