Brother's Best Friend's Package

by Cassandra Bloom

  He grabbed her wrist. “Don’t go. Stay here with me for a couple of days.”

  Her eyes popped open. “A couple of days? Come on. You said we would have this night together and walk away. Now you’re saying make it a couple of days. What’s next—happily ever after?”

  “Would it be so bad if it was? I don’t want to leave just yet—I mean, I don’t want to leave if there’s a chance I can spend some more time with you.”

  “I don’t want to stay here. I don’t want to keep doing this. I want to go home to my own life. If I stayed here, my whole life would collapse into turmoil.”

  “Are you saying it would collapse into turmoil if you stayed here, or if you had anything more to do with me?”

  “Both. I don’t want to have anything more to do with you. I told you that. I want to go back to the way my life was before I met you.”

  He swung his legs over the bed and set them on the floor. “Way to throw a bucket of cold water on a guy. We just spent a passionate night together, and now you’re saying you don’t want to have anything more to do with me.”

  “Well, crikey, what did you think I was going to say? You didn’t think I would fall at your feet and beg you to run away with me, did you? We had a great time. I’ll admit that. You’re a rock star in bed. You know that. That doesn’t mean I want to commit or anything.”

  “I never said anything about committing. I said spend a few days here with me. What could be wrong with that? I care about you and you care about me. We have great sex and we like dancing. We could have a good time together, you and me.”

  “I don’t care about you like that. You’re my brother’s mentor, and he considers you his best friend. That’s it. We had a wild weekend together at my brother’s wedding. End of story. I’ve got a life and a job and a plan back home. I don’t want to throw that away over anybody. No offense against you. It’s just my life comes first.”

  He turned around to face her. “Are you really going to sit there and tell me you don’t care about me?”

  “You make it sound like jumping you at a wedding is some kind of prelude to a long-term relationship. I don’t want that. It’s nothing against you. I don’t want it with anybody. I don’t want anybody coming between me and my life.”

  He grabbed his pants. He stood up into them and buttoned them below his washboard abs. “You’re lying, Bridget. You care about me just as much as I care about you. I know you do.”

  She stared at him. What could you do with a guy like this? He was off his rocker. “What do you mean by ‘care about you’? You don’t honestly think there could be anything between us, do you? You banged me at a destination wedding. You’re a frickin’ billionaire businessman. What could you possibly want to care about me for? I’m nothing to you. I’m a good time and a wild weekend. Nothing else.”

  He yanked his shirt off the chair back. “I don’t believe you. I don’t believe you don’t care about me. You want me to think this was all about sex for you, that you don’t want anything more with me than a wild weekend? Okay. You said it, so I have to take your word for it. Just so we’re clear, though, I’m not buying it.”

  “Why won’t you believe me? Why would I lie about it? If I really cared about you, why would I go to all this trouble to kick you in the guts?”

  “I don’t know, but if that’s the way you want to play it, that’s the way we’ll do it. You get dressed and go pack your suitcase. I’ll see you later, or maybe I won’t. I really enjoyed last night. Have a nice trip back to the city.”

  He propped his hands on his hips and watched her slide into her dress. She didn’t look at him. She didn’t bother to straighten the dress or fix up her hair. She had to get to her own room. Nothing else mattered. Once she got there, she could change her clothes and make herself decent.

  She got covered up and paused on her way to the door. She looked back. He stood in the same place with his hard, gray eyes piercing her to the core. “See you later.”

  He didn’t say anything. He just stood there, impassive.

  She hurried out of the room and shut the door behind her. Phew! That was over with. She turned her steps to her room. She changed her clothes in a rush, tossed everything into her suitcase without folding anything, zipped it up, and bolted.

  The elevator took a long time to come, and when she got to the lobby, she found out why. Departing wedding guests cluttered the lobby. Everyone wheeled suitcases, and the valet boy worked double-time trying to get everybody out the door at once.

  Family and friends embraced and shed tears all over again, which slowed things down even more. Bridget’s parents re-enacted every conversation they had throughout the whole weekend. Everyone wanted to exchange phone numbers and email addresses. Thousands of promises to keep in touch flew back and forth before people got in their cars and drove away.

  Bridget milled around the back of the crowd, but she couldn’t escape her share of the well-wishes. At least Ben and Larissa weren’t there to complicate matters. A couple of hours passed before Bridget finally handed the valet boy her ticket. She parked her suitcase next to the curb to wait when a magnificent stretch limo pulled up in front of the hotel. Bridget couldn’t help gawking at it. What would it be like to sail back to the city in that?

  Before she could concoct a fantasy about what it would be like, a couple strutted out of the hotel and stopped in front of the limo. The man opened the limo door for the woman, but the woman threw she threw her arms around him and started to kiss his neck. Bridget couldn’t believe the evidence of her senses. She gaped at the two people tangled in each other’s arms. “Sheila! What are you doing?”

  Sheila folded at the waist to give Bridget a lecherous leer. She draped over Roy’s arms so he had to hold her upright. “Look what I got, Bridget! How do you like them apples?” She chortled with glee.

  Bridget gasped out loud. “What are you doing? What are both of you doing?”

  “Can’t you see?” Sheila crowed. “I’m riding back to the city with Roy. Didn’t I tell you I’d get him? Isn’t he a fine specimen? I know what I’m having for lunch today.”

  Bridget’s jaw dropped. “How can you do this? How can you two…hook up like this?”

  Roy cast a disgusted glance Bridget’s way. “What’s the matter, Bridget? Do you see something here you don’t like?”

  Bridget waved her hand up and down in front of the couple. “Look at the two of you. You’re all over each other. How can you do this… now?”

  “What do you mean now?” Roy asked. “The wedding’s over. We’re both free agents. I’m going home with Sheila. I think she’s perfectly willing, aren’t you, darling?”

  He wrapped his arms around Shielas waist. She purred and sagged in his arms. She was all over him.

  Bridget exploded into a rage. “You pig! You filthy fucking cocksucker! I should have known you would pull something like this. You gave me a big song and dance, and now you run off with her! You’re just as much a lecherous prick as everyone said you were. I should never have had anything to do with you.”

  Roy disengaged himself from Sheila’s arms just enough to lean toward Bridget. “You’ve got nothing to be indignant about. You just said you didn’t care about me, that this was nothing but a wild time for you. What are you making a big deal about this for? You don’t care if I go off with someone else. Go home. You don’t want me or Sheila or anybody else coming between you and your precious life.” He turned back to stick his tongue down Sheila’s throat. “I wouldn’t want anything to do with your precious life anyway.”

  Bridget fumed and ranted. “You son of a bitch! You know good and well I would blow up if I saw you with….with her! You spun me a bunch of big tales about….Oh, what’s the flippin’ point? I should never have given you the time of day. I wish I never laid eyes on your ugly face. Get out of here! Go fuck her until she bleeds. See if I care.”

  He gazed at her with those fierce eyes of his. He could cut glass with those eyes. Bridget whirled away so
she wouldn’t see them. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. Where was that stupid valet boy anyway? How long did it take to find a frickin’ car in a parking lot?

  She kept her eyes trained on the parking lot. He would show up any second, and she would ride off into the sunset. She would pick herself up a voodoo doll and stick Mister Fancy Pants Roy Fontaine full of pins. Then she would throw the voodoo doll in the trash along with all the hot memories of last night.

  She couldn’t fail to see the pair of them groping each other on the curb out of her peripheral vision. They eased toward the open limo door. Whispers flickered back and forth between them. That dick weed! What a player he turned out to be! A lying, stinking, womanizing player. That’s all he ever was.

  The limo door slammed. Now Bridget could turn around and look. She gasped out loud at what she saw. There was Roy with his hand on the limo door, the closed limo door. Sheila was nowhere in sight. Bridget’s eyes dropped out of her head. The limo glided away from the curb and angled down the driveway and there was Roy standing on the curb in front of Bridget.

  She opened her mouth and closed it again. “What are you doing?”

  He squared his shoulders at her. “I’m sending Sheila back to the city in the limo. I’m staying here with you.”

  Bridget couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. “But you…what are you…How could you…?”

  “You said you didn’t care about me, that last night didn’t mean anything and was all about sex. Now we both know that’s not true.”

  “How could you…?” Bridget narrowed her eyes. “Did you get Sheila to pose for me just now, to make me jealous?”

  “I didn’t do anything. You’ve seen Sheila hitting on me all weekend. All I had to do was suggest she ride back to town with me. She was more than willing. If you didn’t care about me and last night was just a fling for you, you shouldn’t have anything to say about me going with Sheila. You had a good time with me. Are you really willing to let me walk away without a word?”

  Bridget blinked. “I guess not.”

  He took a step toward her and picked up her hand. “Neither am I. I don’t want to walk away. You wouldn’t have blown up just now if you didn’t care.”

  She reeled on her heels. Was this really happening? Could she really care about this guy? Last night was fun and all, but it went way beyond sex. The dance, the hours spent holding him in bed, the kissing—it all added up to something bigger than both of them.

  He tugged her arm. “Come inside with me. I still have my room.”

  She hung back. “Are you sure about this?”

  He faced her. His broad shoulders swelled. “Don’t come inside with me unless you’re sure. Look. Here comes your car. If you’re not sure about this, get in your car and drive away. You lose nothing. If you are sure, come up to my room with me. We’ve got so much more we can do together than great sex. We’ve got the rest of eternity to find out how far we can go together.”

  Her car pulled up, and the valet boy handed her the keys. What did she really want to do? Did she really want to drive home and let this opportunity slip away? What waited for her upstairs in Roy’s room? She already knew that.

  She lifted her eyes to his face. “I’m sure.”

  He smiled and hooked his arm around her shoulders. He turned to the valet boy and handed him a hundred dollar bill. “Sorry. We won’t be needing it now. Thanks anyway.”

  The valet boy jumped, but Roy already turned Bridget away. He ushered her back into the hotel, and the door closed behind them.

  THE END

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  Copyright 2017 Cassandra Bloom; All Rights Reserved

  SINGLE DAD BOSS

  Chapter 1

  “There must be some mistake.” The doorman frowned when he studied his clipboard. “There's no Abigail Townsend on here.”

  Abbie shifted from one foot to the other. “Are you sure? I have an appointment for nine o'clock. It's my first day of work.”

  He sat down on the stool behind his podium. “I'll call up and see.”

  Abbie wandered around the condo apartment building lobby while the doorman murmured into his phone in hushed tones. It sure was a nice building. The outside looked like any run-of-the-mill apartment building. Inside, stately potted palms dotted the checkerboard tile floor. Deco brass railings and stained glass offset the magenta carpet and burnished wainscoting.

  At last, he hung up and waved her back over to his podium. “All right. You can go up.”

  “What happened?”

  “I don't know. Maybe they just forgot. You can go up now, but I'll have to use my key to set the elevator.”

  Abbie didn't understand what that meant, but she didn't tell him so. She followed him to the elevator and waited when he pushed the button to call the car. He smiled a fake smile when she caught his eye. He ran his eye up and down her curvy form. Her khaki slacks hugged her hips, and her smart matching jacket set off her full bust. She carried all her paperwork in a leather satchel over her shoulder, with a rolling suitcase at her side. Her curly platinum hair bounced around her shoulders.

  When the doors opened, he stuck his head in and inserted a key from his key chain into the control panel. He turned it and bowed to her with a flourish. “After you, Madam.”

  Abbie pretended to laugh, and when she stepped inside, the door closed him out in the lobby again. A blessed silence accompanied her up into the building. The elevator showed the same signs of modern luxury as the rest of the building. She hesitated to ride in some of the decrepit elevators whizzing around this city. Their gears crunched, and rust surrounded their control panels like they hadn't been maintained in years.

  The car sailed into the sky and glided to a stop without a peep. The doors whooshed open, and Abbie stepped out into a high entrance foyer leading down carpeted stairs into a long hall. Not a sound welcomed her out of the elevator. Three marble statues of naked nymphs smiled down at her. Sunlight glowed down on their heads through skylights and gave them an angelic halo.

  Abbie paused in the foyer and waited. No one appeared. No one spoke inside this...this place. She couldn't even recognize what sort of place it was. Was it an apartment? Too big. Was it a museum? More likely.

  She was supposed to meet her new employer and start work this morning. She always made sure to be on time, perfectly groomed and tastefully made up, so why didn't her employer give her the same consideration? This did not bode well for a profitable working relationship.

  She parked her suitcase by the elevator. No need to make herself comfortable when she might be leaving in a few minutes. Maybe the doorman was right. There must be some mistake. Maybe they didn't want her working here after all. Maybe she got the address wrong. If that was the case, why did they agree to let her come up in the first place?

  She took one step along the beige tiled floor and called out, “Hello?”

  Nothing. She waited a few minutes longer and ventured another few inches farther along. She stopped before she stepped on the carpet. “Hello? Is anybody here?”

  Not a sound answered her. She peered down the stairs and caught a glimpse of sun shining through windows down the hall. Her prospective employer might be down there somewhere. Maybe he or she couldn't hear her for some mysterious reason.

  She bent down to the first stair and called. “Hello? It's Abbie Townsend. Is anybody here?”

  By now, she didn't expect to get any answer. Anyway, she was here so she might as well find out what sort of place this was. If she could work out exactly who or what she was supposed to be working for, maybe everything would work out in the end after all. She ought to take a look, anyway, before she left in defeat.

  She put her foot down on the first squishy stair and climbed down into the hall. Photographs of idyllic family life lined the hall, but
she couldn't discern any clues from them. They could have been stock photos taken from the internet for all she knew. She crept all the way down the hall. Nothing stirred in any of the manicured rooms on either side. Those rooms stood perfect and yawning empty. If they stood that way since the beginning of time, with no one setting foot in them or folding back the bedclothes, no one would ever know the difference.

  She came to the end of the hall and craned her neck around the corner. As she foresaw, sun streamed through enormous windows overlooking the whole city. A living room flooded in sun sunk another level below the hall. The windows sparkled, and the room gleamed with leather and crystal. Now that she saw the place in its entirety, she recognized a massive luxury condo, bigger than most houses she worked in.

  Abbie called out one more time. “Hello? It's Abbie Townsend, from Personnel Solutions. Is anybody here?”

  Her voice bounced off the windows and echoed through the condo. It rose to the high ceiling. That was the only sound in the place. She took one more step into the living room and looked around with a heavy sigh. She might as well leave. She wasn't starting work in this place this morning.

  Just then, a slight movement caught her eye. She took another look down into the sunken living room. A head of straight brown hair shook on the leather couch and went still again. Abbie inched forward. “Hello?”

  The head didn't turn. One more step closer, and Abbie finally saw the head belonged to a young girl. She sat on the couch with her back to Abbie, facing the windows. Abbie lowered her voice to a more conversational tone. “Hello?”

  Still nothing. The girl didn't turn around or acknowledge Abbie in any way. So this was the condo's mysterious occupant, but this girl certainly hadn't hired Abbie to come over this morning. She couldn't be more than thirteen or fourteen.

  Abbie stole around the sunken living room in front of the girl. From her new vantage point, she clearly saw two wires rising from a cell phone in the girl's hand to enter her ears. Her thumb moved back and forth across the phone's screen. So that's why she didn't hear Abbie come in.