by Tia Siren
Unless she was faking that she was enjoying her time with me. Two and a half million was a lot of money, after all. Maybe she was just trying to make sure that I stayed happy with the relationship so I'd still want to have a kid with her.
Chris clapped me on the shoulder. “Hey man, you need another drink!” he said. “Quit looking so glum. Now, this is Trish and Molly.”
I didn't feel like chatting with random strangers that night, but I knew Chris needed me as a wingman, so I tried to pull it together. I glanced over at Paige a couple times, but she was intently ignoring me. I sighed and shook my head, standing abruptly.
Trish broke off in the middle of whatever it was that she'd been babbling about. Her work, I thought.
“I have to go,” I said. “Sorry.”
There were disappointed looks all around our circle, but I didn't care. Right then, I just had to get out of there.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Paige
I woke up in the middle of the afternoon on Saturday. I hadn't meant to sleep that late, but I'd had a difficult time getting to sleep once I'd gotten back from The Shift. I scowled as I heard Erica moving around beyond the room divider.
I rolled out of bed and pulled on some clothes, quickly tying my hair back and then stomping into the shared part of the apartment. “You had no right to interfere in Michael's and my relationship,” I told her, without even bothering to wish her a good morning.
Erica raised an eyebrow at me. “So you're admitting that it is a relationship, then?” she asked.
“Of course, it's a relationship; it's two people interacting,” I snapped. “But it's a business relationship.”
“So, I'm sure you can go to dinner with him for one night,” Erica said, looking smug. “After all, business associates do that all the time.”
“Erica, let me repeat: it's none of your business. I don't want to go to dinner with him.”
“Well, I meant it when I said I'd fire you if you don't sort this thing out with him,” Erica said, looking utterly unrepentant. “You've been glum all week, and you should realize it's affecting your business.”
“It's not affecting my business,” I said defensively. “No one's said anything at work.”
“Don't try to pretend your tips are just as good as ever this week,” Erica said, rolling her eyes. “I saw what you took in on Thursday.”
I blushed and ducked my head. “People just haven't been tipping as well this week,” I maintained. “You know there are weeks like that.”
“I know there are,” Erica agreed. “But no one else seems to be having problems this week.” Her expression softened. “Girl, I'm worried about you,” she said. “You know I'm just trying to look out for you.”
I shook my head. “But I don't want to have dinner with Michael,” I said, hating how whiny my voice sounded.
“Yeah, what's up with that anyway?” Erica asked.
“You know what's up with that,” I sighed. “Like I said to him last night, this is just a business transaction. There's a contract. Once I've given him the kid, I'm probably never going to see him again. It would get too confusing if I was there while the kid was growing up. So I'm trying to be careful, just like you told me to do.”
“And being careful means never seeing him?” Erica asked.
I pressed my fingertips against my eyelids, feeling the sudden urge to cry. “I'm trying not to get too attached to him,” I admitted, my voice hoarse. I opened my eyes and looked miserably at Erica. “I didn't expect to like him. I guess I thought that if he was so lonely, he must be shit to be around. But he's intelligent, and he makes me laugh, and he's sexy, and I think I like him.”
“Oh girl,” Erica said, pulling me into her arms. “I'd rather see you in a relationship than sad all the time, though.”
“I'm not sad all the time,” I said, even though I knew it was a lie. But it wasn't as though this relationship with Michael, whatever it was, was very healthy either. I'd rather be sad now than be even sadder later.
Erica, thankfully, let the subject drop. She left for work not too long afterward, telling me she was sorry she wouldn't be there to help me get ready, but she had to do a bunch of paperwork. I waved her off, telling her I would manage. I wasn't planning on dressing up too much anyway. This wasn't a date, after all; it was just dinner between friends.
Those plans were dashed, though, when a fancy dress was delivered for me that afternoon. I stared at the sleek black fabric, running my hands over the tiny crystal gemstones that dotted the low neckline. Michael must have chosen some place fancy if he expected me to wear this, and I suddenly felt uncertain. God, I was getting such mixed signals from him.
I swallowed hard, fingers itching to call him and make him explain himself. Or to call Erica and see what she said about this. But then, I shook my head. If Michael wanted to play games, I'd go along with it.
I carefully did my hair and makeup, using online videos to guide me even though the style I eventually settled on was simple. When I slipped on the dress and gazed at myself in the mirror, though, I couldn't help thinking how elegant I looked. The low-cut dress fell in waves around my curves, leaving very little to the imagination. I blushed; I had never worn anything quite like this before.
But it was just for Michael, I reminded myself. For dinner as friends.
He knocked on the door at five on the dot. When I opened it, he just stared at me, speechless and gaping. “Wow,” he finally said, and I felt a warm flush go through me. I had to remind myself again that he was just the guy trying to get me pregnant, nothing more.
“So you want to tell me what's up with the dress?” I asked, plucking at the fabric. It wasn't my usual style, but I couldn't help feeling pretty in it. It was a nice feeling to have.
“Well, I wasn't sure you'd have anything appropriate for this evening,” Michael said, shrugging. He looked like he was trying to avoid the question, his eyes darting away from me.
I put my hands on my hips. “And what exactly are we doing this evening, that I need to be dressed this nice?” I asked.
Michael sighed. “Well, I was going to take you to this Thai place I know and have it be just the two of us, but then I remembered there was this work benefit function tonight. I hadn't been planning on going because I really hate going to those things, especially on my own, but then I figured if you were there with me, maybe it could be fun. Or at least, not mind-numbingly dull.”
I frowned at him. “So you're taking me to a work event,” I said flatly.
“Yeah,” Michael said. “But it's not a big deal. You'll meet some of my coworkers, but they all know what I'm like. You're just going to be pretty eye candy, that's all.”
I scowled, not sure why it hurt so much to hear him call me nothing more than “pretty eye candy”.” I knew that's all this was. I felt uncomfortable with the plan, but I reminded myself again: if he wanted to play games, I would play along. There was just one problem: “I do have to get to The Shift at some point tonight,” I told him.
Michael looked guilty at that. “You don't,” he said. “I talked to Erica today, and she said it was okay if you didn't show up. In fact, she said it's easier for her if she knows you're not going to show up. Then she can give your whole shift to someone else.”
I put my hands on my hips and scrunched my face at him. “But I needed the money,” I said, not even sure where to start with that one. I needed the money, and he had no right to do that. And Erica, when I saw her I was going to have to have a word with her about meddling.
Meddling and withholding information, I thought. She probably had known when we talked that afternoon that he was taking me to some work event tonight, and she hadn't mentioned it. A little heads-up would have been nice!
Still, it seemed like it was all organized already. I didn't doubt that Erica had already given my shift away to someone else, which meant there wasn't a space for me to work even if I wanted to. There was nothing for it but to try to enjoy the evening.
> At least I felt good in the new dress, and I didn't really want it to go to waste.
“I didn't think you'd go with me if I told you about it ahead of time,” Michael said. He grimaced. “I'm sorry, I probably should have.”
I sighed. “No, you're right,” I said. “I probably wouldn't have gone with you.”
“For what it's worth, you look amazing,” he said, giving me a crooked smile. “In fact, if I hadn't told some of the people at work that I was going to be going tonight and bringing someone with me, I don't think I'd be taking you anywhere. Except to bed.” His eyes flicked down my form, clearly appreciative.
I sighed. “Let's just go.”
When we got to the benefit dinner, I couldn't help feeling out of place, and I had to keep looking down to remind myself that in that dress, I deserved to be there as much as any of the rest of them. Everyone seemed so much more elegant than me, though.
“You're not enjoying this at all, are you?” Michael murmured in my ear.
I forced a smile. “It's fine,” I said.
“Come on,” he said, leading me out of the crowded ballroom with an arm around my waist. The hallway we entered was just as ornate as the interior of the ballroom.
“This place is incredible, at least,” I told him.
Michael smiled at the wonder in my eyes. “It is,” he agreed. “I fell in love with it the first time I saw it, and I knew I had to buy it. Of course, it didn't look quite as nice back then; I had to put a lot of work into it, restoring it to what it was meant to be.”
My mouth dropped open. “You own this place?” I asked.
“Well, I have a majority share in the hotel chain,” Michael said, shrugging as though that were nothing. “That's why the benefit function is being held here, though. No point renting out someone else's property. This way, we get to donate a larger portion of the profits.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Well, it's a beautiful place for the event,” I said. I took a deep breath and looked back toward the ballroom. “Should we get back in there?” I asked uncertainly. I wasn't ready to go back in yet, I didn't think, but I didn't know how long I could drag Michael away for. I had known that he had a lot of money, but I was only just starting to realize what an important person he must be in his business.
Michael sighed. “I guess we should get back in there,” he agreed. “Although I'd much rather find someplace private with you.”
I grinned at him, unable to help it. His obvious appreciation of how I looked in that dress helped, though, and when he guided me back into the ballroom, I felt a lot more comfortable.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Michael
I felt kind of bad for springing something like this on Paige, but it just seemed like the perfect way to get her to go out to dinner with me on some neutral territory, where it wasn't just the two of us. It really was better that I show my face by attending at least one of the fancy benefits that were planned for the year. No better time than now, when I had an interesting woman to accompany me.
And to be honest, I kind of wanted to show her off. I wasn't sure where the desire for that came from. After all, it wasn't as though she was my girlfriend. But very soon, she could be the mother of my child. And beyond that, she was interesting.
And funny, I was starting to realize.
When we reentered the ballroom, I could practically see Paige's transformation, and I wondered what was behind it. As I introduced her to a few people, she stood there confidently and charmed them all. She was getting businessmen to laugh, guys who I had never even seen smile before.
I was in dangerous territory, I knew. I was starting to realize how amazing she really was, and that wasn't what our relationship was supposed to be. She wasn't my girlfriend. I had never really had a serious relationship before. I had never wanted one. But now, I was picturing it. What if I could introduce her to all these people as my girlfriend, rather than as just a friend?
I didn't like the way the other men were looking at her, that was part of it. I mean, I did; they were eyeing her up like she was the hottest woman in the room. And she was, that was the thing. In that dress, god. I just wanted to bring her upstairs to one of the rooms, strip her down, and have my way with her. But I couldn't do that, not when she was acting so aloof toward me.
I wanted to stake a claim on her, tell everyone that she was mine and that they could look all they wanted, but they couldn't touch.
Except I didn't know how she was feeling, that was the problem. It was as though the more she pulled away from me, the more I wanted her. And she kept pulling away from me. No matter how charming she was that evening, no matter how confident and outgoing, it didn't escape me that none of those smiles were directed at me. She hadn't even wanted to come there that evening, hadn't wanted to go to dinner with me at all.
I sighed minutely and steered her towards Chris when I saw him appear at the far end of the room. “Hey man, what are you doing here?” I asked.
Chris raised an eyebrow at me. “I have a couple investment opportunities that I'm researching,” he said. “Or rather, a couple people that I'm schmoozing with.”
I laughed. “All right, that makes sense.”
“What are you doing here, though? You usually avoid these things like the plague.” His eyes skimmed over Paige, and suddenly, his eyes got comically wide. “You must be Paige,” he said, holding out his hand. “Nice to formally meet you.”
Paige blushed and shook his hand. “You're the friend,” she said.
“Chris,” I introduced. Now that we were standing and talking to him, it seemed so stupid for me to have brought Paige with me. I only hoped that Chris didn't say anything I would regret.
“You're looking lovely tonight,” Chris said, smiling at Paige. “Michael must have really wanted you to make a good impression on everyone.” He winked, and although I expected Paige to be upset, she merely smiled at him.
“I think it's time that we made our exit, actually,” I said smoothly. Was that disappointment on Paige's face? I shook my head; it couldn't have been.
We said our goodbyes, and I led Paige back out into the hallway. “I'll call my driver and ask him to meet us around front with the limo,” I told her.
Paige was quiet for a moment. “You don't want to show me around this place first?” she asked.
I blinked over at her, surprised. If I didn't know better, it sounded as though she was reluctant for the evening to end. “Sure,” I said, taking her hand and leading her aimlessly down the halls, watching as she picked out different details with her eyes. I knew exactly where I wanted to take her, but I was afraid that if I tried to take her in an elevator, she would think that I had something else planned.
“Tonight was actually fun,” Paige said suddenly. “I've never been to an event like this before.”
“You handled it really well,” I said. “If I didn't know this was your first one of these, I wouldn't have guessed it. You were perfect. Everyone loved you.”
Paige blushed demurely, and the urge to kiss her coursed through me. But I held myself in check. I needed her to make the first move. An obvious first move, not one that I guessed at. I didn't want to screw things up irreparably if she really was trying to pull away from me.
But finally, I made a decision. “All right, I know a cool place in this building, but it's up on the top floor,” I said. “And no, it's not the penthouse suite. It's a public space, but I doubt anyone's up there at this hour.” It wouldn't hurt to take her up there. Even though the surroundings would be undeniably romantic, it would be up to her to make the first move, if she wanted to. Otherwise, we'd take a peek at the room and then head home for the night.
“All right,” Paige said showing no emotion, heedless of my inner turmoil.
I pressed the button for the elevator, and escorted her inside. I felt almost nervous, having her so close to me, in light of the feelings I realized I had for her. It would have been easier if I had known whether she felt the same, b
ut she was giving me no clues.
“Are we supposed to be up here?” Paige asked.
I laughed and shrugged. “Probably not,” I admitted. “It's supposed to be for guests, but we're kind of guests since we were here for the banquet.”
“And since you own the place,” Paige said, a hint of a smile on her face. “It just reminds me of this one other time, that's all.”
“This one other time?” I prompted.
Paige blushed. “It's nothing,” she said.
“Come on, tell me about it,” I said, turning toward her. “You started it.”
Paige grinned. “I snuck into the Empire State Building,” she admitted. “It was the first time I ever went there. And I haven't been back since; I've been too worried that someone would somehow recognize me, even though that was years ago now. I was so interested in seeing what the place was like.”
I laughed. “You little rascal.”
Paige grinned. “I mean, it was stupidly easy, so I doubt I'm the only person who's ever done it. I did my research ahead of time. Picked a random name off the internet and said that I had a package to deliver to him. I pretended I was from one of those special couriers, the ones with the flowers and the chocolates. And I told the guy at the desk that I was bringing them from his mistress but because everyone had to think they were coming from his wife, I wasn't allowed to entrust the delivery to anyone else. The guy totally bought it.” She laughed. “I have to wonder if the man at the desk had a mistress that he was worried about people finding out about.”
I chuckled. “I don't know, that sounds like a clever plan,” I said. “It must have taken a bit of thought to come up with it. I doubt just anyone would have been able to pull it off.”
Paige blushed again and ducked her head. “It wasn't that big of a deal,” she said.
Just then, the elevator dinged, and the doors opened. “Come on,” I said, taking her hand and leading her down the hall.