“It was a last-minute invitation. Luke is having an article in the magazine next month and he wanted me to make an appearance for him since he’s out of town. What exactly brings you here?”
Lori scoffed at the memory of how she was tricked into coming. “Treachery. My roommate, the one in the pink dress, wants to get you in the article too. Something about hot billionaire brothers. I think she had the idea that since I work with you, I would help sway your opinion.”
“I do owe you a favor...”
“She is not on my list of people to please right now. She told me she was bringing me here to meet people and be social. Not get her where she wants to go.”
A knowing look crossed his face. “So this is about last night.”
“No. This is about me having fun.”
“And are you having fun?”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t ask questions you already know the answer to.”
“Then do you want to get out of here?”
“Huh?” Did she hear that right?
“If you’re not having fun, why don’t you leave?”
“Okay, so maybe this is about last night,” she admitted. “If I leave, I’ll just end up going home, which defeats the entire purpose of going out. But if I stay, I have to deal with you.”
“Ouch.” He held a hand over his heart. “I didn’t realize I was that toxic.”
“You’re a criminal, okay? I don’t associate with criminals.”
“Hey, I’m doing it for my family, remember. That kind of makes me a martyr.”
“An arrogant criminal.”
He leaned in closer. “Why don’t we not mention that, okay?”
“Trust me, I don’t want to mention it. I’m just going to force myself to have fun and pretend you don’t exist.”
Michael moved to stand beside her as he gazed out at the other partygoers. “You’re going to have fun with these people?”
She tensed as his shoulder brushed hers. “What’s so wrong with that?”
“If I’m understanding this right, you know exactly two people here and you’re pissed at both of them.”
“I just have to walk up and say hi, right? Find some common interest? I hear it’s actually easy.”
Michael scoffed. “There’s nothing easy about it. That’s why Luke normally does these things and I stay in the comfort of the office.”
Lori frowned and looked him over. He hadn’t seemed introverted at all the few times she’d talked to him. “So you’re only here for Luke? It has nothing to do with all the beautiful women around?”
He raised a brow and glanced at her. “It might be what convinced me to come out. But if I wanted to be talking to one of them right now, I would be.”
A rush of heat shot through Lori at his words, and she inched away from him, unsure whether she was more disturbed by his words or her reaction to him. That’s what happened when she was starved for human interaction. Any pretty, rich, smart guy could walk off the street and make her swoon. Okay, so maybe Michael was the whole package except for that one teensy criminal thing, but that was definitely a deal-breaker. “What did I say about flirting?”
“Fine,” he conceded. “That one was on purpose, but can you blame me?”
Yes. She could blame him a lot. “Just...go hit on a model or something.”
“I’m officially much more interested in you by now. Besides, I’m mad at the magazine.”
“Mad? What did they do?”
“They were using you to get to me.”
She snorted. “I think you used me first.”
“And by the laws of nature, that means I’m the only one allowed to use you.”
She jerked her gaze down and closed her eyes. She knew it wasn’t a sexual comment, but for some stupid reason, that was exactly where her mind went. “You’re a jerk,” she muttered, not sure whether she was talking more to him or her own dirty mind.
He chuckled. “Probably. But I’m probably your favorite person here, so...there’s that.”
She couldn’t help but smile at his unfortunately correct assumption. “You’re definitely a jerk.”
“So what are you going to do?” he asked.
“About what?”
“You going to stay and mingle? Run back home and keep doing what you’ve been doing? Or do you want to get out of here?”
Good grief, this was shaping up to be the strangest day of her life. “I’m not going out with you.”
“As friends, I swear. That way you get a chance to get out and actually enjoy yourself. I can convince you I’m not a complete tool. Win-win, right?”
Michael held his breath as he waited for Lori to answer. This was a bad idea. Evelyn would probably kill him if she knew he was spending more time with her. But wouldn’t this be better? Instead of blindly hoping she wouldn’t mess everything up, he could keep an eye on her. Maybe even get her to like him enough so that she’d believe him when he told her he wasn’t the bad guy.
This newfound offer of friendship had nothing to do with the way her legs seemed endless in that short skirt or how damn sexy she was as she constantly chewed on her bottom lip.
“Just as friends?” she asked, as though she knew exactly what he was thinking.
Damn it. He had to get his mind out of the gutter. “My intentions are pure,” he promised. It was true. He didn’t intend to think about throwing her down on his bed, slowly stripping her panties down her legs, and sliding into her in one hard thrust.
But just because he didn’t intend to think it didn’t mean the thoughts weren’t there.
“Where would we even go?”
He shrugged. “Anywhere.”
The corner of her mouth turned up. “Anywhere? It’s a big city.”
“Hopefully somewhere I can use my money and power to impress you.” He had instant access at all of the most prestigious restaurants and clubs in the city. All she had to do was snap her fingers and he would get her anywhere.
“This isn’t some way to trick me into using my favor, is it?”
He held his hands up. “No favors used, promise. No matter what you ask, I’ll still owe you one after today.” She tightened her lips and he could tell she was about to say no, so he stopped her. “Why not? What could possibly make you rather spend the day with these strangers than me?”
She glanced around the room. “Well, for one, I still consider you a stranger. And two, I don’t think any of these people are likely to get me arrested.”
He shook his head. “Come on. You’re not going to get arrested for spending the day with me.”
“Maybe, but I still don’t like you.”
He clenched his jaw. Why did her low opinion of him bother him so much? It wasn’t as if he gave a damn what anyone else thought. “You really don’t know me.”
“I know enough.”
“Then maybe you should learn more.”
“There is one place I like to go.”
“Somewhere you’ve never been?” Helicopter ride over the city? Renting the entire top of the Empire State Building? All she had to do was say the word and he’d make it happen.
“No, I’ve been there a few times already. But it’s my favorite place in the city. The Natural History Museum.”
“The museum? Why?” Or rather, why with him?
She shrugged. “Hey, you said we could do whatever I wanted.”
“If you want it, you got it. Let me call my driver and he’ll be here in the next five minutes.”
She raised a brow. “Your driver?”
“Are you judging me?”
“No judgment here,” she said, even as a smile curled her lips. “If you’re too good for a regular old cab, that’s your problem.”
He laughed even as he dialed the number for his car company.
“I’m going to let Quinn know I’m bailing on her.”
“Will she be upset?” he asked as he waited for someone to answer his call.
“She’ll probably be ecstatic I’m leav
ing with you. I’ll be right back.”
He watched her move as he instructed the driver where to meet them. Even if this wasn’t her normal crowd, she seemed to fit right in. Her long black hair blew in the wind and his heart seemed to catch in his throat as she glanced over her shoulder at him.
Why the hell was he so attracted to her? It wasn’t as though she was the prettiest woman he’d ever seen, but she wasn’t exactly hard on the eyes either. And the features that had caught his attention last night were now highlighted on full display. Those crystal-blue eyes with such a unique color they almost looked fake. The perfect legs that were bare to the world. Not even stockings. If he moved his hand along her thigh, there would be bare skin against bare skin up to where her skirt flopped in the wind.
If she hit just the right updraft, he could see a hell of a lot more than leg...
She turned away from Quinn and walked back to him. He couldn’t help the predatory grin as she approached him. This was nothing like how he planned on this day going, but for once he was happy about things not going according to plan.
She held up her drink as she approached. “I’m just going to leave this unless you want it.”
Michael shook his head. He had a feeling that he’d want to be on high alert the entire time Lori was nearby. “You sure you don’t want to finish it?”
“Definitely.” She set it down on an empty table and led the way to the elevator.
Michael wasn’t normally the following sort, but he enjoyed hanging back a few feet to enjoy the sway of her hips. He held the door open for her and pretended to be the gentlemen as she moved inside.
“One of my secrets, and probably why I’m so boring to be around, is I can’t drink.”
He hit the down button at the elevator and eyed her skeptically. “Can’t or won’t?”
“Can’t. I get sick before I ever get buzzed. Headache, nauseous, the whole nine yards.”
“Well, that sounds...depressing.” Considering a few of the boring as hell events he’d been to in the past few years, alcohol might be the only thing that got him through.
“It’s not that bad. I don’t exactly know what I’m missing. And I’ve tried. With mixed drinks, beer, vodka, whiskey. Believe me, I tried. But the last straw, no pun intended, was when I went drinking with Quinn a few months ago and got sick on people. Not a night I want to repeat.”
He grimaced. “Remind me not to get you drunk.”
The elevator hit the bottom level and Lori pressed her palm to her forehead. “I can’t believe I just told you that. I guess it’s a good thing this isn’t a date, right? The puking discussion normally isn’t first-date material.”
“Still better than talking about how you’re over your ex for an hour straight. Trust me.” The doors opened and Michael set a hand on her arm to lead her to where he’d told the driver to meet him. He half expected her to pull away, but she seemed willing to go with the flow.
“Oh no. Did that actually happen?”
“Yep. The last date I went on. She was so over him, she wouldn’t stop reminding me about it. It almost felt like I was a third wheel.”
They reached the door, and Lori pulled it open before he could do it for her. “That’s so strange. I’d think most women would be on their best behavior with you.”
“I think you’re overestimating my appeal.”
“I doubt that,” she muttered as they reached the car.
The driver was already ready and opened the door for then. Michael motioned for her to enter first and he noticed her glance between her legs and the seat. With just a glance, he told the driver to go back to the driver’s side. “I won’t look,” he whispered behind her.
She glared at him. “This is why I wear jeans all the time, you know?”
“That’s a damn shame.” He set a hand on her waist without even thinking about it. Touching her just seemed so right. It was hard to imagine how he would keep the entire day platonic. Actually, screw that. She didn’t exactly push his hand off her. He’d noticed her gaze following him...the way she’d stared just a bit too long. No. His little obsession wasn’t one-sided.
So if he was attracted to her, and she was attracted to him, why the hell wouldn’t he touch her?
Then again, maybe she was unnerved by his touch, because it finally gave her the motivation to slide into the backseat, keeping her knees firmly together the entire time. “Not going to look, huh?” she called from the backseat once she was in.
He blinked and realized he’d been caught staring. Well, so much for gaining her trust. He followed her in and gave the driver directions for the museum. “That was also accidental.”
The car pulled away from the curb. Lori settled into the corner of the backseat and gave him a knowing look. “Hate to break it to you, but I’m wearing shorts under this dress. So you were out of luck either way.”
Way to crush all of his dreams with just one sentence. “I suppose I’ll have to control myself better then.”
“Mmmm-hmmm. I’m starting to think you don’t have much self-control.”
He had to stop himself from laughing at that one. “You have no idea. I thought everyone knew. I am the controlled one.”
“Lord have mercy on this city if you’re the good one. I can only imagine how bad Luke is.”
“Luke and Rourke. There’s two more of us.”
“Good grief, that’s terrifying. Does Rourke work for DevX too?”
He shook his head. On second thought, he probably shouldn’t have brought up Rourke. The wound was still too fresh and the whole story a bit too personal. But Lori seemed so...trustworthy. Maybe it had more to do with how honest she was with him. As if the knowledge they shared about what he was up to, no matter how misguided her ideas were, somehow bound them. Most people at her level could barely say hello without stuttering, yet she had barged into his apartment and ordered him to leave her alone.
“Rourke is a partial owner. The company was started by my father and uncle. After they died, it was split evenly between Luke, Rourke, Emma, and I.”
“Not Joslyn?”
“Joslyn was disqualified from her inheritance.” Because she’d probably killed his aunt and uncle, her parents, but Lori didn’t know exactly how fucked up his family was.
“I didn’t even know that was possible. But I’ve never actually inherited anything.”
He jumped on the chance to turn the subject back to her. “Not much family then?”
“Oh, no. Plenty of family. They’re just all alive.”
“Any reason why you moved away from them?”
Lori ran a hand through her hair. “Not a particularly good one. It just got to the point where I didn’t feel...right staying there. My sisters all have kids and husbands now. Every family gathering made me feel more like a babysitter than member of the family. So if I’m going to be the alternative, nontraditional one, why not move to the city and really do it, you know?”
“I suppose I can see that. I don’t think there is one nontraditional one in my family. We’re all pretty much fucked.”
“As long as it’s working for you.”
He scoffed, thinking of how non-functional his family was at the moment. A cousin who’d murdered her parents, another cousin who’d almost been killed just days ago, a brother who wouldn’t speak to him, and Luke was...Luke. “That depends on what you mean by working.”
“By working, I suppose I meant mass amounts of wealth, power, and good looks.”
He’d caught her finally. “So you do think I’m attractive.”
“Come on. I’ve always thought you were attractive. I also happen to think you’re an evil mastermind.”
And they were back to that. Couldn’t she spend more time talking about how attractive he was? “I’m not an evil mastermind. Promise.”
“Well, I still hate you, I’m still convinced you’re evil, and yet somehow we’re going sightseeing together right now. There has to be some masterminding going on there.”
&nbs
p; “Well, yeah. Just not the evil kind.”
Lori let out a deep sigh of joy as she walked into her favorite exhibit. The Milstein Family Hall was a beautiful two-story room filled with hundreds of models of current and long since extinct ocean life. She didn’t know what exactly calmed her so much about the room. Maybe it was all the relaxing blues and open skylights on the ceiling or just the reminder of how truly big the world was.
“You’re so funny,” said Michael from beside her. He hadn’t hid his amusement well. As they made their way through the massive museum, he always seemed to be watching her, and the more excited she got about certain displays, the wider his smile got. Which was stupid, because there were so many more interesting things to be looking at than her.
“My love of history amuses you? Do you think I’m crazy now?”
“I think you’re interesting,” he clarified as he glanced up to the massive, life-size recreation of a whale that hung from the ceiling in the humongous atrium.
She smiled as she looked up at the large model too. “I suppose that’s better than crazy.”
“Much better.”
She walked around the perimeter of the room, where most of the displays were set up. “You’ve probably been here tons of times considering how long you’ve been in the city.”
“A few. But never really as a tourist. My family has made quite a few donations, so we get invited to a lot of fundraisers here.”
Her eyes glazed over as she imagined the huge hall filled with men and women in their finest, sipping wine as they perused the museum. “That would be amazing.”
“I think this might be my favorite visit though.”
She then remembered him saying how he preferred Luke to deal with those events. “Because those sorts of parties annoy you?”
“Because of the company.”
Damn it, he was flirting again. Well, not again. That would imply that he’d ever stopped. It just wasn’t fair. Everything the man said seemed to drip with charm. What happened to the intimidating, terrifying man who’d snuck up behind her in her cubicle? Under any other circumstance, she’d be all over him. Handsome beyond belief, rich beyond imagination. Why did he have to go and screw everything up by being a greedy moron?
Devereaux Billionaires Complete Series: Books 1-4 Page 22