We stayed like that, panting, recovering with soft touches warm gazes.
“Mmm, you were incredible,” I said, stroking Isla’s cheek.
“Hm. Yeah. I half expected you to bend me over the desk like all the others.”
Something in her tone made me pause. Was that a challenge? Did she want me to take her from behind? And then it dawned on me. That was why she hated me so much. Because I hadn’t fucked her all those years ago. “Isla,” I said softly, weaving my hand in her hair and tilting her chin up to look in her eyes. “One, I didn’t fuck you from behind because I want to see you, unlike all the women I used before. Two, I never approached you then because some part of me knew you wouldn’t have me. Believe me, I thought about it, many, many times. But I was trying to make myself feel better. Getting rejected, especially by you was the last thing I needed.”
It was all true and I meant every word of it. I knew she wouldn’t have me while I was so broken. I needed time to figure out how to stop dampening the ache with meaningless sex and I knew I’d never have a chance with her if I didn’t get my act together. So that’s what I did.
“Does that make sense?”
Before she had a chance to respond, Isla’s eyes went wide as her cell rang. It was an odd choice for a ring tone. I’d have to remember to ask why she picked Charlie, the most unknown song the Red Hot Chili Peppers ever released as her ring tone.
She slid off the desk and grabbed her phone, turning her back to me as she answered. “What happened? Okay... okay. Where? All right. I’ll be right there.”
Isla ended the call and gathered up her clothes. “I have to go,” she said as she shimmied back into her skirt. “Can you take care of that for me?” She waved to the mostly uneaten containers of Italian all over her desk.
“Sure,” I said. “Do you need a ride somewhere?”
“No. Thank you.”
Isla Connor ran out of her office, shoes in hand and I stood there wondering what the hell had just happened.
7
Isla
Gabe Stevens wasn’t a double-fudge sundae. He was chaos and destruction. He wasn’t just bad for my waistline. He was bad for my life.
The cab ride to New York Presbyterian Hospital was quick. I got there in under ten minutes mostly because my office was already on the Upper East Side. That wasn’t an accident. Charlie and I lived on this side of town and New York Pres. was the closest hospital to us. I made sure my office was a quick cab ride away in case anything happened to my brother while he was with the nursing companion.
But ten minutes was still enough time to work myself up enough to feel guilty about not being there for Charlie.
If you were there this wouldn’t have happened. If you hadn’t been preoccupied fucking Gabe Stevens, Charlie never would have fallen. This is what you get for being so selfish. Charlie is hurt and it’s all your fault.
I paid the cab driver and ran into the emergency room so fast I crashed into the front desk.
The triage nurse gave me a bored, condescending look. “Can I help you?” she said over the rims of her stylish glasses.
“My brother...” I heaved, trying to catch my breath. “He’s here. Charlie Con—”
“Oh, you’re Lala!” the nurse’s face lit up. “Charlie has done nothing but talk about you, well, when he’s not charming all the nurses, that is. Come on. I’ll take you to see him.”
I followed the nurse back to a private room where Charlie sat happy as could be on the edge of the bed.
“Lala!” he yelled with a smile so big I couldn’t help but smile back.
Tears filled my eyes as he hugged me, the cast on his left arm thudding lightly against my back.
I took a breath. He’s fine. No need for DEFCON 5. Relax.
I hugged him until he pushed me away, smiling a smile so similar to our father’s. He favored our father in every way. Fair skinned and light hair with sea-green eyes. He got all our father’s Scottish genes while I got all our beautiful mother’s Nepalese genes. Except for the eyes. That was the one thing my father gave me. The one feature Charlie and I shared.
Standing next to each other no one would ever guess we were related, an unfortunate consequence of being biracial. It was also why I was so tired of people telling me I didn’t look Scottish. I was well aware.
I smiled at my brother and pushed the hair out of his face. “What happened?”
“I fell,” he said simply, swinging his legs back and forth.
“Yeah? How did you fall, silly?”
“I tripped. You look pretty today, Lala.”
I laughed. Compliments came easily and often with Charlie. But I could tell this time he used it to deflect. “How’d you trip, Charlie?”
He sighed. “Penny told me to tie my shoe and I didn’t listen. I fell on the curb.”
Penny. Fuck, she must feel awful. I was so intently focused on Charlie, I hadn’t noticed her tucked in the corner of the room. “Are you okay?” I asked the woman who took care of my brother when I was at work.
“She’s fine, silly. She didn’t fall.”
Penny nodded, her black hair falling forward but not quite hiding her swollen, red eyes or her tear streaked makeup. “It’s not your fault.” I crossed the room and hugged her. “Shit happens, okay? It wasn’t your fault.”
Penny sniffed. “I should have made him tie it. Then none of this would have happened.”
I shook my head. “Charlie does what Charlie wants. You and I both know that. This isn’t his first broken bone and it probably won’t be his last.”
Charlie’s nurse companion still looked unsure. “Hey, why don’t you take the rest of the night off—”
“Oh God. Are you firing me?”
“What? No. I was going to say take the night off, relax, have a bubble bath and come back tomorrow. I’ve got him tonight. All right?”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
Penny gathered her things. “Charlie? I’ll see ya tomorrow, okay buddy?”
“’K. Bye, pretty Penny.”
Penny smiled. “Bye, Charlie.”
A nurse came by a few moments later with discharge papers, aftercare instruction and a prescription for pain medicine. “This isn’t contraindicated for the seizure medicine he’s on, is it?”
“Nope. The nurse who brought him made sure we knew all his medications. This won’t interact with anything he’s currently taking.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Ya hear that, Charlie? We’re all set. Let’s get outta here.”
“’K. Can I say bye to all my new friends?” he asked, hopping off the bed.
I glanced at his cast. He’d already accumulated at least twenty signatures, scrawled in various shades of marker. Some even had hearts and xoxo’s. That was Charlie’s gift. He made friends everywhere. “Well, how about we say bye to all the ones we see on the way out?”
“Deal.”
“Bye, Big Joe,” he said to a passing orderly.
“Hey, see ya later, Charlie!” he said and gave my brother a high five.
“Bye, Miss Grace,” to an older, grumpy looking nurse who smiled the minute she saw him.
“Bye, sweetie. Feel better soon.”
“Bye, nice nurse lady,” he said to the triage nurse who showed me to his room.
“Bye-bye, Charlie. Bye, Lala.”
I smiled and wrapped my arm around my brother. “I love you, Charlie.”
“I know,” he said with a grin.
“I know you know, ya little shit. I like telling you anyway,” I ruffled his hair, kissed his cheek and hailed a cab.
We piled in and after a few minutes of stop and go New York traffic, Charlie put his hand on my knee. “You told Penny it wasn’t her fault but it’s not your fault either, okay?”
I nodded. He was wrong but I nodded anyway.
Charlie sensed he hadn’t convinced me and continued. “I know you work hard so you can take care of me. I know you do that for me. I know you don’t ha
ve friends because of me. You should have friends, Lala. Okay? Maybe even a boyfriend.”
I turned away from his gaze, not wanting him to see the tears in my eyes. Charlie gently tugged on my shoulder until I turned back around. “Don’t cry, okay? Don’t do that cause it makes me sad and I like to be happy.” Charlie took my hand and put it to the side of his head. The side that had been pieced back together with metal and mesh and screws. “This is my fault. I did this. Not you. You get to have a life too, Lala. Okay?”
“Okay, Charlie.”
He sighed, content with my answer. “So where do you get a boyfriend anyway?”
I laughed through the tears. “I think I already have one, Charlie.
8
Gabe
I waited most the night for Isla to call. I had no idea where we stood, personally or with the acquisition. I didn’t know if she was still taking care of whatever emergency had her running out of the office, if she was still upset about my past or what.
I had no idea what was going on and that was a feeling I was not only unaccustomed to but one that I was very uncomfortable with.
The next morning when I still hadn’t heard from her I had no choice but to go on with my day as usual. I wanted to call her. I wanted answers but I was afraid prying would push her away.
Instead, I gave her space, conducting my day as if nothing had happened.
Midday rolled around and I had to force myself not to call her office and grill her assistant. I didn’t want to give Margo a heart attack. But by five when I still hadn’t heard from her I finally caved and called.
“Prince Charming Inc. how can I help you?” Margo’s light, sweet voice was a balm to my nerves. If Isla wasn’t in the office, her assistant would know what was going on. I just had to get her to tell me without scaring her.
I found my smoothest, least intimidating tone. “Good evening, Margo. This is Gabe Stevens, can I speak with Isla please?”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Connor is out for the day. I can leave a message.”
“I’m afraid that won’t do. I really do need to speak with her.”
“Ms. Connor isn’t taking calls today but I’ll be happy to relay the message.”
I sighed. This wasn’t working. “Look, Margo, Isla and I were together last night when she got an emergency call. She left and I have no idea where we are as far as the acquisition goes. Can you please help me out here?”
Margo didn’t have a well-rehearsed rebuttal for that. She took a full minute to reply. “I’m sorry I can’t help you, Mr. Stevens. Have a nice day.”
The next thing I heard was a dial tone.
Fuck.
I was out of options. The legal documents for the acquisition didn’t list any personal info and it wasn’t like I could find her cell number in the yellow pages. I had to resign myself to the fact that this was out of my control. I had to yield to Isla’s timeline. Whatever that may be.
I busied myself for a few more hours, caught a late dinner at the pub next to my office and then headed home.
Alone.
The cold marble and leather furniture the overpriced decorated sold me on as “upscale Manhattan bachelor” after I left the ex-fiance echoed how lonely I felt. I hadn’t realized how lonely I was until a night with Isla but now that hunger was fully stoked and I was ravenous.
The years I spent celibate did a lot to clear my headspace. Taking sex completely off the table did wonders for my productivity for one, but it also helped me gain some much needed perspective. It was hard, one of the hardest things I’d ever done but I needed it.
Instead of dwelling on how much I wanted to know Isla was all right I worked out but only half-heartedly. Once the endorphins kicked in I called it quits and got in the shower. It was only after I was out and redressed that I noticed the status LED on my cell blinking.
I had a missed call from an unknown number.
I wasted no time calling back, knowing it was probably a spam call but hoping it was...
“Hello?”
Her sultry voice was music to my ears.
“Hey,” I said with a sigh. “You called?”
“Yeah. Want to come over?”
Abso-fucking-lutely.
“Sure.”
Isla texted me her address and I was out of the building and in a cab in moments. She didn’t live far and I was knocking on her door before I had time to get my head around the situation. I had no idea what I was walking into. I knew what I hoped—why else would she invite me to her place. But I could always be wrong.
Isla answered the door, makeup-free, hair piled on the top of her head and in yoga pants and a cut-off college sweatshirt that showed off her waist—so stunning as always.
“Come in, there’s someone I’d like you to meet,” she said with a grin.
Hmm. That wasn’t at all what I thought she’d say. What the hell was going on?
I followed her to the living room where a blond man with a cast on his arm sat watching cartoons.
“Charlie, this is Gabe. Gabe, this is my big brother Charlie.”
“Hey, Charlie. How’s it going?”
“Gabe. Hm. That’s a silly name.”
I smirked. I liked him already. “I know, right,” I said and sat down next to him. “But how about your sister? She’s got a really silly name, huh?”
Charlie laughed. “Yeah. It’s so silly I called her Lala when I was little cause I couldn’t say it. But now I call her Lala because I like it.”
I nodded toward the cast. “What happened to your arm?”
Charlie smiled the biggest shit-eating-grin I’d ever seen. “Lala pushed me.”
I laughed, hard. “I’m pretty sure Isla was with me when that happened. Wanna try again?”
“Eh, I was just testing to see how smart you were. Can’t have my sister dating no dummies.”
I glanced back at Isla who beamed at her brother. “All right, Charlie. How about you go find Penny and see what kind of trouble you two can get into.”
Charlie sighed. “’K,” he said, getting off the sofa. Right before he left the room he turned around, looked me dead in the eyes and said, “If you hurt my Lala, I’ll have to hurt you back. Got it, buddy?”
I nodded solemnly. “Got it.”
“He means it,” Isla said as she sat next to me. “Before the accident, he was my protector.”
“I believe it.”
“Charlie is why I’m selling Prince Charming Inc. Hell, Charlie is the whole reason I started the business. He is Prince Charming Inc. As charismatic as he is now, imagine that times ten. That was Charlie before the accident. He always knew the right thing to say, the right way to act, and could always, always make anyone feel at ease. And it was natural. That’s just how he was made. He is the definition of a Prince Charming.”
I nodded, not sure where she was going but happy to listen.
“That’s why I need not just your word but documentation stating that once sold, Prince Charming Inc. will never be anything lascivious, sexual, or escort-like in any way, shape or form. That’s the only way I can agree to the acquisition.”
“I’ll have my lawyers draw up a document stating as much tomorrow.”
Isla sighed. Her shoulders relaxed and the wrinkle between her brows softened. “Now about the other thing I left hanging.”
“Hm, was there something else?”
She poked me in the side. “You know damn well there is, Stevens,” she said with a smile.
“Oh yeah. I wonder how that could have slipped my mind. I mean, I wasn’t thinking about it all day or anything. And I most certainly didn’t call your assistant and try to get her to give me your number.”
“Gabe! You didn’t scare her, did you? Jesus, you’re going to have to give her a raise when you take over if you keep that up.”
“I was on my best behavior.”
“Good.”
“So, what were you saying about that other thing?”
She shrugged. “I’ve got baggage and
insecurities like everyone else. I try my best to manage them but sometimes they crop up. I’m sorry you got the brunt of it yesterday.”
I pulled her against me, into a hug. “You’ve nothing to be sorry for, Isla. Nothing whatsoever.”
She smiled. “I’d invite you to stay longer but I’m not comfortable doing anything even remotely adult with Charlie in the house.”
“Hey, you were the one who kissed me first. If you recall, I said I wanted to take it slow. I’m all for a PG night with you.”
“Really?”
“Well, maybe PG-13.”
We spent the night talking about our childhoods, our dreams, what we envisioned for our lives, and what we hoped to accomplish. Well, that and there was some pretty heavy making-out. We stayed up until the sun came up, dozing on the couch, entwined in each other’s arms until Charlie woke us up.
“I’m having ice cream for breakfast. Want some?” He jutted the container toward me.
“Hm, lemme see that.” I took the carton. “Double-fudge, huh? Can’t really say no to that, can I?” I plucked the spoon from Charlie’s hand, pried an enormous gob of ice cream up and shoved it in my mouth. It almost didn’t fit but Charlie seemed to appreciate the effort.
He gave me a head nod. “He’s a keeper, Lala.”
We called our lawyers to finalize the paperwork for the acquisition, let our respective assistance know we wouldn’t be in the office and spent the day getting to know each other.
“You know, I’m kind of surprised you introduced me to Charlie so early.”
“Yeah, I had my doubts about that. But Charlie isn’t a child, not really. If we break up, I don’t have to worry about him getting too attached to you, not in the same way I would if he were a child. He surprises me every day with how much he understands. Plus, Charlie’s the gatekeeper. If a guy I’m interested can’t handle that I have a dependent sibling or if he’s uncomfortable with Charlie in anyway, he’s outta here.”
“Hm. Glad I passed the test.”
“Me too. But more than that, I needed him to drive home how important it was for Prince Charming Inc. to stay as it is.”
Seduction in a Suit: An Office Romance Collection Page 81