by Nelson, Cara
I laughed. Jessie would faint at some of the details, I suspected. But then again, who knows what type of kinky little woman existed inside of her. I knew more than anyone that we had ways of keeping secret what we didn’t want others to know.
Then Brynn responded: Finally. You were becoming a pain in the ass. No details for me, please.
I laughed out loud.
“Hey, you’re up,” Hunter said, standing inside the door frame and leaning against it. His arms were crossed and his hair was in a ponytail high on his head. He looked like a warrior.
“Good morning,” I said.
“Sleep good?” he asked me.
“Like a rock. And you?” I asked.
“Pretty good except for your loud snoring. Thought a tankard was in my apartment.”
“Snoring? What?” I asked, jolting upright, my breasts popping out from under the covers.
Hunter started laughing. “Just kidding, but I liked the show that came with your response. Was that planned?”
I took a pillow and tossed it at him. He easily dodged it and tossed it back. It landed squarely in my face. “I apparently need work in the reflexes department,” I said, plopping the pillow down.
“Well, I have to go make a few phone calls. I’ll check on you in a bit,” Hunter said.
He didn’t come over to me and it made me jump into a moment of insecurity, but thankfully, I stopped short. Day by day, I reminded myself. “I’m going to take a shower.”
“Sounds good.”
He walked off and I followed a few seconds later, holding the clothes I’d worn yesterday in my hands, along with my new hot pink bra and panties. Loved them! And I’d better take good care of them, no way could I have afforded them on my own. I’d thought Hunter was crazy when he’d given me a $500 gift card for lingerie, but it turned out to be just the right amount. I only had to pitch in an extra $25. Now, completely sexy, sassy lingerie was mine. Make that expensive sexy, sassy lingerie.
My shower felt great and afterward, I made my way out into the apartment quietly. I didn’t know if Hunter was still on the phone or not.
“There you are? I didn’t think I’d ever see you again,” he said playfully, coming up to kiss me. He wrapped his arms around my waist.
I looked up at him, smiling. “I wasn’t that long.”
“About forty-five minutes,” he said.
“That’s not long,” I countered.
“To most guys, that’s long,” Hunter said.
“Oh, by the way, you need a new razor. I cut my shin while shaving it.”
He knelt down and looked at my shin, finding the very small cut, which was hardly visible any longer, gave it a soft kiss, and then popped back up.
“Hungry?” he asked.
“Sure am.” I did feel starving, like I hadn’t eaten in days.
“Great. I cooked,” Hunter said.
“Toast again?” I asked.
“Nope, it’s eggs and toast.”
“You can cook eggs?”
“Seriously Trin, how hard can that be?”
“For me, it’s just as tough as solving a theoretical physics problem.”
We went to eat and I looked at the toast and eggs. They actually looked perfect, like they could be the picture for a restaurant’s menu. “Impressive,” I commented.
“Coffee or tea?”
“Coffee with a lot of sugar,” I said. “You’re eating, too, right?”
“I am. And afterward, we have to get ready. We have a few appointments this morning.”
“Hey, I thought you weren’t going to tell me what to do,” I protested.
“Well, if you have something else planned or don’t want to…” Hunter stuck his lip out and pouted.
“Oh, stop that. It’s fine—for today.”
“For today. Tomorrow I leave for New York, anyway.”
“Oh,” I said. That was a bummer.
“And I’ll probably leave for back home. I’ll have to call the airline later and see if there’s an opening,” I said. That would be the end of this portion of the tryst and then it would be back to the real world.
“Still no new jobs, huh?”
“I didn’t look yesterday or today so far,” I said.
“Alright, let’s dive in before it gets cold,” Hunter said. He sat down and we began to eat. I cut into the over easy egg with my fork and took a bite of the white. I began to chew and it tasted like rubber. It was awful. Maybe my skills weren’t the worst ever.
I kept my eyes down and took a sip of coffee. Toast. Maybe I’d try a bite of toast. I put some strawberry jam on the piece and took a bite. It tasted like cardboard. I swallowed it down in silence. I didn’t want to hurt the guy’s feelings. He’d tried, after all.
“How long are you going to keep eating this sucky food?” Hunter asked.
I looked up at him and started to laugh. “Thank you for saying that. I didn’t want to be a snot about it, but this is so bad. I mean, really bad.”
“I think I get the point. How about going through a drive-through for a breakfast sandwich on the way to the appointment.”
“How very coupley of us,” I said.
“Desperate times and hungry stomachs call for desperate measures,” Hunter said.
Thirty minutes later, I’d just finished up a ham and egg biscuit and we pulled up to a building, taking a parking spot up front.
“What’s this place?” I asked.
“Chaz’s office.”
“Why are we here? Last minute details?” I asked.
“Something like that,” Hunter replied.
He was acting odd, but whatever. Life was odd and I was certainly odd at times, too.
We went into the building and right up to the twentieth floor. As we walked into the large reception area, I began to look around while Hunter went to talk with the receptionist. There were various celebrities’ pictures on the walls, some plaques, and a bunch of really cool celebrity memorabilia, in general. I’d never thought about it, but apparently Hunter had landed himself a great agent. Chaz had to be if he worked at a place like this. And he’d helped me, cool.
Hunter came up next to me and we both looked at the walls, waiting for Chaz.
“Hello, how is the hottest video duo doing today?” Chaz asked, walking out from behind a glass block wall.
“Great, thanks for seeing us on such short notice,” Hunter said. He shook hands and it didn’t escape my attention that Hunter implied he’d scheduled the appointment.
“No problem. It wasn’t easy, but I got it figured out,” Chaz said. He was talking to Hunter but looking at me. Now I felt a bit uneasy, uncomfortable.
We walked back to the office and sat down. I looked at Hunter and he looked at me with a devilish grin. Habit made me want to be a smart ass or go on some meaningless rant, but I pressed my lips together, stopping the words from flowing.
Chaz sat down behind his desk and stared back and forth at us.
Hunter said, “She has no clue what this is about. Isn’t that great?”
“Yeah, great,” Chaz said with uncertainty.
“Not so great,” I said, crossing my arms.
“You’ll love it…I think,” Hunter said, patting my leg.
“Well, here’s the scoop. I got you a ticket to go on Hunter’s interview adventures with him. With the instant reviews the video’s gotten since its posting at midnight, it will be a good gimmick for publicity,” Chaz said.
“I’m supposed to be excited about being a publicity gimmick?” I asked. I was not following Chaz’s bizarre train of thought.
“You should be, it’s good exposure and it’ll work well with the few meetings that I took the liberty of setting up for you,” Chaz said to me.
“What type of meetings?” I asked suspiciously.
“A few for taking on a private acting coach, and also for some modeling, that type of thing.”
“What?” I asked. I was shocked. “Chaz, I can’t afford a private acting coach.” The
n I looked at Hunter and repeated the same thing.
“You can if you are a client of this firm,” Chaz said. “Is that something you’re interested in?”
“I…uh…” I paused, not sure what to say. I had to tread carefully. “Do you typically make offers like that to someone like me, someone not that well known, or proven if truth be told?”
“No,” Chaz said. He was blunt. Grr.
I turned to Hunter and then back to him, still shocked. “Is it because of Hunter? Are people giving me a chance just because of that?” My pride stung a bit.
“Well, everyone needs introductions and a current hot topic is not a bad one to have,” Chaz said.
“Does that bother you?” Hunter asked me. I turned to him and he was non-emotional. It wasn’t judgmental or angered, it just was.
“I don’t want people to think that I can’t find success on my own,” I said.
“No one would think that,” Chaz said, “and trust me, if you aren’t cut out for it, this agency will be the first one to dump you. No problems. Look at it for what it is—an opportunity, Trinity.”
“Wow. This is crazy,” I said. I stood up and started to pace around the pretty big office. “I know I agreed that it’s great to get a helping hand. But this is huge, really huge…” My words trailed off and my mental motor was running on all gears.
This is amazing, I thought.
This is too easy, I thought.
This is too much, I thought.
Shut up! I screamed. This is a great opportunity and I can make the most of it or move on now. Something’s got to give, so why not give this a shot.
“I’m in. What do I do?” I asked.
“I’ll give you a contract to have your attorney review,” Chaz offered.
“I don’t have an attorney,” I countered.
“Send it over to mine,” Hunter said.
“No negotiations on this one. Yours just about made me lose my hair,” Chaz said. “Plus, this is very straight and precise. Deliver and stay. Disappoint and get dropped.”
“I got it. I can just sign it now,” I offered. “You sure can’t sue me for anything because I’m broke,” I added, slightly laughing.
“Okay, will do. Here’s the itinerary and your tickets, Trin. I couldn’t do e-tickets because I didn’t have your information for that. You’ll have to call the airline and give them some specifics,” Chaz said.
“I can’t believe that you bought a ticket before I agreed,” I said.
“You’d be a fool to not agree to this. It’s a sweet deal,” Chaz countered.
“True, and Chaz, thank you.” Then I turned to Hunter. “And thank you. This is pretty cool.”
“Don’t let you down,” Hunter said.
“You mean let you down?” I asked.
“No, I mean you,” Hunter said, winking at me. OMG! The guy couldn’t be any hotter than he was at that moment. I was so thankful.
After a few minutes of small talk, we left Chaz’s office and walked out into the lobby. I was grinning wildly and felt like I was walking on a cloud. Twenty-four hours had provided me with more opportunity for the things I really wanted in life, and I couldn’t believe it. My mind was buzzing and all this wonderful, crazy energy was coursing through me.
Hunter stayed behind a second to ask something to Chaz, and I walked over to look at the pictures again. They were so cool, the type of artwork I’d love to have hanging around my house, actually.
I turned around and Hunter walked up to me and had such a serious look on his face. What had happened? He knelt down in front of me.
“What are you doing?” I asked. Inside my mind was racing, thinking there was no way. There was only one known time that a guy ever did that. No. He wouldn’t! He couldn’t!
Hunter pulled something out of his pocket and it was a deep red velvet box. He held it in his hands and looked at me with seriously sexy, smoldering, emotional eyes and said, “Trinity Vanders, will you go skydiving with me today?”
“What?” I asked, in shock.
“What did you think I was going to say?” Hunter countered, a smile across his face.
“The box? What’s that then?” I challenged.
“Oh, this. This is the key to my apartment. I’m offering you one.”
I started to laugh.
“Well, Ms. Vanders, you haven’t answered me yet.”
“I, oh, yes, I’ll go skydiving with you today,” I said, tears rolling down my cheeks from the laughter, or maybe the emotional shock. Who knew.
“I’m glad you said yes because this floor is so uncomfortable,” Hunter replied.
He got up and I looked around. Chaz and the receptionist were watching the entire thing and laughing, but they also had sweet expressions on their face.
“And so our unpredictable life begins,” I said, and I couldn’t have been happier as we walked out into the California sunshine.
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Men of the Capital Series
The Billionaire’s Hotline (Excerpt Below!)
A Matter of Taste
The Doctor’s Damsel
Friends to Lovers Romance
The 5-Year Plan
The ProVokaTiv Rockband Series
Gauge
Hunter
The Bareknuckle Boxing Brotherhood Series
Fight
Wreck
Excerpt from ‘The Billionaire’s Hotline’ Download Instantly Today!
“That’s right, Miss Hollingford, number nine on the list. Rebecca, actress, 27. Tonight at the Blake, say eight o’clock,” Jasper told his social secretary.
So far, the project had worked like a charm. Hot and cold running blondes at the touch of a button. Last night’s text had delivered a stunning lab assistant to his favorite sushi place in a barely-there bandage dress. She wouldn’t eat, swearing that there were bacteria in raw fish, so he didn’t even have to buy her dinner, just a dirty martini. Tonight he wanted someone light and fun. An actress sounded just right, although 27 was a little on the elderly end of the spectrum for his taste.
Jasper had had a productive day, finalizing the acquisition of two more promising competitors in the wind energy industry. He didn’t care much about green energy, but he liked to breathe and figured it was easier to make a profit off people who were healthy and generating income to buy his other products. It seemed a sound investment. Better than those e-cigarettes he’d passed up; although they were gaining popularity, he still thought they looked ridiculous. He hoped the actress didn’t smoke plastic cigarettes or anything else…he couldn’t stand the taste.
At eight, Jasper was sitting at the bar at the Blake in the same suit he’d worn to work. If it had been a date or an event, something where he had to worry about the impression he’d make, he would have gone home to change. As it was, he was able to work straight through until 7:45 and still make it to his rendezvous on time. He congratulated himself again on the sheer convenience of his planning…investing in a hotel with a lux bar close to the office, hiring a secretary and ersatz bagel boy to orchestrate his social life. It was good to be king, he mused complacently.
At 8:10, his actress had not arrived. He called Miss Hollingford with instructions to text the woman again. At 8:20, he demanded the number and texted her himself. There was no response, and certainly no delectable blonde on the menu at the Blake Bar. Exasperated, he texted again five minutes later. Didn’t she realize his time was valuable? If she showed up by 8:30 and apologized, he’d still sleep with her, he decided magnanimously. If she showed up by 8:40 and was suitably gorgeous, he might even buy her a drink first, although t
o his mind she had already wasted the getting-to-know-you courtesy quarter hour with her appalling lateness. He knew he should give up and return to the office, but he was reluctant to admit that his system had failed. It was a matter of pride now. Even though he could be at the gym or signing off on a leveraged buyout. Irritated beyond the telling of it, Jasper texted again. It felt good to plague her with obsessive reminders. It was satisfying somehow. He didn’t even admit the possibility that she’d discarded the phone or forgotten to charge it.
At nine, a vagrant entered the bar, her cut-offs and tank top spattered with paint. Messy brown hair was coming out of a lopsided ponytail and her face was flushed. Perhaps she was mentally ill, Jasper thought idly. Security should come take care of this before the patrons were importuned with some sort of scene. Even his house cleaner dressed better than that. What business she thought she had in an upscale hotel bar was beyond him. He punched in another text angrily. Seconds later, an absurdly loud message beep sounded…from the phone that vagrant creature held in her hand. She brandished it with disgust and marched directly up to him.
The mentally-ill street person addressed billionaire CEO Jasper Cates.
“Who the HELL do you think you are?” She hissed. People had ceased to talk and were avidly listening to the confrontation. Jasper let his derisive gaze sweep her from head to toe languorously.
“That depends entirely on whom exactly you think I am.”
“You’ve been texting this phone incessantly for the last hour and a half now what do you want?”
“There appears to be some mistake. I was trying to reach Rebecca,” he said smoothly, pleased that he remembered the actress’s name and wondering why in God’s name the half-witted bagel boy would have given a phone to this harpy. She wasn’t blonde, she wasn’t happy, and she clearly wasn’t overfond of Crossfit, judging by the softness of her shape. She wasn’t even clean.
“Becca is my sister,” she said. “You need to leave her alone. She’s happy. She’s with someone now, and she doesn’t need you fucking things up for her with your stalking.”