Cocky Suit: A Hero Club Novel

by Harlow Layne

  “I’m not inviting anyone from here, but I don’t have control over the guest list.”

  “Well, if you want me to go and to donate money, then agree to be my date. It’s as simple as that.”

  “Nothing with you is simple, but I’ll agree to go as your date. If we see anyone, we know we can just pretend we bumped into each other.”

  Ouch. It was like she was ashamed of me. Most women would die to be my date and to be seen on my arm. All but the one woman I wanted there. At least I knew there was no way Pria was using me.

  “Whatever makes you feel better.”

  “Thanks.” She smiled sweetly at me before standing. “I should get back to work.”

  “Are you sure I can’t convince you to have lunch with me instead?” I really wanted her to change her mind. Who could she be meeting with that she’d give up an orgasm or two?

  Her face softened. “I’m sorry, but I can’t cancel. I’ll happily see you tonight.” Walking around my desk, Pria looked at my closed door before leaning down and brushing her ruby red lips against mine.

  “I want you to paint me with those red lips of yours tonight.” Preferably my cock, but I kept that to myself.

  “I’ll see what I can do.” She winked before walking out of my office.

  For the rest of the morning, I did my own digging into Sun Heights Investments. I didn’t want to have to go out of town if I didn’t have to. Especially when I already had another overnight trip planned at the end of the week. Now that I had a feisty little houseguest, I dreaded going out of town. If I could have brought her with me I would, but there was no reason for it. I had someone I trusted to take care of my dogs.

  Since Pria had other plans for lunch, I needed to let the dogs out and put their food in the crockpot since I hadn’t done it this morning. I really needed to find someone who could take them for a walk at lunchtime so neither of us had to go home.

  After letting my secretary know I was going home for lunch and to expect the information from Whitmore, I headed to the elevator. My steps halted when I saw Pria with a man I knew very well. He had been my family’s physician, mostly for my sister, Murphy, and his name was… Mr. Wang. Was he Pria’s father? It made sense. They had the same last name and were both Chinese. How had I not figured it out before now?

  I thought back to the little girl he would occasionally bring with him. The same little girl who played and hung out with my sister through the years until she went off to college. Had that been Pria? If so, why hadn’t she mentioned it to me?

  Maybe I had it all wrong and my eyes were deceiving me.

  He placed his hand on her lower back and ushered her inside the elevator with a smug smile on his face. Pria, on the other hand, looked anything but happy to be with him. I hung back and watched as the doors closed blocking them from my view.

  If Pria had lied about not knowing me and my family, what else had she lied about? In an instant, I decided I was going to check out Sun Heights tonight. I’d still have Whitmore give me the information, but I didn’t want to see Pria or listen to her lies right then. If I did, I was sure to say something that I’d regret later. I needed to clear my head and the only way to do that was to be as far away from her as possible.

  By the time I got home, I was fuming and sure everything Pria had ever said to me was a lie. Had her fiancé even broke up with her? Was she playing me with pretending she didn’t want anyone to find out about us or was it all part of her master plan to seduce me and then sue me for sexual harassment?

  Even with Jimmy and Orvy greeting me with lots of kisses, I was still steaming. I couldn’t believe I’d thought Pria was different from all the other women who’d used me in the past when, in fact, she was worse.

  I went for a run with Sarah and Orvy to try to clear my head. Maybe I was overreacting, but the second I walked inside my apartment and smelled her scent in every room I went into, I knew my decision to go out of town for the week was the right one. I needed to focus on my business and not what my dick wanted.

  I had just finished packing up all the papers I’d printed out from my research and what Whitmore had sent me when I heard the dogs go crazy. That meant only one thing; Pria was here. I could have kicked her out, but I wasn’t that much of a dick. At least, not yet. If I found out she really was using me I wouldn’t hesitate to slam the door in her face.

  Wheeling my suitcase behind me, I strode down the hallway typing on my phone to let my driver know I’d be down in a couple of minutes. Orvy was up on his back legs and his front paws on Pria’s shoulders pinning her to the front door as he licked her face. She giggled and hugged him back while Jimmy humped her leg furiously. Maybe he was pissed at her too.

  “Down boys,” I barked out. Sarah came out of nowhere to see what was going on. Jimmy rushed over and hopped around my legs wanting to be picked up. I scooped him up and scratched behind his ears for a moment before I sat him back down. Orvy bumped my hand with his nose wanting his own scratches so I gave him a few before I patted his head.

  Turning back to the liar, I scowled at the sweet smile she had on her face. She really was a talented actress because it looked as if she genuinely cared.

  “Hey,” she greeted me, going in for a kiss. At the last minute, I turned my head, so she’d get my cheek.

  Moving around her, I had my hand on the doorknob when she called my name. I turned to see Pria’s brows furrowed as she took in my suitcase. “Where are you going? I thought—”

  “What does it matter where I’m going, Ms. Wang? I’m not your boyfriend and I never will be. Watch the dogs while I’m gone.” With that, I slammed the door behind me.

  19

  Pria

  What the hell had just happened? I came back to King’s place thinking of all the delicious things we’d do to each other, only for him to sweep past me with a growl and words that hurt deep down in my soul. It didn’t make sense and I was determined to find out why King’s attitude had taken a complete one-eighty. Even the dogs stood staring at the door wondering why their owner had turned into a dick.

  Digging my phone out of my purse, I tried to call King, but after a couple of rings, it went straight to voicemail. I knew that cocky asshole was declining my calls. Unwilling to give up, I called again and again, each time King declining my call until he eventually turned off his phone.

  Anger burned deep in my gut as I stewed. Who was he to treat me that way? It was a huge overreaction to not having lunch with him. It didn’t matter what he’d said, I couldn’t put off seeing my dad another day. It was better to do it willingly than the alternative. He’d been calling and threatening to show up unannounced at work after he found out Haider and I had broken up. He wanted to know what I’d done wrong because, of course, it was my fault things hadn’t worked out between us. It was always my fault since I wasn’t married and didn’t stay at home with two kids on my hip. Once he found out about Haider, my dad hadn’t even comforted me. I knew he thought it was my fault for working. I was the black sheep of the family with my modern day thinking. I’d thought about mentioning King to him to only further piss him off, but now I’m glad I hadn’t. I would only get another lecture telling me how white men weren’t for me and I should only date nice Chinese men. After Haider, and King’s earlier attitude, I was thinking I shouldn’t date anyone. Fuck men. Me and my vibrator got along just fine.

  I wanted to leave his perfect penthouse up in the sky with its perfect views, but I couldn’t do that to Jimmy or Orvy. One thing I knew was I needed to find my own place and fast. Whenever King came back, I would be leaving.

  He hadn’t even mentioned how long he’d be gone. I decided to call his secretary saying I needed to make an appointment at Mr. Avery’s earliest convenience.

  “Mr. Avery’s office this is Mandy speaking. How can I help you?” she answered with an annoyed huff. I wasn’t sure how she still had her job. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought King was fucking her and that was why he was keeping her around.
Maybe he was and his speech was all a big lie.

  “Hi, Mandy. This is Pria Wang and I need to make an appointment with Mr. Avery as soon as possible.”

  “I don’t know why. You just had a meeting with him this morning,” she muttered, not intending for me to hear her. “Let me look and see when his next available time is.” She hummed as if she was checking but I wasn’t sure if she actually was or if she was just wasting my time. “I can get you in on Tuesday next week at ten if that works for you.”

  “He doesn’t have anything sooner?” I knew he was busy, but that was a long time. “I only need a few minutes. If you could just let—”

  “I’m sorry but that’s the earliest I can get you in. Mr. Avery is out of the office for the rest of the week and he has meetings all day on Monday. If anyone cancels, I can contact you to see if that time will work for you.”

  I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t need to make an appointment with him, but I also wasn’t sure if King would talk to me once he got home. Plus, I planned to be out of here the moment he stepped foot in his apartment. He said no matter what happened between us, I’d keep my job, but I wanted to remind him of that fact.

  “Yes, please put me down for Tuesday and if anything opens up reschedule my appointment.”

  “Sure thing, Ms. Wang,” she snipped before hanging up.

  If things were better between King and me, I’d try to talk him into firing her. She was the worst secretary on the planet. Laying down on the couch the dogs jumped up with me. One cuddled me on each side like they were giving me a sweet hug. I was going to miss them when I left.

  Orvy placed his head on my arm and looked up at me. His eyes looked sad as if he knew what was going on. “Why is your daddy being such an asshole?” Orvy’s only response was to lift his head and place it a little closer to my shoulder. God, he was so sweet. Even Jimmy wasn’t humping me. Luckily, he only seemed to try and hump me when one foot was on the ground. He was such a strange but lovable little dog.

  It was unbelievable that earlier in the day, I’d wanted to slowly peel King’s expensive suit off his body and trace every inch of his skin with my mouth and hands, and now I wanted to take scissors to every suit in his closet before I ripped off his balls.

  With the dogs snuggled up to me, and my body warmed, I started to relax. My eyelids started to droop and thoughts of my asshole boss slowly drifted away.

  I woke with a start. Haider’s ringtone blared in the quiet of the room causing me to bolt upright. Jimmy and Orvy grumbled beside me as I hit the power button to silence the offending noise. I didn’t want to talk to him now or ever. There was nothing he could possibly need to say to me. The only person I wanted to talk to didn’t seem to want to talk to me. Now that I’d slept some, I’d calmed down and was only more bewildered by his swift change of behavior.

  After serving the dogs their dinner, I picked up my phone and tried to call King again but it went straight to voicemail. It had been hours and I hoped with some time he’d realized he’d overreacted and was ready to talk. It baffled my mind what could have set him off. I’d agreed to be his date even against my better judgment. I didn’t want to think of what would happen if anyone found out about us or what we’d done. King’s thought on how the no fraternization policy didn’t apply to him because he was the boss was so like him. Nothing seemed to faze him, but he needed to understand, just because no one would think much about him fucking an employee, I wouldn’t be taken seriously. How could I enforce the same policy I was defying?

  The smell of his cologne permeated the place almost making me dizzy. It was intoxicating and heartbreaking now that he wasn’t there. How had I let him wedge himself so far into my heart in such a short amount of time? Everywhere I looked I could see him smiling down at his dogs or wrapping his arms around me and nuzzling into my neck. Deciding I needed to get out of his space, I grabbed the dogs’ leashes. We were going to go for a nice long walk and maybe even pick up some food on the way back. The cool fall air would hopefully do wonders for my mood and maybe give me some clarity on the events of the day.

  The dogs wagged their little and big butts by the door as I hooked their leashes on. Even Sarah was excited to go out with us. Hopefully, she wouldn’t make me regret my decision to bring her along.

  The sun had set an hour ago making the air cooler than it had been during the day. I zipped my sweatshirt up to keep the chill at bay. Of course, the dogs didn’t seem to notice, and I doubted they would until it was winter. I headed in the direction of the dog park even though we weren’t going there. I wasn’t sure of the hours, but it was probably closed.

  I quickly figured out there was no way in hell I was going to be able to get any food with three dogs in tow. It wasn’t to say places weren’t friendly because they were. It was all because I had two giant dogs that could pull me this way and that without any trouble at all. If I wanted something to eat, I’d get it after I took the dogs home. They’d be fine without me and I liked the idea of being away from King’s place. I wasn’t sure where I’d go, but the longer I thought about it the more I liked the idea. I picked up my pace as we made our way back to their home. I had to remind myself it wasn’t mine. It was a temporary residence I would soon leave.

  Unclipping the dogs from their leashes, I hung them up and looked down at my clothes before deciding to stay in what I had on. I’d changed into yoga pants, a T-shirt, a sweatshirt over it, and a pair of tennis shoes for their walk since there was no way in hell I could walk in heels and a skirt with them. Grabbing my purse, I gave each of the dogs a pat on the head before I headed out.

  I felt lighter the moment I stepped out of the building. All thoughts of King, Haider, and my dad were long gone. I slipped my earbuds in and pulled up Spotify. I hit whatever the daily mix was and set out in the opposite direction than I’d taken the dogs. There weren’t many food places in that direction, which was why I always walked that way with the three amigos.

  One thing King’s area didn’t have was an abundance of trees. I missed seeing all the leaves changing color in the fall. I knew all I had to do was head to Central Park to get my fill, but I missed it, nonetheless.

  My head swiveled back and forth as I took in everything around me. I wasn’t accustomed to the area and didn’t really know what was around. When King had been home, he ordered out every night. I wasn’t sure what I was in the mood for, only that I’d know when I saw or smelled it. The only thing I knew I didn’t want was Chinese food. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever eat it again with how much it had been crammed down my throat first by my family and then Haider. Didn’t they know variety was the spice of life?

  A hard push from behind sent me into a quiet side street that was full of trash and smelled like piss. Whirling around I was caught short by a hand to my throat and rank breath wafting over my face.

  “Give me your purse and you won’t get hurt,” a deep and snarling voice said hidden behind a dark hood.

  There was no way to know if I gave him my purse, he would let me go. In that moment, I wished I knew some sort of self-defense, but my dad had never let me do any extracurricular activities but play the piano and the violin. Neither would help me now.

  Still, I had to do something. If this guy was willing to steal from me who was to say he wasn’t willing to go further. He could rape or kill me.

  Throwing all of my one hundred and ten pounds into his hulking frame I tried to get away. I must have shocked him because he stumbled back a few steps. I thought I’d make the short distance out of the quiet street until he grabbed the back of my sweatshirt. When it ripped, I still thought I might get away until he grabbed my arm and pulled it back at a jarring angle. Pain shot through me, but I continued to fight for my life. I scratched down his arm with my other hand; I was about to scream for help like I should have done the moment he trapped me in the alley when he punched me in the eye. The hit sent shockwaves through my head and neck as I saw stars. A guttural moan came out as I clutched my eye with my oth
er hand. I’d never once even been slapped in my entire life let alone been hit. The pain felt like a shot of blinding fire through my eye socket, causing me to stagger back into the wall.

  “You shouldn’t have done that, bitch. If you only would have cooperated…” He ripped my purse from my shoulder. I was amazed it had stayed in place and not fallen to the ground. He towered over me as one hand pinned my hands above my head and the other went to the waistband of my yoga pants and slipped his hand inside. Agonizing pain shot down my arm, but I fought through it. I had no other choice.

  No.

  No.

  No.

  I would rather die than have this man rape me. When two fingers slipped into my panties my entire body started to shake and I knew I had to act. Lifting one knee, I rammed it into his groin as hard as I could, but it didn’t seem to affect him at all. My only chance and I’d ruined it.

  “You fucking bitch,” he howled. Rearing back his arm, he let it fly. I tried to block it to no avail. His fist slammed into my temple and I went down. My vision started to go black as he sat on top of me and continued to pound into my face and stomach.

  The last thing I remembered before everything went black was someone yelling. It sounded so far away, I only hoped they got to me before he raped or killed me.

  Groggily, I woke up to machines beeping and the smell of antiseptic. I tried to turn over on my side but stopped as pain ricocheted through my upper body. I let out a low groan and attempted to bring my hands to my face when I felt a tug and pinch in my left hand. Cracking my eyes open, I examined my surroundings. White ceilings and walls surrounded me. I looked down at my hand and saw an IV attached. I was definitely in the hospital. I wasn’t sure how I’d gotten there. Before I passed out from the pain and injury, I’d heard someone, but that was all I remembered.