Chapter 2
Chapter two
Tristan
“Don’t be like that.” The moment I’d said it, I realized my mistake.
An incredulous sound filled the air right before Shelby flicked her wrist and baptized me with fermented grapes.
Clearly not the right thing to say to an infuriated woman holding a glass of red wine.
“Don’t be like that?” She threw my words back at me with a few dashes of crazy added to her tone. “I thought we had something special, Tristan.”
I probably should’ve felt bad, but it was hard to grab on to even the tiniest sliver of guilt when I had wine dripping from my eyebrows. Besides, I never promised her anything other than a few amazing orgasms—I’d more than delivered on that.
Shaking out the napkin, I dragged it over my face to mop up most of the mess. “You’re a nice girl, Shelby, but—”
“I am not a girl.” Her face twisted, eyes almost bugging out of her skull. “I am all woman.” With a huff, she jumped from her chair, looking about two seconds away from stomping her foot. “Clearly, more woman than you can handle.”
“Sweetheart,” I chuckled. “I can handle two of you any day of the week and twice on Sundays.” Cocking my brow, daring her to continue this conversation.
She didn’t of course. Choosing instead to pivot and march out of the restaurant. But not before plowing over an innocent waiter in the process.
A sour taste filled my mouth.
Kate wouldn’t react this way.
What? Why the fuck did my assistant just pop into my mind? Shaking my head at the ridiculous thought, I pushed to my feet and grabbed the jacket draped over the back of my chair. After sliding my arms into the sleeves, I secured the button and headed toward the hostess stand.
“Enzo, good to see you.” I held out my hand to the owner—one of my best friend’s grandfather. “How have you been?”
He slapped his palm against mine and made a show focusing his dark eyes on the red staining my white shirt. “Better than you.”
Unease rolled over my skin. I ignored it and tucked my hands inside my pockets. “You know how it goes. Same shit, different day.”
The older man tsked disapprovingly. Muttered Italian words fell from his lips in quick succession.
I knew why. He and his wife, Helena, had been in love for as long as they could remember, which was why he didn’t fully understand how I—or their grandson for that matter—could be so blasé about it all.
The thing was as long as you had money, there’d be people falling over themselves to get a piece of you. I’d grown tired of trying to sort genuine people from the fake ones a long, long time ago.
Women like Shelby weren’t interested in the man behind the Blake name; they just wanted the perks that came with it. So why waste my time on frivolous things like feelings?
Still grinning at Enzo, I retrieved my wallet. “We had two drinks, but I’d like to pay for the food that landed on the floor next to that poor man.” I placed my card on the countertop and jerked my head in the direction of the waiter scraping up the wasted spaghetti.
Enzo held up his hand and shook his head.
“Please. I insist.” My tone left no room for argument, still, the Italian studied me for way too long before he snatched my card up with a defeated sigh.
“Be sure to add a decent tip.”
A creepy smile played at the corner of his mouth, as he handed the piece of plastic back to me. Only, he didn’t let go. “I cannot wait for the day love knocks you on your ass.”
“When hell freezes over.”
“You keep saying that.” Still holding on to my card, he leaned over the counter. His expression was that of someone about to divulge a secret. “One day you’ll wake up and there’ll be someone who’ll crawl so deep under your skin, they’ll embed themselves in your DNA.”
The look he gave me sent chills down my fucking spine. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve sworn he was casting some sort of spell on me. Momentarily freaked the hell out, I pulled a bit harder until the piece of plastic slid from his fingers.
Without another word, I got the fuck out of there.
The instant I was outside, all was right in my world again. The sun was bright and the people loud, but I didn’t care. I loved this city.
It was busy and blaring… It was alive.
Dragging a deep breath into my lungs, I strolled toward my black Mercedes and headed to the office. Since I’d cleared my afternoon, I had enough time to change my shirt and freshen up before the partner announcement.
A rare sense of excitement flooded my veins. This partnership was mine. Only mine. I wouldn’t get it because of my last name or who my father was. This was my hard work.
My blood. My sweat.
The fact this was also my big fuck you to my sperm donor was a huge bonus.
When I stepped out of the elevator on the twenty-fifth floor almost an hour later, my excitement had only intensified. As strange as it was, it also made me realize how desperately I wanted this.
Sinking my hands into my pockets, I hurried toward my office. It was quiet and empty. Most of the people were probably out enjoying their lunch. Kate too, apparently. She wasn’t behind her desk.
I paused. A frown pulled my brows together. Kate was always there. She didn’t do lunches out of the office, no matter how many times I’d told her to. She’d also seemed off this morning.
I’d wanted to ask if it had something to do with the incident at my apartment. I sure as shit hoped it didn’t because I had no explanation for why I’d grabbed and held on to her like that.
Nor could I explain why I’d run after her. Or why the hell when I’d gone back inside I’d sent Shelby home.
Unfortunately—or fortunately—it’d been one heck of a busy day, and we never got around to talking about anything other than business.
Which is exactly the way I’ll keep it.
I entered my office and didn’t bother going into the bathroom to change.
Simply shrugged out of my jacket and tossed it on the desk then got to work on my damp shirt. I moved fast over the buttons, popping them one by one. I had the cotton halfway down my arms when a shriek filled the room.
My gaze shot to the door. Kate’s eyes collided with mine. They were big, almost too big.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she squeaked.
I arched a brow. “It’s my office. Where else would I be?”
She shook her head, the action causing her long, straight ponytail to slide back and forth. “I... Well...” Not bothering to finish her sentence, she sank to her haunches and gathered the papers I hadn’t noticed until that second.
She must’ve dropped them when she came inside and discovered my office wasn’t empty.
“You had a lunch date with Shelby,” she muttered. “Those tend to take longer than an hour.”
“Not this one,” I said dryly.
Finally freeing myself from the wine-stained fabric, I tossed it next to my jacket. Crossing to the coat hanger behind the door, I grabbed a fresh shirt and pulled it on.
The cotton smoothed over my shoulders at the same time as Kate rose to her feet.
She gave me a look. “Oh, I see.”
There were more than three words there. What she didn’t say—never said—out loud was how much she disapproved of the way things ended with the women I took out.
More than once, she’d looked at them with pity.
And more than once, I’d had this desperate need to explain to her why I was the way I was.
Thank fuck, I’d never acted on that need.
No small feat either. Especially on days like today when my tongue burned with the desire to tell her I wasn’t all bad. I wasn’t good. I was...lost.
“Please don’t forget to sign these.”
Her voice pulled me from my thoughts. She’d moved. Instead of standing by the door, she was at my desk, the papers from earlier arranged in a neat stack in the middle of it.
She stared at me. I stared right back. I thought she’d leave, but then her gaze darted to my chest—still on display since I hadn’t gotten around to buttoning the shirt—and fuck me, her breath hitched.
It was quick, and she righted herself damn fast, but I didn’t miss it. Another rush of excitement shot through my veins; this feeling far more potent than the one from earlier.
My feet moved before my brain had time to issue the command. Her eyes widened with every step I took. It was only when I was in front of her that I noticed something odd.
She was sad.
Red lined her eyes, and there was a dullness to her amber irises that hadn’t been there before.
I couldn’t ask about it since the last person I expected to see chose that moment to waltz into my office.