25. Chapter 25
”You wanna tell me why you were such an asshole at the meeting?” Devon asked me when we met for dinner at Alligator Soul on Barnard Street.
I ran my hand through my hair. Devon and I had been friends before he”d even come to work for Rhodes Hotels Resorts. At work, we kept it professional and maintained a boss-employee etiquette, but when it was just us, I was not his employer.
”I hated how nervous she was,” I confessed.
Devon frowned. ”Aurora?”
”Yeah.”
”She wasn”t nervous, she was fucking confident and amazing,” Devon was incredulous. ”What the fuck, Gabe?”
”She was nervous,” I stated. ”And she was remembering things I said to her, hurtful fucking things.”
”Okay, back it up here, dude. Is this the woman who you fucked up with because of Iris?”
”Yeah.”
”And you didn”t think to tell me before this meeting?”
I shrugged and was relieved when the server came to take our order because Devon, I knew, was going to rip me a new one.
I”d asked my mother to talk to Nina Davenport and put Aurora on the Miami Hotel project. ”I”m delighted to help you get her back, even though you don”t deserve her after what a dickhead you”ve been.”
I didn”t want anyone to ever know that I had a hand in getting Aurora her promotion. If she ever found out, it would devastate her; she”d think she”d gotten ahead on her back and not her abilities. Nina had assured my mother that she was planning on promoting Aurora anyway, and this would be a great project for her to work on, and all she wanted was the promise that I”d treat Aurora professionally and fairly.
”Did you get her on this project because you want to get into her pants?” Devon demanded.
I glared at him. ”You know Nina Davenport? She look like the type who”d dabble in nepotism?”
Devon paused at that and nodded. ”Hell, no. And in any case, Aurora knocked it out of the ballpark, dude. Were you not impressed?”
”Yes,” I admitted, ”absolutely. Why?”
”Because you didn”t say anything positive at the meeting. In fact, you were a bit too severe almost to the point of being rude,” Devon explained. ”Don”t get me wrong, no one expects Gabriel Rhodes to hand out compliments but usually you do more than grunt.”
I waited to reply until the server left our drinks.
”I was afraid that I”d…slip.”
Devon scowled. ”What?”
I sighed. ”I was way too impressed, and…I…didn”t want it to be too obvious.”
”Don”t worry about that. It wasn”t obvious at all. In fact, we all thought you were angry.”
”This woman has got me in knots,” I muttered. ”How the fuck am I supposed to function with her around?”
Devon leaned back, amused. ”Wow! Never seen you like this before.”
”Like what?”
”Heartsick.”
”Fuck you.”
”No, it”s kinda cute.”
”You know what, let”s keep the personal shit out of bounds and talk to me about what the fuck is going on with the Munich hotel.”
Devon knew when not to push, and this was one of those times. I was not just impressed; I was mesmerized. I also had a hard-on that could drive nails into walls. I could see she was aroused. I could feel her heartbeat all the way from across the table. I wanted her. For a minute, I wondered how it would be if I asked to see her in her office, laid her on out her desk, and took her hard from behind. We could then go back to the meeting. We”d both be relaxed and be able to focus on the fucking agenda.
She wore a pale pink sheath dress with nude heels. I wanted so badly to slide my hand between her slender legs and…fuck me!
And while I was trying to get my libido under control, I saw pain flash in her eyes. I knew the instant she remembered some of the horrible shit I”d spewed at her—and I wanted to howl in anger, which was mostly directed toward me. I”d caused her pain, and I was continuing to do so. Maybe it was a mistake to be in proximity of her. She”d keep remembering what an asshole I”d been, and it would hurt her. I didn”t want to hurt Aurora; I wanted to love her. I wanted to heal her, have her heal me.
That night, as I lay in bed, I texted her after losing a fight with myself on restrain.
Me: You were amazing in the meeting today.
I knew she”d unblocked me, but I didn”t know if she”d respond. She did, it took ten minutes, but she did.
Aurora: Thank you.
Me: Devon said that I looked angry. I wasn”t angry with you.
Aurora: But you were angry?
Fuck this. I called her. She picked up the phone.
”I was angry with myself. I saw the moment you remembered something I said, and I could see the pain in your eyes and…I”m so sorry,” I blurted.
”I thought you were angry with me,” she whispered.
”No, baby. Never. I was amazed at your work. Your drawings. Everything. I was angry with myself and then afraid that everybody would see that I was in love with you, and that would embarrass you. I don”t know what the fuck I”m doing, Aurora.”
I heard her soft laugh. ”This might be the first time I”ve heard you say you didn”t know what you were doing.”
A smile spread on my face. She was talking to me.
”You reduce me to a spluttering moron.”
”Gabriel, I—”
”I could also see when you were aroused. Could you see that I was?” I stroked myself. Having her over the phone reminded me of all the times she”d let me see and hear her come when we couldn”t be together. It was almost Pavlovian; she was on the phone, we were both in bed, and I was hard as stone.
”Gabriel,” she breathed.
”I wish I”d been sitting next to you, darlin”. I”d drop something on the floor so I could smell you. You were wet, weren”t you?”
”I”m going to hang up.”
”No, baby. Give me this much. I”m fucking lost without you.”
”Gabriel, I can”t be some phone whore for you,” she raged.
I stilled my hand. ”Aurora, you never ever fucking reduce what we had to that. Go it?”
Hell, now, I was angry with her.
”Baby, talk to me,” I pleaded.
”I was aroused,” she breathed. ”I looked at your hands and…I can”t do this.”
”You remembered how I touched you?” She was feeling vulnerable, and I was enough of a ruthless asshole to press my advantage. ”Do you remember how I”d hold your thighs apart when I came inside you?”
She paused for a long time, and I could hear her breathing heavily like she used to when she was excited, wet, and wanting me. Triumph blazed through me.
”I have to go.” Her voice was unsteady.
”Come for me instead.”
”I can”t do this. I won”t do this.”
I could hear the tears in her voice, and I hated myself for pushing her so hard. ”Hey, hey, no crying.”
I heard her sniffle.
She hardly ever cried, and it was a testament to how upset I was making her that she even got there. Unlike Iris who used tears to manipulate, Aurora was always controlled and took pride in that.
”I just wanted you to know that I was impressed with you and your work. I can”t wait to see this hotel. I know you”re going to make it amazing.”
”You really think so?”
For the Ice Maiden she portrayed, I knew Aurora had so many self-doubts. She used to confide in me before I”d shattered us by not seeing what Iris was doing to Sophia and my relationship with Aurora.
”Yes, I do. The Art Deco idea is ingenious. I think it”ll be a great fusion between styles. Authentically Miami with some Rhodes Southern charm.”
”What did you think about the water feature? I was watching this movie called A Little Chaos, and even though I”m not a landscaper, I got the idea from there.”
”You want to bring a piece of Versailles to a Rhodes Hotel?”
”You”ve seen the movie?”
I laughed softly. ”Tell me how you”ll go about doing it.”
She went on excitedly talking about her plans. She came alive. We talked for nearly an hour, and it was the best day I”d had since we broke up.