City of Sin - Chapter 33
Mason
"What about that one?" I pointed to a red dress on a mannequin. The mannequin wasn't nearly as curvy as Bee. She would look absolutely amazing in it. And it was perfect for the gala. It wouldn't look too bad on the floor of my bedroom either.
"Why the hell are we here again?" asked my brother, Matt, leaning against one of the display cases.
"I told you."
"You don't usually do this to get laid. What does she have on you?"
"Nothing."
"If you ask me, you like her," he said.
"I don't like her. I just want her."
Matt crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You're right. You don't like her. You like her like her."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"It's the step between like and love."
I laughed. I didn't fall in love. And Bee certainly wasn't going to be the girl that made me change my ways. "I have no idea why I asked for your help. She'll look good in anything. This dress is perfect."
"Do you know her size?" Matt asked.
"Yeah.” I pulled a dress off the rack.
He frowned at me. "Why exactly do you know her size?"
"I had Vargas get some information on her."
"You do realize how creepy that is, right?"
I shrugged my shoulders. It wasn't creepy. It was efficient. And it was what was winning her over.
"So what else did you find out about this girl that you almost love?"
I lightly punched his shoulder and tried to ignore him. He was right though. I never tried this hard. Hell, I never really had to try at all. Women heard my name and flocked toward me. It was one of the only benefits of being a Caldwell.
"Do you at least have a picture? I want to see the girl that stole my brother's small, shriveled up heart."
"She didn't steal my perfectly normal sized heart.
But I do have a picture." I pulled out my phone and clicked on my open tabs.
I wasn't sure where Vargas had gotten this picture.
But it had been on the front page of the report he had given me.
And I found myself constantly looking at it. Just because she was nice to look at.
"Damn, she's hot."
"That she is."
"So what does she do?"
"That's a weird question coming from a guy who doesn't do anything."
"Hey, someone had to take over the family business. And Dad doesn't need my help yet. He's made that perfectly clear. He hates all my suggestions. I'm pretty sure he's still holding out hope on you taking it over."
"Yeah, that's not going to happen."
"How are you doing anyway? I can't imagine being cut off."
"I'm doing fine. Because I have a good job." And I still had some of the money left that my dad had given me. Once I ran out, that might be a different story. I knew the clock was ticking. I needed to land my first account before I lost my apartment.
"Still. Thousands is different than millions. I do not want to know what living is like without being able to take a bath in 100 dollar bills whenever I want."
He was right. I wasn't used to having to watch my cash flow. I probably shouldn't have been buying this dress for Bee. But I wanted to. Not because I like her. "I said I'm doing fine."
"How is the new venture going?"
I didn't want to talk about it. I never failed at anything.
But I wasn't even close to having enough cash to start my own ad agency.
And without my father's name backing me, no one was willing to give me a loan.
My side business helped. It was currently the only cash coming into my new business.
What I needed was more clients. Pilfering my father's new hires was easy.
I needed more access to high-level employees.
But I didn't want to spend my time growing that.
I wanted to be starting my own company, not introducing men to sluts.
After spilling the news to my dad that I had other plans for my future, he had basically said he was done with me.
That was a year ago. I thought I would have started the agency by now.
It was still a while off at this rate, though. "It's going slower than I'd hope."
"Well, when I'm in charge of MAC International, I'll reinstate your allowance."
"I don't need it," I said. "I'm going to do it without Dad's money."
"Eh. It'll kind of be my money then."
"Still." I didn't want handouts. Especially not from my little brother who hadn't really worked a day in his life.
I was sure he was capable of running MAC.
He had majored in finance at Harvard to appease my father.
But the money was his only motivation. He didn't really want to run a finance company either.
I didn't want to live like that. I wanted to prove that I had what it took to make it on my own. My dad would see.
"You didn't answer my question. What does this girl do?"
"She's a secretary at Kruger Advertising."
"Really? Mom and Dad will be thrilled about that," he laughed.
"I don't really care what they think."
"Clearly. Maybe that's why you're falling for her. Because she's the complete opposite of who our parents expect you to wind up with."
"Maybe."
"I knew it! You are falling for her."
"I didn't say that..."
"You kind of did. How much access do you think she has to files at Kruger?"
"I'm assuming she has clearance for everything."
"So, there's your answer."
"What?"
"You're not going to want to take your clients with you from Blue Media. They're a huge conglomerate. Burning your bridges with them wouldn't be helping you. But taking Kruger's clients? That's a different story."
"You want me to use Bee to get access to Kruger Advertising's client list?"
He shrugged. "You said you didn't love her. So I don't really see what the problem is."
I looked down at the dress I was holding.
Matt was right. I was already getting Bee to trust me.
It would be easy to convince her to get me access to the documents.
Or at least I could steal the information from her computer without her knowing.
If I had a list of clients, I'd be able to get a loan even without my dad cosigning.
I might not even need a loan if I could get one of Kruger's large accounts to sign with me right away.
I shook my head. That seemed dirty. Even for me.
"Unless you do love her..."
"No. I don't even like her." But I did. I couldn't stop thinking about her. That's why I was at the store buying her a dress.
"If you say so."
"And that's actually a really good idea.
I'm not sure why I didn't think of it." Because I was distracted.
Bee had thrown me off my game. And I didn't want to risk losing her over something stupid like that.
Matt had no idea how to start a business.
His advice wasn't exactly something I was looking for.
"You were blinded by love."
"Stop saying stupid shit."
"When do I get to meet her? I haven't met any of your girlfriends since you were still living at home. Have you even had a girlfriend since high school?"
"No. And you don't get to meet her. Because she's not my girlfriend."
"You do realize that I have tickets to the gala on Saturday, right?"
I cleared my throat. "That's not where we're going."
"Isn't it, though? Every important person in the city is going. Which includes me. And you. And apparently a lowly secretary from Kruger Advertising with a pretty face. It's a genius move actually. Showing her the riches and glam and then wooing her into bed with you. Well played."
Shit. I did not want him to talk to Bee. He'd ruin all my plans. I didn't want it to be just a one night. I wanted to be able to have her whenever I felt like it. "We're actually going to that winter festival thing."
"I've never heard of it. Which means you probably made it up. So I guess I'll see you at the gala. Can we please go get something to eat now? I'm starving."
Damn it.