Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Damien
“Who the hell was that beauty?” Scott smiled as he stepped inside.
“I thought you were at breakfast.”
“We only had time to grab a quick bagel. Madison got called into an emergency court hearing. Again, who was that beauty?”
“Her name is London Everly, and she’s the woman from the airport, the plane, and the one who returned my wallet to me.”
“Fuck, Damien. You weren’t kidding when you said she was beautiful. What was she doing here? Is she stalking you or something?” He laughed.
“So, get this.” I leaned across my desk. “Jeff hired her to do some freelance work for us. She was dropping off the artwork.” I handed him the envelope.
“Wow. She’s good. I can see why Jeff hired her. But wait.” He shook his head. “So, she knew when she returned your wallet yesterday that she was doing freelance work for us?”
“Yep. She sure did, and she didn’t say a damn word about it. When I confronted her and asked her why she didn’t tell me, her response was, ‘You really didn’t want to hear what I had to say.’ Do you believe that?”
“Yeah.” He nodded his head. “Actually, I do.”
I rolled my eyes and sighed as I leaned back in my chair. “She’s coming to dinner with us tonight.”
“What?” He laughed. “How the hell did you manage that?”
“It saved me the trouble of trying to find someone. She was here, so I took advantage. The only problem is, she said she’d go with me on one condition.”
“What’s that?” He smiled.
“She wants me to take her to the Empire State Building tomorrow. Supposedly, this is her first time in New York, and she’s only going to be here a month.”
“Tourists.” He shook his head. “I assume you’re taking her?”
“Nah. I just told her I would. I’ll bail out tomorrow morning.”
“Bro, that’s really being an asshole. She’s doing you a favor tonight. The least you can do is take her to the Empire State Building.”
“The answer is no, my friend. I need her for tonight, and then I don’t have any plans to see her again.”
“Why? She’s smoking hot.”
“You’re right. She is, but she’s really off. She’s strange and overly nice. Plus, she seems like the type that would get attached easily. I don’t need that shit.”
“My bad. I didn’t think being nice was a turn-off,” he spoke. “And even if she did get attached, she’s only here for a month.”
“Doesn’t matter. With my luck, she’d permanently move here.”
“All right.” He sighed. “I have to go. I’ll talk to you later. I cannot wait to see how this unfolds tonight.” He grinned before walking out of my office.
The car pulled up to her apartment building, and when I stepped inside, I took the elevator up to the seventh floor. As I stepped off the elevator and went to knock on her door, a young woman in the next apartment walked out.
“Hi.” She smiled.
“Umm. Hi.”
“You’re the one taking London to dinner tonight?” She grinned as she looked me up and down.
“I’m taking her to a business dinner. It’s not a date or anything.”
“Didn’t say it was.” She smiled. “Consider yourself lucky. She’s awesome.”
I narrowed my eye at her and slowly shook my head. “How do you even know her? She just got here yesterday.”
“We met on the elevator this morning, and I invited her in for coffee. She’s awesome.”
“Yes. You already said that,” I spoke.
“I have to run. Have fun on your date.”
“It’s not a date. She’s doing me a favor,” I shouted as she walked away.
Suddenly, the door opened, and I swallowed hard as London stood before me. She was dressed in a black dress with three-quarter-length sleeves and a small slit up the side. Her hair was straight compared to the wavy look I’d previously seen her with. She was stunning.
“I thought I heard you talking to someone,” she spoke.
“Your neighbor.” I pointed.
“Oh, you met Sharlene? She’s so sweet. We had coffee this morning after I got back from your office.”
“Yeah. She felt the need to tell me.”
“Come on in. I have to grab my purse.”
I stepped inside and looked around. I was actually shocked she was staying in something so nice.
“Nice place you have here,” I spoke.
“Thanks. The pictures online really don’t do it justice. I’m ready.” She grinned.
We walked out of the building and climbed into the back of my rented town car.
“Fancy, Mr. Prescott.” She smiled.
I gave her a small smile and then went over the rules for the night.
“There are a few things I need to go over with you, and I want you to listen to me very carefully. We’re having dinner with Don Bradbury, CEO of Bradbury Meats Ltd. His company is worth billions.”
“I know Bradbury Meats,” she spoke.
“Good. He prides himself on being a family man. All of his family members run his company. He’s been married for thirty years and has six children.
Family is everything to him, and when he discovered that the ad executive at his former ad agency was getting divorced because he cheated on his wife of ten years, he dropped them immediately.
He’s a very Christian man and goes to church every Sunday.
So I need you to go with the flow tonight.
Don’t talk. I’ll do the talking. You just sit there and smile. ”
“You know you’re lying, right?” she asked.
“Yeah. And? It’s a multi-million-dollar account. A little white lie isn’t going to hurt anyone.”
“I’m really excited to see the Empire State Building tomorrow.” A smile crossed her lips.
“Why? You came all the way to New York for that?”
“And other things.”
“Like?” I asked with an arch in my brow.
“I want to see every part of Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center, a Broadway play, the art museum, Times Square at night, Grand Central Station, and a few other places.”
The car pulled up to Grammercy Tavern, and I climbed out first. The driver walked around and helped London out of the car.
“Thank you.” She smiled.
When we walked inside, Scott and Madison were already seated.
“There he is.” Scott smiled.
“Hey, Scott. Hello, Madison. I’d like you both to meet London Everly. London, this is my friend and partner, Scott, and his wife, Madison.”
“It’s nice to meet you, London.” Scott smiled as he gently shook her hand.
“What a beautiful name,” Madison spoke. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet both of you,” London spoke with a grin as we took our seats.”
God, I prayed she could pull this off. The reason she came to New York was to sightsee. As a freelance artist, she could not afford to travel the way she did. Something was up with her, and I was going to find out what it was.