Chapter 1 #2
He winced. “Boy, you’re full of complements this morning. I happen to be satisfied with my dull life.”
“You need a woman, old friend. I think your last date was six months ago, almost the same time mine was,” she teased.
“Sorry, the Bulls game is on. No glamour queen can compete.”
“You’re still hung up on her, aren’t you?” she asked softly.
He stiffened, then consciously relaxed his fingers around the invitation. “My faithless ex-wife is off having a grand old time with her boyfriend. I never give her a second thought.”
“It’s been two years, Theodore.”
He gave a lopsided grin, full of his usual charm. “She never let me watch the basketball games. How could I possibly miss her?”
She let him coax a smile from her. “Okay, I give. I should know by now you’ll never be one of these tortured heroes like Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. I’ve got to stop forcing that role on you.”
“Deal,” he said. He glanced at his watch. “I’ve got a meeting at ten. Davidson has a new software program he’s still working kinks out of and my head’s on the block. Our charming
boss will fire me in a heartbeat if I don’t get it working. Hmmm, maybe if you two hit it off you can put in a good word for me.”
“Cute, real cute.” She paused, then bit her lip as she tried to broach the subject. “Theodore, I’ve got to ask you for one small favor.”
He rubbed his fingers against his temple as if anticipating a headache. Black strands of hair ruffled under the motion, then settled back into place. “Why am I afraid to ask?”
“Well, since it’s a masquerade ball, and you so intelligently pointed out I don’t really know what our boss looks like, I need to know what he’ll be wearing.”
He blinked. “There’s going to be hundreds of people in that mansion. All in masks and costumes. How am I supposed to get this information?”
“Oh, come on, you’ve got the inside on all the top people in this firm.
We both know this party is presented as a social occasion, but it’s still about business.
Executives are going to want to get the ear of Ciro Demitris.
I bet there are people who’ll know exactly what his costume is. I just need you to be one of them.”
“You don’t ask for much. Just the impossible.”
She grinned cheekily. “Use your charm. That’s why you’ve been promoted to Director, isn’t it?”
“And your smart comebacks are why you’re still a lowly manager.”
She made a face, then rose from the chair and walked towards the door. “So, this wonderful manager can count on her best friend to do a little detective work, right?”
The phone beeped insistently and interrupted his comeback. He reached for the receiver and mouthed, “You owe me.”
She laughed and left the office.
* * *
Hailey stared at the woman in the full-length mirror and caught her breath. It was her. But it wasn’t.
The woman’s hair had been left loose instead of fastened into her usual tight bun.
Gleaming red strands poured wildly down her shoulders.
Her blue eyes were framed by dark, lush lashes and took on a hint of mystery behind the brightly colored peacock mask.
Her lips had been lined and colored with deep red lipstick, making them appear full and enticing.
Her conservative suits and baggy sweat pants had been thrown away and replaced with a midnight blue silk dress.
The material covered every inch of her body but slashed down the front in a deep V, exposing the ripe white curves of her breasts.
Delicate high heeled sandals enhanced her height.
A simple strand of diamonds clasped around her neck, and the light caught and shimmered on the stones, emphasizing the smooth naked skin beyond.
The longer she stared at her reflection, the more she felt as if a change was taking place deep inside of her.
Tonight was the opportunity to explore hidden parts of herself she had denied.
She dated many men before, but always approached the relationship with a brick wall firmly erected to hide her feelings.
Usually after the third date, the man realized he
wasn’t going to get “lucky” and moved on. Hailey admitted a portion of fault. She never gave them a chance to get to know her. She offered intelligent conversation, the occasional humor, and a simple elegance that was part of her nature. Never any raw emotions or vulnerability.
God, how she wanted that now. How she wanted to experience a man who could think of nothing but touching her skin; giving pleasure.
A man who was so forceful there would be no thought to holding back.
Poised on the edge of a cliff, Hailey wanted more than anything to take a deep breath and jump. But she was still afraid she couldn’t.
Therefore, Ciro Demitris was the perfect man. A man who might give her the push she so desperately needed.
She intended to find the man behind the public image.
He was confident about his abilities and could have any woman he wanted.
He showed a cool demeanor to the world, but Hailey suspected he felt a number of things kept carefully hidden.
The magazine article painted him as a corporate mogul who traveled the globe and dated a variety of beautiful women.
Hailey was more interested in the private man, the one who gave to charities and avoided long term commitments, possibly because of a broken heart. Like Theodore did.
The thought made her check her phone. Still no text. She needed to leave within the hour and he still hadn’t called. There was no way her plan could work if she didn’t know what her boss wore.
The phone rang.
She snatched it up. “Did you get the information?”
A deep laugh rumbled in her ear. “No hello? No singing ‘Hail to the Hero’ when I risked my life to get you the identity of his top-secret costume? No sweet reward?”
She sighed impatiently. “You’re impossible. I promise when I come back, I’ll personally give you what you want.”
“You know how that sounded, right?”
“Theodore!”
“Fine. Our tycoon will be the Phantom of the Opera this evening. Fitting, too. The guy seems to be part mystery, part monster.”
“Thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me,” she said.
The line hummed with sudden silence. When he spoke, his voice was quiet. “I think I do. I hope you find what you’re looking for tonight.”
“I hope so too,” she whispered. “Bye. I’ll call you on Sunday when I get back.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Hailey hung up.
* * *
Theodore glanced at his packed suitcase. Tension twisted his gut when he realized there would be no turning back. The plan was set. He had imparted the identity of the costume, and now Hailey was poised to meet the man who would turn her sexual fantasies into reality.
The only thing she didn’t know was the man would be Theodore Rivers, not Ciro Demitris.
The thought of finally touching her the way he craved made him grow hard.
Yes, he was her best friend. But he wanted so much more, and every time he dared to push the line, he watched her back off with a polite wariness that stopped him like a bucket of ice water.
She would never give him a chance. He lived with the knowledge for almost a year now, and he finally had the opportunity to change his future. Their future.
Two years ago, they were working on the same project together and formed a tentative friendship. An attraction always zinged beneath the surface, but he’d been married, and committed to his wife.
Until his wife left him. Admitted to an affair and walked off without a glance back.
Things began to fall apart at work and in all aspects of his life.
He refused to admit he needed help, but Hailey had saved his ass on many occasions and never asked a question.
Before long, they were spending more time together.
Drinks after work; planning sessions spent in the dim light of the conference room; long lunches over a bottle of wine.
He finally opened up and told her everything.
She held his hand as he cried for the first time.
She supported him through lonely evenings and made him laugh again.
Theodore dragged in a breath and thought over the past year they spent together. He couldn’t pinpoint the moment he fell in love with her. He believed it was a gradual deepening of emotion. Slow and steady rather than hot and fast.
Before long, they were having movie nights together with a tub of popcorn, feet propped up on the table clad in comfortable sweatpants.
They took tennis lessons and teased each other over their bumbling inaccuracies and lack of coordination.
He didn’t remember when he stopped grieving his wife and looked toward the future.
A future he wanted to share with Hailey.
Theodore began to pace. He’d been officially friend-zoned and cock-blocked.
To much time had passed before he realized he wanted her naked and in his arms. He watched her date a variety of men with a knot in his gut.
At least, she rarely got past a few dates.
The man would always demand a certain level of intimacy, and Hailey would come back to him; her safe, comfortable friend.
But whenever he felt courageous enough to take their relationship to the next level, he sensed the distance within her and he always backed off.
She’d never let him be her lover.
Hailey was too comfortable in their routine to risk a change. Too comfortable taking a chance and ruining their friendship. She wanted the safety of their relationship and the guarantee she’d never be asked for more.
He cursed under his breath. Hailey was his other half. So eager to control all aspects of her life, that life began to control her. He’d pursued the same path after his wife left him. But now he wanted Hailey enough to take a leap – even if it meant losing her forever.
Theodore knew she was afraid to let go, and admitted he became intrigued by becoming the man to tap into those hidden parts.
Her body screamed sex, but her aura kept men firmly away.
Soon, the friendship became torture, until he’d leave her home in an agony of sexual frustration, with no way to get what he wanted.
Until now.
He’d noticed a change in her the past few weeks.
A restless gleam within those sky blue eyes; a distraction in her work.
He watched her talk with other men and found she was more open; more flirtatious.
Like a juicy fruit on the vine, Hailey was ready to be picked; savored; eaten.
After all the years of celibacy, she’d reached her explosion point.
Rage wrenched at him when he heard of her plan.
He’d lose her. Somehow, she was finally ready to take a chance and explore her sexuality, but not with Theo.
Instead, she’d picked a stranger with a heartless reputation who would use her and throw her away. Theodore did not intend for that to happen. If his lady wanted to be seduced and fucked, he planned to give her exactly what she wanted.
On his terms.
Theo stopped pacing and stared in the mirror.
The stage was set. He’d studied Demitris’ photo and carefully changed enough of his appearance to his satisfaction.
Contact lenses turned his brown eyes to blue.
He’d slicked his hair back away from his face in the style that made Ciro famous for female fantasies, and pierced his left ear with one diamond earring.
His cloak and mask would cover his body, though he was similar height and weight.
But he knew more than his appearance needed to change.
Theodore shook his head when he thought of the past year and his behavior.
He always played the protector, not the seductor.
This weekend would give him the opportunity to slip into a more dominant role.
Demitris was a loner. Probably a control freak.
Used to getting women and weary of the games they played.
He would take all of those elements and use them for the role.
Hailey confessed she wanted to be free to become a different woman.
He intended to be a different man.
Hailey expected the billionaire and wouldn’t search for similarities to her safe, dull friend. He felt confident she wouldn’t recognize him. The rest he’d leave to Fate.
Theo switched off the lights. He knew Hailey would never give him the opportunity to please her.
The need was always a distant glimmer in her blue eyes, a need he intended to satisfy this weekend.
And when it was all over, and he unmasked, if she turned him away at least he would have the memory of her to warm the cold nights ahead.
The memory of her breasts in his mouth; his dick thrust deep inside her heat; her screams echoing in his ear. Anything was worth that.
Anything.