Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Kir
I checked my white shirt and blue paisley tie, which I tucked into my gray suit. Since quitting finance, I’d had less need to impress except at meetings. Yet the tie felt normal.
I stood outside her building with my limo and flowers, looking exactly like a perfect boyfriend might. I rocked on my feet. She came out and immediately hugged me. She smelled like a French garden. My heart stirred. It was hard to imagine denying her anything.
As she let me go, she asked, “We are going?”
I directed her toward the limo. “First, change, and then I’ll be the perfect boyfriend, though we’re just doing a drive-by at your party because I have dinner reservations for us.”
She settled in the leather seats. As I joined her, I said, “I half wish you were real.”
“I’m all yours now.”
No, she wasn’t.
She turned, faced me. “I am. And thank you for this.”
We stopped at home, and she stayed beside me. She had no idea how I’d planned to impress her. As we opened the door, I directed her to an extra bedroom where dresses, a stylist, a hairdresser, and makeup artist were set up.
She hugged me again, and my body warmed. I patted her back. “I’ll pick you up, and we’ll go to your rooftop cocktail hour in an hour.”
“Thank you.” She had tears in her eyes. I had no idea when she’d last had her hair done. She usually wore it in a ponytail or bun.
She sat in the center chair, and I let myself out. I quickly checked that all her boxes were stored, as requested, in the storage unit I kept in case I bought an extra car. My heart was happy that she was here. My life had been… dull. Now I had a reason to smile every day.
The blogger was wrong about her. I’d spent an hour talking to Jeff to see if there was any way to get an injunction against them. He’d suggested taking fewer walks with her on the street without security.
I grabbed a cup of water and read the news until the door opened.
She came out with her blond hair down, wearing a pink dress.
She looked curvy and sexy. I was glad I was sitting behind a counter so she couldn’t see how she affected me as she twirled and showed me her new hair style and how the dress clung to her backside.
She stopped next to me. “Do I look like your girlfriend now?”
I kissed her cheek and then backed up. “You always did. Let’s get going.”
She stayed next to me as we returned to the limo. The driver knew the route, and a few minutes later, we were heading to a rooftop bar near my parents’ investment bank. As we headed up the stairs I hadn’t climbed in years, we ran into Jeffrey Lauglin.
I held Avril’s waist as he stared at her breasts and asked, “Avril, this is Kir Norouzi?”
“You two briefly met already.” Avril inched closer to me. A second man with a beer belly joined Lauglin as Avril said, “Kir, this is Richard Ziff, my boss. Richard, this is Kir.”
Richard clasped my arm like he’d shake it out of its socket. “Nice to meet you. Can we get you a drink?”
I took my hand back. “I’m good. Thank you.”
Richard got pulled away by a few of his coworkers, and I wanted to walk Avril to the corner to see the view, but Lauglin asked, “So, what’s your relationship like with your brothers, Roman and Xerses?”
I wasn’t sure about this guy. He focused too much on Avril. “Great. Why?”
He placed his hands in his pockets. “They’re possibly buying us out.”
Avril stared at me, and her eyes were wide. I raised my shoulders as she asked, “They are?”
“I didn’t expect you would know everything, Avril,” Lauglin said.
“I didn’t know.” I stepped in front of Avril. “I work with Charlie and a start-up airline. They run a tech company.”
Lauglin said, “Rumor is, your family gets together every weekend to discuss global domination.”
I tensed. We often went to Virgin Cove for a getaway or to see each other, but most of the time, we talked about who was next to get married, and we didn’t discuss business.
Avril tugged my arm. “Let’s go join Ziff and the others.”
We waved goodbye. Once we were out of earshot, I whispered, “So, Lauglin is a jerk.”
She squeezed my arm, and her soft touch calmed me. “I could have told you that. Are your brothers buying my company?”
I patted her hand. “You know as much as I do right now.” However, if they were buying Avril’s company, I had the perfect suggestion for who should run their data analysis.
“They own a tech start-up, so I can understand if you’re doing horizontal or vertical work that might blend with their plans, but they don’t include me in their business discussions. ”
We made it to the appetizer bar, and Avril took a stuffed mushroom. “I totally understand. Abigail didn’t always include me in every detail of her life, up to and including when she was first diagnosed with cancer. She tried to keep it from me for a few months.”
I watched her eat her food. Her lips were sweet. When she finished, I asked, “Why?”
She met my gaze, and it was like we were alone. “She didn’t want me to worry. I imagine your brothers haven’t told you because they have no idea where I work.”
“You can talk to them at the wedding,” I said. And they can unofficially interview you for a possible takeover.
Ziff returned to our side. “What are you two discussing?”
I held Avril. “How Lauglin wondered if I was colluding with my brothers about a takeover.”
His eyes widened. “He asked you that?”
Avril said, “It’s about as true as the blog write-up about me.”
Interesting and accurate comparison. I smiled.
Ziff bounced on his legs. “About that—we don’t like our analysts being in the news.”
I met his gaze. “It was clearly a hit piece designed to hurt me.”
Ziff stood taller. “We understand entirely.”
My lips quirked higher as I side hugged Avril. “And besides, Avril is the sweetest woman in the world.”
She tilted her head and stared at me. “You think I’m sweet?”
I kissed her hand, and my entire body buzzed. “You know it.” I stepped back and smiled at her boss. “So, it’s time to go now.”
Lauglin returned. “Aww, leaving so soon?”
I nodded. “We have a reservation, but Avril said we could stop by to say hello.”
Ziff said, “We’re looking forward to seeing you both at the office party next week.”
Avril waved. “We’ll be there. Have a great night.”
I headed down the stairs with her. This time, she didn’t ask to walk. We slipped in the limo.
She smiled at me. “So, that went well.”
I tensed. “They were fishing for information about my brothers.”
She pressed her hands together as we drove a few blocks. “That bothered you?”
I shook my head. “Not really, but I’m protective of my family. They’re great.”
We rode in a silence a few minutes. She lowered her hands, and they brushed against mine. I smiled. I liked that we had no escape from each other.
A few minutes later, we stopped. This bar had a line outside, but bouncers pushed the red velvet rope aside for us. Inside, the club was bright.
We walked halfway to the corner, where the private room was, and then she stopped and grabbed my arm. “Wait… is that my friends?”
I held her tight. “Yeah. I RSVPed with Charlie about a table for eleven.”
She bounced. “Who else?”
“My brothers… Jeff, Xerses, and Roman.” My brothers were in town and had specifically asked to get together.
She hugged me. “Oh, so we can talk about their plans with my company.” I raised an eyebrow, and she said, “They believe we’re dating, so we can somehow work it into the conversation that I work there.”
“Sure.”
Her friends called for us to go inside. Avril held me closer and whispered, “Let’s kiss so they can see we’re totally in love.”
The way she said “love” set an extra pulse in my veins. I pressed my forehead to hers. “Sounds like a plan.”
She cupped my face, and our lips met. Her kiss was like fireworks, and I lost sight of where I was. All I knew was that we were together and that she tasted better than any wine or woman ever. As the kiss ended, her cheeks were pink.
She took my hand. “Did they see us?”
Adrenaline rushed through me. “Let’s go in and find out.” I rubbed the back of my neck as I once again noticed the roar of the club and the bright blue lights.
As we stepped inside the room, Britney said, “So, you’re joining us and not running back home to have sex tonight.”
“Britney, you’re funny,” Avril said, holding my hand tightly.
Charlie waved for us. “Sit, sit.”
Whatever happened next, I hoped it would take my mind off Avril’s kiss, which had been unexpected and like nothing I’d ever experienced. I wasn’t sure what had happened, but I was sure of one thing: I wanted her.