Chapter 4
LEAH
My hair is pulled back into a single braid that falls over my left shoulder as I slip into a fitted black dress and red heels.
I didn’t get much sleep since I couldn’t stop thinking about my date with Tyler, and now, I’m supposed to have lunch with Chase.
It feels a little scandalous to be dating my boss's friends, but I can’t help feeling excited, too. I can’t wait to tell Madison.
As I’m pulling into the parking lot, I catch sight of Aaden standing near the front doors.
My heart skips at the sight of him. God, he is gorgeous.
With a quick check of my makeup, I take a deep breath and climb out of my car.
My eyes automatically go to him. I take in the attractive mocha-skinned man he is talking to.
I continue toward them, my eyes going back to Aaden.
The man looks good no matter what he’s wearing, but damn, can he fill out a suit.
As if sensing me, his head turns, and his eyes find mine before smiling that sexy, crinkly-eyed smile.
“Good morning, Leah.”
My heart flutters like crazy at the sound of his voice. My God, why does he affect me like this?
“Good morning, Mr. Stone,” I reply, somehow managing not to sound breathless.
“How was your first week here? Sorry that I didn’t get the chance to check in with you yesterday.”
I stop in front of them and give what I hope is a warm smile. “It was great. I got to sit in on the Frederick project. I think I’m going to like it here.”
Aaden nods, his eyes sparkling. “I’m happy to hear that.”
“Bro, are you going to introduce me to this beautiful young lady?” the man standing next to Aaden asks.
“Leah, this is my friend, Noah McKinney.” Aaden nods in his friend’s direction.
“Actually, I’m his brother from another mother.” Noah grins as he reaches his hand out.
Ah, McKinney, as in McKinney Manufacturing. Of course, all the young, wealthy businessmen are friends.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. McKinney,” I say, taking his offered hand.
“Mister? No, no, no, little lady,” he teases. “It’s Noah, please.”
I give him a wide grin. “It’s nice to meet you, Noah.”
Whoever said rich people were stuck up was mistaken.
Aaden and his friends are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met.
Excusing myself, I head toward the office.
With a quick glance back, I find both men still watching me.
Noah winks, and I bite my lip and smile before pushing through the glass doors.
Aaden and his friends are going to be the death of me.
I make my way to the fourteenth floor and down the hall to my office. Madison is already here, and she pounces on me before my butt hits my chair. “Sooo, what happened? I want all the dirty details,” she demands.
“It was great! He took me to Angelina’s. That place is amazing. Tyler is really nice.”
“And?”
“And we kissed.” I shrug.
Her brows draw together. “Kissed? That’s it?”
“Yes, that’s it.” I’m not about to tell her he invited me back to his place or that we made out until my toes curled.
She rolls her eyes. “Oh God, you’re boring.”
“It was our first date.” I giggle. “I don’t even know him.”
“So?”
I brush off her statement with a wave of my hand. With a smirk, I pretend to go through some papers on my desk. “We bumped into one of his friends, Chase Carter.”
“What? You met the Chase Carter?”
I fight to suppress my grin. “Yup. And he asked me to go to lunch with him today.”
“Shut the front door!” Madison squeals.
“Shhh.” I chuckle. I glance around, noticing a few people staring at us with disapproving expressions. “Should I also mention that I just met Noah McKinney, too?”
Madison’s face lights up, and I swear a shade of pink spreads across her cheeks. “Whoa, back up. When did you see him?”
“A few minutes ago. He was standing outside talking to Aaden when I walked in. Aaden introduced us.”
Madison puts her hand over her heart and sighs, “Oh my God, you lucky bitch. I’ve been here for months, and I’ve never met him. He is so—”
“Mrs. Ward?” a voice says from behind me. I turn and see a young man standing in front of my desk holding a dozen red roses. I stare at them with confused eyes.
“Yes?”
“These are for you.” He sets them on my desk and walks away.
Madison snatches the card before I can blink and opens it. “Last night was amazing. Can’t wait to do it again soon,” she reads out loud. “It’s signed T.”
She hands me the card, which I take and re-read. “Tyler.”
“Just a kiss, huh? Okay, what spell have you cast on all these men, and how can I do it?” She props her hands on her hips.
I stare at the card and reread it again, a strange feeling settling over me. “I wish I knew.” I frown. “It’s odd, isn’t it? I mean, why me? First Tyler, then Chase. I’m not exactly the most outgoing person, Mad. I’m shy and awkward.”
Madison rolls her eyes as she leans down to sniff the flowers. “Who cares as long as it’s happening?”
I bend down to drop the card into my purse. There was no sense leaving it for prying eyes. However, I have a feeling the only one who cares has already read the card.
“Beautiful.”
Madison bolts up from the desk, her mouth dropping open and her eyes going wide. Noah is standing in front of my desk, staring at the large arrangement of flowers. Aaden is right behind him.
“From your boyfriend?” Noah asks.
I can’t help except look at Aaden, who’s staring at the flowers like they’re poisonous.
It’s Noah’s question, but for some reason, I feel like I’m talking to Aaden.
“No, I don’t have a boyfriend.” My face heats when Aaden’s eyes lift to mine, and the corner of his mouth pulls into a small smile.
I should have stopped there, but I’m so nervous around Aaden, I can’t seem to control myself.
“They’re from someone I had dinner with last night. ”
“Well, I hope it’s nothing serious. I’d hate to think I was out of the game before it even got started.” Noah cocks a brow when I look at him. “How about lunch so we can call it even?”
Aaden jerks his head and glares at his friend. His eyes are darting from the back of his friend’s head to me. I’m having a hard time reading the expression on his face. I look to Madison, who is standing stiff as a board, her eyes locked on me.
“Oh, um, I’m sorry. I already have plans for lunch.”
“With a friend of yours,” Madison blurts out. “Chase Carter.”
“Madison!” I gasp. Oh, my God! How could she blurt that out?
She gives me an innocent look as if to ask, ‘What?’
I glance at Aaden, and the twitching in his jaw has returned.
Noah cocks his head. “Well, perhaps another time.”
“We have a meeting to get to,” Aaden says, annoyance heavy in his tone.
“Nice meeting you again, Leah, and…” Noah pauses to extend a hand toward Madison.
“Oh, I’m sorry. This is my friend Madison.”
Her face pales, and if I thought she was stiff before, it’s nothing compared to the way her body is locked up now. She looks like she’s about to faint. I elbow her in the side, and she jumps.
“It was a pleasure to meet you, too.” Her voice cracks. She takes his hand, and I can hear her suck in a breath.
Noah’s eyes drop to their joined hands, then lift back to her face. “The pleasure is all mine.”
After a moment, he drops her hand and follows Aaden to his office. Madison holds her hand to her heart, cradling it with the other like it’s suddenly useless. “I’m never washing this hand again.”
I burst out laughing and flop down in my seat. “Madison Pratt, speechless in front of a man? I never thought I’d see the day.”
She swoons as she walks to her desk, still cradling her hand to her chest. “You have no idea what that just did to me. I may need to go home and change my panties.”
***
Madison has been overly excited since meeting Noah this morning and hasn’t stopped chatting about my lunch date with Chase. “I wanna meet him,” she begs for the hundredth time.
I grin as I shake my head. “Okay, just don’t embarrass me.”
“I promise.” She beams as she clasps her hands under her chin.
As we exit the building, she lets out a loud gasp. There, parked right in front, is a shiny blue two-seater Jaguar with a very sexy Chase leaning against it.
“Oh. My. God!” Madison whispers.
Chase pushes away from the car and smiles as we walk toward him.
His eyes scan my body, and he licks his lips with an approving nod.
“There’s my beautiful girl.” He takes my hand and lifts it to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back of it.
I fight the urge to sigh. Instead, I clear my throat and motion to Madison.
“Chase, this is my friend Madison.”
He looks her up and down before reaching for her hand as well. She allows him to take it, and he lifts it to his lips while giving her a smile. “A pleasure to meet you, Madison.”
He kisses the back of her hand, and Madison looks as if she’s going to pounce on him right there. Her eyes widen as she licks her lips like a hungry predator. I try to hide my smile.
“Can you do that to the other hand?” she asks as she lifts it toward him.
Chase chuckles and takes her other hand.
“Oh, wow, okay,” Madison swoons as she fans herself. “Have a great lunch.” She waves as she walks off, now holding both hands up like she’s about to scrub in for surgery.
Chase chuckles as he opens the car door and offers his hand. “Your friend is something else. I like her.”
“So do I.”
He closes the door and walks around to the driver's side. I catch sight of Madison, who’s turned back and giving me two thumbs up. I smile and shake my head as Chase climbs in beside me.
“So, where do you wanna go?” he asks.
“Wherever is fine.”
“You like seafood?”
“One of my favorites.” I grin.
“Dockside it is.”
***
The restaurant is located on a wealthy stretch of the Potomac River, where expensive yachts can be seen from the outside dining area. The weather is perfect, and we get a table on the deck built right over the top of the river. I order flounder stuffed with crab imperial. Chase orders the salmon.
“So, how do you like working for Aaden?” Chase asks, taking a sip of his gin and tonic.
“I love it. It’s what I pictured myself doing after graduation.”
His left eyebrow lifts, and he gives me a teasing smile. “You’re saying there is no chance of me stealing you away from him?”
My laugh comes out sounding nervous. “Not at the moment, but I’ll keep you in mind.”
I pick up my glass of iced tea and take a drink. He studies me like he’s trying to figure something out. He sits forward, resting his forearms on the table as he clasps his hands together in front of him. “I like it, sexy and confident.”
Sexy? Confident? My face heats as I place my glass back on the table.
We fall into casual conversation once our food arrives, and I manage to relax despite the way he keeps looking at me.
I giggle at his crazy stories. I like a guy with a sense of humor.
I lean forward with my chin resting on my hand and my elbow on the table, completely taken in by his charm.
My other hand toys with my glass of tea, sliding it around in small circles.
The conversation has been easy, and I feel like we’ve known each other longer than a few hours.
His finger gently rubs across my hand, and he gives me the warmest smile. “You have such a beautiful laugh.”
“Thank you.”
“You know,” he says, his voice dropping lower. “I could call Aaden and tell him we’re going to play hooky for the rest of the day.”
The reminder of work has me peering down at my phone. We’ve been here for over an hour. “No! I’m only supposed to take an hour for lunch.”
“Don’t stress.” He grins. “I’ll tell him you were with me.”
Based on the way Aaden reacted this morning, somehow, I don’t think that will help. “Thank you, but I really should get back to work.”
“Your call,” he says as he pulls his wallet from his back pocket. He leaves cash on the table, more than enough to pay the bill and leave the waitress an awesome tip. He drives me back to work, pulling up at the front doors where he picked me up almost two hours ago.
When he puts the car in park, he turns to look at me. “May I take you out again sometime?”
My whole face flushes crimson. “I’d like that.”
He slowly leans over the center console of his car and takes my braid in his hand.
With a gentle tug, he pulls me to his lips and kisses me, a kiss so soft, it has me stretching closer to him.
His right hand comes up and gently cups my cheek as he pulls me even closer.
His tongue licks my lower lip, and I surprise myself by releasing a soft moan.
He smiles against my lips, then kisses me again, a little hungrier this time.
My phone rings, and I jump, interrupting our beautiful moment.
With his hand still on my cheek, he stares into my eyes.
“I better let you go.” He sighs.
Reluctantly, I agree and open the door to climb out of his car. “Thank you again. I had a great time.”
“Me too, sweetheart.”
I smile and shut the door. I watch him drive away as I answer my phone when it starts to ring again. “Where the hell are you?” Madison asks before I can say hello.
“Walking inside. I’ll see you in a few.”
I hang up before she can start bombarding me with questions. I need the few minutes it will take for me to get back to my desk. As expected, she’s leaning against my desk with arms folded across her chest and an eyebrow cocked like she’s been waiting forever. “Well?”
“It was really, really nice.”
“Nice? Again, just nice?” Her tone is full of disappointment.
I give her a huge grin before biting my lip.
Her eyes widen with excitement, and her hands drop to her sides. “Oh no, girl, spill it! That is not an ‘it was nice’ look. That’s a ‘holy shit, he gave me lunch and dessert’ look.”
I chuckle. “We kissed. That’s all. But wow! What a kiss.”
“Like a panty-wetting kiss?”
“Madison!”
A huge grin spreads across her face. “Oh, yeah, it was.”