Chapter 8 #2
“I’ve been thinking this through, and we have two big challenges.
One, finding a woman to fit the bill in all the ways we need her to as far as image goes.
And two, finding someone who can keep the lines clear and professional while, at the same time, remaining loyal to you.
We can make a woman sign an NDA, but what if she goes rogue?
What if after a few months she gets angry that your relationship isn’t more?
This is a sticky situation. We need to keep emotion out of it except when cameras are around.
To me, that sounds like a job more than a role. ”
“What are you getting at?”
“I think the answer is that you need to look at this woman as an employee instead of a fake girlfriend. And she needs to see you as an employer instead of a fake boyfriend, or she will undoubtedly want to make you her real boyfriend over time. Your lifestyle is too appealing for most women to stay detached. So, we need a professional.”
“What, like a prostitute?”
“Of course not!” Matthew snaps. “Like an employee.” He jerks his head toward the first floor. “An employee who fits all of your needs.”
“Ella?” I gasp, surprise jolting through me.
He nods. “She’s stunningly beautiful.”
My knee-jerk response is to say no, she’s part of the team. She already has a job. I can’t ask this of her.
But Matthew goes on before I can say any of that.
“She’s also intelligent and successful, and she understands exactly what this assignment is, so there wouldn’t be fear of her blurring the lines.
And she’s already loyal to you because she’s loyal to the company.
She’s worked at Langford Holdings for five years.
You may not have known her for long, but your company has years of history with her.
I looked over each team member’s file. Hers is impeccable.
She’s an exemplary employee. I think she’s our answer. ”
I mull over his words. Ella Hale. I would have laughed if Matthew had suggested such a thing yesterday. But I’ll admit, since that meeting, she has been impeccable and exemplary. And fuck me, I can’t deny how attracted to her I am.
“I’ve noticed the way you look at her and the way the two of you interact,” Matthew continues.
“Why do you think I insisted on picking her up tonight? I wanted to see the two of you together, and what I saw is exactly what we need. There’s enough chemistry to make it work, to make it believable.
If you’ve got to go through with this, it will be much easier to do it with someone who can make it bearable. ”
Declan said almost the exact same thing last night.
As I run it through my mind, I can’t deny Matthew’s logic. Maybe Ella could be the solution to all our problems. I look back down over the railing, studying her, trying to see the vision Matthew has presented me.
She’s dancing with her friends, and . . . fuck. They’re like a group of sirens. They move effortlessly, fluidly, and soon I can’t take my eyes off her. She moves like a temptress in that little black dress. My cock twitches.
Goddamn, maybe Matthew has a point.
I stifle a laugh. I clearly haven’t been as discreet as I thought when it comes to my reactions to her. Matthew’s obviously sensed it. And now? Now that I allow myself, I can see the picture Matthew has painted.
It just might work.
I sit back and mull it over as I nurse my scotch, and within a few minutes, it’s clear I’m not the only man to notice how fucking sexy Ella and her friends look when they dance.
Men start to close in around them and within seconds, two of her friends have men wrapped around them, and another man slinks in behind Ella.
He puts his hand on her hips and pulls her close.
A flash of anger burns through me, but I swallow it down.
Until his hands roam up her body.
Before I think about what I’m doing, I’m halfway down the stairs, knocking people out of my way. Robert hurries after me, but I ignore him. I focus solely on Ella and the bastard getting way too friendly with her.
With every step, the anger in me burns hotter and is soon replaced with rage.
Because the asshole behind her is not just content to dance with her.
His hands are aggressive, sloppy, and practically groping her on the damn floor.
Which would be fine if she was into it, but I’ve watched as she’s tried to pull away several times, and he just keeps closing in.
“Get the fuck off her,” I snarl as soon as I reach them. I pull Ella out his filthy hands, and she practically darts away from him and into my arms.
“Dude, what the fuck?” the man yells. He’s drunk, and swaying slightly on his feet.
I take a few steps back, pulling Ella with me, to put some distance between us and the drunk asshole, then Robert steps between us, effectively defusing the situation.
Ella’s green eyes are wide as they meet mine.
Not from surprise. But from fear. I see red and the urge to gut this piece of shit for putting that fear there overwhelms me.
“Thank you,” Ella gasps. “Oh, my god. He was starting to scare me.”
“Are you okay?”
She nods. “I’m fine now. I just hate when men won’t listen! I hate that they can’t get it through their thick skulls that I don’t want to be felt up by a stranger.”
She also sways slightly. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m good.”
A flash of light catches my attention from the corner of my eye.
A phone recording me. Of course. Of fucking course.
The woman holding the phone probably recorded the whole interaction.
At least I didn’t punch the guy, which is what I really wanted to do, but this is a good reminder of why this entire night is a bad idea.
“Let’s go, I’m done,” I say to Ella.
She scrunches her nose in that cute way again. “Go? We just got here. And we haven’t, um, accomplished our goal.”
I can’t help it, a small smile tugs at my lips. Even in her half-drunken state she has the mind to not say what we’re doing here out loud. It’s oddly endearing.
“I don’t care anymore. This is a wasted effort.”
“Ella?” One of the women she was dancing with walks toward us. “Are you okay? I saw that guy and was trying to get to you, but then you disappeared.”
“I’m fine.”
The woman eyes me appreciatively. “Who’s this?”
“This is the head of the company I work for. Asher Langford.”
The woman perks up, and her eyes go wide. “Oh, hi! I’ve heard such great things about you. I’m an old college friend of Ella’s. Amber Branson.”
Ella turns to me and gives me a bright smile, encouraging me. I lean in close to her ear. “Did you invite her here tonight? And the others you were with?”
Ella nods. “I didn’t say why, obviously, I was just really pushy about meeting up with them and mentioned that it was a work thing and you’d probably be here.
That was enough.” She giggles. “We all danced together on the university’s dance company together.
Two of them work in corporate America like me, and two of them are professional dancers.
And they’re all beautiful, perfect candidates. ”
No wonder the group of them dance like a hoard of vixens.
But for some reason, the thought of Ella reaching out to her beautiful dancer friends to lay before my feet makes my stomach curdle.
I don’t want her friends. And I don’t want her arranging for her friends to come meet me.
Another flash of anger courses through me.
Five minutes ago, I would have probably appreciated her gesture.
But now that Matthew has planted the idea of Ella taking on this role in my head, I can’t see any other options, and a possessive energy buzzes through me.
I’m definitely ready to get the hell out of here.
“It was lovely to meet you,” I say to the woman. “But we are leaving. Have a good night.”
“Oh,” the woman says, frowning. She turns and gives a strange look to Ella.
“Let’s go,” I say to Ella, taking her hand in mine.
She gives a quick goodbye to her friend, and I lead her away from the dance floor.
“What’s going on?” she asks me.
“We’re leaving. I told you, I’m done.”
“But . . . but I thought we were here to . . .”
“Change of plans.”
Robert has already called Andrew, my driver, and Matthew is behind us.
I keep Ella’s hand firmly in mine, afraid she’ll be swept away in the moving bodies as we head to the entrance, but as we make our way across the room, I notice more flashes of light, more pictures being snapped, more videos being taken. I’ve got to get us out of here.
“Mr. Langford, your driver is out front,” a big bouncer says as I near the front of the club. “Some paparazzi have arrived; I’ll help escort you out.”
I haven’t even been here for forty-five minutes and the paparazzi are already here.
Fucking vultures.
The flashes spark before the doors are even open. Robert and the bouncer flank Ella and me as I pull her along. Andrew is already out of the car, holding the back door open. I pull Ella around me and have her get in first, then I climb in behind her.
“Where to, sir?” Andrew asks as he and Robert climb into the front seats and the rest of us settle into the back.
“Home. But first, pull up and find somewhere to park a couple blocks away. I need Emily to come with us.”
Emily will need to be part of the discussion as well.
“I already texted her,” Matthew says.
“Is everything okay, Mr. Langford?” Ella asks.
“Asher.”
“Pardon me?”
“Call me Asher, not Mr. Langford.”
“Oh . . . okay?”
“Tonight was a waste,” I say. “And it’s given me some clear answers. I want to have a smaller, private team meeting with you, Emily, and Matthew. No one else.”
“Shit,” she gasps. “I left my purse at our table. It’s got my phone and keys and everything in it.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
I text Emily about Ella’s purse and then tell her where the car is parked.
“I really should have eaten something,” Ella says, with a slight slur. “The car is spinning a little.”
I chuckle. “We’ll get you something to eat.” My housekeeper always keeps my fridge stocked with plenty of food, and I have a chef who makes dinner each night.
“You didn’t have fun tonight?” Ella asks, turning her face to me.
“No.”
“Why?”
“I’m realizing that this isn’t really my scene anymore. The idea of going to a club to pick up women just doesn’t do it for me like it used to.”
She nods. “I get that. I don’t go to clubs often, either. It can be fun. But it can also be stressful because, as you saw with that asshole, men can be so aggressive. They don’t get that I’m not there for them, I’m there for me and just want to have a good time.”
“Does that happen often?”
“Not always that bad. But sometimes it’s worse.
My friends and I have to be so careful because you never know which men are nice and which men would slip something into your drink so they can take advantage of you—or worse.
And I hate that. I just want to enjoy myself and not have to worry about what a man might do to me. ”
I’m silent at that. I’ve never really thought about what clubbing is like from a woman’s perspective, and my frustration only grows.
Ella shouldn’t have to deal with that. Women shouldn’t have to deal with that.
And while I can’t relate in the same way, I can understand what it’s like to question everyone’s motives around me, worried about what they want and what they’ll do to get it.
I have understood that all too well since I was a boy.
Ella shivers. I reach to the opposite bench, grab my jacket, and hand it to her.
“Here. It’s a cold night.”
“You don’t need it?”
I snort. “I’m a lot more covered than you.”
She blushes and hesitates for a moment before pulling it on. “Thank you.”
Finally, Emily makes it to the car, and we head for my penthouse.
“I excused the team and gave them your instructions,” Emily says, tentatively. “Is . . . is everything alright, Mr. Langford?”
“Another change of plans. Matthew has had an idea that we agree might work, but I don’t want the rest of the team involved yet. I don’t want them to even know about it unless it’s agreed upon.”
“Oh?” she asks.
“We’ll speak about it back at my penthouse.”
I won’t bring it up until after Ella has had something to eat and sobers up a bit. I can’t spring this on her while she’s not in a state to fully consent. Not that I expect her to answer right away. I just want her head clear before anything is even suggested.
Because if she consents, her life will be flipped upside down. I know that too well.
And I’m still enough of a selfish prick to ask her to do it.