Chapter 24
24
COLE
I haven’t seen Layla since the night I drove Aria home. Everything was calm on the home front, so Layla was satisfied with leaving the girl in her grandmother’s care. Aria is a great kid and Layla loves her like she’s her own, which is a problem. In my opinion, as an outsider looking in, she needs to back off a little. Continuing to pour her heart and soul into this kid will only lead to heartbreak in the end.
When I suggested this, to say Layla wasn’t happy is an understatement. I tried to explain that I was just looking out for her and didn’t want to see her get her heart broken, but she refused to listen. She didn’t tell me to fuck off and mind my own business, but she might as well have. I felt her pull back immediately afterwards. Fucking woman tries my patience like no one else. But that is about to stop. I’ve had enough of her nonsense.
“Hey, Cole,” Devon says when he sees me exit the elevator. He has an extra gleam in his eye today. “You’ve just missed all the excitement.” I raise a brow but he holds up a hand. “No, don’t even ask because I can’t tell you anyway. I’m sure Layla will want to tell you herself.” Great, that means I’ll actually get to finally lay eyes on her. It’s been days since I’ve seen her, and I’m not fucking happy about that.
“Is she in?” I ask when Devon just keeps smiling at me.
“Oh—hell—yes, let me get her for you. They are all still in the boardroom.” He jumps up just as the door opens and Sebastian Croft exits with Avery by his side.
“Okay, let me know if there’s anything you need on our end. If not, I’ll see you Saturday.” She leans in and gives him a hug. “This is so exciting.” As she pulls away, they both notice me standing a few feet away.
“Cole.” Sebastian walks over, grabs my hand and pulls me in for a bro hug. I had no idea we were bros, but I like the guy, so I go with it.
“Good to see you, Sebastian.”
“You too, man. Hope you can make it on Saturday.” I have no fucking clue what he is talking about. Must be part of that excitement Devon mentioned.
“Yeah, me too,” I say as he disappears into the elevator.
“Cole.” My head spins in the other direction and there she is, looking like a fucking vision. “What are you doing here?” She strides toward me and pecks me on the lips. Okay, so not the greeting I was hoping for, but I’ll take what I can get.
“I missed you. I’m between meetings, so I thought I would stop by and take you for lunch if you are free.” She purses her lips and I already know what her answer is going to be.
“I can’t, I’m swamped with meetings for the rest of the day, and then I’m having dinner with my mom tonight.”
“This isn’t about the other night, is it? Because…”
“No, Cole. I’m sorry. I overreacted. I’ve just been slammed with work.”
I breathe a little easier. “Okay, how about dinner tomorrow night?”
She steps a little closer and pecks my lips again, this time she lingers a little longer. “That sounds nice. I need to talk to you about something anyway. Please tell me you are free this weekend?”
I have no idea what I’m doing this weekend, but if she wants me to be free…I’m going to make sure I’m free. “My schedule is wide open,” I say as I move to kiss her again, but get nothing but air. What the fuck?
“Good, make sure you keep it that way. I have to go, babe, I’m already late for my next meeting. I’ll see you tomorrow night.” She turns and I watch as her sexy ass disappears down the hall. It’s only when I turn that I realize I must look like a horny bastard, because Devon is smiling at me.
“Make sure you keep her calendar free tomorrow night,” I growl as I hit the button for the elevator. The doors open and I step inside, just as frustrated as I was when I got here. The only difference is now I have a raging hard-on. Again. Fucking woman.
“As if I have any control over that,” I hear Devon mutter as the doors close. Good, at least someone else is just as fucking frustrated as I am.
“Where is this mystery woman anyway? How come I haven’t met her yet?” Con asks. The three of us are having drinks at our favorite pub around the corner from our office.
“I bet she doesn’t even exist. Probably just a figment of his overactive imagination.” He chuckles into his Scotch.
I loosen my tie with a hard jerk. “Her name is Layla Bancroft and you’ve already seen her, dipshit. You know she exists.” I point my finger at Chris. “Back me the fuck up here. You’ve met her.”
“You could have pointed out anyone,” Con goes on. “How are we to know if it’s real or not?”
“Well, if you had half a brain, you would have figured it out by now.”
“She kick you to the curb already? Is that why you haven’t brought her around? There has to be a reason why you’re keeping her all to yourself. You never do that.”
Con chuckles. “Maybe it’s because he’s lost his touch. I mean, he took her on a fucking picnic for their first date and invited a nine-year-old to join them.”
Chris chokes on his drink, practically spitting it across the table. I struggle to tamp down my frustration with this fucking conversation. He spends the next ten minutes gasping and coughing before he can finally speak.
“You actually took her on a picnic…with a kid? Where’d you get the kid?” I give him my best fuck off look, but as expected, it has no effect.
“Look,” I growl, “for the fucking record, I was trying out something new. She didn’t like the player vibe I was giving off, so I went in a different direction. And also, for the fucking record, I’ll have you know it paid off—big-time.
Both of my brothers grin at me from across the table. They are fucking with me. I’m easy game these days when it comes to the topic of Layla Bancroft.
“Okay, calm down, lover boy, we’re just having some fun,” Con says. “But the question still stands as to why the fuck we haven’t met this mysterious temptress yet.”
“You’ll meet her, I promise. She isn’t going anywhere, at least, not if I can help it.”
Their grins fall from their faces. Chris takes another gulp of his Scotch and manages to get it down this time without incident. “How serious is this? I mean, I figured it was serious when you refused to give up on her, but then six months went by, and we thought you had moved on, and now here we are. You’re going on picnics with fucking nine-year-olds. I’ve never seen you like this before, man. It’s like we’re in some alternate universe.”
“Who are you and what the fuck have you done with our brother,” Con chuckles as his eyes meet mine.
“It’s serious as a fucking heart attack,” I say as I raise my glass to my lips and take a sip. “I’m in love with her.”
“Holy fuck. We need more drinks.” Chris raises his hand to get our server’s attention.
Another round of drinks arrives, and we each snatch up a glass as soon as it hits the table.
“Are you sure…I mean, are you really sure?” Chris asks. “I can’t believe this. Holy shit this is huge.”
“Calm the fuck down,” Con tells him. Then he turns to me. “Are you sure?” he repeats. They both sit there staring at me with their mouths gaping open.
“Jesus, it’s not like I just told you I was a serial killer or something. I’m in love. It happens all the time. It’s the one thing people search for their entire lives.”
“Yeah, but—this is you. You don’t do love. None of us do.” Chris nods at Con’s comment.
“Well, as it turns out, I do and I am. Get used to it, because Layla isn’t going anywhere.” They both gape at me like I have two heads.
“Look, I never thought this was in the cards for me. Not because I didn’t want it, I just never really thought about it. I liked my life the way it was. Then I met Layla, and everything changed. I had to fight tooth and nail and even go on a fucking picnic in order to get her to go out with me. Never in a million years did I ever imagine my life as it is now. But I’m happy, and I honestly believe this is where I’m meant to be, and Layla is who I’m meant to be with. I don’t even care if it means a nine-year-old tags along for the ride.”
We all burst out laughing.
“We’re going out for dinner tomorrow night. Maybe we can arrange to run into you guys, and you can finally meet her. I know you’re going to love her just as much as I do.”
It’s a Wednesday night, but what the fuck, I don’t see my brothers as often as I used to, so we hang out and drink Scotch. At least we’ll all be in the same boat at the office tomorrow morning.
“Incoming,” Con says just as I feel a pair of hands land on my shoulders. They start to massage the knots that have formed over the course of this evening.
“Hey, stranger,” a soft breathy voice whispers in my ear. Christa. She is one of the few women I’ve fucked on the regular—or at least, more than once or twice. I haven’t fucked her in a long while now, and that’s probably why she seems to be wherever I am lately.
Call me a pompous ass all you want, but the truth is, I don’t chase pussy. It chases me. Or at least, I didn’t chase anyone until Layla came on the scene.
I flinch at Christa’s touch, and if she notices, she ignores it and keeps up her ministrations. I reach over my shoulders and grab her by the wrist, tugging her to the side. “Don’t touch until you’re asked, sweetheart. You know the rules,” I growl. Christa’s kinky. She likes to play games and she absolutely knows the rules. Her pupils dilate and I can practically smell her excitement from here.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Christa. I’m here with my brothers and I don’t appreciate the interruption.” I’m being a dick, but this is the second time she has rudely interrupted my evening in the past few weeks, and I don’t appreciate it.
“But I…”
“I’m here with my brothers.” I give her a pointed look that I hope says fuck off . I don’t mind saying the words, but I don’t want to cause a scene.
It finally sinks in, I think. I fucking hope so, at least. “Ohhh…okay…gotcha.” She fucking winks at me. Maybe she didn’t get it after all. Fuck me. “Sorry for the interrup”—she pops the P loudly—“tion. I’ll see you around, Cole.”
I turn back to my drink without a word. My brothers both watch her walk away. Christa’s gorgeous, and she knows it, which accounts for her behavior. She’s basically a walking, talking Barbie. Tall and slender, with legs a mile long and equally magnificent tits. She has long white-blonde hair, big blue eyes and plump pink lips. Like I said…Barbie. I used to dig that sort of thing, but it’s lost its luster recently.
“Are you fucking crazy? I can’t believe you turned that down,” Chris says, drool practically dripping on the table in front of him.
I don’t look over my shoulder. I know Christa’s games by now. She is waiting for me to look. To give her a signal. She’ll be waiting a long fucking time. I’m done with her. “I’ve already had it… The packaging is nice, but what’s inside isn’t nearly as good.”
“As long as it’s hot and wet, who fucking cares,” Con adds.
“You guys can fight over her”—I smirk—“or share her, for all I care. She’s into that too. There isn’t much Christa isn’t into. Have fun. I’m outa here.” I down my drink and toss a few bills on the table.
“See you tomorrow.”
I’m up early. I wasn’t sleeping anyway, so I decided to get up and go for a run. Burn off some of this excess energy that has been building. Aside from the few minutes I got yesterday, I haven’t seen Layla since our little tiff over Aria, and before that… fuck , no wonder I have so much energy coursing through my veins.
It’s a beautiful morning. The sun is just starting to rise; it’s a rosy, pink ball peeking through the trees as I pick up the pace and enter the park. It’s still early, but this is New York, the city that never sleeps. The streets and paths are already bustling with people who are either already on their way to work, or like me, trying to squeeze in an early-morning workout before the commitments of their day kick in and take over.
My mind drifts back to Christa. She’s not a subtle girl. She’s also not used to being turned down. She’s made it very clear what she wants from me, but I hope I’ve also made myself clear in return. Maybe I should have been more direct. I’m not playing a game here. I just hope she realizes it. I wasn’t lying when I told my brothers about Layla. She’s a keeper and I’m not fucking this up.
By the time I’m done my run, I’ve decided Layla needs to know just how deep my feelings go. I’m going to tell her tonight. I’m going to wine and dine the fucking shit out of her, and then I’m going to tell her I love her. I’m pretty sure she already knows, just like I already know she loves me back, but it’s time we spoke the words. I don’t mind going first.
“What do you mean, you can’t make it?” Fire simmers just below the surface, threatening to bubble up. I tamp it down as I wait for an explanation. I’ve spent the entire day planning for this evening. I had to call in a lot of fucking favors to get us into Masa, which is one of only four three-star Michelin restaurants in the city.
“There’s been a setback or something with Aria’s grandmother’s chemo treatment. She needs to stay at the hospital a little longer than she expected, and she doesn’t want Aria there. She’s asked if I can pick Aria up from school and stay with her until she gets home. I’m sorry, Cole, but I can’t say no. She has no one else to call.”
“Fuck,” I growl into the phone.
“I know, I’m so sorry. I was looking forward to this evening just as much as you were.”
I doubt that somehow. I sigh into the phone. “Okay, if there isn’t anyone else, I guess you don’t have a choice. I already have blue balls, what’s another day or two. Just so you know, I was able to finagle reservations at Masa. Do you know how pissed they are going to be when I now, after begging and pleading like a pussy, have to call them back and cancel?”
“Oh, shit . I’m so sorry, Cole. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
“Yes, you bloody well will. Call me when you get home. I don’t care how late it is. Maybe we’ll still be able to salvage some part of this evening. I hope Aria’s gran is okay,” I add, when I stop thinking about myself.
“I will. I’m really sorry, Cole.”
I hang up the phone. “ Fuck!” I growl. My mood just went crashing from cloud fucking nine, straight into the gutter.
It hasn’t improved by the time I get home. It’s after eight and I still haven’t heard from Layla. Her car wasn’t in her parking space when I pulled in, so who knows what fucking time she’ll roll in. I really do hope that Bea is okay. I could call, but I didn’t say I would, so I don’t. I feel like a selfish dick, but no one is here to witness it, so who the fuck cares.
I’m pouring another Scotch when I hear a knock on my door. My head whips in that direction and my heart kicks into overdrive. Finally. She’s here. It has to be Layla, She’s the only person who has a pass card to get up here without going through the concierge. My cock is already semi-hard at just the thought of her. I saunter over to the door with a smile on my face and a present in my pants.
“Get the fuck in here. It’s time to make amends, baby,” I say as I open the door. My smile drops. It’s not Layla standing in front of me. It’s fucking Christa and she’s wearing nothing but a smile, sky-high heels and a sheer black bra and panties that leave nothing to the imagination. Her trench coat is draped over one arm.
“Ooooh, so bossy tonight. I like it.” She glances down at my crotch. “And I see you’re ready for me.” She goes to move past me. My arm lashes out, blocking her path.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Christa, and how did you get up here?” I snarl in her face.
She takes a shocked step back, wobbling in her heels. “Um, I told the concierge you were expecting me. He’s seen me with you more than once, so he let me up.” She steps forward again. “Are you going to let me in, or are we doing this out here? You know I don’t mind being watched, but this looks like it might be”—she glances at the empty foyer behind her—“kind of boring.”
I’ve had it with this chick. I’m done being nice. I grab her arm, not roughly but tight enough to get her attention. “Listen up, because I’m only going to say this once. Get the fuck out of my building and don’t come back. We’re done. We were done a long time ago. Got it?” I shove her back, and she wobbles in her heels again but holds her ground.
“Who the fuck do you think you are to talk to me like that?” she yells as she starts to shove her arms into the sleeves of her coat.
“Just get the fuck out, Christa, and don’t come back.” I step back into my apartment and slam the door. This day just keeps going from bad to fucking worse.