Liar

I gave him my own smirk in return. “That’s what hotels are for. And I just so happen to own one. Two pretty soon.”

“You could always buy a place in my building. Olivia lives there too, so you can just join the brood, and we can slowly take over the entire building.”

Olivia. That name had haunted me for the past week. More, if I had to be honest. She’d been haunting me for over a year. At least then, she was just an elusive memory. Now, she was a tangible, in my face, temptation. One I had to ignore, specifically because of the man sitting across from me awaiting a response.

“Why pay rent if I’m not going to be here half the year?”

“Like you can’t afford it.”

I shrugged and drained my glass, setting it on the wooden side-table. I was happy with my situation. I could leave my meager belongings with my parents and stay there when I needed. If I had company, I always took them to the hotel. Nothing personal, just a fun romp for a day or two and an easy out. Just the way I liked it.

I’d done the whole house and serious relationship thing a long time ago. I was better off without it. I was happier without it.

“Hey, boys,” a husky voice greeted behind me.

Daniel smiled, and I knew I’d find a knockout brunette when I turned.

I wasn’t disappointed. Carina’s full lips were tipped in a barely-there smile, and an eyebrow cocked liked she’d find us boys up to no good. Mostly, she wouldn’t be wrong, but tonight we were just two men enjoying drinks at our club.

“Hey, Carina.” Daniel stood to give her a hug and gestured to the seat between us. “Did you have any trouble getting into the front?”

“Nope. Andre, let me in just fine. I come so often, I should just get a membership discount,” she said, winking at Daniel.

She leaned over to pull papers out of her briefcase. I tried to be a gentleman and not stare at the curve of her breast exposed by her low-cut shirt, but I couldn’t help myself. And when she leaned back up, she caught me staring and slapped the top of my head with her thick stack of paperwork.

“Ow.”

“Don’t be a pig.”

“Don’t be so gorgeous.”

She rolled her eyes and began setting up her computer. Men all around us stared. Her long brown hair swaying over her shoulders, made a man want to wrap it around his fist. But when I imagined it, the color of hair sliding through my fingers was blonde. When I jerked her head back and made her stare up at me, her eyes were a paler blue, her skin like porcelain rather than Carina’s tan.

“I don’t know why we couldn’t have met at the office,” Daniel said.

“Voyeur always makes everything more interesting. Why not include our business meetings?”

Carina opened files, pulling up numbers that her counterpart, Jake, had run for the probability of success for each marketing plan. She was efficient without judgment of our business, therefore making her the prime candidate to handle our future projects.

“We’re thinking of opening a club in New York.”

Her eyebrows rose high at the news. “Leaving Cincinnati?”

“No,” Daniel explained. “Just expanding.”

“I’m in the process of closing on a location for the next hotel,” I explained. “And we figured it was a perfect time and place to expand.”

“And we were wondering if you’d be willing to take on the business. Only you,” Daniel specified. Carina’s father, the owner of their marketing company, doubted Carina’s ability as a woman in the business field and tried to take the larger jobs for others. But we wanted to make sure she was the one handling us.

“Wow. Of course. I’d be honored to.” Her eyebrows lowered and lips pursed. “I’m in the middle of another large project, but I should be able to make the occasional trip out and do everything else from here.”

“Is Daddy letting you have another big project?”

She rolled her eyes. “Hardly. This one is more…freelance.”

“Interesting.”

“Can I get you anything to drink?” one of the waiters asked Carina.

“Just a water, please.”

“Olivia starts with you tomorrow, correct?” Daniel asked.

Less than twenty-four hours until I was around the girl who visited my dreams more than I’d like to admit.

“Yeah.”

“Why’d you hesitate?” Daniel asked.

I rubbed my thumb along my brow and thought of the best way to answer. Maybe try and find a valid reason out of this predicament. “I’m just worried she won’t get what she needs. We aren’t an up and running business yet, and I won’t be around as much.”

Daniel waved away my concerns. “She just needs to get a behind the scenes look, and what’s better than how one is set up. And just pass her off on Viv. She is your manager.”

“Who’s Olivia?” Carina asked.