Total pages in book: 18
Estimated words: 15945 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 80(@200wpm)___ 64(@250wpm)___ 53(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15945 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 80(@200wpm)___ 64(@250wpm)___ 53(@300wpm)
“I don’t blame you. If I had a woman like Lexi Marsh at home waiting I wouldn’t stay either.” He chuckles and hits me on the back of my shoulder. I know this is how normal men talk to one another and ‘bond’ if you will, but I have never had time for juvenile conversations like this. Especially when they are not true.
“There is no woman at home waiting. I don’t have time for relationships.” I tell him matter of factly. He looks a little taken aback, but then recovers. When I met him I saw an asshole inside of him and right now I am hoping I wasn’t wrong.
“My apologies, Mr. Lotus. I read it in Finance Guru and…”
“If it’s in a magazine it has to be true.” Not bothering to keep the annoyance from my voice, I turn to him. “In our line of work and with the amount of wealth you are about to amass, it would be prudent of you to be more discerning and wearier of everything and everyone.” His demeanor immediately changes, and it would appear I hit a nerve. Good. That chip I noticed on his shoulder will guard him and protect him like it has done me.
“Duly noted and trust me, I trust no one.” He spins on his soles and walks away. Sighing, happy I can finally leave, I hop on my private elevator and swipe my card so it will take me to the bottom floor. I am starting to regret letting my driver go home, but then again, a cab won’t kill. I might have to burn my clothes afterward and get in the shower for an hour to scrub the germs and who knows what off my body, but it won’t kill me.
I step outside and glance diagonally across the street at the U.N Building, wondering if my little sister is still there and a woman steps from the revolving door. I barely spare her a glance and look up as a cab starts driving this way. Holding out my hand, it stops, and I open the door, distracted as my phone begins to ping with a message from my mother.
I open the door and slide in. “Hey. Excuse me. This is my cab.” It’s then, as the voice penetrates the fog of texting, that the introduction of body heat that is not mine makes me look up.
“Fuck,” slips from my mouth before I can stop it.
“Are you just going to stare or are you going to get out?” Jesus, this woman is gorgeous. I use the term lightly, guessing she has to be between eighteen and twenty-two. Her caramel skin, glowing under the light filtering in from the street. Her eyes. Those big brown doe eyes currently shooting laser beams at me are beautiful. But her mouth. Christ those plump, collagen looking lips are begging for my cock to be stuffed between them before I stuff it between her legs. “Hello,” she says, snapping her fingers in my face. Blinking, I finally take note of the situation and realize what happened. Interesting. Smirking, I turn to my new focus and smile.
“Hello to you, beautiful. Seems we have ourselves a situation. I am sure two mature adults can solve this and make it work. Don’t you agree?” I pull one of her bouncy curls between my fingers and watch it move up and down when I release. Hell. Even her curls are erotic.
“What do you propose?” she asks, some of her irritation melting.
“How about we share this cab? I will let him drop you off first and in the meantime we simply relax and chat. No harm no foul.” She bites her lip as she thinks it over and the caveman in me demands she stop doing that, so I can have the privilege. But of course, he only growls it in my head. Something tells me she is a bit… skittish and I have to tread a little lightly.
“Fine. You may drive, mister,” she says ordering the cab driver. I smile.
She’s bossy.
I like it.
CHAPTER 3
HOPE
I’ve never shared a cab with a stranger before. In the enclosed space, his cologne is invading my senses, making me swoon a little bit. Shit. Don’t want that. Cool it, Hope. Cool it. It’s no use. That’s not going to work! I try to warn myself, but it’s no use. Might as well try to roll with it. Since I’m perpetually forgetting things at work, I rushed back inside after my sad dinner and grabbed my laptop off of my desk.
“We’ll be dropping the lady off first,” he tells the cab driver. His authoritative voice really, really does it for me. Absently, I run my fingers through my hair and then fix my glasses. I look over at him again in what I hope is a discrete way, but I’m pretty sure I’m openly ogling the man. He’s gorgeous. I imagine that he’s tall, if they way his legs are folded up against the back of the passenger seat. He’s got a really great head of dark hair and expressive ocean-blue eyes.