Текст книги "The Allure of Dean Harper "
Автор книги: R. S. Grey
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Текущая страница: 10 (всего у книги 15 страниц)
Chapter Thirty-Three
Dean
Lily stood in the doorway after her shower. She was naked and using one of the oversized hotel towels to dry her legs. I sat on the bed watching her, momentarily sated. We hadn’t said anything for what seemed like hours, but I knew the truce wouldn’t last long.
“You told me to prove it, and I did.”
I frowned, trying to place her words.
“Us,” she said, wrapping the towel around her chest. “It’s just sex.” She smirked. “Dark smoke, but no fire.”
She turned and closed the bathroom door without another word. She’d thrown her knife and it had met its mark; the only thing I could do was leave before she threw another.
I was exhausted, especially after the last few hours, but I couldn’t find a comfortable spot on the sectional. I angled my body one way, then another, then stood and tried a different direction. The couch felt lumpy in places it hadn’t the night before. I stared up at the villa’s ceiling and tried to ignore the dull ache in my gut.
My parents’ words rang back through my mind.
“You think that fast life will sustain you for long?”
“Aren’t you lonely?”
Their questions had always been easy to deflect. I’d moved to New York to become a one-man empire and I’d had no intentions of stopping any time soon. I’d been happy with that life.
One day, I was content, and the next, I was lying on a couch in Vegas with lumps of indecision disrupting my sleep.
I didn’t want this.
I didn’t want change.
I didn’t want to lay awake with a hollow gut and the taste of regret in my mouth. I couldn’t build a one-man empire if I lost focus. I’d pushed away every distraction that had come my way in the last two years, yet somehow Lily had seeped through the cracks, like a poison. I just had to find the antidote.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Lily
Something about Dean kept me coming back for more. It had been wrong to sleep with him the first time and just plain idiotic to agree to round two. Dean had stripped me to the bone on that hotel bed and then he’d left me high and dry. Well technically he’d left after I’d all but pushed him out, but that was the way we were. He pushed, I pushed back. He didn’t want an insipid Barbie. He wanted a challenge, but he kept denying it, so things between us would never change. It was a vicious cycle. I needed an intervention. I needed to cut Dean out of my personal life. Cold turkey.
“Does sitting at a coffee shop across from a cycling studio count as exercise?” Josephine asked as she sat down with her latte.
I blinked away my thoughts and nodded. “The calories transfer. Like osmosis.”
She smirked. “So then we should split that banana nut muffin?”
I didn’t even turn to inspect the case of pastries behind me. I had no appetite. “I’m good. You go ahead.”
She frowned. “I’m sorry, what? The last time you turned down a baked good was because you thought gluten was poisonous.”
“That BuzzFeed article made it sound like it was rat poison!” I contested.
She shook her head and took a sip of her latte. I’d arrived at the coffee shop earlier than her, hoping to sample a few of the pastries for my blog. Instead, I’d sat at a table by myself, sipping on my coffee and people-watching through the front windows.
“You’ve been back from Vegas for a week and you’ve uttered like four words since then.”
I furrowed my brows. “Not true.”
“Asking Siri to play James Blunt doesn’t count.”
I wasn’t sure she was right, but I didn’t have the energy to fight with her.
“I’m going to set you up with this guy I work with at Vogue.”
I scrunched my nose. “I’m not really into male models.”
“No, he works in the graphics department. He has a beard and glasses, and sometimes from the right angle, he looks like Bradley Cooper.”
I hummed. “The Hangover Bradley Cooper or Silver Linings Playbook Bradley Cooper?”
She seemed confused by my question. “Is there a difference?”
“Big time.”
She rolled the question around in her mind and then nodded. “I’d say Silver Linings Playbook Bradley.”
“So he’s cute but a little psycho?”
“Oh my god, forget it.”
I shrugged. Fine with me.
She gave me a few minutes, enough time to start people-watching out the window again before she decided to drop her next bomb on me. “Julian says Dean has been hard to work with lately.”
My stomach clenched at the mention of his name.
“Worse than usual,” she added.
I took a sip of my coffee and purposely stared out at the street above Jo’s shoulder.
“You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
Fuck her prying.
I forced my gaze to her. “Jo, you and Julian are awesome. You both love each other and you never fight and you’re the cutest thing since sliced bread.”
“I don’t think that’s how the saying go—”
“I would love a relationship like you guys have, but unfortunately Dean and I will never be like that.”
“Why?”
I laughed. Where to begin?
“To start, I don’t think he and I have ever had a conversation without one of us yelling. He is rude and opinionated and a workaholic. He has the ego of Kayne West and I hate him.”
She ticked off the reasons on her fingers as I spoke. “That’s only six things! Pfft, you could totally work through that.”
I shook my head. “Add on the fact that he has yet to call or text me since we got back from Vegas.”
She frowned. “Have you tried to reach out to him?”
I shot her a ‘you’re insane’ glare.
She held up her hands in surrender. “Maybe you’re right. You two are so freaking stubborn.”
We were stubborn and I should have hated it, but I didn’t. I loved it. I craved a relationship with him. I could hardly wrap my head around what it would be like. Would Dean wake up and make us breakfast in the mornings? Would I pour him coffee? Never. He’d complain that I did it wrong and I’d probably end up pouring it out on his smug face. God, we’d end up pushing each other to the brink of insanity.
I knew that wasn’t healthy. I knew that a relationship shouldn’t be about two people trying to win the upper hand. Someone had to give. Right?
“What’s Vogue guy’s name?” I asked gently.
Jo peered at me from the top of her latte mug. “Carson.”
Carson. That’s not a bad name.
“Tell Carson I’m free next week if he wants to get like chicken nuggets or something.”
Her brows perked up. “Are you serious?”
I downed the rest of my coffee before answering. “I don’t kid about chicken nuggets.”
She grabbed my shoulders. “Not about the nuggets, you weirdo. I’m asking about the date!”
“Sure. Why not? After all, I am single.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Dean
After Vegas, I went two weeks before scheduling another team meeting. I focused on my other restaurants and worked in the back office of Provisions, telling myself it was necessary. I sent out work for Hunter, Zoe, and Lily in formal group emails.
From: Dean Harper
To: Lily Black, Julian Lefray, Zoe Davis, Hunter Smith
Subject: LVRW
Last week went well. I’m going to take the next few days to play catch-up with Provisions and Merchant. Zoe, I need you as floor manager for the next few nights—Provisions went to shit while we were gone.
Hunter, get in touch with Mark and have him start showing you listings for potential properties. We need to get the ball rolling. I want a list of properties by the end of the week.
D. Harper
From: Lily Black
To: Dean Harper
Subject: Re: LVRW
Just read your last email and you didn’t mention me. What would you like me to be working on? Menu? Drinks? Name? Branding?
-Lily
From: Dean Harper
To: Lily Black
Subject: Re: Re: LVRW
Start putting together a list of bloggers we need to invite to the grand opening.
D. Harper
From: Lily Black
To: Dean Harper
Subject: Re: Re: Re: LVRW
Don’t you think that’s a little premature? We haven’t even picked a location yet…
-Lily
From: Dean Harper
To: Lily Black
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: LVRW
See last email.
D. Harper
From: Lily Black
To: Dean Harper
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: LVRW
Fine, I’ll work on the list.
-Lily
…
I tricked myself into thinking that email communication with Lily was harmless, even though every time her name hit my inbox, I felt a familiar rush of adrenaline. Then, two weeks after returning to New York, Antonio Acosta sent me an email and I reluctantly scheduled a team meeting. I’d have to face her whether I wanted to or not.
As I rounded the corner into the employees-only hallway, I could hear the team chatting in the back office and my grip tightened around the papers in my hand at the sound of Lily’s voice.
“I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever,” she said.
“I know. Anything new with you?” Zoe asked.
I rounded the corner of my office and stared at the back of Lily’s blonde hair. “Oh god, Jo set me up on a blind date for later this week. I need some advice—”
I stepped into the office and closed the door with a loud slam. Listening to Lily discuss a blind date was on par with getting a root canal. She twisted around to stare daggers at me, but I pretended not to notice. I went around the group and handed each of them a printout of the email I’d received from Antonio the night before. Once everyone had a copy, I took a seat on the edge of my desk and watched them read through it.
Julian finished first, his brows arched to his hairline.
“Wow. I wasn’t expecting this,” he said.
I nodded and purposely focused anywhere but Lily. I wasn’t good about acknowledging the error of my ways, and if I knew her as well as I thought I did, she wasn’t going to let the email slide without gloating.
“I’m sorry, maybe I’m confused,” she said, staring up at me. “Could you explain what this email means? Just in case I’m reading it wrong?”
Zoe laughed.
She wasn’t reading it wrong. She wanted to hear me explain it out loud because she was infuriating.
I crossed my arms and finally let myself look at her. Her full lips were twisted into a smirk and the glint in her eye proved she knew what she was doing. She was wearing a sleeveless blue dress that left her long legs on display. Her hair was pulled over her right shoulder so that I could admire the curve of her neck. She tapped her finger against the email impatiently. She was demanding and breathtaking.
I cleared my throat. “Antonio Acosta sent us a revised list of dishes for our menu. He apologized for his lack of preparedness in Vegas. I don’t think he gave a valid excuse as to why his original suggestions were shit. Regardless, the new dishes look great and we will definitely be flying him out soon for another tasting.”
Her smirk widened. “Just so we’re clear, Antonio sent us revised dishes for no reason whatsoever? Out of the kindness of his own heart?”
I gripped the edge of the desk and I shook my head. “You want me to commend your behavior in that meeting, Lily, but I won’t do it. You were rude and disrespectful. On any other day, a chef as hotheaded as Antonio would have smeared us in the press. We’re lucky he was feeling generous.”
She huffed out a breath of air and crossed her arms.
“Have we decided on the name yet?” Julian asked, changing the subject before Lily and I dominated the rest of the meeting with an argument.
“I’m still working on it. I’ve got a few in mind though.”
“I’ve been coordinating with the graphic designer you hired in Vegas,” Zoe said, directing the meeting toward her work. “Obviously, we can’t do much without a name, but we’ve begun to work on basic branding. You’ve told us what aesthetic you’d like for the restaurant, so once we have the name we can home in on what logo would work best.”
“Have you forwarded me that progress?” I asked.
She nodded. “Everyone should have it in their inbox.”
“Good.” I turned to Hunter and his eyes widened. “How is the search going for the restaurant space?”
He swallowed and pulled at the collar of his shirt, trying to loosen its hold around his neck. “Um. Yeah. I’ve been looking, but there’s not much out there. Whole lotta rough, not many diamonds.”
I narrowed my eyes. That’s not what I wanted to hear. “I’m not looking for anything polished, just something we can work with. You’re telling me there are no available leases in Manhattan?”
Was that his attempt at a bad joke?
His cheeks flamed. “It’s just a tough market right now and I think…it’s just…”
He was rambling and it made no sense. Hunter had helped me find the spaces for my last four restaurants and he’d never once had a problem.
“I’ll help,” Lily offered gently. “I can search around online when I get home.”
Hunter shot her a sharp glare. He clearly didn’t want her help, but tough shit. He needed it.
“That’d be great. Thanks.”
She smiled and the impact of it knocked me off my equilibrium.
“Actually, Lily could you stay after the meeting for a second?”
Her smile faltered. “Oh, uh…sure. Okay.”
She was as surprised by my question as I was. The plan was to have a group meeting and then send everyone on their way, together. I should’ve realized I’d cave as soon as I saw her. Two weeks apart meant that she was more tempting than ever. The desire that should have faded was too sharp to ignore. I had nothing business related to discuss with her; I just wasn’t ready for her to walk away yet.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Lily
Zoe was the last to leave Dean’s office. She turned back and shot me a knowing grin just as I shut the door on her. Dean stood behind his desk, peeling off his suit jacket. His corded arm muscles flexed as he tossed it onto the back of his chair.
When his attention was focused on me, I wet my bottom lip and tried to smile. It felt weak.
“I asked you to stay so that we could have a moment alone to talk about the situation between us.”
He was putting our relationship into business terms. Dean’s opening move was always to treat the issue like it was just another danger to his bottom line, but I knew better. I could see the way his breathing had shifted when I’d turned to him. We were alone in his office. I was a few feet away and he was already daydreaming of the ways he could take me across his desk.
I stepped forward. “I’m completely capable of being professional around you.”
My words said one thing and my tone hinted at the opposite.
His mouth twitched and he bent his head to hide the smirk he didn’t want me to see. “I agree. Sleeping with each other doesn’t have to interfere with our business relationship.”
“Exactly.”
“Did I hear that you have a blind date this week?” he asked, arching a brow at me.
“Uh huh. I’m sure you’ll keep yourself busy as well.” I stepped closer and kicked one shoe off and then the other.
He loosened his tie. “Very busy.”
“When’s your next meeting?” I asked as I hit the edge of his desk.
He unbuttoned his belt. “I have to be across town in an hour.”
I nodded.
“You?”
I smirked. “I’m free all afternoon. I just have to do that property search.”
He nodded, then his brown eyes met mine, and in less than a second, the spark between us was ablaze. I dropped my purse on the floor and crawled over his desk. A ballpoint pen fell off and rolled across the floor as his hands gripped my waist and he pulled me all the way over.
It’d been two weeks since his hands had been on me. Fourteen days to go insane. A clean cut with Dean was never truly an option. I knew it had to be messy. I wanted Dean to kiss me like he was kissing me at that very moment. I wanted his hands searing through my skin. His tongue slipped into my mouth and his finger slipped into my panties. I gripped his hair and spread my legs on the edge of his desk. He stood between them, yanking my dress up over my thighs like the material offended him.
“I’ll never get enough,” he threatened, as I unzipped his pants. I shook with adrenaline as he pushed his pants and boxer briefs down and kicked them aside.
He had me there on the edge of his desk, completely under his thumb.
“You love this as much as I do,” he said, skimming his hands up my thighs.
He smiled with such satisfaction as he slipped into me. I dragged my nails down the back of his neck, trying to throw back some of the feeling onto him. I didn’t want it. I hadn’t asked to have my heart split in two.
He was wrong; I didn’t love it as much as him.
I loved it more.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Lily
Lily: I’m headed to my blind date right now…
Dean: Where are you meeting him? Don’t let him lure you back to his apartment. Jo probably picked a creeper.
I smiled and shoved to the side of the subway car so that people had room to exit. Every stop we passed, the car emptied out a little more, finally leaving some vacant seats. I nabbed one and turned back to my phone.
Lily: We’re just going to eat somewhere uptown. I’m meeting him at a park first.
Dean: Romantic.
Lily: Are you seeing someone tonight?
Dean: Not sure yet.
Lily: Don’t have sex with her.
Dean: Lily…
Lily: Fine. Whatever. Sleep with whoever you want. Just don’t spoil your appetite.
Dean: I’m not the one going on a date right now.
He had a point, but I was going for a very, very noble reason: I’d been too busy daydreaming about having sex with Dean and then actually having sex with Dean to remember to cancel on Carson. See? I’m sure this sort of thing happens to the Dalai Lama ALL the time.
Whatever. Jo said I couldn’t stand him up and I couldn’t cancel last minute because that was almost as bad as standing him up. Instead, we agreed that I’d go on one date, and give him a chance. She said I needed to test the water with other guys. Maybe I was into Dean because I was lonely in a new city and there weren’t any other guys in my life. I knew better, but she was annoying and I kind of owed her at least one date with a random guy after subjecting her to two weeks of Love Actually on repeat. (Yes, you actually CAN overdose on Hugh Grant.)
Dean: Y’know this guy could probably do better. Does he know how stubborn you are?
Lily: I’m sure he’ll fall in love at first sight and we’ll run away together.
Dean: Hunter will be so disappointed…
I typed back “More than you?” but my finger hovered over the send button. I knew I couldn’t actually send it. Dean and I were in a comfortable limbo; I had to tread lightly.
The subway car screeched to a stop at the next station and my destination was announced over the speakers. I erased the text and pocketed my phone as I stood to exit. The entire walk toward the park, I tried to conjure up excitement for my date with Carson. There was none. Absolutely none. Well, I did smell a pretzel stand, which caused me to salivate, but I couldn’t really attribute that to Carson.
I was almost to the park, when I saw a sign for a new restaurant opening up across the street. I had a few minutes to spare, so instead of taking a right and crossing over toward the park, I waited for the light to change and jogged across the street to investigate. With any luck, I’d have a new restaurant to review soon. Please be another crêperie, please be another crêperie.
The restaurant was still in the construction phase, but the bare bones already hinted at how amazing it would be once they were finished.
I moved around to the front of the building to try to find more details when the name caught my attention. Ivy & Wine was painted in white across the brick, with the words “Coming Soon” beneath it. I squinted and read the name again, trying to draw out why the name seemed so familiar.
I stepped closer, inspecting the printed poster they’d taped to the front door. The owners of the restaurant had printed out a detailed menu so that pedestrians could start to get a feel for the place.
They boasted fresh flavors and seasonal dishes, but when I started to actually read the menu, I could feel the color drain my face. It was one hundred percent identical to the menu Antonio Acosta had emailed us only a few days earlier. Every single detail, ingredient, and flavor paralleled ours, and when I scanned to the bottom where it listed the general manager’s name, I knew who I had to blame.
Hunter was a little rat.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Dean
I pushed my bike in through the back door and unclipped my helmet just as my front doorbell rang.
“I’m coming!” I yelled, annoyed at whoever kept ringing the bell. It was 8:00 PM on a Friday night; chances were I was about to be confronted by a Mormon missionary.
I propped my bike in the hallway and brushed the sweat from my brow just as Lily yelled through the door.
“Dean, hurry up! I know you’re home!”
Lily?
I unlocked the door and pulled it open to find Lily standing on the other side with her hand poised, ready to keep knocking.
“Cool it, will you.”
She groaned and pushed past me, nearly knocking me over. “Why don’t you answer your phone?! I’ve called you ten times in the last twenty minutes!”
She was sweaty and breathing hard. Her cardigan was tied around her waist and her cotton dress was wrinkled. She bent over and rested her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.
“Did you run here?” I asked, furrowing my brows.
Her bright eyes landed on me with fury. “Of course I ran here! Hunter needs to be fired immediately!”
I held up my hands. “Slow down. Slow down. What’s going on? Did he do something to you? Why aren’t you on your date?”
She rolled her eyes and turned to the entryway table. She dumped her cardigan and her purse there and then reached in for her phone.
“I had to stand him up! I was on my way to my date when I noticed a restaurant under construction.” She unlocked her phone and scrolled through pictures until she landed on one she was satisfied with. “This is the menu that was posted on the side of the building,” she said, shoving the phone into my hand.
I zoomed in and squinted, trying to make out the small letters.
“Recognize anything? Oh, I don't know, maybe the entire thing?!”
I shook my head. “Are you certain? Maybe it just looks similar.”
She laughed, clearly past the point of reason. “Scroll down and look who’s listed as the general manager. Take a look at how loyal your employee is.” She threw her hands into the air and stomped around the entryway. “I’m going to kill him. I’m going to drown him in the paella dish he STOLE from us!”
My hand clenched around her phone as I processed the information she’d just dumped on me. Hunter was working with another team, developing another restaurant across town with the menu and the vision we’d worked so hard to create.
It had been too easy for him to betray me. He had detailed summaries of everything from menu choices to color schemes. He had contact information for every single one of my contractors, vendors, and recruiters.
My blood started to boil. He thought he could get away with this? He thought he could sit in my office and feed me bullshit about a tough real estate market and expect me not to find out what he was really up to?
Lily’s hand came into my line of sight and I realized she was trying to pry her phone from my grip before I crushed it.
“What are you going to do about it?” she asked, her voice much calmer now that I was the one losing my temper.
“I’ll handle it,” I said with a shake of my head.
She frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
I was already moving toward the kitchen, headed for the house phone hanging on the wall by the door. “I’m going to call my lawyer.”
Her jaw dropped. “That’s it?”
I was already dialing his number. “Intellectual property is tricky when it comes to restaurants that haven't even opened yet. He hasn't really broken any laws. Pursuing a civil case is the only way we can handle this. Just give me five minutes.”
She took a seat at the kitchen table and crossed her arms, clearly annoyed with my lack of retribution. “He’s such a slime ball. Y’know he hit on me again in Vegas too. He tried to get me to sneak off to a hotel room with him. God, I wish I’d punched him in the face then.”
“Lily, calm down. We’ll figure it out.”
She nibbled on her bottom lip, too worked up to keep still.
“Dean,” Mitch said, answering just before the call clicked over to voicemail. “This better be damn important. I was about to enjoy a meal at one of your damn restaurants.”
“We have a situation.”
He sighed. “Ah, hell. Hold on, let me go outside.”
