LIGHTER Read online

  “Could you bring it to the dining room?” I asked her. “I’m going to grab a quick shower, and then I plan on working from there.”

  “Of course, dear.”

  Giving Slick a small smile, I exited the room like my feet were on fire, making a beeline for my bedroom. After taking the quickest shower ever, I dressed in something comfortable and brushed my hair, leaving it wet. There was no sense in trying to fix it when I had the event tonight.

  I grabbed my laptop and cell phone and headed for the dining room. I loved working in there. The lighting was the best, and the far wall had floor-to-ceiling windows that opened to a large balcony. It had the best view of the city, even though I preferred seeing the skylines of New York instead.

  Slick was sitting at the opposite end of the long Renaissance-style table when I walked into the room. He took notice of me but didn’t say anything. My cappuccino was waiting for me in front of the seat next to Slick.

  I sat down in the high-back chair and opened my laptop. “I’ll be able to do all my work from here today, so it’s probably going to be a boring day for you.”

  “Boring sounds good.” He released a heavy breath.

  I pretended that he wasn’t there and got down to business. First things first, I had to call my mom’s regular glam team to come and make me look presentable for the night’s events. Then I had to liaise with the caterer to put the final touches on the menu for the upcoming event for the Pleasant Home Society that I was partially hosting in my mom’s name. Sandra had called to tell me that the date auction was a go. So, I spent the next two hours calling a list of potential girls and was able to get nine of them to agree to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. I was hoping for a better turnout, but I planned to add myself to that list. That would make an even ten girls. If we could get twenty thousand dollars per girl, we’d make two hundred thousand dollars on the auction alone. Some of the girls listed would likely go for far more than that, so I was satisfied. Everything seemed to be coming together nicely. I emailed Sandra to let her know the details and then made a last-minute call to my mom in hopes that I could tell her all about the plans. No luck though. She didn’t answer.

  Through my countless calls and endless number of emails, Slick had sat there in his chair as quiet as a mouse. He was very good at being aloof. His patience was quite impressive actually. I could never sit still like that.

  For the first time since I’d sat down, I was in desperate need of a break. I stood up from my chair and made my way over to the sliding glass door.

  “You’re not going to jump, are you?” Slick said as I opened the door.

  I snickered. “I didn’t plan on it.”

  He walked out behind me and closed the door. There was a familiar cool breeze that was always present here. It was one of the many perks to living on the top floor. The air was different up here. It wasn’t stifled by the smog of the busy streets below.

  “When does school start?”

  I flicked my gaze in his direction. We’d been doing so well with the silence. He was going to mess it all up. “August thirty-first, I believe.”

  “Do you know what you’re going to major in?” he asked.

  “What is this, twenty questions?”

  He smiled wide, stretching his arms above his head. “Just curious, that’s all.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to get a read of some kind. I couldn’t figure out his angle or why, all of a sudden, he wanted to talk. It was just weird. We weren’t friends. We were barely acquaintances. Yes, I thought he was one of the hottest men I’d ever seen, but that was neither here nor there.

  “I think I’m going to major in political science, with a minor in humanities.”

  “Really?” he quipped.

  “Why? Is that so hard to believe?”

  He tilted his head to the side and paused, leaving me feeling completely dismal. “It’s just not what I was expecting. That’s all.”

  “What did you expect?” I questioned but immediately stopped him. “Don’t answer that.” I was starting to feel like things were better left unsaid between the two of us.

  When he started to speak again, I raised a hand. “Wait,” I told him. “Why the sudden interest? What is with all the small talk today?” I was seriously confused by it all.

  I could see the drop in his thick shoulders. “I don’t know.” He shook his head. “After yesterday, and well, last night—” He paused and looked over at me. There was something different in his eyes. “You were in a lot of pain.”

  I shrugged. “That explains nothing.”

  He growled under his breath, but he was fighting back a smile. “Probably because I have no explanation. I guess I’m just not in the mood to argue today, and after the night you had, I figured you weren’t up for it either.”

  He was right about that. “So, we call a truce today?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What about tomorrow?” I asked reluctantly.

  He grinned. “I’ll be in a better mood tomorrow.”

  “So, that’s a no for tomorrow?” I smiled.

  “Yeah, Princess.”

  My lips tightened at the sound of the word “Princess.”

  “Fine,” I replied, giggling under my breath. Two can play your games, Slick Stevenson.

  We’d likely go back to being enemies the next day, but I could live with that.

  Eleven

  Slick

  Lighter was right about her father coming home early. He got there around three o’clock and sent me home early. It was fucking great, since I still had a headache from the alcohol I’d drank the night before. I wouldn’t have drunk so much if I’d known that I was going to have to come into work today. It was a last-minute call. Tony was dealing with some kind of ex-wife drama and needed me to switch shifts. The man was like a brother to me. I didn’t mind switching shifts with him; he would’ve done the same for me.

  When I got back to the apartment, I sent Lucy home for the day. She and Chloe were doing some kind of arts and crafts project on the kitchen floor. They had paint and popsicle sticks scattered everywhere. Chloe was a little disappointed that they didn’t finish whatever it was they were working on, but Lucy assured her that they’d finish them soon. Man, was that woman a godsend. I’d lucked out in the nanny department, and I was going to add a little bonus on her paycheck to let her know it. I couldn’t have someone trying to snatch her up from under my nose.

  “What’ya say we order some pizza for supper, kiddo?”

  “Ooooo, yeah. Can we get stuffed crust?” Her eyes grew wide.

  “Whatever you want.” I smiled, unable to resist her seven-year-old charm. Pizza was a favorite around our house—the perfect hangover food. “You go get washed up, while I call and order the pizza.”

  “Okay, Uncle J.”

  She skipped off toward the bathroom, and I called the pizzeria around the corner. Living in the city allowed for some pretty great commodities. The pizza joint was only a block away from our building, and we could usually have it delivered in twenty minutes or less. Back at our old place, we had to wait about an hour.

  “Hey, Uncle J!” Chloe called from the bathroom.

  “Yeah!” I answered. Every time that girl went into the bathroom, she wanted to have a conversation with me. It never failed. Hell, even when I was in the bathroom she’d want to talk.

  “Can we watch The Little Mermaid tonight?”

  Ah, damn. Not again. This would make the fifth time this week. Honestly, I could recite the movie word for word at this point.

  “Well, can we?” she rattled off again, waiting for me to answer.

  “You sure you don’t want to watch something else?” At that point, I was willing to watch anything else.

  “Nope,” she replied, peeking her soapy face out of the bathroom.

  You little shit. “I guess so,” I caved. “But I’m not singing along this time.”

  I heard her giggle. She mumbled something under her breath, but I d
idn’t bother asking what she said. The girl had a comeback for everything. She’d get the last word, no matter what.

  We settled into the couch with our pizza and Kool-Aid, and I started that damn movie. There were probably twenty other Disney DVDs in the cabinet, but she’d always watch the same ones. I paid for a monthly subscription to Netflix once we moved in, and we’d watched maybe two things on it. It was clearly wasted money.

  As soon as that little red crab started to sing, Chloe looked up in my direction. Her teeny-tiny lips grinned at me. She knew what she was doing, and I couldn’t resist singing along. I may have hated the movie after the twenty-fifth time we watched it, but “Under the Sea” was my jam.

  Some things never changed.

  Chloe dozed off, catching a little nap, and I took the time to clean up our mess.

  Just as I was about to sit back down on the couch, my phone rang. When I saw “Mom” flash up on the screen, I groaned. The woman only called when she wanted something. I hit the F-U button on the side of the phone and slid it into my pocket. As soon as the damn thing would stop ringing, it’d just start back up again. It was pissing me off.

  After about the fifth time, I got so fed up that I yanked it out my pocket and yelled into the phone. “What!”

  Chloe stirred next to me at the sound of my voice.

  “Slick,” a small, sweet voice said.

  “Who is this?” It most certainly wasn’t my mother.

  “It’s Lighter,” she replied. Her voice was much sturdier, and I recognized it then.

  “Oh. What’s going on? Something wrong?” I asked. At the sound of her voice, I easily switched back into business mode.

  “Actually yes.”

  “What is it?” I stood up from the couch and walked into the kitchen.

  “Dad said that I should call you,” she said hesitantly. “It looks like we’re going to need more security for tonight’s event. He requested you personally.”

  I groaned. “I thought there were three men covering tonight,” I probed. We had five men on our team, and three of them were supposed to be scheduled for the event. It didn’t make sense. I’d made a call to the security agency requesting them personally. Those guys were always more than ready for those types of events.

  “Yes, but…”

  “But what?” I was past the point of aggravation.

  “Dad said for you to meet us there at 8:00 p.m. sharp.”

  Oh, did he now? I wanted to scream into the phone, but it wouldn’t do any good. Especially since he had his daughter call. That fucking man was a piece of work. There was more than enough staff, and those guys were good.

  He didn’t need me, but dammit, I needed him. This flipping job was what got us the nice apartment and food in our stomachs.

  “I’ll be there.”

  “Oh,” she said. “It’s black-tie.” Then she hung up the phone.

  Of fucking course it is. Goodbye to you too.

  Poor Lucy. I had to call the woman back to watch Chloe after I’d already sent her home. And of course, like always, she agreed. Thankfully. There weren’t many nannies that would drop everything like she did.

  While I waited for her to return, I took a hot shower and rummaged around through my closet to find something that would be suitable. I texted Lighter to see if black-tie meant that I had to wear a jacket. These things weren’t my cup of tea.

  She texted me back to tell me that I had to have a jacket, a tie, and dress shoes. The only thing I had that was remotely nice to wear was the suit I’d worn when I was a pallbearer at my sister’s funeral. The damn thing was three years old, and I swore I’d never put it back on again. Might as well scratch that—it was the only thing I had. It was probably two sizes too small, but I didn’t have much of choice.

  I was going to have to take Chloe back-to-school shopping soon, so we probably needed to add suit shopping into our day. She’d get a kick out of that.

  Me in a suit. It was laughable for sure.

  Lucy showed up right on time, and I thanked her again for rushing over on such short notice. I was finding it easier and easier to like that woman. She was like the grandmother I never had, and she got to see the nice side of me. Not many people could say that. Usually, I was the biggest asshole on the planet. Not to her though, or Chloe.

  “May I?” She pointed toward my tie, just as I was getting ready to walk out the door.

  “Uh, yeah.” I nodded.

  She smiled up at me with a lopsided grin. She was trying not to laugh.

  “That bad, huh?” I shrugged.

  With a flick of her wrist, she had me hunched over so that I was at her level. She stood barely over five feet, so I was more than a foot taller than her. She yanked on my tie, and in just a couple of seconds, she had me straightened out.

  “Much better.”

  “Thank you,” I said sincerely. Who knew it was even in my vocabulary?

  “You’re welcome, dear. Be careful now.” She patted my arm and nearly shoved me out the door.

  Funny woman.

  Outside I whistled for a cab, hopping in quickly. It smelled like cheap cigars and sweat. It made my stomach turn, reminding me of all the reasons I loved walking. If I hadn’t been dressed in a penguin suit and afraid of not making it on time, I would’ve definitely walked.

  “Can you go any slower? Damn.” My freaking seven-year-old kid would drive better than this old dude.

  He flashed me a toothless smile and pretended he didn’t understand a word I was saying.

  Uh-huh. You’re not fooling anyone, old man.

  When we parked in front of the hotel, I climbed out quickly after tossing some cash in the old man’s direction. The place was lit up like Christmas at Rockefeller Center. Paparazzi lights were flashing, and there was a long red carpet leading to the entrance. Rolling my shoulders, I started out in search of Mr. Derosa. Crowds like these heightened my senses. I had to be on full alert.

  The event didn’t start for another fifteen minutes, so he probably hadn’t arrived yet. A man of his stature reveled at the thought of making a grand entrance.

  I stepped off to the side of the roped-off red carpet and checked my phone. No missed calls. I scrolled through my contacts and called Boomer. He was supposed to be leading the three-man team tonight.

  “Slick,” he answered.

  “Yeah. I need your location,” I told him.

  “The Derosas’ limo is arriving now. I’m stepping out of the truck. Where are you?” he asked.

  “Next to the red carpet. The place is packed. Be on high alert,” I warned him.

  “Got it. The limo is stopping in front right now. It’s the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter coach. Do you have a visual?”

  I glided through the throng of people until I had it in my sights. “Got it.” I hung up the phone and slid it into my coat pocket.

  Once the driver was around the side of the car, he opened their door. I stepped up close, just as Mr. Derosa stepped out.

  “Slick,” he greeted. His round belly was puffed out, making it look like the buttons of his jacket would shoot off if he let out a deep breath.

  I nodded at him. “Sir.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the shimmering silver of a high-heeled shoe stepping out of the limo. My head whipped around just as Lighter was being helped out of the car.

  Holy shit.

  It felt like someone knocked the wind out of me. Damn. My eyes raked over her, and my mouth watered like she was a fucking Thanksgiving turkey. She was wearing a silver dress that hugged her in all the right places. It went high up on her neck, and her hair was pulled up. Only tiny pieces curled around her face.

  That face.

  My dick was hard as a fucking rock, pressing firmly against the zipper of my pants. It was throbbing like it had its own heart, which was okay since my actual heart had stopped beating. She was absolutely gorgeous. I’d never seen her look so grown-up. Those eyes. Those lips.

  My God.

  I had
to fight the urge to reach out and touch her.

  I cleared my throat before rolling my neck around my shoulders.

  She’s eighteen, man. You’re thirty-five. Keep it together.

  When her eyes met mine, the whole world and all the chaos around us was gone. There was something innocent in those eyes, but something wicked in her smile, and those lips… Fuck me! They were sinful. I couldn’t help thinking about what they’d feel like pressed against mine. I bet she tasted sweet, like strawberries.

  She lowered her eyes toward the ground, and I could see the redness on her cheeks growing brighter. My thoughts must’ve been written all over my face, but I couldn’t hold them back.

  Her arm slipped gently around her father’s arm, and the two of them stepped forward, me flanking the back. That was the first time I’d gotten a glimpse of the back of her dress. If you could even call it that. I’d never felt more turned on by a spine and shoulder blades than I was at that exact moment. There was nothing covering her. Her spine, from neck to ass, was bare.

  I was about to explode at the sight of her. My dick was as hard as a concrete barrier. When she looked back at me over her shoulder and those thick dark eyelashes fluttered, the cheeks of my ass tightened. She was a tease, tempting and beautiful. All I could do was shake my head. It was going to be a long freaking night, and I was going to be jerking myself off in the men’s bathroom if she kept it up.

  With me hovering over her backside, I could be certain that no one else was getting the same view as me.

  No one.

  As soon as we were inside and her father’s attention was averted, I leaned in to say the words I’d been dying to say since the moment she’d stepped out of that limo.

  Lord forgive me.

  Twelve

  Lighter

  “You look gorgeous, Princess.”

  His hot, breathy words cascaded down my neck, causing me to tremble. I didn’t have a response. I could barely catch my breath. I knew the moment I stepped out of the limo what he was thinking. But thinking and hearing are two totally different things. His words had a paralyzing effect on me, stopping me dead in my tracks. Something about that intoxicatingly steel body of his wrapped up in a suit made my body tingle, and the need for his touch was stronger than ever.