Chapter 9
Devon
The day went by way too slow for my liking. It seemed like I was having a bastard of a time focusing on what needed to be done. I might as well have stayed home today considering the amount of work I got accomplished.
“So, now that business is out of the way, let’s get down to the fun stuff. Who was that mystery woman you took to the Golden Ball last night?”
Chuckling, I closed the folder containing a proposal I’d just finished sighing and pushed it across my desk to Amy Campbell. Amy and I had hooked up briefly back when we attended college together, but we’d stayed friends ever since. I’d studied business while she did law, so it only made sense that she was one of my lawyers. Why hire a stranger when you could hire someone you trust? In business, it was the people you trusted that you kept in key positions close to you. Amy had been at the event, but I hadn’t had the chance to introduce her to Abigail.
Leaning back in my leather swivel chair, I steepled my fingers before me and considered my response. “Her name is Abigail.”
“And…?” She leaned forward in her chair, waiting for details. “Where did you meet her? She seemed a little out of place.”
“I think she looked great.”
“She’s beautiful, I’m not saying that. What I’m saying is that she looked nervous and uncomfortable.”
“I suppose she was.”
“Is she some new socialite on the scene? What’s her last name?”
“Whitney. Her name is Abigail Whitney.”
I could see impatience peeking through her expression. There were times when I suspected Amy still had a thing for me. I didn’t think it would be too hard to get her back in the sack, but that would be a conflict of interest. It was bad enough that I considered her one of my closest friends and confidents, and I didn’t want to ruin that.
“Since you are itching for the details, she’s actually my maid.”
Her expression became unreadable as she cocked her head and stared at me as if I’d just told her that the sky was green and the ocean red. “Your maid?”
“Sure.” I shrugged. “Why not?”
“Devon, I shouldn’t have to tell you that there’s tons of gold-diggers out there.”
“She’s not a gold-digger. I ran into her when I went home early, I was attracted to her and figured she’d be a good date for the event. Why not?” I tried to be as nonchalant as possible over it. One thing I wasn’t about to tell her was the bet I had running. There’s a reason why I used one of the other lawyers to draw up the contract.
“Right.”
“And let’s be honest here. When have you ever known me to fall for a woman? She’s just a toy for the next little while until I move onto the next.”
Giving her head a shake, her shoulder length blonde hair swaying across her shoulders, I saw apprehension in her eyes. Then she hit me with a comment I never expected to hear from her. “You know, this whole player, forever bachelor routine you have going is getting a little old.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re thirty-two years old, Devon. You’ve never been married and have no children. Maybe you should give some thought to dating women who might be a more compatible match for you on a more permanent basis. You’ve built this empire, and who do you plan to pass it on to? Not to mention, I’ve heard through the grapevine that the shareholders are beginning to grumble about your personal life.”
Anger surged through me and my voice rose. “My personal life doesn’t have a fucking thing to do with my ability to run my company.”
She leaned forward in her chair, her breasts pushing up displaying her enticing cleavage. She knew I was a breast man and she was doing what she could to get me to notice. I reused to indulge in a glance.
“I know it’s been a long time since we’ve been together, but to be honest I always hoped you’d give us another shot. But this time, as more than just fuck buddies. I’ve always loved you, Devon.”
I stared at her, flabbergasted. What in the fuckity, fuck fuck did that mean? Where in the fuck had that come from? Lots of thoughts were racing through my head, but none of it could be formed into a cohesive reply. I took a second to gather myself before responding. This was a delicate situation I had going on right now, I had to handle it properly.
“Amy.” I leaned forward and looked her straight in the eye. “I’ve always seen you as one of my closest friends and confidents. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you covering my ass. You’ve gotten me out of a lot of sticky situations. But you know relationships and all that isn’t in my genes.” I shrugged. “It’s not something I want or will ever want. My business is my child and I don’t need to be tied down.” Reaching across the desk, I took her hands in mine over the folder. “You deserve so much better than me.”
Our gazes locked and the silence was deafening as we stared at each other. Thankfully, after a minute she broke the silence. “I guess you’re right.” She shrugged, snatching her hands from mine as if my touch had burned her. “It was just an idea.” Getting up from the chair, she rushed across the room and opened the door. “Forget I even mentioned it,” she said over her shoulder, exiting my office and closing the door behind her with a little more force than I felt necessary.
Fuck me senseless. I fell back into the chair with a loud huff.
~*~ TT ~*~
Abigail
We hadn’t nailed down if I was still his maid during my stay here, so I assumed I would be. Besides, I really didn’t have much else to do with my time, and things needed to be done around this huge house. A home this size meant a massive amount of dust. The good news was that I wouldn’t be forced to wash soiled bed sheets every day anymore, and wouldn’t have used condoms and underwear to pick up.
This arrangement was having some seriously great side benefits.
As usual, Isabella had gymnastics camp today, leaving me alone to tend to the house. It was nice not having to ride the subway with her to the club; Devon’s driver did the drop off and pick up now. Isabella said she felt like a princess having someone dedicated to chauffeuring her in a big, fancy car. We currently didn’t own a vehicle; not that you really needed on in New York, as the public transportation system was top notch.
I was in the process of dusting the foyer, my hair in its typical ponytail and wearing sweatpants with a tank top, when I heard the ding of the elevator behind me. Finishing with the painting I was dusting off, I spun around to see Devon emerge.
A little tingle of excitement ran through me at seeing him and I unconsciously ran my tongue along my lower lip. “Devon. You’re home early… Again…”
Laughing, he shrugged. “Yeah, well, it was a light day.”
“I see.” I had a crazy urge to go over to him and give him a welcome home hug, then dismissed the idea as quickly as it came to me. “You seem to be having a string of light days.”
“You’re out of uniform.” He walked past me and began ascending the stairs, ignoring my observation.
Shit. He wanted me to wear the uniform. Considering the situation, I assumed he wouldn’t care. “I apologize. I just didn’t…” I chased after him, up the stairs, down the hallway and into his bedroom entranceway. “I can wear my uniform tomorrow…”
As soon as he reached the bedroom, he began to strip down as I stood uncomfortably in the doorway. “Came to enjoy the show?” He pushed down his pants and then kicked them off, leaving him naked except for his boxer briefs. Déjà vu.
“No… I - ” I spun around, my cheeks growing warm, hearing his underwear being stripped off.
He laughed behind me. Fuck, the asshole was smug. But he was already beginning to grow on me. When I called him an asshole in my head, the conviction in the statement was waning. “Come talk to me while I shower.”
Talk to him while he’s in the shower? I waited until I heard the water turning on in the shower and the sound of the glass door closing before following him inside. The glass was frosted so even though I could see his shape, I couldn’t get a good view of his dick.
“What do you want to talk about?” I asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable as I watched his hands run over his body, lathering himself up.
“What do you want to do tonight?”
“Tonight? Are we going to spend the entire month going on dates every night?”
“Not every night, sometimes during the day on the occasional day that I take off.”
“You never take time off.” Or at least he hadn’t since I’d worked for him.
“The beauty of being the boss, sweetheart.”
“I suppose.”
“I take wagers very seriously.”
He pulled the door open enough to stick his head out. Water ran down his face and dripped from a strong chin sporting a shadow. He had the most incredible grey eyes, especially in the light of the bathroom which made them look almost blue. My pussy clenched, and I ached to strip down and join him in the shower. I could envision myself being pushed up against the ceramic wall, with him slipping himself into me from behind.
“Don’t think that you can just live here attempting to avoid me and win the bet,” he reminded me. “You’re expected to go out with me as often as I like, no objections. It was in the contract.”
Was it? I thought hard about the clauses in the contract and it hit me. Yes, there had been a clause mentioning we’d have dates at Devon’s discretion – his attempts to woo me, I suppose. I hadn’t thought much of it when I was signing the contracts, but now I was beginning to realize how dangerous this could be.
I composed myself and smiled at him. What was a few dates? All I had to do was see him as a buddy and ignore the attraction between us. I just needed to keep reminding myself that this was just a game for him.
For me, this my job.
“I can’t wait to see what you have planned for us tonight.” I wasn’t being completely untruthful. I was looking forward to what he planned for us this month. I just hoped my heart could take it.