Chapter Twenty
Ethan
It had been an incredible weekend. Kayla and I hadn't left the hotel for two whole days, and when my wake-up call came Monday morning, I had to order a fresh suit be delivered to the room from the Ralph Lauren store down the street.
"I had them bring up a new dress for you, too," I said to Kayla, and she squealed with delight.
"It's beautiful," she smiled, holding it up to her body as she stood in front of the mirror and admiring the way the blue color enhanced her eyes.
"You look even more beautiful," I complimented as I lowered the dress away from her naked body. "Especially with nothing on at all."
Kayla dropped the new dress to the ground and wrapped her arms around me in a passionate kiss. It stirred my longings again, but regretfully, I had pull myself away from her. We'd already fucked once in the bed when we first woke up and again in the shower just a few minutes ago. If this kept up, I'd never get to work and I needed to take full advantage of the momentum from Friday night's launch party. All the media outlets would be talking about it today, and the time to strike up deals with my investors and clients was now.
"You're driving me crazy, but I have to go," I apologized, and she just kept after me. Her sex-drive was insatiable and I loved it, but as CEO, I had to force myself to resist. Aggressively, I grabbed her by the wrists and pinned them behind her back. In a low, sexy growl I said, "Don't make me punish you for being a naughty girl. Get dressed and go home. Your phone will be ringing off the hook today with new job offers due to the release of the magazine Friday and all the press coverage you got at the party."
"I forgot about that." Kayla was suddenly beaming with excitement of a different kind.
I released her arms and said to her with a grin, "Make the most of this opportunity. Make me proud by letting yourself shine."
"I will." She kissed me happily and then started getting dressed. I listened as she chatted enthusiastically about the ambitions she had for her career and the jobs she hoped she got offered.
"Do you think any of them will call?" She looked suddenly worried as I straightened my tie one last time and headed for the door.
"I'm sure they will. Meet me for dinner tonight and you can tell me all about it," I said, caressing her cheek. I hated to leave her, and I couldn't wait to see her again.
"Where should I meet you?" I knew the answer immediately.
"Let's keep it quiet tonight. Meet me at the house in Beverly Hills. I'll have something special planned for us."
We kissed goodbye then, and I left instructions at the front desk to bill my credit card for the room after Miss Brandt checked out and to let her charge anything to my account that she needed.
The receptionist smiled knowingly, but I knew I could count on her to be discreet. Knowing whom I could trust with my secrets was how I had made it all the way to the top in this city of fallen angels and how I intended to stay there.
The office was buzzing with activity when I finally arrived, and I felt invigorated, not just by the ringing phones, but by the incredibly relaxing weekend I'd had.
"I hear you have a girlfriend now," Angela said to me as I approached my office door. She was blocking my entrance and there was no way to avoid her. Her voice sounded even, but her green eyes cut into me like jealous daggers.
"News travels fast," I quipped, trying to make light of it.
"Yeah, it travels even faster when you do it front of the paparazzi." Angela held up a gossip magazine with pictures of Kayla and me making out at the party and then another of us entering the hotel elevator together.
Angela tore out a page from the center of the magazine, and read it aloud with biting words. "Socialite Gwyneth Manzranni, a longtime friend of Colson, said, ‘Ethan confirmed to me that Kayla is his girlfriend. I'm so happy he finally found someone that makes him happy. They're a cute couple.’"
I flinched uncontrollably as Angela threw the magazine in my face. She reached up to slap me, but I caught her by the wrist. "Take it easy," I whispered.
"I guess I mean nothing to you, then?" she hissed.
"You mean everything to me. You're the best damn assistant I ever had, and the sex we shared was just what I needed to get through a lot of the tough days around here. You're brilliant, sexy, hardworking, and incredibly good at what you do. Don't think that just because we're not in love with each other that I don't value you."
"So, you admit it. You love her and not me."
"You can't tell me that you want there to be more between us," I said to her softly. "I'm impatient, moody, difficult to work with, and a complete asshole most of the time. We had some terrific times together fucking, but you don't love me."
"You are an asshole," she agreed with chagrin, and it broke the tension between us.
"You deserve someone far better than me to be your boyfriend. If you don't feel comfortable being my assistant anymore, I'll transfer to work somewhere else in the building or write you a recommendation letter for any other company in the country. I hate to lose you, though. A lot of the success of this company I owe to you and the incredible work you do. Just tell me what you want and I'll make sure you get to work there."
Angela looked mollified and I felt a sense of relief. I shouldn't have, though. There's a reason for the saying, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” and I should have remembered that.
"Thanks, but I think I'll stay working for you." She smiled at me, and I should have noticed the malicious gleam in her eye, but at the time, I mistook it as happiness. "Oh, by the way, one of your college friends is waiting in your office. He said he ran into you at the party and he wanted to meet with you about a business proposition."
"Oh, great. Who is it?" I felt glad that we were back to business as usual.
"Just go on in; you'll see." She sauntered away.
I entered my office and froze for half a second before regaining my composure. I locked the door swiftly before crossing the room to shake his hand.
"Charles Dorsey. How are you?" When we shook hands, his was sweaty and weak. He looked like shit. Even though we were both around the same age, he looked 20 years older than I did, with wrinkled jowls, a balding head, and a paunchy gut that hung down over his waistband. It made me glad that we'd taken different paths, or that could have been me, too.
"I'm good, ya know, I'm good," he stammered in a rush of words. "How are you? It looks like you're doing good; yeah, it looks like you're doing really good. We shared a lot of good times together back in the day; yeah, a lot of good times. Remember all the good times we shared?"
He sounded like he was itching for a fix, and the sight of him with his twitching eye and restlessly moving body sickened me.
"I don't remember those times as being quite that good. If I recall, they sucked pretty bad. I was always broke, unable to pay rent, barely able to focus. I lost my girlfriend and my friends, and I nearly lost my business and everything I owned.
“If it hadn't been for being locked up in that rehab center, I would have. Thank God Gwyneth loved me enough to dump me. It was the wake-up call that got me committed into rehab and saved me from losing everything else I had left."
"Yeah, so you know how rough it can be when you’re down," Charles said, missing the point entirely. "What do you say you help an old frat brother out? Fraternity brothers for life, remember? I just need a few thousand bucks to pay off some debts and get some medication that I need. You can see I've been sick."
"Yeah, I know just what kind of meds you need. Forget it. I'm going to help you in the best way I can — by not helping you at all. Get yourself checked into rehab, Charles. I'll even help cover the cost. Other than that, you're not getting a dime from me."
"How about a job then? I'm about to lose my house. I can't tell Lisa I got fired from another job; she'll leave me. Help me out. You owe me."
"How do I owe you?" I was getting pissed off now and started guiding Charles to the door.
"We were frat brothers. We were part of an unbreakable bond of brotherhood. All that you are is because of me."
"All that you are is because of addiction. Get out until you get yourself cleaned up." I shoved Charles out of my office door and called for security to escort him out.
"You haven't seen the last of me. Brothers don't stab brothers in the back like this," he was shouting hysterically as they hauled him away.
"Angela, how could let him in my office? He's obviously a wreck," I barked angrily, looking for my assistant.
"Oh, sorry. He said you were old friends, so I figured it would be okay." She smiled at me with exaggerated sweetness.
"Don't let him in the building again. In fact, don't let anyone in my office again without my permission, got it?"
"What? Sorry, but I can't take orders from you right now. I'm on my way out to lunch with Steve from finance."
"You mean my CFO?" I was flabbergasted. Why would she would be having lunch with him?
"It turns out that he needs a new assistant, so I'm transferring there. He invited me out for a champagne lunch to celebrate. I guess you're on your own for the rest of the day. Oh, and don't forget you have an interview in 15 minutes."
She gave me the finger as she blew me a kiss goodbye and then sauntered away. Shit! What a time to have my assistant quit, but I guessed I got what I deserved for thinking I could screw around in the office and never pay the price.
I was still struggling to delegate all of Angela's duties to other members of my staff when the interview reporter showed up with his cameraman.
"Never a dull moment at Speed Motorcycles," I joked as I guided them into my office. “I’m always racing around doing something."
The interview went smoothly. He had lots of questions about the All American, and I was able to really talk up the selling points of the bike in a conversational way. His questions about my relationship with Kayla gave the interview a little spark of gossip I knew would attract readers, and I was careful to keep my answers vague to keep them wanting more.
"Miss Brandt did a terrific job showcasing the All American in this month's issue of Speed Magazine. I respect her tremendously and felt a real connection with her when we were working together on the cover shoot. So, it was really good to see her again at the party."
"Are the rumors true that you two are now a couple?" the reporter pressed.
I knew Kayla would want me to say that we were, but my negative experience with Angela that morning had shown me how ugly break-ups are and reminded me just why I never wanted to be in a relationship. It put a blockade up in front of my heart, which had been opening up when I was alone with Kayla at the hotel all weekend, and slammed it shut again.
"No, we're just very close friends," I copped out, even though it made me feel disgusted with myself. "We had a very nice time at the party and I enjoyed working with her professionally, but I am still a confirmed bachelor with no plans to ever be in a committed relationship."
"I see. A lot of single women out there will be happy to know you’re still unattached, but disappointed to learn you plan to stay that way forever," the reported chuckled. He glanced at his watch and said, "I see our time together is up, but do you have time for one last question?"
"Of course, anything," I grinned. The interview had been going great and I wanted to end it on a high note for the company. I was hoping he'd ask me one last question about the future for Speed Motorcycles or what innovations we had planned next. It would be the perfect way to wrap up the interview and wipe out my guilt for betraying Kayla.
"Everyone is speculating on the one question you never seem to want to answer. Please tell our viewers, Mr. Colson: how did you come up with the name of your company, Speed Motorcycles?"
Shit. That was the last thing I wanted to have to talk about on television, especially after just kicking Charles Dorsey out of my office. I stood up and put my hands in front of the camera to hide my expression.
"Sorry, I forgot I have an important video conference with someone half-way around the world that I really can't delay. It would be an insult to them to keep them waiting. Thanks for coming in, and thanks for the interview. I love your show. I watch it all the time."
My walking powerfully forward, I managed to force the reporter and his cameraman to stagger backward until I had pushed them out of my office. As soon as they were clear of the threshold, I shut the door in their faces and locked it securely.
Exhausted, I collapsed into my chair. What a disaster today had been, and it wasn't even lunch yet. I was looking forward to my dinner date with Kayla more than ever. I needed to unwind, and I knew just how I wanted to do it. I had a feeling she would love the kinky new game I had in mind. I just had to make sure she didn't watch the television interview first.