CHAPTER SEVEN
For the first time in years, when Saturday morning came around Sasha did not get out of bed until eleven o’clock. She’d slept fitfully the night before and hadn’t fallen into restful sleep until just before sunrise. When the alarm on her phone buzzed her awake she groaned. “Hello?” Her voice was muffled, still thick with sleep.
“Are you still in bed?” Amber’s cheerful Saturday morning voice made Sasha wince. “Don’t tell me you slept in. That’s not like you.”
“Mmhmm.” It was all Sasha could manage. She was still groggy from the night before. She didn’t know if it was all the drinks she’d had or if it was the sleepless night she'd had, thinking about Dante and what she’d done with him. All she knew was that she just wanted to push her head under the pillow and not peep out for another two hours.
“Are you all right, Sasha?” She heard the concern in Amber’s voice. “This isn’t like you. You’ve always been an early bird, even after nights when we go out.”
“It’s not like we do that often,” Sasha reminded her. “Three times in the past year? Not enough for you to know what I’m like afterward.”
“I know enough,” Amber insisted, “and I know this is not you. You’ve never stood me up before.”
“Stood you up? What are you talking about?”
“You were supposed to meet me at Nora’s at ten-thirty, remember? For breakfast?”
“Oh, shoot.” Sasha raked her fingers through her hair. “I forgot about that.”
“Yes, you did,” Amber confirmed, her voice full of reproach. “Silly me, I sat there for almost fifteen minutes before I gave up on you. I thought you were just running late.”
“Why didn’t you call me earlier?”
“I left my cell phone in the car and then was too lazy to go back out and get it. Oh, well, let’s just say I paid the price.”
“Where are you now?” Sasha asked.
“Back in my car. I’m just pulling out of the parking lot. I’m coming over to see you.”
That made Sasha grip the phone tighter. “No. Please. I look…terrible.” She felt terrible, too. She was in no mood for a visit, especially from a friend who was liable to chat her ear off.
“Who cares? I’m your best friend. Who better to see you when you’re a mess?” Then she paused. “Wait. Why are you looking terrible? Sasha Force, are you up to something that you’re not telling me about?” Then she gasped. “Sasha no-good-friend Force. Did you find a man and not tell me about it? Are you keeping him secret? Who is he? You know I’ll find out. I have my ways-”
“All right, all right. Just tone it down, will you?” She was wrinkling her forehead, her head beginning to throb. “Okay, you can come over. I’ll tell you all about it when you get here.”
“About it or about him?”
“About…whatever. I’m not going to say a word till you’re here.”
“I’m on my way,” Amber said, her voice just a little bit too eager.
“No rush,” Sasha told her. “Take your time.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Amber hung up.
Sasha knew her friend. Amber would be making a beeline for her house, anxious to hear the latest news about her practically non-existent love life. The news that something was finally happening must be driving her crazy. She was going to have a hard time keeping her friend calm when she heard the latest.
Knowing that Amber would be pounding on the door in just a few minutes, Sasha climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom. It took her less than fifteen minutes to shower, dress and brush her hair up into a neat ponytail. Five minutes later she heard a knock at the door.
When she went down and opened the front door Amber rushed past her. “What took you so long?” she demanded. “Where is he?”
“Where’s who?” Sasha decided to play dumb.
“Your man. The man who wore you out last night.” Amber was standing in the foyer, looking around like she expected the man to pop out from behind the drapes.
Exasperated, Sasha sighed and shook her head. “Will you stop it?” Then she grabbed her friend’s arm. “Come on upstairs with me. There’s something I want to show you.”
Her eyes gleaming with curiosity, Amber began to follow her toward the stairs. “Is it something to do with your man?” She stressed the last two words like they gave her great pleasure.
Sasha decided to keep her in suspense. “Maybe.” That was all she said until they got to her bedroom. There, she let go of Amber’s arm. “See that?” she said. “That was what I wore last night. You know what that means.”
Amber turned to look in the direction in which Sasha was pointing. When her friend saw what she was pointing at, her eyes widened. “That dress,” she gasped. “The dress. The one you wear when you mean business.” She whirled around to look at Sasha, eyes narrowed. “Tell me you didn’t.” When she didn’t get an immediate response she sucked in her breath. “Sasha Force, don’t tell me you went to a nightclub, picked up a strange man and had a one-night stand.”
Sasha went over to sit on top of the bed. “Nope. I did nothing of the sort.”
“Thank God,” Amber breathed then went and flopped down in the armchair, right on top of the dress in question. “I thought you’d gone and done something stupid. You have your reputation to think about, you know.”
Sasha gave her a rueful smile. “But what I did wasn’t much better.”
Amber sat up in the chair. She was frowning. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She bit her lip then she shrugged. “I’ll tell you if you promise not to go all crazy on me.”
Amber nodded. “Promise.”
Sasha didn’t have much faith in that promise but she’d come this far. Her friend would never forgive her if she turned back now.
“I did go out with a man last night,” she said, her lips curving in a guilty smile.
Amber jerked forward in her chair. “You did? Where did you go? Who was it?” Then her gaze turned sly. “What did you do?”
Sasha shook her head. “So many questions. Where to start?”
“Start at the beginning.” Amber was looking like a kid about to be served her favorite ice cream. “Is he someone I know?”
“No, he’s not someone you know. In fact…,” she paused, wondering how her friend would react, “I’ve known him less than two weeks.”
Amber gasped. “What? And you slept with him? He must be one special man to be able to get into your pants that quick.”
It was those words, Amber’s dash of cold reality, that made Sasha feel the first twinge of shame. What kind of woman was she, to go and make love to a man she barely knew? What was it about Dante that made her want him so badly that she would totally ignore her own rules? Had she gone mad?
Sasha swallowed, suddenly unsure of herself, not wanting to continue. But Amber was waiting and she would not be denied. She would have to finish what she had started.
Her voice was low as she began. “He…I can’t explain it but from the first day I met Dante I was attracted to him. It’s not even like we’re in the same class but somehow he’s different. So different.”
Amber was frowning. “What do you mean, in the same class? What kind of man is he?”
It took Sasha a few seconds to muster up the courage to respond. She didn’t look at Amber as she said her next words. “He’s my chauffeur.”
“He’s your what? You had sex with a man who works for you? The driver?”
Sasha grimaced. She still didn’t look at Amber. “Yes.” She waited for the disbelief and the laughter.
“Wow,” Amber said. “I remember telling you that you might fall for a regular guy but I never really thought it would happen.” Then her gaze narrowed. “You do like him, don’t you? You’re not just using him for your kicks.”
“I wish.” Slowly, Sasha shook her head. “That’s the problem. I do like him but we are so…different. He works for me, for goodness sake.”
“Would you have felt any better if he’d been your COO or your vice president of something or other?”
Sasha pursed her lips. “Maybe.”
Amber nodded and she wasn’t smiling. “I thought so. It’s a class thing. Because he doesn’t hold a powerful position in a corporation or hasn’t inherited a business like you have, he’s not good enough.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You don’t have to.” Amber got up and came over to sit beside her on the bed. “I want you to think about something, Sasha. When love comes knocking at your door it may not be in the way you expect. Do you love this guy?”
“Love? I’m nowhere near there. Am I attracted to him? For sure. Do I like him? At first I didn’t but the more I know of him the more he’s growing on me. But I made a stupid move, Amber. I went and slept with the guy.”
Her friend didn’t look perturbed, which was a real surprise. “We all do stupid things sometimes,” she said, “but I know you. Even while you’re being crazy I know you’re being careful.” She fixed a pointed look on Sasha. “You were, weren’t you?”
“Of course. I’m not stupid.” She sighed. “At least that was one thing I did right.”
Amber patted her on the leg. “Don’t worry about this too much. Things will work out. Where a relationship with this man is concerned, if it is to be it will be,” then she smiled, “even if he’s just an ordinary guy.”
“But that’s the thing. He is no ordinary guy. He knows too much about the business world to be ordinary. Just listening to him speak you can tell he’s really smart. I just…” she shook her head, “…I just can’t figure him out.” She paused as she remembered something she’d learned about him. “I’ve got it. I know how I’m going to find out about Dante. Rafe was the one who recommended him to the transport manager. All I have to do is tackle Rafe.”
Amber smiled then she squeezed Sasha’s hand. “I feel a lot better, knowing he’s someone Rafe would recommend. Now all I’m going to ask you to do is give love a chance. You’ve denied yourself love for way too long.”
Sasha didn’t have much to say after that. She was way too busy thinking of the dilemma into which she’d dropped herself. Amber was seeing everything through rose-colored glasses, talking about giving love a chance. Meanwhile, Sasha was thinking about how she would face Dante next time he came to pick her up. What the heck do you say to a man you’d slept with after a night of dancing and drinks? Not only slept with, but climbed on top of? She was turning red just thinking about it.
As she sat, only half listening to Amber’s chatter, her mind turned to the one option that seemed sensible. At all costs, she would have to avoid Dante. There was no way she could let him get the chance to look her in the eyes and gloat.
First thing Monday morning she would find out if Emile was back.
***
Dante had a problem on his hands. The ruse he’d planned with Rafe had been innocent enough, as ruses went. All would have been well if he hadn’t gone and gotten his heart tied up in the whole thing.
The truth was, he was beginning to fall for Sasha. Hard. It had started out with attraction. And who could blame him? She was a beautiful woman. Stunning. When he’d started out his intention had been to simply make her fall for him just to prove a point and win a bet.
But then, to his chagrin, after only a week his interest in Sasha had moved past mere attraction. That was why he’d done his best to impress her with his business knowledge. That was why he’d given her suggestions, trying to solve her business problems. It was why he’d gone out of his way to charm her at dinner.
It was because he was growing to like her much more than he should, and that was a problem.
Dante knew Sasha had no idea who he was. She’d invited him to dinner and then she’d gone dancing with him, thinking that he was nothing more than a limo driver. But it hadn’t stopped there. She’d shown him that she wanted him, too. And she hadn’t been afraid to go for what she wanted. He liked that. He admired her for not letting the assumed differences between them get in the way. He had a whole new respect for her, a woman who would not let class get in the way of a possible relationship, maybe even love.
But was that what she wanted or was he reading too much into their night’s sexual adventure? Was she the kind of woman who could or would take sex lightly? Somehow he didn’t think so.
After Friday night’s episode, though, he made a decision. He would not be rushing to see Sasha again. He would take a break from the limousine run just for a little while to give her some space. He’d told Rafe he would do the stint for two weeks but there was nothing in their agreement that said it had to be two consecutive weeks.
That resolved in his mind, he picked up the phone to call his friend. He’d dialed only one number when the doorbell rang. He frowned. He wasn’t expecting anyone, especially not before nine o’clock on a Saturday morning. He shoved the phone back into his pocket, left the kitchen and went toward the door. He heard Rafe before he even saw him.
“Hurry up, you bum. What’s taking you so long?”
Dante laughed. “Keep that up and I’ll make you stand out there till you get some manners.”
“All right, I’m done. Just let me in, will you?”
Dante opened the door to a grinning Rafe. “Don’t tell me you were still in bed at this hour,” he said.
Dante grimaced. “Do I look like I was in bed? I’ve been up over an hour. What are you doing on my doorstep this early?’
When he moved aside Rafe stepped past him and into the foyer. “Golf,” he said with a shrug. “What else?”
“How was it?”
“Not so good. I hit way too many bogeys. I’ll head back to the course tomorrow. You’re coming?”
“Sure. It’s been a while since I gave you a good whipping.”
Rafe snorted. “As if you could.” Not waiting for Dante, he headed for the den. “I owe you a fine beating after you stood me up like that.”
“Are you still on that?” Dante said to his back as he followed him down the hallway. “I told you I’d be out late last night so I wouldn’t be in any shape to go golfing early this morning.”
By this time they’d reached the den. Rafe made a beeline for his usual spot on the far end of the leather sofa and reached for the PS4 remote. “So who had pity on you and decided to go out with you last night?”
“Who do you think? What did you call her? Her royal highness.”
“Sasha?” Dante stared at him, his look incredulous. “Sasha went out with you?”
“Of course. In fact, I didn’t have to do the asking. She was the one who asked me out.”
Rafe looked at him askance. “I find that hard to believe.”
“Well, believe it. I made such a good impression on your friend that she had to get her some of this.” He flexed his muscles, a wide grin on his lips. He was kidding around. He knew it and Rafe knew it. Sasha Force was not the kind of lady who would go gaga over a guy’s body.
For once his friend didn’t immediately start playing video games. He leaned back in the sofa and looked across at Dante. “Seriously, what happened? How did you get a date with Sasha? I thought she would have told you where to get off if you so much as looked at her. How come you’re so lucky?”
Dante chuckled. “Remember what I told you. There’s not a woman born who can resist my charm.” Then he laughed outright. “All joke aside, I had to work my butt off to get on her good side. She had a production issue. Thankfully, because of my experience with manufacturing I was able to give her some suggestions. I think that’s what made the difference.”
Rafe made a sound like a grunt. “She was probably wondering what the heck a chauffeur could know about manufacturing.”
“You got that right. Although I was giving her run-of-the-mill suggestions, coming from Dante, the limo driver, it must have sounded brilliant.”
“I’ll bet.” Rafe straightened up on the sofa. “And because she was so impressed by you she asked you out?”
“That’s my guess. Why else would she?”
“Why, indeed.” His voice trailed off and he looked thoughtful. “Lucky for you she did. It got you your first date.”
“More than that, it-”
Rafe’s cell phone rang, cutting him off. “Sorry,” he said and tapped the button to answer. “What’s up?” There was a pause while he listened. “You’re just getting there? I already left.” Another pause and then he said, “I already did a couple of hours. That’s good enough for one day.” The call lasted only about a minute then he hung up.
“Golf buddy of mine,” he said. “Member of the country club. He was supposed to golf with me this morning but I guess he overslept.” Then he dropped the cell phone onto the seat beside him. “But enough about that. What I want to talk about is you and Sasha. It sounds like you’re on a roll.” He chuckled. “I guess I shouldn’t have questioned your capabilities.”
“No, you shouldn’t.” He gave Rafe a pointed look but then he laughed. “To be perfectly honest with you, at first I tried charming the pants off her but it was the woman who was steering the ship this time around. I was a mere passenger.”
Rafe frowned. “Meaning?”
“Meaning, she took charge. It was like she was the one doing the seducing, not me.” Then he threw in something that he knew would mess up Rafe’s head. “She’s one passionate little miss. I found that out soon enough.”
Rafe shot him a suspicious glance. He sat forward in his chair. “What did she do?”
Dante only smiled. “That’s as much as I’m going to say. All I wanted to do was let you understand that I’m well on the way to winning the bet.” He gave Rafe a sly look. “In fact, some might say I’m already there.”
Rafe jerked back in his seat. “You dog. You’ve done it. You slept with Sasha.”
Dante felt a self-satisfied smile begin to creep onto his lips. Not wanting to give things away he got up quickly before Rafe could have a good look at his face. He preferred to keep his friend guessing, at least until he’d completed his two-week stint.
He was already turning away toward the door. “Falling for someone is a mental process,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be physical. All I’m going to say is that I think she’s falling for me.” Then he added, under his breath, “Just like I’m falling for her.”
“What was that?”
“Nothing. What say we go grab some breakfast? Let’s hit the kitchen. I’ll rustle up some grub.”
Rafe was on his feet right away. “Cool. After all that golfing I’m starving.” He was rubbing his belly as he followed Dante toward the kitchen.
Suddenly, he halted. “Hey, where’s my cell phone?”
Dante glanced back to see him patting his pockets. “You just got that call on it,” he said. “Go check if you left it in the den.”
He ran back to get the phone but when he returned he had a frown on his face. “The line was still open,” he said. “No-one was on but it looks like I didn’t close that call.” His frown deepened. “I hope he didn’t sit in on our conversation.”
Dante’s movements stilled and he gritted his teeth. “Holy shit. Do you think he would do something like that?”
“I don’t know.” Rafe wasn’t looking too happy at the thought.
Dante shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not like he knows Sasha or me, right?
“Well, he doesn’t know you.”
Dante’s heart tightened. “He knows Sasha?”
Rafe nodded.
“Oh, shit,” Dante breathed. “I can only hope he knows lots of Sashas. If not, you’re screwed.” Then he shook his head. “No, I’m screwed.”
Rafe grimaced. “If he doesn’t keep his mouth shut we’re both screwed.”
With that in mind it was a subdued pair who sat down to breakfast that morning. Dante could only hope, where it concerned their conversation, Sasha would never find out.