Chapter Seven

Gabriel

I wasn’t sure if I would ever look at the infinity pool the same way again. I mean it was known to be one of the places where people went to fuck, but I didn’t realize how erotic it could be. Of course, that could also be the company I was sharing it with. Penny looked so hot in her teal string bikini, but I wasn’t wasting any time. I decided being bold was the best answer to that situation. I couldn’t help but chuckle, thinking about the way her eyes opened wide when I first dropped my towel and walked into the water. I could tell she thought she was being bold with that bikini, but I definitely showed her up.

It had been a great night, but now I was stuck at work, staring at my computer screen, with Penny on my mind. She was so damn sexy, and incredibly amazing at the same time. I was starting to think about her way more than I should. My phone rang, and as I grabbed it, I saw Jay’s number pop up on the screen.

“Hey, man,” I said, answering with a sigh. “What’s up?”

“Not much, man,” he replied. “Wanted to see if you wanted to go to the club tonight? Maybe hit up the third floor and get some action?”

“I don’t know, man,” I said. “I’m pretty damn tired.”

“Oh yeah? Did you see that chick from the club last weekend?”

“Yeah,” I snorted. “I did a little more than see her. I fucked the hell out of her in the infinity pool.”

“See? This is why you are my motherfucking hero,” Jay said, clapping his hands.

I wanted to tell him there was more to it than sex, but at the same time, I wasn’t even sure I was ready to admit that in my own head, much less out loud. I didn’t know what was going on, but it definitely had taken everything in my power not to invite her to my place to spend the night. I hadn’t had a woman spend the night in my place ever, at least not at the Avalon. “Yeah, but guess who her father is?”

“Who?” He sounded worried.

“Randall Wesley, the investment banker,” I said.

He was silent for quite a while, and I didn’t blame him at all. Randall Wesley was a name that everyone in the business knew, and not for good reasons. He was a dirty investor, always two steps away from getting in trouble, but always making it through unscathed. I didn’t know if the man had nine lives, or help from inside, but it was insane to watch him work.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, man,” he said, speaking quietly. “The dude is dirty, everyone knows that. Do you think his daughter is oblivious to it?”

“Honestly? Yeah,” I said, chuckling. “Seriously, dude, Penny is absolutely amazing, and she has the best heart of anyone I’ve met in the building.”

“Dude, that’s not saying that much,” he chuckled.

“I’m serious, man,” I said, realizing I was getting carried away but not giving a shit. “Dude, she is seriously mind-blowing. It’s been a while since I’ve wanted to spend this much time around a woman.”

“I don’t know, man,” he said.

“Look, I’ve never been a bad judge of character, except maybe the ex, but I was like twenty,” I said, trying to convince him. “Penny is unlike any girl I have ever met. She is not the typical rich girl whose goals are nothing more than to marry rich and birth heirs to their empires. She has goals, she is ambitious, and she is incredibly intelligent. She’s like the whole package wrapped up in one tiny person—sexy as hell.”

“I know, man,” he said. “I hear you, but I just want you to be careful. Getting wrapped up with a man like Wesley can do more than just hurt you personally. It can hurt your company as well. No one is going to want to work with you if they think you’re dealing with a stock market mob boss.”

“Is that what they call him?”

“No,” Jay chuckled. “But do you like that? I just came up with it.”

“Creative,” I said flatly.

“I mean, hey, man, maybe this Penny chick doesn’t even know about her father’s dirty dealings,” he said, trying to be supportive. “I’m just telling you to be careful because if she’s as smart as you think she is, she could be completely fooling you. I don’t want to see you hurt, or see all the hard work you’ve done your whole life go up in a cloud of smoke because of a man like Wesley. I’m just being a friend.”

“I know, Jay,” I said. “I appreciate it very much. It’s just hard to believe that someone so sweet and so curious about the world would know about her father’s dirty dealings and be okay with them. It would definitely shock me if she was involved in any way, and you know I don’t get shocked very often. This girl is really special, man. It’s starting to drive me nuts when I’m not around her.”

“Wow, man,” Jay said, taken back. “I never even heard you talk about Sarah like that when you first met her. You sound like you are freaking in love already. Maybe you should pump the breaks a bit before you go swimming right off the edge of that infinity pool.”

“It’s not that,” I said. “I mean, she’s incredible. She has all the qualities of a woman who any man would want, but one thing she isn’t is someone who would put up with her father being a crook.”

“All right, man,” Jay said, “then I am glad you are happy. Just be careful with her pops, that’s all.”

“Trust me, Jay, I would never put my company in harm’s way, not for any girl on this planet,” I said.

“Good,” he replied. “Well, have a good night, bro. We’ll catch up soon. Just give me a call if you want to hook up on Saturday.”

“Will do,” I said, hanging up the phone.

I sat there for several minutes thinking about what he said, still sure that Penny had no idea that her father was into some seriously shady shit. Either way, I wasn’t going to get involved with him, just to cover my own ass. I looked down at my buzzing phone and opened the text screen. I had received a new message from Penny. She was inviting me to dinner the next night, Friday, but the catch was, it was with her and her father. That was definitely problematic and incredibly ironic, considering I just had a conversation about him with Jay. I took in a deep breath and sent her a message back thanking her, but letting her know that I had a business meeting planned for Friday night. It was absolutely a lie, but I didn’t know what else to say in that situation. I wasn’t ready to deal with Penny’s father, not yet. I didn’t know what, if anything, Penny and I were going to end up being. Until I did, I was only too happy to stay the hell away from her old man.