Chapter Fifteen

Chase

Something about my argument with Chastity left me feeling the most unsettled that I’d felt in ages. So I did what I’d always done before she came into the picture – called Nolan and asked if we could go for drinks. A little aged Scotch, a little fresh pussy. That killer combo always made me feel so much better. Kind of like my mom putting a Batman Band-Aid on a skinned knee with a gentle kiss. Hell, who was I kidding? I wanted to get drunk to chase thoughts of Chastity’s lush, perfect body out of my mind. One tiny sip of her special essence would never be enough. When Nolan told me that he and Charlie had planned a quiet night in, I almost groaned. Then, he offered that I should join them.

“I don’t know,” I said. “You newlyweds need your time together…I don’t want to cut in. Third wheel isn’t my style.”

Nolan laughed. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Charlie’s about dying to break into this bottle of wine I brought home, but I don’t think I’m in the mood tonight. You feel like coming over and giving my wife a drinking buddy?”

Thirty minutes later, I stood on the front stoop of Nolan’s condo with a second bottle of wine, three Cuban cigars, and a lingering sense of anxiety. I couldn’t see how being in the presence of a couple was going to ease my upset over Chastity. Seeing Nolan and Charlie’s obvious epic love for each other would only make things worse.

Charlie threw her arms around me and dragged me into the kitchen. She chattered non-stop – Nolan had just surprised her with news of a holiday in Paris – and I could barely get a word in edgewise. As we sat down to dinner, my mind kept drifting toward Chastity. Her full lips, her lush breasts with their dusky nipples, her curvy hips. And her pussy. It felt like heaven and tasted like nirvana. My mouth watered.

It was pathetic. My whole life, I’d never wanted to show a girl how much I was agonizing over her. I used them and abused them and tossed them to the side after I’d had my heart shattered into a million pieces by her. Until this moment, it had been easy. Feelings weren’t involved other than the sensations needed to get my cock hard. Until I met Chastity, I’d never agonized over anyone. At least, aside from She Who Must Not Be Named.

“Chase,” Charlie said with a raise of her perfect eyebrows. Nolan had caught himself a looker and Charlie was just as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside. “I just noticed – you’re being so quiet.” She narrowed her eyes in concern and topped off my wine. “What’s going on? You can tell me. Is it work? Anything I can do to make it better?”

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, still soaked from the shower I’d taken shortly before heading over. “It’s Chastity,” I muttered. I waited for Nolan to burst out laughing and call me pussy whipped, but he didn’t say anything. In fact, he just stared.

“What’s wrong?” Charlie asked. “Did something happen?”

“Is she still a virgin?” Nolan cut in with a grin. When he saw the look on Charlie’s face, he sobered up. “I mean, not that the status of her hymen would be any of my business,” he said, rushing into cover. “Just wondering.”

“She’s not,” I said to Nolan. To Charlie, I shrugged. “I don’t know,” I admitted, not knowing how much to reveal. I almost wished Nolan would get lost, best friend or not. With Charlie, I could have actually told the truth without subterfuge. “We were…well, we were fine. We were having a great time.”

“And then what?” Charlie raised her eyebrows. “There’s always something, isn’t there? But I’m an expert with woman problems. Because I’m a woman.”

I nodded. “We went to the park earlier, so I could run. She wanted to study, and when I ran up she was giggling and hanging all over that mousy intern, what’s her name? Amber? You know, the one that looks like one of Callum’s polo ponies.”

“Angela,” Charlie clarified with a snort. She narrowed her eyes again. “Chase, I hope you didn’t make her feel like shit for paying attention to someone other than yourself. A woman’s girlfriends are crucial. They allow us to vent and giggle and do all those girlie things so we don’t have to do them with you men.” Her disapproving tone made it very clear how she felt about the matter.

“It’s not that,” I said, eager to clear my name. “It’s…well, that mouse started gushing all about me when I walked over. Like she was more interested in me than in Chastity. And Chastity ate it up – you could tell she was really blushing at the idea of someone calling me her boyfriend. Shit, Charlie, it’s new. I’m not her boyfriend, and I’m not sure if that’s even what I want. Or what she wants if we’re being honest. She’s hell-bent on graduating and launching her career.”

Charlie scoffed. She took a long sip of red wine and swirled the remaining wine around in her glass. “Chase, don’t be an idiot,” she said. Subtlety had never been an area where Charlie excelled. Being a corporate attorney made her a straight shooter.

“What?” I stared. “I’m not.” I pouted and clutched my hands to my chest as if Charlie had mortally wounded me with her words. In essence, a pointed attempt to deflect her away from hitting too close to home. “And I’m hurt you’d say such a thing.”

“Hey, stop flirting with my wife, douche,” Nolan said. He caught my eye and burst into a chuckle. Charlie stuck her tongue out at Nolan, but the annoyed glance on her face quickly turned to rapture. I rolled my eyes – I knew it was only a matter of time before dinner at Nolan’s turned into Peyton Place on Park Avenue. The only thing missing was a squealing baby. I hoped their future children would resemble their mother.

Charlie giggled. She tossed her long hair over her shoulders. “Look,” she said. “Chastity is young, Chase. Like, probably younger than anyone you’ve seriously dated before. She’s in college. Do you remember what it felt like to be in college?”

“Seriously dated? Charlie, that’s not my M.O. and you know it. I’m not about to change until I’m at least thirty.” Nolan and I shared a knowing glance. “But hell yeah, I remember college. All too well,” I said, sipping my wine. “And what’s your point?”

“Girls get excited to make new friends,” Charlie said. “I mean, I can’t tell you how many new friends I’ve made in the bathrooms at clubs and bars. There’s something about that feminine energy that just makes a new girlfriend so exciting. We need our girl time.”

I rolled my eyes. “That sounds like middle school,” I said in a tart voice.

Charlie snorted. “Yes,” she said and pursed her lips. “Because you and Nolan are oh-so-sophisticated when it’s your turn to socialize.” She eyed me. “I believe I once heard a story about a toga party you both hosted that turned into a wet t-shirt contest after a case of wine and a bottle of tequila?”

I chuckled. “Guilty as charged.”

“So, just give her time,” Charlie said. “She’s probably excited and overwhelmed.” She leaned closer. “I mean, she’s not from money, right? This is probably the first real adult experience she’s ever had. Working at Banks Realty is eye opening for everyone, but I can’t imagine what it would be like as a college student.”

“You’re probably right,” I admitted. “I’m probably just being paranoid.”

Charlie grinned. “Of course I’m right,” she said. “Now, how about some salad?”

***

Chastity

The following Monday at Banks, I couldn’t concentrate. Every time I tried to focus on an email, Chase flitted into my head. Of course, I was still mad at him. And I hated how fluttery my stomach felt every time I thought of the way he’d touched me or the way he smiled at me. Every noise, every voice caused my heart to skip a beat. Then skip another when I found out he hadn’t come down to see me on my floor.

God, you idiot, pull yourself together, I thought, pissed at myself for being so pathetic. This isn’t exactly like 1-800-Dial-A-Minx. It doesn’t really behoove me to sit here daydreaming. It was one blissful night, and now it’s over. Move the fuck on!

A knock on the side of the desk snapped my eyes up. I blushed when I saw Grantham Banks standing beside me – founder of Banks Realty and Nolan’s father. Shit. The man was intimidating and really good looking. If I were only a few decades older, I’d be salivating. He had that classy corporate look that reeked of wealth and privilege.

And power.

“Hey there,” Grantham said. Even though he had to be close to sixty, his suit clung to his toned physique and distinguished patches of grey littered his still thick head of hair. His trademark blue eyes twinkled, highlighting his tan. “How’re you?” he crooned.

“I’m fine,” I said as I tried to swallow past the lump in my throat. Why on earth would Grantham Banks be seeking out an intern? Didn’t he have better things to do? “Just trying to get some work done,” I added in a cheerful tone with a flourish of my hand toward my laptop. “Can I help you with something?”

Grantham grinned. Was it possible to get even sexier at his age? The smile lit his face, and tiny laugh lines appeared at the corners of his eyes, throwing me off.

“Now, now,” he said in a charming voice, giving me a saucy wink as if we were in on some grand conspiracy together. “Don’t start asking if there’s any favors you can do for me. I like to play it straight and narrow, Ms. Sexe. No nepotism here. Unless you count Bradenton. That no good bounder should probably be fired.”

He stepped closer and let his hand rest on my shoulder. The urge to shrug him off slithered up my spine, but I kept my body rigid. Instead, I feigned a cough and reached forward for a tissue.

“Sorry,” I said and then followed up with a lie covertly hidden as a passive-aggressive maneuver. “Getting over a cold.”

“Oh, I’ve got a great immune system.” Grantham raised his eyebrows at me, and I fought the urge to shudder. He winked again, and I felt my face freeze into a mask. What in the hell did he want from me? Even though his wife, Anne, was known as The Barracuda, this hottie could probably get rich pussy all over Manhattan. Closer to his own age. “Say, Ms. Sexe, you’re doing an excellent job so far.”

His lips said my name as if we were naked in bed together, and he’d just caressed me with his words. I blinked, chasing that mental image. I had to say something. Anything.

“I am?”

“Of course,” Grantham said, his voice lowering even further. “You think I haven’t noticed?” The coy tone made me want to groan. “I pay attention to everything that happens around here. And I do mean everything.”

I smiled through tight lips. I didn’t even want to show my teeth to this man. Without a doubt, I knew a predator stood before me. In business and in…life.

“I’m sure,” I said, hoping that would placate him. “If you’ll excuse me, I really have to get back to–”

“Oh, no time to talk to me?” Grantham wagged his finger in the air as though I were a toddler or perhaps a very stupid dog. “You can always talk to me, Chastity.” He laughed at his own importance. “Certainly, you won’t be fired for, um, cheering up the CEO. If that were the case, heads would roll. I do what I want around here.” His voice lowered as he leaned a few inches closer. “And I get what I want too.”

“I’m sure you do, sir,” I said thinly.

“Sir,” Grantham purred. “I like the sound of that on your lips.” He leaned against the edge of my desk, and a horribly musky wave of fear and trepidation washed over me. He could be my grandfather. If I had one. “I take it you’ve been…working…extra?”

I frowned. “Um, I don’t really understand what you mean.”

“Chastity,” Grantham said, condescension dripping from his mouth. “You don’t have to play games with me.”

My heart skipped a beat in my chest, and my palms began to sweat as I shook my head. “I’m not playing games. Just trying to get all my work done.” I gestured toward the monitor. “That’s all.”

“Chastity,” Grantham repeated. He leaned closer, and I screwed my eyes closed. He was like an abhorrent, Gucci-wearing clone of Donald Trump. “I think we both know I’m not talking about your work at Banks.”

I swallowed hard. “Then what are you talking about?” I found my nerve as I stared Grantham right in the face. “My schoolwork, at Hunter?”

Grantham’s lips curled into a predatory smile. Just as I shuddered at the thought of whatever vile, passive aggressive words were going to spew out of his mouth next, I saw Angela bouncing through the room.

“Hey!” Angela cried. She waved and skipped over to my desk, slightly breathless. Her cheeks were flushed, and her dark hair was tied back in a ponytail. “Hi, Mr. Banks!” She giggled at Grantham. “Helping Chastity with her work?”

Grantham’s face contorted into a grimace. No longer so handsome, he looked as if he’d swallowed a urinal cake.

“No,” he said, puffing out his chest. “I was just leaving.” He gave Angela a tight smile, then turned his gaze back to me. “Good talk, Chastity.” I cringed as he reached out to pat me on the shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. As if he wanted more. As if he wanted to caress my body.

“Oh my god,” Angela breathed. “That guy is such a creep! But his name’s on the door you know, and he could make or break our careers. He’s a billionaire. With a capital B. Good thing Nolan’s not such a douche. When I consider Grantham and Anne, that apple not only fell far from the tree, it took six gigantic bounces and a roll.”

I burst into nervous laughter. “God, I’m so glad I’m not the only person who thinks that,” I replied. “He really skeeves me out! He tried to pretend that we have some kind of inside joke between us, and I’ve only seen the man a few times in my life. I never knew him before I met Chase.”

“Good talk, Chastity,” Angela mimed. We giggled together as she perched on my desk and crossed her legs at the ankle.

“What’s up?”

“Well, I actually need help with something but that can wait a second,” Angela said. She grinned like a cat at the cream bowl and leaned in close. “So, did I actually see you with Chase Bradenton?”

I nodded. “You did.” I twisted my hands in my lap, hoping Angela wouldn’t notice how nervous I suddenly felt. The last thing I needed was to cry in front of her. Or get into defining something that couldn’t be defined. Opening the Pandora’s Box of emotion meant paying the price with nausea and sleeplessness. I almost wished my hymen was still intact. “Not that it means anything.”

She smirked at me. “I’m smarter than I look,” Angela said. She tossed her ponytail over her shoulder. “So are you guys like, an item?” She waggled her eyebrows on the last word, making me blush. The sex thing was too new. Too raw. I didn’t even want to think about it let alone articulate it to an almost stranger. “You can totally tell me,” she said, miming a cross over her heart with her index finger. “I won’t tell a soul.” I watched as Angela pretended to zip her lips, then throw the key over her shoulder.

I knew that I shouldn’t be gossiping in the workplace, but the truth was, I was dying to bounce my feelings off another female. If only I knew if Angela could be trusted. Trina had barely spoken to me since the Jerk Chicken Debacle. And it wasn’t like I could call my junkie of a mother to gush about my new boyfriend. Mom hadn’t even noticed when I’d moved out of the house after I started at Hunter. I highly doubted she was going to care about Chase Bradenton, unless she thought his wealthy connections could get her some pure smack. I searched Angela’s face for an indication of insincerity. Finding none, I caved.

“I don’t know what we are,” I confessed. “We’ve been seeing each other, but I don’t know how he feels about me. Or if he feels anything other than a throbbing sensation between his legs.”

“Well,” Angela drawled. She looked smug. “How do you feel about him? Where has he taken you?” She leaned closer. “What do you guys talk about? Oh my god, have you seen his house yet?” She raised her eyebrows. “Is it totally killer? This is like a fairytale.”

I blinked, then smiled. “It’s perfect,” I admitted as Angela scooted closer. Visions of Chase’s luxe condo flashed through my head. “Let me tell you all about it.”