Chapter Seven
Alfie
The rest of the evening was spent with small talk until Molly retired to bed early. I couldn’t blame her. The poor thing needed time to pull herself together and work through all that had happened over the last few days.
Hell, the last few years. From the sound of things, Harry hadn’t been the most giving or honest chap since the beginning. The thought left my stomach sick and kept me up late into the night.
I rose early the next morning before I knew Molly would be up, but also before the rest of my house staff would be coming in. The mornings were my time to think before heading into work, so they respected my need for space by coming in later after I was already at work. It was nice to know that my place would be cared for and kept while I toiled at the office.
My conversation with Molly played out in the back of my mind. For two weeks, Molly would be around my estate. I didn’t know how I necessarily felt about it. I was normally protective over my personal space and privacy, but this was Molly. She had no intentions of getting close to me. She had her own complicated mess of a life to figure out given everything that had happened with Harry over the past three days.
The rest of the house was dark and still when I left my bedroom to head downstairs. I rolled up my sleeves, expecting a kitchen full of dishes, but found a spotless sink and counter. A smile tugged at my lips. I knew without a doubt that Molly must’ve cleaned up the dishes after I had gone to bed. She was still on New York time, and maybe she hadn’t gone right to bed. Obviously not. It seemed that she stayed up a good portion of the night cleaning up from our meal the night before.
I needed to tell her that the staff would take care of things like that, but maybe it was cathartic for her. Something about picturing her in a t-shirt and panties, cleaning up the kitchen had my cock twitching in my slacks. The woman was a beauty, no doubt. She deserved better than Harry, but that didn’t mean she deserved me. It was too sticky of a situation, and I felt a bit like a narcissist thinking that a few of her sideways glances from the night before actually meant anything.
“Get over yourself,” I whispered roughly.
The entire kitchen looked clean when I flipped the lights on to navigate my way to the coffee maker. While that brewed, I gathered everything I needed in my office for another long day. My marketing team needed some extra guidance when it came to pushing out this new phone plan I had drawn up to the investors. I wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but they seemed confused by my notes from last week before Harry and Molly’s wedding.
I had investors in London and the United States calling to ask what the deal was with the new product. So, not only were my staff confused, but the buyers were as well. Fuck my communication skills. They were rather lacking, but I’d known that for some time. Visionaries usually had a horrible time communicating to the worker bees what they wanted to come from the big idea. I was no exception to the rule.
I was going to have a headache by the end of the day. I could feel it as I turned off various lights and walked to the front door. I paused and glanced back toward the stairs, thinking about whether I should let Molly know that I was leaving.
No. I was being too invasive. The woman was a guest, not a potential date. I smiled and walked out in the chilly morning air. If the situation were different than it was, I’d have to qualms asking out a woman like Molly. She was exactly my type, and like she had alluded to the night before, she stood out amongst the Europeans. Her dark, exotic features were something that would draw attention easily. She definitely had mine.
The soft hum of the radio drove away any lingering sleep in my eyes as I drove my favorite SUV down the sleepy streets of my town. I glanced in the rearview mirror to see the rental car I had yet to drop off. I had promised Peyton to cover the cost for however long Molly decided to stay.
She would need a car to get around Devon instead of waiting around on me all the time. So maybe it was a good thing that I was running behind on the errand. Now Molly would have the ability to get out and enjoy herself a little bit. It wasn’t healthy to sit in the house and stew on the shit Harry had done. If nothing else, I’d make sure she had a few moments of reprieve.
The road to London was dark and lonely with only a few cars on the road at this early hour. I parked in my usual parking space in the parking garage outside of the building my business was nestled in. It was at the center of London, right in the middle of it all, and while I loved coming into the city, I enjoyed the quietness when I returned home at night.
It was the best of both worlds.
I got into the office and had barely gotten settled when my secretary walked in and paused by the door. “Morning, sir.”
“Sicily.” I gave her a tight smile. “Make sure that the conference room is ready for our executive staff meeting this morning.” I lifted my arm to glance down at my watch. “It starts in—”
“Ten minutes,” she jumped in as her smile broadened. “I have everything laid out, just as you like it. We’ll have fresh coffee and a kettle of tea as well.”
“Excellent.” I pulled my laptop from my briefcase and opened it. “Anything else?”
“Not right now, sir. Let me know if you need me.”
“I always need you, Sicily,” I mumbled just loud enough for her to hear me as I dove into answering a few e-mails. Her chuckle was my reward, and I’d take it. She was a good woman and a great secretary.
A few minutes later, she was back with a two-minute warning. I stood, closed the laptop, and walked down the hall. Ten of my top executives sat quietly as I walked into the room.
“Morning. It’s come to my attention that there was some confusion over the new phone prototype that I designed and presented last week.” I pulled out my chair and lifted an eyebrow as I glanced at the faces staring at me. “Why so gloomy? Someone die?”
Bill chuckled. “No, sir. We’re just hoping that you’re going to explain the prototype in a different way. We’re trying to grasp it, but it’s like telling us that the U.S. is going to send someone to the moon. Seemed impossible, and yet they did it.”
“Maybe,” Kent said. “Who knows if it were true?”
We all gave a soft chuckle and I took my seat. “Well, going to the moon is a discussion for another day.” I leaned down and pulled the prototype from my bag. “This, however, is our main focus right now. You guys are in charge of marketing and sales. Let’s get you caught up on the science and then the benefits our customers will receive because of this newest jewel.”
I dove into my presentation, having reworked it five times in between all of the activities around Harry’s wedding. After answering a million questions and ensuring beyond the shadow of a doubt that my team knew what the hell they were looking at, I dismissed them.
We had another meeting coming up later that week where the marketing team would brief me on our new strategy. We needed something different, something wow.
After everyone had left the conference room, I walked over to the floor to ceiling windows and slipped my hands into my pockets. I had everything a man my age could want. Wealth. Security. Fame. Attention.
The only thing missing was a woman who loved me.
I couldn’t help but let my thoughts rush back to my quiet estate and the pretty dark-haired beauty who rested inside its thick walls. I wasn’t sure why I wanted to offer her healing, but it was bothersome. She was off limits.
At least in my head she was. My body had a completely different understanding of the situation. Sex had healing powers, and I’d experienced it many times before in my life. A part of me wanted to seduce her and dip her into the pool of pleasure. If she liked what I had to offer, maybe she’d slide in deeper…or let me.
*
I got home just after eight, which was early for me. The concern over leaving Molly at the house too long by herself was unfounded, but it was a concern nevertheless. After parking the SUV, I walked to the back door and realized that once again, I’d forgotten my damn key.
I knocked and pursed my lips as my stomach tightened. Molly had her long black hair in a ponytail, and from the looks of it, the house was chilled. Her nipples budded into tight peaks and poked through her white t-shirt. My body ached for something that I was most certainly not going to allow. Not even with me thinking about how good it would feel for both of us.
Her smile widened as she opened the door. “I need to give you the key to the house back.”
The smell of tomatoes and cheese filled my nose, and my stomach growled. I hadn’t eaten all day. Dammit. I tried hard not to forget to eat something for the purposes of energy, but it happened. More often than not.
“I have several extras.” I walked in as she moved back. Inhaling deeply, I glanced around at her. “It smells like heaven in here.”
Her cheeks burned pink, making her impossibly attractive. The woman had not one clue of her beauty. And why the hell would she? Harry had fucked her over by sleeping with other women. Of all things to tarnish in that situation, her self-worth and appearance would be the first.
“I made lasagna from scratch. My grandmother was Italian, so she taught me when I was a little girl.” She followed beside me into the kitchen.
I leaned over and sat my bag down as I breathed in deeply again. Garlic. Butter. My stomach screamed in protest. “Well, you didn’t have to do this. You should have taken a day to yourself to rest.”
“It’s the least I could do, Alfie.” She walked around me, and damn if I didn’t let my eyes run down her back to the thick swell of her ass in her leggings. My body hardened again, leaving me needy for something more than a good meal and a glass of wine.
Stop it. Shit. She’s your best friend’s fiancée. They were getting married yesterday. Asshole.
I needed to get laid. Soon, lest I fuck things up with Molly. She needed a safe place to find herself and begin her healing, not a horny bastard who pretended to have good intentions but didn’t. I did. I knew I did. I just had to remind my dick of that.
“Well, thank you. It means a lot to me.” I walked to the pantry and opened the wine cellar door. “Red wine, right?”
“It goes best with pasta for sure,” she called over her shoulder.
I swallowed my need and jogged down into the cellar. The cold air swelled around me, helping to take a little bit of the heat out of my veins. I could behave and help her out. Karma was a responsible bitch and would return the grace to me that I gave to Molly.
And besides that…I liked her. As a person.
Dinner and wine, good conversation, and then I was off to bed.
Alone.