Rafe
“Mr. Connor,” piped my secretary from outside, “Call for you on Line 2.”
I frowned. This was odd, I’d asked not to be disturbed except in urgent circumstances and it was unlikely that anything would happen now that New York fashion week was over. What was it? Some designer having histrionics because the latest embroidered silk from Italy hadn’t come in yet? Some young model giving lip because she was homesick? I sighed. All in a day’s work as CEO.
“Fine, send it through,” I growled. The phone rang and I picked up.
“Rafe Connor,” I barked shortly. This better be good because there were a thousand things on my to-do list, including reviewing our financials and finalizing bonuses. Time was money, and dollars were lost with every wasted minute.
“Rafael, Jake Sterling here of Sterling Pharmaceuticals,” said a deep voice.
I immediately felt my hackles rise at the sound of another alpha male. Okay, he was probably in San Francisco, I knew Sterling was one of those biotechs located on the West Coast, but the pseudo-proximity got to me. A nasty feeling ran down my spine but I made myself stay calm.
“What can I do for you?” I said in a deceptively smooth voice. “Sterling and Levast are hardly in the same industry.”
The man chuckled over the phone. “No, definitely not except that your clientele seem to ingest a lot of our prescription drugs, but that’s a discussion for another day. I’m calling because we have an issue that’s troubling us both … Jenna Walsh.”
That shut me up. I knew that Sterling had once been engaged to Jenna, breaking it off to marry her sister instead, so there had to be a lot of history there.
“What can I do for you?” I repeated again smoothly, giving away nothing. I wondered if he knew that Jenna and I had been an item, her fragrant hair wrapped around my neck, that sweet pussy squeezing me tight as I erupted again and again into her body.
“Well, if you didn’t know already, my wife and Jenna are twins,” he said dryly.
I did know that. Jenna had assured me they were nothing alike, Tina a curvy brunette to Jenna’s slim blonde. But twins have a psychic connection right? Or was that a myth?
“Yeah, I know,” I growled. I didn’t want to talk about Jenna, she’d been haunting my nights despite the fact I’d paid her off. Usually buying jewelry for my former paramours wiped the slate clean, mentally and physically. Usually, I felt absolved of all guilt, ready to move on with a new woman, the hottest new thing to catch my fancy, but it’d been different this time.
Despite spending six figures on a piece of jewelry, I’d felt curiously listless afterwards, my thoughts turning towards the girl even though I should have been a clean slate. What the fuck? I shook my head ruefully. I seriously needed to get out, I was getting soft. I made a mental note to take out the newest, youngest girl Jason Alexander had just booked. I’d gotten a look at her comp card and she was pretty, blonde and slim … with big boobs just like someone I knew.
Fuck! This was all wrong.
But Sterling continued.
“So my wife tells me that Jenna came begging for help,” he said dryly. “This scandal with the porn video is allegedly made up. Not the scandal itself,” he said, “but rather the girl in the video isn’t Jenna.”
That made me pause. I’d watched that video more than a few times myself, and I’d know if it wasn’t her, I’d sampled those creamy curves myself, tasted the ambrosia between her legs. I’d know, wouldn’t I?
“I’m not sure what exactly you’re saying,” I said slowly. “What exactly is Jenna claiming?”
“That the girl in the video isn’t her,” snorted the other man. “As if. That bitch is a slut, I’m sure she’s just manipulating her sister again. Anyways, I wanted to let you know because the papers reported that Levast was embarrassed by her actions, your sales plummeted after the scandal was revealed. I thought you might like to take a shot at the cause of your problems.”
A shot? It was true, our sales had dipped a bit but it couldn’t be attributed to the Jenna debacle, at least not entirely. Orders after New York fashion week hadn’t been as strong as in previous years but there were a dozen reasons why, including bad designs, a recession, editors not connecting with the clothes, that sort of thing.
“What are you thinking?” I asked smoothly. My company’s sales numbers were none of this fucker’s business and there was no reason to share our proprietary information.
“I’m not even sure,” the other man chuckled. “There may not be anything for us to do, the girl’s so fucked and it’s all her own doing,” he rasped. “I have to say, it feels good, given my wife’s past with her sister. Jenna gets what she deserves.”
That took me aback. I knew Sterling was a ruthless businessman but this girl was his sister-in-law and ex-fiance. What a fuckwad.
“What do you know about Green Guys?” I asked smoothly, ignoring Sterling’s callous comments.
“A lot,” he said dryly. “I’ve got contacts in LA and Green Guys is dirty, sure, but you know how the celebrity sex tape business is. They take orders, just like everybody else, when the dollar signs are right.”
“I’ll give them a call,” I said shortly. “I’ll put my guys on it and try and find out who the girl was, if it wasn’t Jenna. What about the pictures?” I asked. “Is she claiming those aren’t her as well?”
The other man snorted again.
“Nah, she admits those are her,” he replied. “Can you believe it? Jenna pulled the poverty card, saying she had no money to pay law school tuition and was forced to do it. That’s fucking bullshit, I dated her at the time and she definitely didn’t act like she had nothing, in fact she was spending my money like water.”
Okay, this was a little more believable. At least the photos were real, there was some truth mixed in there. But I was done with this Sterling asshole. I hated him already, the way acted totally blameless although he’d been the one to break off the engagement.
“I’ll make a call,” I repeated harshly. “We’ll figure this out.”
“No,” said Sterling shortly. “You figure it out. The longer this bitch roasts in hell, the happier I’ll be. Make sure she never gets back to me or my wife,” he commanded before clicking off.
I don’t take orders well from other men but my professionalism kept me calm and cool. I owed it to Levast to figure this out … and I owed it to myself.