Chapter 20

Rock entered the breakfast room three minutes after receiving the call from his housekeeper that Vivian had arrived. He would have made it in one minute, if it weren’t for the damn crutches.  He stopped cold in the doorway, not prepared for the stunning look that welcomed him.

“Did you sleep well, Vivian?” he asked, coming to her and kissing her lingeringly before taking the seat next to her.

“Thank you for the clothing,” she said with her eyes trained on her plate.

“Anything for you, sweetheart.” Rock took her chin into his hands and forced her to look at him. With only one glance into those wonderful blue eyes, he felt his manhood stirring again. After taking her countless times last night, he was still yearning for more.

 His housekeeper chose that moment to arrive with another omelet for himself. Rock half-cursed half-thanked her appearance. Otherwise Vivian might not make it to work after all.

“Here, taste this.” Rock waited until Alexa had disappeared and then held out his fork, having speared a piece of fruit from the bowl that sat between them.

Vivian eyed the offering and then opened her mouth. The way she slid the piece of fruit from the fork was so sensual, so seductive, he had the strongest urge, to take her back to his bed.

“I love passion fruit,” she said after chewing and swallowing.

“Appropriate for this morning, don’t you think?” Rock loved the fact that she still blushed after all that had happened the night before. Lord knew, he used all the self-control he had not to attack that deliciously sexy woman sitting by his side.

“It’s good.”

Rock leaned forward and kissed her. “More than good. It was fantastic.”

Heat trickled off her skin. Her eyes became dark again, that same darkness he’d witnessed every time last night when she was getting close to another climax. He extended his arm and his thumbs brushed ever so lightly over her cheeks. She shivered beneath his touch and he could sense how her entire body softened. God I love this woman!

 He glanced at his watch and pulled a face. “We have to get going, or you’ll be late to work.”

Vivian nodded, and finished eating. Then she got up and stared at her bare feet. Rock followed her glance all the way down her slender legs to the toes painted in bright red.

“I’ll run to the pool house and get my shoes,” she said, giggling. But before she’d ended the sentence, they heard steps and something was put beside the door of the breakfast room.

“That would be your shoes. I believe Alexa got them for you,” Rock said and nodded for Vivian to get outside and get them. Normally he would have done it himself. He’d have her sit on the chair, kneel in front of her, kiss every one of her beautiful toes, and then slip the shoes over her feet as if she was Cinderella and he was Prince Charming. Once again he cursed those damn crutches. And then thanked the fate for his accident.

As they walked to his car, he dreaded the conversation he needed to have with her before he dropped her off. He waited until they were on the highway and then reached for her hand. “I need to tell you something.”

Vivian bore her eyes into him and sighed. He could read the turmoil in her thoughts, going from bad to worse, until she sighed. “It’s about the actress, right?”

“Yes. I have to meet with her again.”

“When?” Her lips tightened into a thin line.

“Tonight.” Guilt, shame and disgust for his own actions pooled in his stomach. He wasn’t a cheater, never had been. Not in sports, not in business and definitely not with women. But what he was about to do felt horribly like cheating.

Vivian pulled a face but didn’t say a word. Her hurt silence slayed his heart more than any sharp response could have done.

“It’s just business. We’ll have dinner, talk a bit. That’s it.” But the press and the world will believe we’re a couple. And you’ll have to stay strong because you know the truth.

“I know,” Vivian said, but one glance at her face revealed that she didn’t buy it. She knew as well as he did that the meeting with Carla was much more than yet another business dinner.

“I’m sorry. I wouldn’t do this to you if I could avoid it. But Tommy has already signed a contract with her agent. It’s only until the race, then I never have to see her again. She means nothing to me.” His own words sounded dishonest and stale in his ears.

“You can park over there on the right,” Vivian said as they arrived at the courthouse. She was about to leave the car without even looking at him. Rock cupped her chin and turned her head to face him. The amount of hurt shining in her azure eyes almost knocked him over.

“Vivian, you mean a lot to me. More than any woman I’ve ever met before. But can you understand, that I have to do this?”

She gave a tight knod, her eyes glistening with sadness, and he felt like a true ass. What kind of man was he to date another woman when he was in love? Even if it was only a pretend-date?

“Call me?” Vivian asked and slid out of the car

Rock put his head on the steering wheel, morose thoughts attacking him. She means nothing to me. How many men had said those same empty words to the women they’d betrayed? Lord, no, he wouldn’t join their ranks.

He pulled back into traffic and speech-dialed Tommy.

“Rock? What’s up?” Tommy asked.

“We need to meet. Now.”

“What’s bugging you, man?” Tommy chuckled.

Rock growled something incomprehensible into the phone.

“Okay, come to my office. Half an hour?”

Rock ended the call and took the fastest route to Tommy’s office.

“I’m not gonna meet Carla Dawson again,” Rock burst out the moment he hobbled into the office and took a seat in front of the large desk.

“Who got up on the wrong side of the bed?” Tommy asked with a raise of his brows.

“I got up on the right side of the bed, but that woman is evil. A bigger bitch I’ve never met.”

“I thought you picked her because of her youth…”

“…thinking that she wouldn’t be as jaded as the others who’ve been in the business for a while. She basically threw herself at me and all while the cameras were watching.”

“I saw the pictures. It’s awesome publicity for both of you. Have you seen your popularity index? You two are the trending topic on Twitter.” Tommy leaned back in his seat.

“I give a shit about trending topics,” Rock all but screamed at his friend.

“Hey, calm down, man. Carla hitting on you wasn’t part of the initial plan, but both her agent and I agree that it’s even better this way—“

“No way in hell.” Rock wanted to stand up and pace the room, but the stabbing pain in his ankle as he put some weight on it impeded him. Instead he resigned to glare daggers at Tommy.

“Come on? What’s wrong with Carla? Half of the city would kill to be her plaything. A few kisses in public, affectionate gazes, you don’t even have to bang her if you don’t want to, although I wouldn’t miss that opportunity. It’s not like you have to marry her.” Tommy licked his lips with a dirty smile. 

“Be my guest. Make your move with her. I’ll pass.” Rock gave him another hard stare that he ignored.

Tommy sighed and his expression became serious. “Rock, what’s go into you? You know what’s at stake here. This is the big break for the foundation we’ve been waiting for. Go out with Carla a few months and the donations for the rehab center will shoot through the roof. I promise.”

Rock glared at him, hating it when Tommy became all rational and started putting things into neat little boxes. Manipulating him. He knew how important the planned clinic was to Rock.

“Is it the girl who busted your ankle? Is she why you’re acting like this?” Tommy’s voice had become soft and almost lulled Rock into admitting how much he liked, no, loved, Vivian.

“Leave her out of this,” Rock advised him coldly.

“No, you start thinking right. And now you listen to me.” His manager leveled his stare at Rock. “What’s more important, some girl you just met or the future of your charity?”

Rock growled, not willing to answer the question.

“You can still date your girl. Explain to her that Carla means nothing to you, that it’s just business. I’m sure she’ll understand. Shower her with gifts and attention, and she won’t even bat an eyelid. Or ask her if she’s up for a ménage a trois,” Tommy suggested with a dirty grin.

Rock sent a pencil from Tommy’s desk flying in his direction. He wasn’t a saint, and he’d on occasion engaged in threesomes. But now? No way in hell. He wanted to have Vivian to himself; no other man – or woman – should ever touch her, or even look at her. And from the moment he’d met her, he wanted her to be the only woman laying her hands on him.

“Carla is condescending and rude. I’m not sure she’s the right person to represent the charity,” Rock objected.

“A classic Hollywood bitch. Nothing new, right? It’s only for two months. You can do this.”

“I’m tired of having to deal with the likes of her,” Rock said.

“It’s just for a short time.”

“Okay. Dinner, nothing else,” Rock agreed. God, how much he hated doing this. But his friend and manager was right. He had to think about the foundation and what was best for the charity triathlon. He wasn’t doing anything wrong by meeting with Carla. He would keep everything friendly but distant. If people came to the wrong conclusions, that was their own prerogative. Vivian understood.

But shame compressed his chest. Vivian didn’t deserve to be treated like that, and he hated knowing that each time she saw a picture of him and the slutty actress, it would send that awful expression of deep hurt into her eyes.