CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
So here’s what I can gather about “girl talk.” It’s a basic need of the female population. There is no time limit. It involves food or alcohol or both, and contrary to popular opinion, it isn’t always just about guys.
Three hours in and they show no signs of stopping. I head toward the bar, the sound of Sutton’s laughter leading the way. Annie leans over, whispering something to her. Sutton looks over her shoulder, flashing me a smile. My dick and heart both leap. Damn, she gets me every time.
“Everything good? You need anything?” I ask Sutton, Annie, and Dylan, eyeing their empty cups and plates.
“I need to sleep through the night. My baby daughter is killing me,” Dylan says. “Sutton needs a loan from the bank for the hotel, and Annie needs to get laid.”
I could maybe help with one of those things—and for once, it’s not getting laid. They all start laughing, Annie the loudest of them all. She’s also got the most empty glasses in front of her.
Annie says, “Dylan and Sutton are giving me advice on where to meet men that doesn’t involve an app.”
“Oh yeah?” I say, raising my eyebrow at Sutton. “Let’s hear it.”
“Sutton scouts men in the organic grocery store,” Dylan laughs out.
“Apparently,” Annie starts, “the men there really are into health and fitness. It’s a complete meat market.” Everyone laughs at Annie’s lame joke, including me. I can’t help myself.
“You better do the shopping for you and Sutton,” Dylan says, looking at me, “or she’s liable to bring home the produce guy.”
Sutton playfully throws a crumpled-up napkin in her direction. Annie piles on, “Dylan, you’ve been married so long, you’ve forgotten how hard dating is.”
“Plus, she married her high school boyfriend,” Sutton adds. “Her last first date was also her first date, literally.”
“I know how hard it is,” Dylan says. “Sutton’s told me enough horror stories.”
“Like what?” I ask, raising an eyebrow at her.
Dylan starts jiggling in her seat. “Oh, tell him about the . . .”
“No,” Sutton laughs out.
“Ah, come on,” Annie says.
Sutton glances up at me then to her girlfriends. “Just one.”
“Papaya guy,” Dylan says, laughing hard.
Sutton rolls her eyes. “I met this guy . . .”
“In the organic grocery store,” Dylan says.
“Of course,” I tease Sutton.
“Anyway, we talked on the phone a few times, texted. We finally go out on our first date. I think it’s going well, then he makes a suggestion.”
“What?” I ask.
Dylan starts lightly banging on the table in amusement. Sutton shakes her head and says, “You have to remember it’s our first date. He suggests since we met by the fruit section that papaya be our safe word.”
“He’s got balls,” Annie says then asks, “What did you say?”
“I told him I didn’t need a new safe word. That I had two. Stop and no!”
Then Sutton tilts her head up, throwing me a sassy little smile, and I know “girl talk” is going into overtime.
*
Sutton didn’t spend the night like I wanted. She didn’t even spend much time with me on Sunday. Between hanging with her girlfriends, checking on her hotel, and preparing for a meeting she has at the bank tomorrow, the day flew by. This is going to take some getting used to—not having a woman at my beck and call.
So that left me with a lot of time to think, mostly about work, and I came up with something, but I’m not sure if Sutton will go for it. Walking down the street toward my hotel, I see Albert dressed in his uniform placing a bowl of water down on the sidewalk. The mangiest excuse for a dog I’ve ever seen is wagging its tail in anticipation.
“Morning, Albert,” I say.
He pops straight up. Well, as fast of a pop one can have at his age. I’ve never minded him helping people out. In fact, I encouraged it. Better for him to give them bus fare than have homeless people hanging out in front of my hotel. That may sound cold, but I have to think of my guests and employees. They have to be my priority. But stray dogs?
“Please don’t be upset, Mr. Kingston,” he says. “It’s just so hot out.”
“If you feed her, then she’ll stay.”
“It’s a boy,” he says. “I’m calling him King.”
Busting out in a huge laugh, I shake my head. Now this stray dog and my dick have the same name. “I’ve managed not to have any kids named after me all these years. I don’t want a dog.”
“Just hear me out,” he says. “I heard about hotels that have dogs as mascots. I was thinking . . .”
“No way,” I say.
“The guests will love him,” he insists. “He’s a real smart dog. I’ll take him home with me at night, but during the day, he could be in the lobby to welcome the guests.”
“Some guests are scared of dogs.”
“Don’t know of a hotel in all of New Orleans that does this. You’d be the first.”
Damn him for playing to my ego. “He’s a mess.”
“I’ll clean him up and take him to the vet.”
It’s a good thing I don’t have kids. I’d be too soft. “Bath and vet. Then let’s talk.” He opens his mouth, but I beat him to it. “Go ahead and take the rest of the day to tend to the dog.”
“King,” he says, smiling, and the dog wags his tail.
Shaking my head, I head inside to my office, finding Annie pacing back and forth in front of her desk. She’s dressed in clothes that are huge and all gray. I really need to talk to her about work-appropriate attire, but I just don’t have the heart.
She stops when she spots me. “If you’re about to try to convince me to take the dog, you’re too late,” I say.
She smiles, but it’s not her normal Annie smile. I’m having a hard time remembering the last time I saw a real smile out of her. “I brought you something,” she says and points toward the wall, something propped up against it covered in a sheet. “I painted something for you.”
Before I can even thank her, she’s moving to pull back the cover. Annie takes my hand, then slowly slides down the sheet to reveal her work. It’s mostly blacks and grays like her other pieces, but thankfully no blood this time. Instead, there’s only a tiny speck of light centered in the silhouette of a body resting in the middle of the painting. The rest of the canvas is covered in chaotic swirls and dark figures. The tiny little speck of light centers the whole mess. It reminds me of the way Sutton looked in that white dress the first night I saw her.
“Pierce,” Annie says. “My hand.”
I look down, realizing I have a death grip on her. “Sorry.”
“You don’t like it?”
“I do. I love it. Does it have a title?”
“To the Fall,” she says.
“Perfect title,” I say, my voice barely a whisper. “I’ll have it hung in the lobby.”
“No,” she says firmly. “It’s for you. Not the hotel.”
“My office then,” I say, wrapping my arm around her. “Thank you.”
She clears her throat, and I look down, seeing a few tears rolling down her cheeks. “Consider it my goodbye gift.”
“Goodbye?” I ask, turning her toward me. “You going somewhere?”
“I was thinking of going to New York to see Tawny. Maybe in a new place, I won’t think so much.”
“Annie, you have to let this go.”
“Relax,” she says, wiping her face. “Our secrets are ours.”
“Good. So take a vacation. God knows, you’ve earned it. Then you can come back . . .”
“I’m not coming back,” she says.
“What do you mean?”
She looks away. “You said it yourself.”
“I said you needed to pursue your art. I didn’t mean you needed to leave the state.”
She grins, shrugging. “I’m sticking around for a few days. Besides, you’ve got Sutton now.”
Unable to hide the huge ass grin on my face, I say, “That’s really new.”
She rakes her fingers through my hair then wraps her arms around me as tight as she can. “Very new for you,” she says. “My job was never about scheduling your appointments. It was about watching out for you. You’ve got someone else to do that now. Don’t fuck it up.”
*
Annie and I listen to Tawny through the speakerphone on Annie’s desk in her office. Tawny’s singing into the phone, something new she’s written. She’s supposed to perform it today in front of her mentors in New York, and she’s clearly a nervous wreck.
Her voice cracks. “Crap, I can’t do this. I’m never going to be a singer.”
“You’re already a singer,” I say. “I swear, your first word came out in a high C.”
She tries to steady herself. “I can do this, right?”
“No doubt.” I hear her inhale and exhale a few times. Poor kid, I wish it was easier for her. “I’ve got big news.”
“You’re marrying Sutton,” Tawny teases.
I flash a look to Annie. Obviously, she thinks it’s her responsibility to keep everyone informed about my dating life. Rolling my eyes, I say, “No.”
“You mean not yet,” Tawny says.
Annie prods me with her finger. “Tawny, you should see him. He’s totally starry eyed and sappy.”
“Ahh,” Tawny cries.
“I’ll tell you all about it when I visit,” Annie says.
The screeches coming through the speaker are so loud, it’s a wonder glass doesn’t break. There is no noise shriller than that of an excited teenage girl. They go on to chat about Annie visiting for a few minutes, making plans before hanging up.
The office door opens, and Sutton sticks her head in, giving a little wave to Annie and flashing me a small smile. “I hope this is alright.”
I take Sutton’s hand and bring her all the way in. I can tell she’s upset. “How’d it go this morning at the bank?”
She shakes her head. “It’s alright. It was a long shot. The bank thinks the hotel is a risk, and I’ve got nothing to offer as collateral, so I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing.”
“Let’s talk about it. Maybe I can help?” I offer, and Annie gives me a look.
Sutton doesn’t see it and says, “Unless you’ve got some pull at the bank, I really don’t see how you can.”
“I wish I did.”
“Pierce’s pull was at the poker table,” Annie says.
Sutton’s eyes cut to me. “What?”
I shoot Annie a look. “Nothing.”
“You gamble?” she asks me.
“No,” I say.
Sutton looks over at Annie, who says, “Pierce got the money to buy this place at a poker table.”
“I’m sure Sutton doesn’t want to hear about that.”
“It’s a great story,” Annie says.
“Tell me,” Sutton says.
“Pierce worked for the previous owner, started when he was like fourteen and stayed all through high school and college. He never spent a dime the whole time he lived with his dad and Vicki, so he had a nice little bank account when the owner died. The place was run down and carried a lot of debt, so it was being auctioned off. Pierce wasn’t even close to having enough to make a decent bid. He was only, what, twenty-two at the time?”
“Annie, we really . . .”
“He and I drove three days out to Vegas,” Annie says.
“You went with him?” Sutton asks.
“He said I was his lucky charm,” Annie says.
Sutton glances my way. “So you drove out there.”
Annie says, “He took every last penny he had and stayed up for forty-eight hours straight until he had enough to bid on the place.”
“That’s pretty risky,” Sutton says.
“I was young and reckless and determined not to take a dime from my father. I got lucky.”
“Wow,” Sutton says. “Never would’ve guessed this about you.”
“That was the only time I’ve gambled.”
“Was it just beginner’s luck?” Sutton asks.
I swallow hard and shake my head, feeling tension in my shoulders. “My dad liked to gamble. I paid attention.” Sutton reaches up and puts her hand on my chest, which relaxes me for some reason. “Let’s talk.”
“Pierce, I really need to get to work. I just wanted to let you know,” Sutton says.
“I can help if you’d like.”
Annie throws me a look. Unfortunately, Sutton catches it this time, asking, “What am I missing?”
“Should I order up the usual?” Annie teases. “Car, condo, credit cards?”
“What are you talking about?” Sutton cries, her eyes wide.
I give Annie a death stare. If we were still ten, she would be sticking her tongue out at me right now, but instead she just raises a judgmental eyebrow. An outsider might think she’s trying to sabotage me and Sutton, or that Annie’s jealous, but I know Annie better than that. This is her way of making sure I’ve been upfront and honest with Sutton about my past relationships.
“Package deal when you date Pierce,” Annie says. “Do you prefer morning sun or evening sun?”
“Annie, that’s not funny,” I say and turn Sutton to me. “It’s nothing. In the past, I’ve bought girlfriends things. It’s really nothing.”
“It’s the usual,” Sutton says with a shrug. “You give them a monthly allowance or something?”
Annie laughs, and I give her another look, but she simply rolls her eyes at me. I take Sutton’s hand. The touch of her warm skin is all it takes to redirect me. I lead her out of Annie’s office and into mine, then shut the door behind us and reach for her waist.
She pulls back, her hand on her hip. “No cars, no condo, no credit cards, no monthly allowance. I am not with you for any of those things.”
“I know that,” I say, “But . . .”
“Why do you feel the need to do this?”
“It’s just part of who I am. I like to take care of the woman I’m with.”
“Well, I don’t want any of that from you.”
Her hand on her hip is a sure sign I’m not going to win this battle, but that’s alright. I have a bigger fight to win. “You like living with your dad?”
She rolls her eyes. “No condo. Besides, I sleep at my hotel a lot and work on things.”
“I used to do the same thing. Painted this very room in the middle of the night one night.”
“It’s nice to have someone who understands what I’m trying to do.”
“I do. That’s why I was thinking about some things.” I usher her over to my desk and pull her onto my lap. My desk is littered with papers, filled with numbers, projections, estimates.
“What’s all this?” she asks.
“A proposal.”
“For what?”
“For us.”
Her eyes scan the papers. I know what her hotel is worth, what it needs to get up to an elite standard. I have the cash flow to help her out, but I know she won’t take it. Still, I’m a businessman and know a good investment when I see it. I’ve never gone into business with someone I’m involved with, but I want to help her, and if I can help myself along the way, then it seems like a good idea.
“You want to be my partner?” she asks.
“Yes, I’ve got the money for the repairs, but I want a piece of the action.”
“I’m doing this on my own.”
“Why?”
“To show everyone that I can—including myself. I don’t need a man to rush in and save me. I’m doing fine on my own.”
“You are,” I say. “But together, we’d be great. You’d still be the majority owner in the property by a considerable percentage.”
She studies the numbers, twirling her long brown hair, the harsh reality right in front of her in black and white. There are no guarantees in business, but my offer is close to it. That has to intrigue her a little bit.
“A partner?” she asks.
“Yes.”
“A silent partner?” she asks.
“Not likely.”
She chuckles. “This is very generous.”
“The hell it is,” I say. “Stop thinking of it as a handout. This is a smart business decision for me—for both of us.”
“I’m a risk,” she says. “The bank even said so.”
“I’ve taken bigger risks,” I say, now somewhat pleased that Annie blabbed about the gambling.
“What if we don’t work out?” she says, motioning between us.
“It’s business. We both have business minds. We can separate our feelings. I wouldn’t hurt my business over a break up, and I don’t think you would, either.”
She leans in and kisses me, her lips parting, her tongue slowly circling mine. My arms tighten around her, my dick pressing into her.
“I need to think about it,” she says.