Chapter 2 - Carter

I leaned back against my pillow as I listened to the sink running in the bathroom attached to my spacious master bedroom. I’d nailed Gillian in three days after I met her at the bar down the street from the office. She was a waitress there and I’d take every chance I got to charm her into my brownstone since she was on my list.

I reached for my sleek phone on the table beside the bed, unlocking the list and marking her off. I looked at the empty space after, wondering who might fill it. No doubt my buddy Shane was working on his next conquest as well. We always found a new challenge once we fucked the current woman.

The light shut off and the bathroom door opened as Gillian walked into the bedroom. She was dressed to leave since I wasn’t the type of guy to sugarcoat a one-night-stand to anybody. I was upfront about it in the beginning and being new to the city from Georgia, Gillian was down with the idea. She wasn’t great in the sack but I did love her accent when she cried my name as she came for me. Each and every time. It didn’t make it worth a second round though and I walked her to the front door, calling an Uber for her and covering the ride home. I wasn’t a complete asshole and I had billions of dollars. It was the least that I could do.

I locked the door and walked across my sunken living room to the wall of windows that overlooked Manhattan. The city was ablaze with lights and I took a moment to appreciate all my hard work for a moment. I came from a small town in Vermont. After attending NYU, I had started my investment business, which was now one of the highest ranked in Forbes. I was proud of myself. Even though my life was fast-paced and perhaps a bit meaningless, and even though I spent long hours at the office, I was living a good life. I’d had a girlfriend back home before I left abruptly and while she was nice, the moment hadn’t been right for us. I wanted to make it big, while she seemed to be more of the small-town girl that was happy with any ordinary job there. So I’d bid her farewell and left.

It was only now that I was here and had slept with a lot of women, that I had come to realize how sweet she was. Vivian would have done anything for me and her memory made me smile. I also felt my cock twitch a bit when I remembered how her mouth felt wrapped around me. I turned to walk to the kitchen for a beer and opened it, tossing the cap on the marble counter to pick up in the morning. If I forgot, the maid service would be here.

I called Shane once I was back on my bed, looking out of the window. “I tapped it. What about you?” I asked when he answered, hearing his cocky laugh.

“Fuck, yes. It took the same amount of time for both of us so I guess we’re even. How was she?” Shane asked.

“Decent. Hot accent,” I said as I thought back. “Yours?”

“She likes anal. That was a big bonus,” he said. I chuckled. A lot of women seemed to consider that forbidden territory, so bonus for Shane.

“Nice.” I yawned and sipped my beer. “I’m still ahead though.” I had slept with Daisy from my building in a matter of hours, which put me in the lead but also had me ducking around the building to avoid her. She liked me more than I did her, despite my honesty about casual relationships.

“Yeah, for now. Who’s next?” he asked with a confident tone in his voice. I thought the question over. Women were too easy to get into bed and I wanted to challenge myself with a harder catch. The building wasn’t a great place to find a new fuck and I’d been working the bar and restaurant angle a lot lately.

“Oh, fuck. I have an interview for a new PA tomorrow. Gwen’s husband made her quit after she had the baby and I need someone new,” I said in a bored tone. I didn’t fuck everyone at work, particularly if they were married. Nevertheless, Gwen’s husband apparently didn’t like Gwen working close to me, so he made quick work of talking her into staying home after maternity leave. I’d switched an interview with a lower manager who was interviewing a new PA tomorrow. I needed it more since I was running the entire company and he quickly agreed. “I know she’s a woman, but I don’t know her fucking name. I’ll have to grab the resume tomorrow at work.”

“Are you going to cross the work line for the sake of this bet?” Shane asked.

“Sure. Why not?” I asked as I heard him whistle on the other end. “It’s been a while. I’ll have to make sure she’s hot plus not married or engaged or some shit like that. I don’t want to piss any guys off. It’s a pain in the ass.”

“OK, so a work fuck. I’ll be nice and give you a week to butter her up if she meets your standards.”

I smirked at the offer. “Get that money ready. You’ll be paying me…again.” Our bets ran for a few months at a time and right now, it looked like I was going to win easily. I had more game than Shane did since I had a business to impress the ladies while he was just working for his dad’s architecture company. He was a decent looking guy, though, with dark-blonde spiked hair and brown eyes that seemed to move the ladies easily.

“We shall see, my friend.” Shane hung up and I dropped back against my pillow as I checked my emails. There was one from my PR adviser about an upcoming deal that would make a mint for the company. The deal was with a family-friendly company that I had to go sign in London. He suggested that I take a woman along with me and introduce her as my fiancée. He felt like it might benefit me. Well, that was fine with me. I wanted their money.

I replied and dropped the phone on the bed. I considered the possibility of taking my new PA along as my fake fiancée. Being my PA, it would make sense for her to take a business trip with me. The trip was in a couple of weeks. So I would have already slept with her and we could make a fun time out of it.

A week. I scoffed at the idea as I turned on some late-night television to watch before I went to sleep for the night. I never let a woman stay the night with me since it always seemed like they’d expect more that way. I was happy being in my bed alone, satisfied for the moment and facing my future alone. As always, I fell asleep with the television on. I preferred the television over the city noise that seemed to reach me even though I was on the fifteenth floor. I had the window open a lot and after living in a place where I heard crickets and frogs, I couldn’t stand the sounds of the city at night.

I woke up early to take a run before showering. It was a ritual that helped me clear my head and start the day fresh. It kept me in shape and I was planning on making it a long-term habit. I was only twenty-four, but I knew already that I wanted to look good when I was older, for all the younger women that I was going to fuck. I noticed the looks I garnered from the women out on the sidewalk and flirted heavily with the barista that handed me my black coffee before I headed home.

I showered and sipped the coffee as I checked the computer for the morning activity. I made a lot of money in the stock market and it wasn’t from slacking off. I made sure to be up-to-date all the time. I dressed in one of my custom suits for the day, giving it a little extra flair with a bright green tie that brought out my eyes. I was seducing a PA if all went well, after all. I styled my dark hair in tousled waves since it was what the ladies liked and slipped my feet into a pair of my best shoes.

I walked the few blocks to the office and stopped by Nick’s office to see if he had the new PA’s resume out. But he wasn’t in yet, which I should have expected. I always got here before almost anyone else, but I also took the liberty of leaving early if a good reason arose. I worked hard and everyone knew and respected that, but I also took some time to enjoy life. I deserved that.

I walked to my office, fixing another cup of coffee before I unlocked the door. I warmed up my computer while looking outside to take in the city. I liked these early mornings where I could have some peace because once this place was full it could get chaotic. We were a big company and had a lot of deals going every minute of the shift, most of which were run through me in some form or another. I checked business emails and pulled up some deals that I had going on before my cell chimed on my desk.

It was Nick. He told me that he had instructed the front desk staff to send the PA to me on the fifteenth floor instead of to the lower manager on the third. He also told me that her name was Vivian and I wondered about the irony as I thought about my blonde ex for a moment.