Stacy
The last thing that I wanted to do was spend my weekend here with him. The man was a bit much to deal with and if Keenan used to be anything like him, it was clear that I was lucky he was no longer that way. Keenan hadn’t even looked at me wrong, but with Chris I knew exactly what it was that he wanted. He made no qualms about telling me. I had a feeling that I was going to be tested this weekend and even though this was all boring to me, I was going to do my best to learn as much as I could and to take good notes for Keenan.
“So are you ready for breakfast?”
Keenan had walked upstairs to get his items and leave. Because he was taking the jet back, I was going to have to ride back with Chris, another part of the weekend that I wasn’t looking forward to. I didn’t think he would really do anything, but he was going to flirt and look at me how he was now. Usually I wasn’t bothered by such admiration, it wasn’t the first time, but with him it felt different. With him, I couldn’t stop the way my body reacted to him, no matter how hard I tried.
Walking with him into the restaurant in the bottom floor of the hotel, I almost made a comment that we could have just ordered room service. The idea of him in my room was enough to keep my mouth shut though. The last thing I needed was any more intimate moments with him.
He held out my chair like a perfect gentlemen, but I wasn’t impressed. I was just anxious as to why he as being nice all of a sudden. Men like him worried me because they were the types of men that got what they wanted. I knew what Chris wanted and I wasn’t willing to give it up. The price would be too high and I hadn’t been so careful all of this time to lose my heart to a man that would crush it without a second thought.
“So what brings you to work with Keenan? Are you studying stocks in school to be an analyst or something?”
I shook my head no and for a while I wasn’t going to say anything more. I didn’t want to sit here and talk to him like everything was normal or that I even wanted to be here. I didn’t. This was my job and I knew that this man was Keenan’s friend, so even if I didn’t like him, I could at least be respectful for my employer’s sake. Unlike all of the people that I had met since I started working for Keenan, I actually needed this job and the paltry amount of money that it was going to supply to me.
“No, just a business degree, with a minor in advertising and marketing. I like to sell ideas, not really the numbers side of it. I like the creation side of things. Numbers bore me.”
“So why are you working with Keenan then?”
I shrugged, not really sure how to explain in a quick sentence or two how I got here. “Well my scholarship only covers tuition and just barely, so Aunt Ashlyn knew I needed to find a summer job. Keenan will look good on my resume and he pays well.” I guess it wasn’t so hard after all when I said it like that. I knew why I was here, the money. It was something that I knew the man looking at me now wasn’t going to get. He had probably never needed money in his life. Like Keenan, I was sure that he came from a good family that was loaded.
“I remember my summer jobs. I made pizzas the first two years I was in college. My grades weren’t good enough for a scholarship so I had to work pretty much every day when I was getting my degree.”
That little tidbit of information was a little shocking. “What, did your family cut you off or something?” I was sure that he was born with the silver spoon firmly in his mouth. I couldn’t think of another way because he was just so comfortable in his skin as a rich man that I knew he must have always been that way.
But he surprised me further, by shaking his head and smiling back at me from across the table. “No, my parent’s died when I was little and I really don’t have any family. I had no one to cut me off dear.”
“Oh, well I am sorry to hear that.”
It was his turn to shrug like it was no big deal, when it obviously was. I was starting to realize that I had been very wrong about him. I didn’t like the way that felt, but I had to admit to myself that I wasn’t thinking right. He was not at all what I thought he was.
“Don’t be sorry, it was a long time ago. But if you would like to make me feel better, I can think of several ways to make that happen.”
I groaned to myself and shook my own head. Here I was feeling bad for him and then he reminded me why I was avoiding him to begin with. “No, like you said, it was a long time ago, besides, I am sure that you have plenty of women that are lining up for the job.”
He smiled at me and was about to say something when our breakfast was brought out. He had ordered for me, which was a little assuming as far as I was concerned, but it was really good, even though I wasn’t quite sure what I was eating. I didn’t want to seem uncultured and it appeared that I would because I didn’t even know what this pile of food was with a yellow sauce on top.
“Do you like it?”
I nodded to him, not really looking up.
“It is good to see a woman with an appetite. I hate going out and watching a grown woman pick at her food.”
“Well you most likely date models that only worth are measured by her waistline. I think I would most likely worry about what I was eating as well.”
“You have a great figure. Do you work out?”
“Not really. I swim when I can, but that is about it. Maybe I will step foot in a gym once a week, but with my schedule I don’t have time. I work at another place as well as with Keenan.”
“Really, where else? Would I know the place?”
I knew that he was from the city, but I also figured that he wouldn’t know the place. “It’s just a bar in the city that I work at.”
“What do you do?” Chris appeared interested and I wasn’t going to be able to eat until I told him, so I put down my fork and took a drink.
“Just tend bar. Make a few drinks. The pay is crap, but the tips are good.”
“So you are a hustler?”
“I don’t like to call it that. It is just survival.”
“I admire your attitude. Most people would feel sorry for themselves to have two jobs.”
“Well work like no one else for a little while, so you can live like no one else the rest of your life, right?”
Chris liked that saying and I could tell that he was warming up to me. I didn’t know if that was a good thing or not, but at the end of the day being admired by such a man for anything other than my looks was good enough for me.
“Exactly. That is what I tell people all the time. Keenan used to be the same way. There was no stopping him, but now he is ruined, chasing after some skirt.”
“You really don’t like women, do you?”
“I do, I love them, but there is a time and place for all of that. A woman should never come between a man and his business.”
“Maybe you haven’t met the right one yet.”
Chris chuckled and sat back. “Yeah, I have heard that before. I don’t see a reason for one more than a few hours.”
“Pity.”
“Why do you say that?”
“You will never find anything of substance looking for a few hours of a good time. How can that be conducive to anything good?”
“I make them come until they can’t walk and I get my own pleasure. It is a win-win situation. No one has complained.”
“Did you stay long enough to hear a complaint if one was made?”
He laughed a little harder. “Not usually. Man, you sure have my number.”
“I have met men like you before, rich men.”
“I am not like all of the rest.”
I could tell that there was something special about him, but it didn’t mean that I wanted to have anything to do with it. I knew that he was a dangerous man that I had to stay away from. It was going to be hard to do with this weekend looming ahead, but it was just a couple of more days and it was strictly business. I told myself that enough that I started to believe it.
“I am sure you are not Chris.”
He just smiled at me like I was being silly and I couldn’t help but return the gesture. His whole face softened and my body responded to the change in just one smile.
“Well let’s get out of here. I am afraid you are going to be wildly bored for this first meeting. I am the speaker and I have a feeling you don’t want to hear me talk.”
“Sir, you have me mistaken.”
“You were clear this morning how you felt.”
“Well you ruined a good swim for me. I didn’t know who you were and in my world if some drunken guys starts calling you sexy, getting close, you get away from them.”
Chris’ smile faltered and I was almost wished that I hadn’t said anything to get him upset and to take that smile away, almost. I had to lay down some ground rules if this was going to work.
“I didn’t mean to appear like some drunken thug.”
I laughed that time, surprising us both. “I can’t see you as any kind of thug, drunk or not.” The idea was preposterous. He was so straight and narrow that I doubted that he even knew the real meaning of the word.
“There is a lot that you don’t know about me Stacy.”
He was so serious for a moment I was at a loss of words and didn’t really know what to say. It was clear that there was more to the rich bad boy than what met my eye first. Maybe there was more to him, but once again, not for me. I didn’t need the stress.
“I am sure there is. Keenan told me a little bit about you, but I know enough for the capacity of this weekend. I thank you for the ride home and help. I will make sure that Keenan feels like he was actually here.”
“Back to business huh?”
“I think it is better that way.” I stood up and waited for him to sign the bill and do the same. Truth was that I had to get away from him before I forgot what I kept reminding myself of. Chris was bad news and I needed to stay away from him.