Ethan
I was having a lovely dinner with Lexi, then she had to ruin it by telling me she has a date. It really pissed me off when she told me she wouldn’t cancel when I told her to.
I still don’t know what it is about Lexi that has me drawn to her. Last night, all I wanted to do was kiss her. Twice I had to stop myself.
“Hey, Knight.” I look at the doorway. I’m a little perturbed at having my thoughts interrupted, but it’s my old buddy Travis, so I’m ok with it.
He's been the only friend I’ve kept since college. I wasn’t very open to making friends, but Travis had a way of always being there. When I started the mall business, I did it alone. I made every penny myself. I didn’t trust anyone enough to help me. Inevitably, the business grew so large that I needed help managing them all, so I called Travis. He didn’t need much convincing. He was on board and started the following week, and I haven’t regretted the decision to hire him once. He takes care of any problems we have with any of the malls and is now helping me get the London mall opened.
“Hey, what’s up?” I ask, throwing the file on the table.
“Just wanted to see if you want to join us at the bar tonight.” Travis sits down on the couch on the other side of the room.
I go every now and again with some of the guys just to feel connected to someone other than myself and my mom.
I typically stand at the bar and watch the crowd. “Sure.” A few hours with the guys beats sitting at home wondering how Lexi’s date is going.
“You might even get lucky, Knight.”
Travis is another one that hated Angie and tried to warn me about her. Luckily, he hung around after things went downhill for me. God knows I needed something other than a whiskey bottle for a friend, and I’m thankful he was there. I should have listened to everyone telling me she was a gold digger. Travis is a good friend but the whiskey bottle is what gets me through most nights. But, there's no amount of alcohol that can take away the hatred I still have for her.
“Well, we both know what you will be doing tonight,” I laugh.
Travis sleeps with a different woman every night. I keep telling him to stop fucking around, but his answer is always the same. ‘I’m a thirty-two-year-old man. I’m rich and too good-looking to settle down.’
“How can anyone say no to this? Just look at me.” He’s sitting there waving his hand over his body. I lean back in my chair and shake my head at his antics.
“Text me the time and which bar. Now, get out of my office and go get the plans ready for London,” I tell him. I want this deal done by the end of the month and to have it opened this time next year.
“Will do, boss-man. See you tonight.”
Selena walks in as Travis leaves. She had better have some good news on getting a good teacher for the center. It can’t be that hard to find a good one. Emily has shot down every teacher that I thought was good enough to work at the center. Emily says nothing less than a five-star teacher will do. So, I told Selena to look outside of California. I even told her to consider new teachers fresh out of school.
“Mr. Knight, I have spoken to three teachers. One has just finished college and has no work experience. The other two have worked in schools for over ten years.” She places the three folders down in front of me and continues. “The one from Washington may not have any experience, but she was top of her class and she comes highly recommended by her instructors who have nothing but remarkable things to say about her,” Selena says, pointing to the one on top.
“You can leave now,” I tell her. I’m not worried about hurting her feelings. She’s been with me from the start and is used to my abruptness. Only once did she try to sass me, but it didn’t work out too well for her. I told her that if she ever even thought about speaking to me that way again, I would make sure she never worked in California again.
***
I spent my entire day going through the files on the teachers Selena gave me. I agreed with her about the teacher in Washington and told her to call and see when she could come in for an interview.
Walking into the bar to meet Travis, a woman slips in front of me, but I ignore her and continue walking over to the bar.
“Knight, she was up for it,” Travis says in the way of greeting.
“Not interested,” I yell over the bar top to the bartender for a whiskey neat, then turn around and watch the people enjoying their time together.
“You need to get back out there, dude. How about that group?” Travis points to the group of girls in the corner booth. “I mean, the redhead looks like a wild child,” he says, turning to one of his friends.
As I'm scanning the room, my eyes stop at the three girls dancing on the dance floor. There's no way I would forget those legs. My eyes roam upward and see the woman that has been on my mind all day. Lexi Jackson.
She hasn’t seen me, and continues to dance with the other girls. Stepping closer, I see her mouth moving, and all I can think about is the way those lips would taste. I’m not able to take my eyes off her. Watching her move to the music is the sexiest thing I’ve seen. That little dress she’s wearing shows off her gorgeous legs. If she were mine, I would never let her leave wearing something like that. I don’t want any of the dicks in the place gawking at what will soon be mine.
“Your drink.” Travis nudges me. Not taking my eyes off Lexi, I take the drink from him. “Who are you eyeing up?” I don’t answer him. I keep watching as a guy walks up behind her and puts his hands on her hips. She takes a quick look at him then starts dancing with him. “Fuck me. That woman can dance, and those legs…”
“Keep looking at her,” I say. My tone is sharp and biting and close to a snarl. He doesn’t question me as he moves his eyes away from her.
“I’m just looking. He’s the one touching her.” Travis nudges his head for me to look over to her again.
Drinking my whiskey in one swig, I slam the glass on the bar top and walk over to the dance floor. I tap the guy on the shoulder and shoot him a glare, letting him know I mean for him to take a hike. Without even blinking an eyelash, he leaves. Smart guy. I would have pounded his head in had he tried to fight me for her.
Placing my hand on Lexi’s hip, she stops and slowly turns around. The look on her face can only be described as icy. She's displeased, to say the least.
“You look sexy, but this dress,” I gesture to the tiny thing she's wearing, “You won’t be wearing it again.” There's no way I’m having anyone looking at her the way I am right now.
“Are you following me?” She takes a step back but can’t remove herself from my hands that are firmly placed on her hips.
I pull her closer to me again, making sure there isn’t any space between us. I can smell her perfume, along with a whiff of what must be her strawberry shampoo.
“I’m here with friends,” I say, with a tilt of my head toward the bar. I know Travis is watching me. He's probably thinking I’m finally about to let someone in, but he’s wrong. I won’t let her in. Deep down, I know she's no different.
“Didn’t think you had friends.” She lets her body relax and begins moving to the music with me. “You don’t strike me as the dancing type person,” she says, looking up at me.
“Not only do I know how to dance, I do it well. I’m amazing at many other things, too.” I bring my mouth closer to her ear and I hear her sharp inhale. “Would you like me to show you?” I whisper.
The music changes and the tempo slows down. As the first chords of Train’s Drops of Jupiter start playing, I pull Lexi even closer, placing my hand around her back.
“I don’t have sex with assholes,” Lexi replies, and I can’t help but smile. Licking my lips, I move closer to her.
“Who said I was talking about sex,” I whisper against her lips. Her shivers are all I need to know she’ll be back for more.
With that parting remark, I walk away and join Travis at the bar. He gives me a look, but I say nothing to him.
“You know she’s just rolled her eyes at you,” Travis says.
Ethan– I saw that.
I watch her as she takes out her phone and reads the message. She looks up at me, then puts it away before going back to dancing with her friends.
“She’s going to be a handful,” Travis says with a humorous tone.
Turning around to the bartender, I point to my empty glass for a refill. “She will be,” I say downing the drink and asking for another before turning back around to watch her dance. I'm going to make sure that Lexi agrees to what Jackie and I spoke about. Just watching her move to the music, I know I want her.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. Looking at the name flashing, I cancel the call and send Lexi another message.
Ethan– What time are you leaving? I'll take you home.
I wait for her to look at her phone. She's busy dancing with her friends. My eyes move to the group of men looking at her and her friends. Asking the bartender for a refill, I keep an eye on them. I don’t give a shit about the others, but Lexi is mine, and if they touch her, it'll be the last thing they do.
Taking my glass of whiskey, I see Travis walking over to the men. He whispers something to one of them, who looks over at me and leaves the bar. My eyes move back to Lexi, typing on her phone.
Lexi– I can make my way home!!
Ethan– I’m taking you. End of discussion!!
“What did you say?” I ask Travis as he walks back over.
“I told him that the girl is yours and if he touches her, he might not be walking out of here.” I turn to face him with a smile on my face. “This is the first time I’ve seen you like this over a woman since, ‘the person that shall not be named.’ I’m rooting for you.” He pats my back, but I stay focused on Lexi.