H unter

I walked across the parking lot of the Lovehouse with my hands in my pockets. This was one of the most sought-after restaurants in New York City, hidden away in the middle of Central Park by the lake. I never had issues getting a table here, or anywhere in the city. Most people knew my name because I owned one of the largest companies in the world. However, coming here with a date I was trying to hide might not be as simple as I had originally thought it would be .

Luckily, when I got inside, they moved me to a more private area where people wouldn’t notice me as much. I sat down and waited, running the edge of the tablecloth through my fingers, wondering what excuse Lexi had given her father for meeting me here. The dull roar of conversation and clinking dishes echoed through my head, and I looked up as the front door opened. There was Lexi, looking absolutely stunning in a short, sparkling red dress, heels, and her hair billowing down around her shoulders. I stuck my hand in the air and stood up, meeting her at her seat to kiss her on the cheek and push in her chair once she was seated. I walked back around to my chair and sat down, looking up at the waitress as she poured us both a glass of wine .

“You look stunning,” I told Lexi, smiling. “What did you tell your father ?”

“He was locked in his office when I left,” she said. “He didn’t even notice I was leaving .”

“I’m sorry you have to sneak around like this,” I said, shaking my head. “I don’t want to stop seeing you, but there are a lot of things surrounding this that could hurt us both. Unfortunately, this isn’t a simple thing .”

“I know,” she said, sighing. “But I agree that I want to keep seeing you, too. I want to see where this goes, and I think taking the risk is worth it .”

“I agree,” I replied, taking her hand. “Now, if we could just get your father some young hot thing, he might not even notice .”

“Yeah, right,” I scoffed. “My father is too old school for that .”

“You might be surprised,” I said, lifting my eyebrows. “I personally love the idea of a hot little thing on my arm, and you’re not too bad personality wise, either .”

“Well, what can I say,” she said, laughing. “You look incredibly handsome by the way .”

“Why thank you,” I said, leaning in. “I think you make me look good. Maybe we can look even better out of these clothes later on .”

“Why, Mr. Riggs, is that a proposal of the indecent variety?” She feigned shock and started laughing .

I stared across the table at this beautiful woman and no longer felt guilty for wanting her in my life. She was beautiful, funny, smart, and had the most gorgeous smile of any woman I had ever met. She lit up when she talked to me, and those sultry blue eyes sparkled in the low lights of the restaurant. We ordered some appetizers and sat talking about my company, my day, her day, and everything in between .

Conversation came easy to us, a lot easier than I expected since there was a twenty-one-year age gap between us. Never did I think that at forty-one years old I would be enjoying dinner with a twenty-one-year-old and actually be thinking about more than sex, though that was definitely on my mind. Her pouty lips, covered in bright red lipstick, made me want to take her to the bathroom and feel them wrapped around my cock .

I leaned forward and watched her adoringly as she talked about her time in college and her best friend Mandy. She switched over to talking about the things she was interested in doing with her degree. She was so creative and still had that whimsical outlook on the world that many people lost over the years. She definitely made me feel younger just by listening to her .

“What about you?” she asked. “Where do you want to take your company in the future ?”

“Well, I think that as far as expansion, we’re pretty set being all around the world,” I said. “My biggest goal now is to be on the cutting edge of technology. I want to be one step ahead of these hackers, and by employing the best to work with the most recent technological advances, I definitely think I can take the company to new heights .”

She started talking, and I glanced up at the front door, my smile fading fast as Kam walked in, his face toward the hostess. I froze and stood slowly. Lexi looked confused. She followed my eyes over to the front and then stood quickly, walking to my side. I grabbed the closest server and pulled my wallet out before handing him two hundred dollars .

“Take this,” I said. “Show this lady out the back. She cannot be seen. Do you understand ?”

“Yes, sir,” the waiter replied, looking over at Lexi .

“Lexi,” I said, turning toward her and kissing her on the cheek. “Go. We can finish this conversation later, okay? I will call you after dinner. I’m going to distract your father so you can get out safely .”

She nodded her head, took the server’s arm, and walked toward the kitchen. She looked back at me with worry, and I smiled at her, trying to comfort her nerves. When she was out of sight, I took in a deep breath and headed toward the front, putting my arms up in the air .

“Kam,” I said happily .

“Hunter,” he said, glancing back at the table. “I didn’t know you would be here .”

“Come, sit with me,” I said .

“Sure,” he replied, smiling. “If I’m not interrupting .”

“Of course not,” I said, leading him back to my table .

I walked over to my seat, clearing my throat and catching my breath. My heart was beating a million miles per hour, but I knew I had gotten Lexi out just in time. I couldn’t believe that Kam had shown up on the same night as Lexi and me. I was starting to think that hiding whatever we had going on wasn’t going to be as easy as I’d hoped. I was going to have to watch my back a little bit closer from now on. I realized, though, that bringing her to the Lovehouse, where everyone I knew came to eat, hadn’t been the wisest of choices. In the future, I would either cook at home or find a nice place across town where I knew Kam would never just randomly show up .

I sat down and signaled for the waitress. She walked over and removed the plates and glasses from in front of Kam. He looked at the bottle of wine and then the lipstick-stained glass as she pulled them away .

“I didn’t interrupt a hot date, did I? You always have some hot girl bouncing around you.” He laughed .

“No,” I said. “Sadly, she didn’t quite like my sense of humor and left. All the better. She was a bit of a prude anyway .”

“I could see that happening,” he said. “In fact, I’m surprised it doesn’t happen more to you .”

We laughed loudly, but inside, I felt guilty for what I had said. She had not been just some girl. She was Lexi, with her beautiful smile and bright eyes. I tried to force away the irritation I felt at being interrupted, knowing that Kam was her father and we had chosen to start something we knew could not be made public. I guessed I would just have to settle for having dinner with Kam, hoping that Lexi wasn’t too shook up from what had just happened. I knew she was tough, but I also knew she had a huge heart, and I didn’t want this occurrence to mess up what we had going for us .

I ordered a whiskey with Kam, and we had dinner and drinks until late in the evening. When he got up to use the restroom, I texted Lexi to make sure she was okay. She texted back with a smiley face emoji, and I imagined her lying in bed, texting me. Tonight had been a definite close call, too close if you asked me. I wanted this to go smoothly and without issues. We would have to sit down and talk about things and make sure we didn’t have another night like this one. I didn’t know if I could take it all over again .