Chapter Nine
Amber
I blinked several times, feeling the morning sun hitting my face. I opened my eyes. It was a good morning. I felt good. A slight hangover, but nothing a cup of coffee and a couple ibuprofen wouldn’t cure. I stretched my arms out and hit something hard and hot. I blinked in confusion and turned my head.
“Oh shit,” I mumbled.
That was why I felt so good. Harry was in bed next to me. I had thought it was a dream when I first started to wake up. The alcohol had certainly relaxed my inhibitions—that and any common sense I may have had. I had very willingly let the man convince me to go to bed with him. I had practically asked for it.
My eyes roamed over his large, tanned chest. He clearly spent a lot of time in the sun. He probably had a yacht. In fact, now that I thought about it, he did have a yacht. I had seen pictures in various tabloids of him gallivanting around the world and hanging out in tropical areas with his woman of the week. I had gone home with the Martin playboy. I took in the sight of his flat abdomen and smiled. The man was built, in every way. Something caught my eye, and I looked a little farther south to see a tent forming under the sheet thrown across his legs.
I looked up at his face. His eyes popped open, and a grin spread across his face.
“Good morning,” he said in a husky voice.
“No!” I shouted. “I can’t believe—oh, my God.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t look that bad.”
I jumped out of bed, pulling the sheet with me and inadvertently leaving him naked. I shrieked when I looked down at his jutting cock, which sparked a flood of memories. Images of what we had done, or more like what he had done to my body, flashed through my mind.
I glanced around, looking for my clothes. Things had come off in a bit of a frenzy last night. I dragged the sheet behind me as I collected my clothing before heading to the bathroom and dressing as fast as I could. I hated the walk of shame.
I walked out, hoping to sneak out without him seeing me. I didn’t get so lucky. He was standing in the open kitchen.
“Do you want some coffee?” Harry asked, wearing only his briefs. The man looked too good to be true. Looking that good should have been illegal.
“No. I have to go. I’m late,” I said, not making eye contact.
“You don’t have to rush out. I can call and let the boss know you’re running late, or maybe I can call in sick for you. We can climb back into bed and I can show you a few more of my moves,” he said smoothly.
My eyes jerked up to his. “Don’t you dare,” I hissed. “You can never tell him about this.”
He was smiling. He had been joking.
“Why? You don’t want your boss to know you spent the night with me? Don’t want him to know you lowered your standards for the night? That you deigned to spread your legs for the second born?”
I groaned. “Please, don’t. It was just one of those things. We hooked up. End of story.”
He made a big show of sighing before nodding his head. “Your secret is safe with me. Seems like I am the keeper of a lot of your secrets. A lesser man would use that to his advantage.”
The guy was extremely arrogant. He had reason to be if I was being truly honest. It didn’t make it any better.
“This was a mistake,” I blurted out. “A big mistake.”
“Why? We’re two consenting adults who had some fun together. How can that be a mistake?” he asked. “It wasn’t like we did anything illegal. Well, not completely illegal,” he said in a voice that threatened to make me wet.
“It was a mistake because we were both drinking. That was stupid. We’re too old to do stupid stuff like that.”
He laughed. “I think we’re the exact age to do that kind of thing.”
“I work for your brother, and I loved him, or at least I thought I did. This is so wrong,” I said, gesturing between us. “It was stupid. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done this. It isn’t like me to act so-so-irresponsible.”
Once again, he smirked. “We were responsible.”
I rolled my eyes. “You know what I mean. I’m not one to pick up a guy at a bar and go home with him, despite my actions last night. So, uh, thanks, but I need to go.”
I walked to the door of his luxurious bachelor pad and quickly stepped out. I remembered we were on the top floor of one of the tallest buildings in Dallas. The Martin family owned the building. I took the elevator down to the lobby, hoping no one would realize I was wearing what I’d had on the night before. When I walked out of the building, I was assailed by heat and brilliant sunshine. The bright sun had me squinting my eyes. I dug in my purse and pulled out my sunglasses.
I quickly hailed a cab to take me home. I needed to shower and get my ass to work. I was never late, and I never called in sick. I couldn’t let William disrupt my life. I had to get a grip.
At home, I turned up the hot water, wanting to wash away all traces of Harry. Washing my body only reminded me of the way he had touched me. The man had magical hands. I didn’t have time to reminisce. It took me less than thirty minutes to shower and dress.
I had hoped to slide into work with my tardiness unnoticed. I didn’t get so lucky.
“You’re late,” William said, meeting me in the hall.
“Sorry,” I said. “I had an appointment this morning. I thought I told you about it,” I said in a smooth lie.
I impressed and scared myself at the same with how easy the lie rolled across my lips. He instantly looked sorry, and I almost felt guilty.
“Oh, you probably did. Things have been crazy. I must have forgotten. I’m sorry to have been upset.”
I smiled and nodded. “It’s fine.”
“How are you?” he asked in that familiar voice that was meant to disarm and charm the target.
Now that I knew that voice was fake, it pissed me off.
“Don’t,” I said.
“What?”
“Don’t ask me how I am. You don’t get to know. What you did was despicable. You aren’t the man you pretend to be.”
“Don’t be like that. I do care. I want to know you are okay.”
“I should probably get to work,” I said, wanting to get away from him.
He reached out and touched my arm. “Amber.” He said my name, and it felt as if he were literally squeezing my heart. “Please, come in here for a minute,” he said, pulling me toward an empty conference room.
“William, don’t,” I whispered. “I can’t. You hurt me, and I’m not going to let you do it again.”
“This isn’t what I meant to happen,” he said in a soft voice. “I would never intentionally hurt you.”
“I know,” I finally manage to get out around the lump in my throat. “You didn’t mean it, but it happened, and I don’t want it to happen again.”
“We can be friends, can’t we?”
“Were we friends before?”
“You know what I mean,” he replied.
“I don’t know that I do know what you mean. I don’t think I know you at all. You’re engaged to be married to another woman. How long did you know you were going to marry her? Did you know before our time together last month?”
He didn’t answer. His head dropped, and he stared at his feet.
I nodded. His actions spoke louder than words. “I thought so.”
“Amber, I know what I said the other night, but maybe, once things have settled down—”
“Don’t. Please, don’t even finish that sentence.”
He smiled. “Fine. I’ll back off, for now,” he said with a wink.
I hated that he could still flirt with me as if nothing had changed. It was his flirting that had gotten me into trouble in the first place.
“I’m going to work,” I said and walked away.
I hated being near him.
“Wait!” he shouted.
I turned to look back at him. “What?”
“We have a lunch.”
“We?” I said, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes, you and me. It’s a business lunch. It’s been on the calendar for weeks,” he reminded me.
I rolled my eyes. “Of course. I forgot. Let me grab my laptop.”
I rushed to my desk, dreading the coming lunch. When I had scheduled that lunch, I had volunteered to attend. I’d been happy to sit next to him and pull up various charts and files he would need. That was before I knew he was marrying another woman, before I knew he was using me to keep his bed warm until Tiffany stepped in.
He was waiting for me by the elevator.
“Ready?”
“Yes. Let’s go.”
The ride in the elevator was tense. I didn’t want to be alone with him in such a small space. It was weird and incredibly awkward.
The second the doors slid open, I practically ran out. With long strides, I made my way outside. His limousine pulled up, and we climbed in. Once again, we were trapped in a small, intimate space. We had been in the back of his limo before. I quickly dismissed the memory. I had to keep my guard up. I wasn’t going to let myself fall for his tricks ever again.
“We need to be able to work together,” William said in a cool voice.
“I can work with you just fine.”
“You’re acting differently.”
I shrugged. “I suppose I am.”
“Amber—”
“William, we have to work together. I think its best if we keep things on a professional level. I’m being professional.”
He nodded. “I understand. Things will be tense for a while, but it will get easier.”
“Yes, it will,” I said with a fake smile.
The car stopped, and the driver opened the door. We walked into the restaurant and took our seats. I managed to get through the lunch without choking on my food or him. He was still trying to flirt. Once lunch was over and my part of the meeting was finished, I excused myself and took a cab back to the office. I was not about to get stuck in that limo with him again.
At the office, I tried to focus on my work. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get the images of Harry out of my head. I was seriously screwed up. I had slept with brothers within a month of each other when I thought I was in love with one.
I had thought it would be a way to get back at William for hurting me. Instead, it had only complicated things. The only option I could see was avoiding Harry at all costs. It shouldn’t be too hard since he rarely showed up at the office. I would keep my cool with William, and this whole thing would blow over.
Now, if I could only get myself to forget about the younger brother. I had traded one for the other.
“Smart, Amber, really smart,” I muttered to myself, trying to focus on the spreadsheet in front of me.