Chapter Seven
“So, what do you think?” asked Oscar.
Julia Lawson smiled. It was an uptight smile. He’d bet she’d take some loosening up, but she’d be worth it.
“I think it’s a great opportunity, Mr. Davenport. I’d love to work with you.”
“It’s Oscar, remember?” He rested his hand on the small of her back and guided her back toward the bar. The club was starting to fill up, but for some reason, he didn’t want to use that as an excuse to take her into his private room. Instead, he pulled out a seat for her at the end of the bar and then stood in close. She was starting to relax a little, and when she flipped her long, blonde hair over her shoulder and smiled up at him, he knew she was starting to play the game.
He probably shouldn’t be playing it. She was one of the architects he was considering for the new club. She was good—one of the best—and he admired her work. He also admired her ass—he closed his eyes briefly—it was a great little ass, even if it paled in comparison to the full, round ass that had been haunting him since Saturday night. Grace. Grace whatever-her-name-was had the best ass he’d ever seen. He wanted some of that ass. He wanted Grace.
“… Don’t you think?”
He looked down at the architect. She was smiling at him, encouraging him; it was subtle, but she was. She wasn’t to know that subtle wasn’t his thing, and she sure as hell wouldn’t dream that she couldn’t hold his attention because he was too busy fantasizing about an office girl and her big, gorgeous ass. He gave the architect—Julia, that was it—an apologetic smile. “I think you have some great ideas. Give my office a call when you’ve put something together. I’m sorry, I have to talk to someone.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and showed it to her as if it could explain. He didn’t need to make a call. He just needed to get away from her, to get somewhere quiet where he could let his imagination run wild. Grace had been plaguing his thoughts for days now. He’d kept pushing her away, but if she wasn’t going to leave him in peace so he could indulge in Julia, then he was going to at least have to let his imagination have its way with her.
As Julia looked down at his phone, it rang. He gave her an apologetic shrug as he walked away. He didn’t recognize the number, and his heart started to pound. It was Grace. He knew it.
“I was just thinking about you,” he answered, as he strode over to one of the private dining rooms and let himself inside.
The line was silent for a long moment, but he waited. She wouldn’t hang up on him; he knew it.
“What were you thinking?”
Damn, just the sound of her voice had him hard and aching for her. He leaned back against the door and decided to tell the truth, see where it took them. “I was thinking about your ass and what I’d like to do with you.”
“Excuse me?”
“No, I wasn’t thinking about excusing you.”
Her voice was low and husky when she finally spoke again. “What were you thinking about?”
He smiled. “Come over here, and I’ll tell you.”
“No.” She answered too quickly. She was open to the possibility, he could tell.
“You want to talk to me, don’t you?”
“No. Yes. I mean, of course, I do. I wouldn’t have called you if I didn’t.”
“So, come here. I can’t hear you very well on the phone. It’s a bad line. The club’s noisy.”
“It’s nine o’clock.”
“So?”
“So, by the time I get changed and get a cab over there, it’ll be ten o’clock, and I have to work tomorrow.”
“Then, don’t get changed. I’ll come to you. Where are you?”
“I’m not giving you my address.”
Oscar smirked. “Okay, where will you meet me?”
She was silent for a few moments. “Can’t we just talk on the phone?”
“What? Sorry? The line’s really bad. Where did you say I should meet you?”
She sighed. “The coffee shop, on the corner of Wilson and Oak. Meet me outside in fifteen minutes.”
“I’ll be there.”
Oscar chuckled to himself as he hung up. He couldn’t believe his luck. It was like he’d wanted her so much he’d somehow magicked her up. He let himself back out of the dining room and headed for the office. He was glad TJ wasn’t driving for him tonight. Darren would take him wherever he wanted to go and wouldn’t ask any questions.
He looked up as Oscar entered the office. “Is everything okay?”
“Better than okay. Get the keys. We’re going out.”
~ ~ ~
Grace hung up and stared at her phone. That hadn’t gone like it was supposed to. It wasn’t her fault. He’d thrown her off, answering the way he did. He was just thinking about her? He’d taken her breath away when he said that, and she still hadn’t recovered.
She jumped to her feet. Why had she agreed to meet him? And why the hell had she only given herself fifteen minutes? What kind of lunatic was she? She ran into her room. What was she going to wear? She’d said she didn’t have time to change, and he wasn’t expecting her to so she couldn’t put on anything nice—even if she had time. She opened her closet and stared desperately at the few things she had. Jeans—jeans were always good. She pulled out her favorite pair, she knew she looked good in them—uh-oh she also knew her ass looked great in them. Had he really been thinking about her ass? She pulled out a long cream-colored sweater. It was roomy, and long enough to cover her ass, but still pretty. She ran into the bathroom and checked her face. Eyeliner, lipstick, check. That was as much makeup as she ever usually wore. If he expected her to look like she had on Saturday night, he’d be disappointed.
She grabbed her purse and headed out. It was only a five-minute walk to the coffee shop. She still had another five minutes to spare when she got there. She went inside and relaxed a little when Spider looked up at her with a smile.
“Are you going to let me feed you? I noticed you didn’t get anything earlier.”
“No, thanks. I’m meeting someone.”
His eyebrows knit together. “Anyone I know?”
“Yeah, but it’s not what you think.” When she dated a new guy, she usually brought him in here at the beginning or end of the first date. Spider was the only family she had, and he liked to play the big brother role. Grace secretly loved feeling that she had someone in her corner, someone looking out for her.
“Who?”
“Oscar Davenport.”
Spider chuckled. “I knew it.”
“You don’t know a thing. I tried calling him, but he was at the club, and he couldn’t hear me, so he suggested we meet up to talk instead.”
“Yeah, right. So, you’re meeting him in here. Am I allowed to join in?”
“Umm, no. I’m meeting him outside.”
Spider smirked. “And where are you going?”
She shrugged.
“I’ll make you a deal, doll. You bring him in here before you leave, and I’ll let you get on with it. You don’t, and I might have to make things clear to him.”
Grace stared at him. “It’s not a date.”
Spider shrugged and rolled up his sleeves, revealing muscular forearms that she knew the ladies loved, but she also knew sent a very different message to men.
“Okay, okay. I’ll bring him in. For two minutes.”
Spider jerked his chin toward the front window. “You’d better go get him then.”
Grace followed his gaze.
“I don’t know anyone else who’d show up here in a limo.”
Grace’s heart pounded in her chest as she walked to the door. She needed to get a grip. No matter what he might think of her ass, this was about the center. Nothing else. She stepped outside at the same moment he stepped out of the limo. He was just as gorgeous as she remembered— more so, maybe. Tonight, he was wearing dark jeans and a black shirt. She had to consciously stop herself from licking her lips.
He held the car door open for her, but she shook her head.
His cocky smile faltered but only for a second. “You don’t want to come?” The glint of amusement in his eyes told her that yes, the double meaning was intended.
She nodded slowly. She wasn’t going to admit to that yes out loud. “I need you to meet someone first.”
“Who?”
“A friend. He’s like a big brother. He keeps an eye out for me.”
She was surprised when he smiled. “It’d be a pleasure.”
As he came toward her, the driver’s door opened, and a huge guy climbed out. “Everything okay, boss?”
“It’s all good, Darren. We’ll be with you in a minute.” Oscar opened the door to the coffee shop and let Grace go ahead of him.
When they reached the counter, Spider adopted his best intimidating stance. Grace wanted to poke him in the ribs to make him deflate his puffed-out chest a little. “Spider, this is Oscar Davenport. Oscar, meet Spider.” She pursed her lips. “Also known as Mr. Paul Webster.”
Oscar reached across to shake Spider’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Grace hid a smile as she saw him grimace. Spider was no doubt giving him the famous bone-crushing shake.
“Nice to meet you. I won’t keep you. Just wanted to see your face and to let you know Grace has people here, looking out for her.” He didn’t smile; there was nothing friendly in his face as he spoke.
If Grace didn’t know him so well, she’d be terrified. She looked at Oscar. He wasn’t worried. He held Spider’s gaze and nodded, then he handed over his card. “I understand.” He extended his hand again, and Grace knew what he was doing. He wasn’t a glutton for punishment; he was making a point. The hint of a smile on Spider’s face as they shook again told her he appreciated it.
“Okay.” She released the breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding. “Are you ready?” she asked Oscar.
He nodded and gestured for her to go ahead of him. She wasn’t sure if he was just that much of a gentleman or if he wanted to watch her ass.
“Ring me when you get home, Gracie,” called Spider as they reached the door.
She shot him a grin. “Will do.”
Oscar held the car door open for her, and she slid in. She looked around as he went to the other side to let himself in. She’d seen plenty of limos around, but she’d never been inside one before. It was fancy. The leather seats were soft, and the trim was all genuine wood.
Oscar slid into the seat beside her with a smile.
“Where to?” asked the big guy sitting up front.
“Home.”
Grace’s throat went dry. Home? They were going to his place? She turned to look at Oscar.
“We need to … talk, right?”
The way he paused before he said talk, sent shivers down her spine. She nodded. They did need to talk. That was all this was about. She had to ignore or forget or somehow disregard the effect he was having on her. It didn’t matter that the butterflies had taken to flight in her stomach. It didn’t matter that the electricity in the air between them was practically humming. All that mattered was that they should talk about the center and that she should somehow persuade him to help them out.
He pressed a button on the armrest and the little window to the front slid shut. Grace pressed her lips together and closed her eyes. The center. She just had to keep focusing on the center.
“Don’t you want to know any more?”
She gave him a puzzled look. It was hard to look at him and not smile. He was so handsome. His big dark brown eyes sparkled with amusement. His lips quirked up in the hint of a smile. “Know what?”
He brought his hand up to his mouth as if to cover his smile. She watched, mesmerized as he ran his thumb over his lips. For a crazy moment, she wanted him to run it over hers. “When I told you I was thinking about you, you asked me what I was thinking.”
Oh. Shit. Yeah. He’d said he was thinking about her ass and what he wanted to do. She swallowed. Hard. “Maybe you should wait your turn. I had something I wanted to tell you on Saturday, and we haven’t gotten to that yet.”
He smiled. “Not my fault. I asked you to tell me.”
She nodded. “True, but I don’t like to be rushed.” She accompanied the words with a meaningful nod, hoping he’d get the hint to go a bit slower.
He smiled, seeming to take her words as a sign that she might be open to whatever it was he was thinking if he took his time about it. “Okay. Tell me all about it. Why did you come looking for Oscar Davenport?”
She took a deep breath. She had to tell him. This was what it was all about. Just as she was about to speak, he reached across and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. The electricity in the air zapped through her, doing strange things to her stomach, and lower. She turned to meet his gaze, and he smiled. “I couldn’t resist. You do something to me, Grace.”
She bit the inside of her lip. Why wouldn’t he make this easy? In any other circumstances, she’d be thrilled that such a rich, good-looking guy wanted her. But this wasn’t right. He wanted something from her—and wasn’t making any attempt to hide it. She wanted something from him, and she had to tell him about it before anything else happened. The last thing she wanted was for this to end up seeming like a trade-off. She’d done a lot of things she wasn’t proud of in her life, but she wasn’t about to start using sex to get what she wanted—and she sure as hell didn’t want him thinking that was her plan.
She straightened up and leaned away from him. “Don’t.”
He withdrew his hand, and his smile disappeared. For a second, she thought he was angry to be rejected, but his eyes were full of concern. “Forgive me. I thought …”
She shook her head. “You thought right. Come on. I’ll bet you’ve never met a woman who wasn’t attracted to you. I am. I’m not going to lie, but that’s not what this is about. It’s more important than that.”
He cocked his head to one side. “What is? Tell me.”
“Okay. You put an offer on a lot on Gascoigne Street last week.”
He frowned. “How do you know that?”
“Because I work for Harry Dressel, and I run the community center that currently occupies the lot you’re buying.”
It was Oscar’s turn to sit back. “I see.”
“No, I don’t think you do see. When we met in the elevator last week, you must have been going to see Harry to make the offer.”
“But you work on the seventeenth floor.”
She rolled her eyes. “I work on the eighteenth—for Harry. But you were already going to the eighteenth floor, and I didn’t want to say the same floor as you.”
He smirked. “Why not?”
“I don’t know. I was stupid. I didn’t want you to think I was following you or something.”
There went the cocky grin again. “That’s not stupid. It happens.”
“I’m sure it does. But the point is, when I got to work after he’d met with you, I found out that he’s selling the lot that he lets us use. The center is a lifeline for so many people in the neighborhood. I don’t know what they’re going to do without it.”
Oscar frowned. “So, what, you’re going to ask me not to buy it?”
She shook her head impatiently. “That was my first thought, but I know it’s not realistic. It’s Harry’s way to retire, and besides, if you don’t buy it, someone else will. I just … well, I’ve done my research on you. You seem like a good guy. I kind of want to throw myself on your mercy and ask if there’s anything you can do to help.”
“Like what?”
“Make a donation, to help us find a new place, or at least to rent space.”
He looked deep into her eyes, making her feel he could read the truth of her soul through them. “Why would I want to do that?”
“Maybe you won’t, but I had to try. I had to see if you care about a bunch of latchkey kids, single moms, retired folk, and vets. I have to do something, so they’ll still have a place to go. I figure people like you donate to charities for a tax write-off. I thought maybe you could donate it to the people you’re throwing out.”
He nodded slowly.
Had she blown it? She had no clue. His face wasn’t giving anything away. She waited, but it was driving her nuts.
The car pulled off the road into a driveway where a big electronic gate swung open. She hadn’t been paying attention to where they were going, but they were now in a very high-end neighborhood. The limo crunched up a gravel driveway and came to a stop in front of a beautiful, Mediterranean-style mansion.
She turned to Oscar, who still hadn’t spoken. “Do you want me to leave?”
“Leave? Hell no!” His cocky grin was back. “Why would you leave? We’re just getting started.”