Chapter 5
1026 Palabras
Chapter 5
“All dates are off,” I informed Rosalyn the next morning as I perched on the edge of an office chair.
Kate crossed her arms over her chest and gaped. “Are you out of your mind?”
Why did I have to answer to her too? Best friends forever, but now she was working on my last nerve. I lifted my chin higher. “He broke the rules, and that was his final move.”
Rosalyn smiled with a single corner of her mouth. She was impressed, even though she’d have to do the work of having to look for a replacement for me. She knew I was no pushover and respected me more than the others although she treated everyone on the team equally.
It was Kate who had the problem. Her shoulders loosened as her eyebrows squished together. “Where’s your brain, Chloe? The man is a billionaire. He’s got enough money to pay your father’s medical bills and put you through college. It’s your dream, remember?”
“I haven’t forgotten about that,” I told her with a stern look. “That’s why I’m leaving.”
Rosalyn jerked back as her mouth fell open. She relaxed her shoulders again as her lips formed a calm smile. “But you had agreed on one final project. Projects consist of four to five dates, perhaps more. Do you think I would have allowed you to take over for Kate if I knew you were going to back out after only one date?”
The base of my skull ached. They weren’t listening. I tried again, this time with more enunciation. “I was perfectly willing to do four to five dates, but I have ethics, and his kiss was too long and uncomfortable. I specifically stated in my profile that I would not participate in such conduct,” I reiterated. I recalled how my body temperature had reached the point where my pores tore open into a hot sweat. He had made me so nervous that my hands trembled as I adjusted my bra.
Kate grabbed the desk with one hand and leaned toward me. “Let me get this straight. You’re leaving because of a long kiss?”
She tried to make it sound silly. But how could I slow-kiss different guys every week? Eww. I had to draw the line, and I was surprised she hadn’t formed the same boundaries. I swallowed. “Yes. Lengthy make-out sessions are forbidden.”
Kate waved the answer away, shaking her blond locks. “Hand him over to me, I’ll f**k him senseless.”
A few days ago she was in her bathroom robe, lying in bed with a fever.
“Weren’t you sick?” I drew in a quick breath as wheels moved inside my brain. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea. Want to trade? You take my place. I’d much rather have your boring Mr. Wilson anyway.”
“Quiet down, girls,” Rosalyn interrupted. “No one is going to swap and f**k poor Jake senseless. He called here this morning.”
I leaned toward her desk. This ought to be good.
“He apologized for the breach of contract and offered to pay a penalty price… a bonus.”
I fought to control a gasp as my butt slipped from the edge of the seat. “What?”
Her eyes moved down my body as if she was sizing me up. “$10,000 for the girl in blue.”
Kate settled back in her chair. “Oh shit.”
Rosalyn smirked, holding her mouth open. She tilted her head to the side and picked up her phone receiver. “Shall I let him know you’re available for Friday?”
My mind scrambled as I pictured my options. I closed my eyes and grew stiff. That would take care of a hell of a lot of bills. I reopened them and focused on her prissy face. “Yes, Ma’am,” I mumbled.
Her eyes never flickered. Not even a blink. “Have a nice time, dear.”
Kate and I left the office as more questions piled into my head. What in the world was he thinking, paying that kind of money for a date? I couldn’t stop my face from forming a scowl. Adrenaline surged through my veins. “Has he lost his mind?”
She stopped in the hallway. “Can you not see what’s going on here?”
I raised my hand in protest and offered a bemused smile at her brilliant question. “No, please enlighten me, Einstein. You have all the answers. Tell me why a gorgeous billionaire put down $10,000 for a date with someone he barely knows.”
She opened her mouth to answer, then slammed it shut. “Wait a minute. You like this, don’t you?”
“No.” I shook my head vigorously. “Absolutely not.”
She crossed her arms. “Bullshit, Chloe. You have to admit it’s kind of hot.”
“All right, it’s flattering. He’s so captivating that I melt in his presence,” I murmured, twirling a lock of my hair around a finger before letting it go. My core became moist with craving and I immediately regretted the words I’d said, but I continued. “It’s as if the world stops spinning when he talks to me and whispers breathless comments into my ear. His kisses are soft and tender, yet demanding.”
Kate’s eyes were as wide as half-dollar coins. “Lord have mercy. Turns me on just hearing about him.”
I drew in a deep breath and straightened my back. “He’s a powerful man—dangerous and manipulative. And that is what makes this all very scary.”
She scratched the middle of her forehead. “Hmm. What kind of man would pay that much money to sit at a dinner table with no promise of s*x?”
A tightness grew over my chest. No promise of s*x was right, and I wasn’t going to bend the rules for him. Not even one bit.
End of book 1
- Autor
