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“Girl, we have to find him.”
“I honestly wouldn’t know how. Which means this is the universe telling me it’s best this way.”
“Do not give me that woo-woo bullshit,” Emma scolds. “Trust me, perfect men do not materialize very often, if at all. I’ve never met one and I’ve looked under every rock in Manhattan. We need to search for him.”
“Even if I did find him and we saw each other again, all it would do is shatter the illusion. No one can be that perfect in real life. It was a fantasy night in a fantasy place. Just like in one of your books.”
“Not unless he’s a zombie,” she laughs. “God, Dusty, I’m just so happy for you. Are you okay? I mean…was it good for you?”
I almost feel emotional at the question. “Yeah. It was.” So much more than good. “I’m glad I waited for him.”
“Oh, hell, honey. He must have really been something special.”
“He was.”
“Are you sure you didn’t pick up any details we can use to find him?”
“I’ve tried. There’s nothing. It’s fine. I’m okay with that.”
I have to be okay with that.
“I still think it’s worth a shot,” Emma insists. “We need to have a pow-wow when you get here and go through everything.”
“We can try. It’s unlikely though, Em.”
She sighs. “Well, in that case, there are plenty more fish in the sea, girlfriend. We’ll hit New York. We have thousands of loaded hedge fund guys here for you to live out your billionaire fantasies with.”
“Yeah. Sure.” But I feel sort of devastated at the thought. And I know that “hitting” New York isn’t going to get Ace out of my head, any more than hitting Austin would. Our entire night together plays in a near-constant loop in my brain. So much so that it’s making me wonder if there’s any coming back from this particular brand of intoxication.
It was the searing intimacy of the whole thing that’s freaking me out. It wasn’t only physical. It was emotional. We got each other so high it felt almost spiritual. I’m not going to bother trying to explain to Emma that I felt closer to Ace—a man I literally know nothing about and who I spent a total of twelve hours with from beginning to end—than I’ve ever felt to anyone before. Ever.
And that feels dangerous.
“Sweetie, I have to go,” Emma says, “but I want to hear a lot more about your night with the hot billionaire. I’ll call you later. In the meantime, let me know if I can help with any of your planning. And don’t get distracted from your dream job by daydreaming constantly about some guy with a perfect dick—not that it probably is perfect, you realize. You need a few more to compare it to first.”
“Nope. No more dick, thank you very much. No dating. Business as usual. Laser focus.”
“Got it out of your system for now?” She giggles lightly.
“Exactly.”
If only that were true.
10
The office is busy, even though it’s almost seven p.m. by the time I get in from the airport. People are talking, researching, discussing. Everyone clearly knows about the fiasco now. And in the middle of it all is a stressed-looking Noah, who looks like he hasn’t slept since I left.
He sees me and tilts his head toward the elevator. I nod in reply and watch as he gently extricates himself from the people who surround him.
I should never have gone away. The whole place is in a fucking frenzy.
Even so, I’m very glad I did.
Once we’re in the haven of my office, Noah closes the door and leans his back against it, letting out a deep, exhausted groan. “Thank fuck you’re back.” He sits wearily on the leather couch.
“I take it everyone knows?” I head straight to the bar, which is concealed in one of the cabinets that line one wall. It’s a clever design. There’s even an ice machine. I pour us both a whiskey on ice. We both fucking need it.
“Yes,” he confirms. “There was a press leak, but we threatened to sue since an investigation hasn’t been confirmed yet and they pulled it. Colton and I held an employee meeting this morning to try to reassure everyone that we’re on top of things. We’re offering overtime and a generous bonus to anyone who finds anything we might be able to use. We wanted to wait for you but in the end decided to go ahead without you. We thought you’d be back yesterday. You weren’t answering your phone.”
