AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Brodie
Well, I’ll be damned.
It had never occurred to me that Nara might not want me to rough up the little English punk who’d been making her life miserable.
My hotel security had tracked him down. While I wasn’t there to witness the conversation, they’d apparently put the fear of god in him as per my instructions.
If there was one thing I couldn’t stand it was betrayal. I was all too familiar with it, having experienced it in the depths of my soul. I didn’t want to see Nara suffer it the way I had.
But Christ if she wasn’t pissed that I’d tried to help. I had not anticipated that. Maybe I was so caught up being a knight in shining armor that I’d lost my perspective. And maybe I was so unused to dating smart, confident women, I hadn’t realized one of them might not need the kind of help I could offer.
Now I was kicking myself.
Why hadn’t I thought things through more carefully?
Protecting someone I liked was instinctual. So was making a messed up situation right.
That’s why I was working so hard to ensure the guys swindled by my father were made whole. And sometimes it seemed that as hard as I tried, I wasn’t making anyone happy in the end.
Now I was in the doghouse with Nara, and it looked like I might be there a long time, if not forever.
There was a knock at my office door, and Trudy stuck her head in. “I’m getting ready to head out for the night. Do you need anything else?”
“No, Trudy. Thank you.”
I needed something, but not anything Trudy could give me.
* * *
The hotel lobby was in its usual pristine state.
The marble shone like glass, the huge flower arrangements were balanced to perfection, and the staff floated across the floor, making sure every guest need was attended to. It was no accident this was the best hotel in town.
I watched the front desk from across the floor where Sonya was checking in some young actor whose name I couldn’t recall.
Always the professional, she didn’t bat an eye at celebrities, showing no more reaction for a famous rock star than she would for a mom from New Jersey in for a girls’ weekend.
I appreciated that about her.
“Sonya, how are you today?” I asked when she was free.
She licked her full lips, and I felt a twitch in my trousers.
“Oh, Mr. Harcourt. Hello.” She looked down at her hands as her face turned a bright pink.
Her coworker, Scott, summoned the next guest over so she could speak with me.
“Sonya, I told you to call me Brodie.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just that in our staff meetings they refer to you as Mr. Harcourt. So that’s just what I automatically call you.”
“I see. Hey, is your shift ending right about now?” I asked.
She looked at her watch and her eyebrows rose in a knowing look. “Wow. I guess it ended about five minutes ago.”
Finished with his guest, Scott said, “I’ve got it under control, Sonya, if you’re wanting to take off.” Awesome guy.
She looked at me and smiled, straightening up her workspace. Without a word, she exited through the door behind reception using her security key card. She held it open for me and I followed her in.
She was just so hot in her uniform, which stretched across her huge tits and accentuated her small, trim waist. She reached up, hooked her hands behind my head, and began kissing my neck.
But instead of devouring her as I would have in the past, my arms hung at my side, frozen.
All I could think about was Nara.
Shit. I removed Sonya’s arms from my neck.
“I’m so sorry,” I told her. And I left.
* * *
That night on my way home in the limo, I called my brother.
“Dalt,” I said when he answered.
“Bro. Good to hear your voice.”
“Hey, I’m ready to take some action on the hotel business.”
“Yeah? What did you have in mind?” he asked.
“Couple things. One, I want to connect with your investors who are interested in San Francisco. And two, I think I’m gonna have my lawyer write up papers to buy out my partners’ shares in Vertigo.”
He exhaled hard. “Wow. Do you have the cash?”
“I’m not sure. That’s why I was hesitating. I’ll have to liquidate some investments. But it’ll be fine. I’ll get those douches off my back and out of my life.”
Dalt breathed a laugh. “You probably should have done that from the get-go.”
“Yeah, you’re right. But partnering with them seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I know better now, since I discovered their plans to fuck me over.”
“Sounds like you know what you’ve got to do, Bro.”
* * *
Once home, I found the apartment painfully empty without Nara, and yet, her essence was as strong as if she’d never left.
Her faint perfume filled the air, a few of her long hairs lie on her pillow, and the glass by the side of the bed bore a hint of her lipstick.
God, I was turning into a pussy.
I wasn’t sure whether I’d blown it with her, but my pride was chafed that my efforts had gotten me into hot water. I’d honestly thought I was doing the right thing in threatening Simon, and the caveman part of me was pissed she didn’t appreciate it.
But the modern me realized that a woman as smart and accomplished as Nara didn’t need my rescuing.
Hell, she’d developed her own software app and founded her own company. Sure, she’d married herself into a corner with a soulless prick, but she’d find her way out.
Just like I’d find my way out from under my business partners, and the HWE partnership.
