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Hunter
It feels strange thinking of someone at my apartment. Someone like Lexi Mackenzie. For some reason, she stays with me all day and I am struggling to think about anything else. That alone annoys me because I have much more important things to worry about—namely why my business is causing so many problems for Lucas.
It’s not just the gambling world either. The markets are shaky which is affecting the London Stock Exchange and Tokyo, not to mention the ones all around the world and investors are edgy, wondering what’s going down and the economy is shaking.
I am drawn into meetings to unravel this shit and by the afternoon I’m in an extremely bad mood. So, when Miss. Baxter tells me Amber fucking Dominguez is on the line, it takes me a moment to think of a polite way to tell her to go fuck herself.
Instead, I growl irritably, “Tell her I’m in a meeting, and it will take the rest of my life, so don’t call again.”
There’s an awkward silence as Miss. Baxter actually thinks I’m serious and I sigh irritably. “Actually, tell her I’m in a meeting and then arrange some flowers, usual order and include a note thanking her for her company last night, but nothing else. The last thing I want to do is encourage the woman.”
“Yes, sir.”
I cut the call and wonder about Amber. We went out once last night although she has been hovering on the edge of my company for years now. Her father, Joseph Dominguez, has made no secret of his desire to see his daughter marry well and that appears to be me, apparently. Although very beautiful, she is not for me because if I was on the market for a hard bitch-faced wife who would probably fuck the pool boy while I was working, then she passes the grade. No, marriage is not for me because I couldn’t think of anything worse than having another person to consider apart from myself.
Even my family irritates the shit out of me and I only see them once a month on the last Sunday. Mom insists on that and I usually endure it for lunch and then make my excuses and leave. Come to think of it, that happens this Sunday and I wonder what they will make of Lexi. I wonder what I make of Lexi because that woman is different to anyone I’ve ever met. A soft-shell hiding steel inside. One bite and you would probably break your teeth. A bitter taste inside sweetness and I shiver when I think of that woman currently unpacking and invading my sterile life.
For some reason, I replay the footage of when she arrived and study her a little closer. I’m not sure why I feel compelled to do so because I have much more urgent shit to deal with right now but as I watch her study her phone as she waited, I pick up on the little quirks that set her apart from the rest. The way she chews on her bottom lip as she concentrates. The way she flutters those long lashes as she studies her phone. The slight smile to her lips as she finds something amusing, and then the frown as she discovers something distasteful.
Shifting on my seat a little, I zoom in a little closer and run the camera over her body. The dress that somehow makes her appear feminine as it wraps around her body. The slightly larger than normal breasts that strain against the fabric, causing it to part as she shifts in her seat. Those long legs that poke out from beneath her hemline and the slim ankles that reveal she has very small feet. The woman herself must be 5ft 9 at least because even in flat shoes she looks tall and willowy. I am particularly fascinated by her hair. Beautiful blonde locks that touch her shoulder and look glossy and clean. I’m imagining how good that feels running through my fingers and those eyes. A man could drown happily in those eyes and forget life.
Just remembering how good those lips felt against mine makes me hard as I remember how she tasted. Like sugar cookies warm from the oven. Yet there was something else in that kiss. It was so incredibly sexy, not least because of the woman who engineered it.
Then she had to ruin it all by opening her smart mouth and just like that, the image shatters and turns to dust. Yes, Lexi Mackenzie is a problem for me and one I could sure do without right now and just thinking of that woman anywhere near me makes me reach for the bottle to drown my misery.
Luckily, I have many meetings to occupy my time and as each one passes, I get even more irritable. I know I’m not in a good place right now because I like to maintain control of every aspect of my life and it’s plainly obvious I’ve lost control of the most important part of it right now, the part that makes more money than there are figures to describe. By the end of the day, I’m no further forward and I even consider sleeping at the office tonight on the couch because there is still so much to do.
However, tonight I need to head home and see what trouble that woman has caused me in my own apartment because it unnerves me thinking of her there alone. She could be rifling through every secret I own right now, and I definitely wouldn’t put that past her. So, strangely, her promise of dinner at seven is playing on my mind and to my surprise, I buzz Miss. Baxter at 6.30 and say bluntly, “Tell my driver to be ready in ten minutes.”
“Of course, sir.”
She sounds shocked and so am I because I rarely leave this place before 10 pm unless I have a business function to attend, as was the case last night. It’s all about working with me and yet tonight I have a different kind of business on my mind. Figuring out the woman who’s come to stay.
As I head out of my office, I ignore everyone I see. To be honest, I stopped seeing them years ago. Faceless bodies that have some role here, people who work hard and play even harder. I don’t play, which is why I’m so good at what I do. No distractions, no setting off course, and as a result I’m even more irritable that I’m heading home at this ungodly hour.
As usual, Dobson is waiting for me and I slide into my car and check my emails on the ten-minute journey home. As soon as we come to a stop in my underground car park, I exit the car and Dobson says reverently, “Will that be all, Sir?”
“Yes, thank you, Dobson, same time tomorrow morning.”
He nods and I step into my elevator without a backward glance and prepare myself for an excruciating evening with the feisty assassin who has taken up residence in my life.
* * *
The first thingthat strikes me as I venture into my apartment is the smell. It’s different. Unusual even, and I head toward it. It’s coming from the kitchen and for some reason it’s making my mouth water. As I step inside the doorway, I’m surprised to see Lexi humming along to the music she has playing as she makes herself at home in my kitchen cooking something that smells amazing. She looks up and smiles, which takes me back a little and it’s not just because she’s wearing an apron with her hair tied up and what appears to be cut-offs and a tight vest.
“Hi, honey, good day at the office?”
She winks and finds herself a comedian as she giggles and points to a chair at the table by the window. “Dinner’s ready in five but I can hold it a while if you want to shower and change, or I can dish up now, your choice.”
She holds out a large glass of red wine and says as an afterthought, “I hope you don’t mind. I raided your cellar. This one looks a cheeky little number.”
She flutters her eyelashes and I’m struggling to comprehend how I’m feeling right now, because this is unexpected.
She’s even set the table as if we’re in the finest restaurant and just looking at the bread rolls nestling under a cloth on the table makes my stomach growl and so I receive the wine with a nod and say bluntly, “I’ll change later.”
I take the glass and sit facing her and wonder how to play this because if anyone outside was looking in, they would think this was more her home than mine.
She cuts the music and smiles. “So, this is all a little strange, wouldn’t you say?”
