AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He shrugged. “I can’t let it go to waste. It would, just sitting around here with no one to drink it. Might as well finish it off and take a cab.”
Lexi squinted at him, but her fingers curled around the glass. He poured his own full, to match hers. He’d never done this. Never drank so much wine, but also never stood in his kitchen with a woman he genuinely was interested in. It had been well over a good year since he’d actually wanted to take someone out. Generally, he asked women out because he was either lonely or because there was a work function, or some other function and he needed a date. They weren’t in short supply. He had contacts all over the place. Platonic friends, real friends, women who didn’t mind being arm candy for the evening. They knew it was nothing more. He knew it was nothing more.
Seattle’s Most Eligible Bachelor has actually been off the shelf for a while. Seattle just didn’t know it yet.
“So- you said that you didn’t have everything handed to you. You do actual work?” Lexi sipped her wine. She shifted from one foot to the other, but she seemed genuinely interested in an answer.
“Of course, I do. Where do you think I spend most of my days?”
“I don’t know. Golfing? Schmoozing it up with other uber-rich dudes? Playing video games in your underwear?”
“Who says schmoozing?” He threw it back at her just because she’d thrown poser in his face.
“I do,” she shot back, ever up for the challenge.
“What about all the travel you book me? Do you think I just go to those places to kick back and do nothing on the company’s dollar?”
“Yeah, pretty much.” Lexi slammed the glass up to her mouth to hide her smirk. “I have to admit this is pretty good wine.”
“I would hope so. It probably cost ten thousand for the bottle.”
“What?” Lexi just about sprayed wine everywhere. She clapped her free hand, the one not holding the glass, over her mouth. “Are you freaking kidding me? We’re standing here chugging it like a ten-dollar bottle.”
“Ten dollars, ten thousand. What does it matter?”
Lexi’s eyes practically rolled in the sockets. “That’s exactly what I was talking about. The entitlement. This sense of the world owing you something. Or, maybe that’s not right. Not that the world owes you something. You probably don’t think it owes you anything because you have so much money you could buy whatever you want. You’ve had all that money since birth, so you don’t appreciate it. That’s the problem I guess I have with you. That you wouldn’t stop to think that this wine, this crazy expensive, ten-thousand-dollar bottle of wine could have bought someone a decent vehicle or housed them for a year or fed them for two or three years. You don’t have a sense of empathy or compassion because you’ve never been in those shoes. You fly all over the world, first class every single time. You live in a mansion. You own god knows how many cars. Anything- cooking, cleaning, even your laundry, and shopping- it’s all done for you.”
“So?” He leaned back against the counter, watching as Lexi’s were painted with a bright shade of scarlet that had nothing to do with the wine she’d consumed. “What’s your point?”
“My- my point?” Lexi spluttered. She pointed at the half empty bottle of wine. “That’s my point! You don’t even care!”
“I happen to care very much.” That brought her pretty, tight little buns up short. Her bow lips parted, and she gaped at him like he’d just grown a visible third testicle at the end of his nose. “I could tell you that if I didn’t enjoy your company or if it wasn’t a reason of sorts to celebrate, I never would have brought out the bottle. I could tell you, but I know you’ll call me on the bullshit, so I’ll just be upfront. That bottle has been in my parent’s cellar for years. They passed it down to me. If you weren’t here right now, it would still be there, collecting dust. I do happen to think you’re worth sharing the ten-thousand-dollar wine with. I very much know the value of everything. I never make a move without thinking first. It’s served me well in business.”
“A business you were just given like a gift wrapped on Christmas morning.” Lexi recovered quickly and it was apparent she wasn’t going down without a fight. She’d sink with her ship like a true captain, right to the bitter end. He half hated it and half loved it, considering watching her battle it- watching her lips work, her cheeks turn scarlet, her eyes dance with intelligence and darken with emotion was arousing, to say the fucking least.
“A business that I happen to have doubled the value of. What started out in my grandfather’s garage is now worth billions. Thanks to my work these past years.”
