Griffin frowned. “True! It slipped my mind.”
I turned around slowly because this question required direct eye contact, not eye-to-mirror-to-eye. “Griffin, have youeverhad a long-term relationship?”
He shook his head. “No. I date often—too often, as Jude pointed out. But I haven’t had a relationship since starting Sterling Investments. Relationships need time, and that’s a luxury I don’t have.”
I was fighting to keep my face neutral. I mean, the man was smoking hot. If he wanted to be a serial dater—a term I much preferred towomanizer—then why not?
He rose to his feet, walking toward me with a wry smile. “You’re judging me.”
I cleared my throat. “I’m trying very hard not to.”
“But you are.” A smile played on his lips.
“And you’re not mad about it.”
“I don’t care what people think about me. It’s what got me into this situation in the first place. My brothers kept advising me to be more discreet. I told them it was no one’s business what I did with my private life.”
He cast a hot-as-hell glance at me. I couldn’t maintain eye contact when he was this close. He seemed even larger than life than back at the bar.
I turned around, focusing on the mirror. He stood behind me. His presence was dominating the space, and it unnerved me.
“So, tell me about your house.”
“It’s in Point Loma. It’s a very modern construction. Wait, I have some pictures.” He took his phone out of his pocket, swiped a few times, then held it so I could see.
“Oh, wow. Griffin, this is wonderful.” His house was like something out of a magazine.
Our worlds were on separate levels entirely. If it weren’t for this freak coincidence of going to The Loft at the same time, we wouldneverhave met, I was sure of it. But all that didn’t matter now. This was a favor. After tonight, I’d never see him again.
“I’ll say that I’ve been to your house a few times. Oh, right,where did you live before? Not sure it’ll come up, but it’ll look bad if Jude asks and I don’t know.”
“I had a bachelor’s pad in the Gaslamp Quarter.”
“I love the Quarter,” I said.
Griffin nodded. “So do I, but I wanted more space. I was a bit crammed in there.”
I listened intently as I finished applying my foundation.
“So, what exactly do you do for a living? Would you talk about work with a real girlfriend?”
Griffin tilted his head as if considering my words. “If she was interested, why not? I’d share everything with her. So, I do several things. The first thing you have to know about me, what most people know, is that I founded Sterling Investments with my brothers.”
“You mentioned that on the phone, but I don’t know much about it. Is it a bank?”
He looked incredulous. “I think you’re one of the first people I’ve met who doesn’t know Sterling Investments.”
I winced. “The financial world isn’t really my scene.”
“It’s not a criticism.” He put a hand on my arm. Goose bumps broke out on my skin, and it turned hot at the point of contact as he brushed his thumb up and down. “It’s refreshing, honestly.”
He removed his hand, pushing it into his pocket.
“We have a platform where people make transactions on the stock market. For bigger investors, we make investments for them. Chase and Duncan are co-CEOs. The rest of my brothers and I own shares and are involved in strategic decisions but don’t do day-to-day operations anymore. Each of us has a few companies we manage by ourselves. I, for one, invest a lot in all sorts of digital companies. I’m on their boards as an adviser, investor, and co-owner.”
“That sounds very interesting. I bet you never get bored.”
“Never,” he said without missing a beat. “I love what I do.”
