Carlyle
Standing on the sidewalk, I flicked my cigarette into the gutter as strange anxiety burrowed deep in my gut. Jerry’s replacement couldn’t figure out whose voice was on that threatening video but suggested adding a tracker to the email to at least figure out where in the world it came from.
The only issue was that all code had personal quirks, and I needed to have someone write that wasn’t associated with me.
“You nervous about your date?” Glancing over at Theo, I only shook my head, but that’s probably exactly what I was feeling. I hadn’t been on a date since high school, and that was just social awkwardness— and the potential to have sex, of course. Since then, it’d just been the occasional hookup until I realized I could just buy one off Wren.
Until Wren so foolishly got played by that desertsnake.
“Have you taken Illya on a date yet?” Theo took his turn to shake his head, and I arched a brow quizzically. “Why not?”
“Why would I bring her to a place like this when I can order in and fuck her?” Rolling my jaw, I bopped my head in acceptance of that logic, and Theo leaned on the wall with a grunt. “I’ll take her somewhere when I tell her to marry me. Until then, it doesn’t really matter.”
“When youtellher?” A laugh escaped me, but Theo’s glare was very serious, and I coughed to cover it up and stuffed my hands in my pockets. “Fine . . . fine. I get not giving her the opportunity to turn you down because she won’t, regardless.”
“Like fuck she would. I’ll kill her before I let her walk away from me.” There wasn’t anything I could say to that, and Theo clenched his hand into a tight fist as his right arm bulged slightly from the tension in him. “She doesn’t get a choice.”
“It’s a good thing she loves you, then, isn’t it?”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”Yet.I could hear the hope in his voice. Theo was helplessly in love with that little firecracker, and hewantedher love in return. Clearing his throat roughly, he smoothed down the dress jacket he borrowed from me and straightened his shoulders. “Anyway, I hope she’s not late. You only rented the place out for three hours.”
“Now, who’s the nervous one?” Smirking at the nasty glare he sent me, I chuckled lightly, and it almost felt like we were . . . pals. Rocking back on my heels to sigh, I let the silence stretch, and Theo didn’t try to revive the conversation. My mind roamed to why I’d arranged this in the first place and the why underneath that reason.
Things like this took time, I knew. Chances were, I’d be sitting around with my thumb in my ass for a month. If I got lucky, Valerie’s sister would put a rush on it, but I didn’t want to wave money in her face anddemand.
Just as the thought entered my mind, a car drove up to the curb, and I stepped forward to pop open the back door. The woman who’d stopped me on the road last week stepped out first, and I held my hand out for her as a sleek, black heel touched the pavement. They had to be close in age, they looked so much alike, and I smiled politely even as the knots in my abdomen tightened.
Valerie’s smooth heel was enveloped in dark red leather, and she emerged from the back of the car to show off long, beautiful legs. She and her sister were the same height, but Valerie’s legs looked so much better. When I blinked, I could picture them wrapped around my waist. The sleek, black dress hugging her thick curves and clinging to one shoulder was dressed in sequins that shimmered under the yellow lights illuminating the entrance to the restaurant.
Luscious, mahogany waves tumbled down her back, and I squeezed her fingers as she straightened. Bright brown eyes twinkled with flustered merriment, and Valerie’s cheeks tinged pink as I scanned her from top to bottom. Everything in me screamed to push her back into her Lyft and fuck her like she so obviously wanted, and my palm tingled against hers.
“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me.” Licking my teeth hungrily, I held my smirk at bay when Valerie giggled breathlessly, and I held out my elbow for her to take. Her sister took my other side, and I cleared my throat roughly as I struggled to keep my head on straight. “I appreciate you going out on a limb for me.”
I couldn’t even look at the sister as I addressed her, and I gazed at Valerie out of the corner of my eye on the way inside. The hostess was ready to seat us. Shit, everything should be perfect considering how much money I was dropping to rent this place. Tension ate up the oxygen, but the heat sizzling against my right side kept me going on the way to the booth. Around us, the restaurant was eerily quiet, and anyone not working had been packed away in the kitchen or something, completely out of sight.
“You must be a very prominent member of the community for everyone to bend over backward for you the way they do, Carlyle.” Sliding into the booth, Valerie’s sister smiled with excitement brimming in her eyes, and I simply shrugged carelessly. Holding Valerie’s hand as she slipped into her seat, I couldn’t resist watching her tits jiggle before seating myself next to her. Menus were placed down, but I didn’t have a chance to pick one up before the woman across from me spoke up. “I don’t think we’ve introduced ourselves. I’m Natasha, Valerie’s twin.”
“It’s lovely to meet you, Natasha.” She reached for a shake, her perfectly manicured, dark blue fingernails scraping against the back of my palm, and I nodded firmly. “Again, I appreciate you agreeing to meet with me. I know it must seem a little unorthodox considering I already have a department dedicated to this kind of thing.”
“I was wondering about that, yeah. Is there any reason you couldn’t use one of them?” I knew I had to be as truthful as possible without revealingexactlywhy I needed this program written, and Natasha’s eyes narrowed on me shrewdly. “Some backwater website designer writing a program that’ll strip voice modulations. It’s a strange request.”
“I understand. However, it’s more of a personal endeavor, and I don’t want to burden my tech team more than they already are. You mentioned that you graduated from Georgia Tech?” She arched a thin eyebrow, and I propped my elbows on the table to hold my chin on my clasped fists. “All I need is a program that’ll allow me to figure out the original voice, or close enough to it to be viable.”
“I mean, I can definitely write it. It’ll probably take a while, though. At least three weeks. It’ll have to be paired with other audio software, too, probably, if you want it fast versus comprehensive.” Nodding firmly, I wasn’t surprised by that, and Natasha picked up her menu to glance at the wine selection plastered on the front. “I’ll only be able to work on it while I’m not at my actual job, unless you have a contingency plan for that, too?”
“Natasha.” Holding up my hand at Valerie’s aghast attempt at a scold, I leaned back against the booth to stare levelly at her sister.
“What do you have in mind?” I’d spend any amount of money to get this shit over with, and Natasha’s dark eyes flashed in surprise at my question. “As much as I hate saying this, money isn’t an obstacle. You work for a small website company. Did you want to come work for me instead?”
Relief wasn’t a good word to describe the rush that shot through me when Natasha shook her head. I didn’t want them working for me. That created snarls, and I was on the cusp of something really big and really bad. For a moment, she was quiet, and I glanced over at Valerie as irritation tightened her features. My palm moved on its own, wrapping around her inner thigh under the hem of her short dress, and those big, brown eyes flew to mine. Silently, I shook my head just a little, and she seemed to get the message before her sister spoke up again.
“I’ll have to think about it more.” Natasha raised her hand to signal the waitress, and I relaxed a little as Valerie closed her warm, fleshy thighs around my fingers. “So, what are your companies all about, anyway, Carlyle?”
“We operate in a few areas— shipping, government contracts on production, and physical security. But for the most part, it’s really, really boring.” Valerie’s skin was so smooth, and I took my hand off her before it went places that weren’t appropriate. “Being the boss means I don’t get called in unless there’s an emergency, basically, and there’s never anything happening because my employees aren’t idiots.”
“You said you owned a construction firm. You just really get around, don’t you?” The conversation stalled a second as Natasha took it upon herself to order a bottle of wine, and I spent that whole moment staring at Valerie like a creep. She didn’t look away, and she grabbed my hand under the table to press my palm firmly against her upper thigh. Her dress rose up, and my lip twitched in a snarl as hunger clawed at my throat. The question hung thick in the air between us, charged with electricity, and its double meaning wasn’t lost to me.
