Carlyle
My mind whirred along fast, processing this hastily prepared sale’s pitch, and I had to admit, Natasha was doing a pretty good job. I’d driven here, but the four of them opted to walk to get their shit together, and it showed. Leaning back in the circular booth, I cupped my chin as she concluded, and my thoughts pounded against the backs of my eyes.
I didn’t care what they were selling— I was going to buy it anyway. I wanted the points with Valerie, but also . . . they actually had some good ideas for a plan concocted in about six minutes.
“Sure. I’ll do it.” Muted enthusiasm and excitement thickened the atmosphere, and I exhaled through my nose as Natasha practically bounced in the booth. “I expected something like this, given your complaints about your boss at dinner the other night.However, I have one stipulation. You’re now out of a job, Natasha. Write the program for me before you do anything else.”
“I’ll start when I get kicked out tonight.” Nodding at her slippery smirk, I ignored the underlying tone to hold out my hand, and she jumped to shake it. “Thank you for taking a punt on us, Carlyle.”
“I may be paying for it, but whether you succeed or fail is your own decision. We’ll hash out a contract when you’re finished with my program.” Squeezing my palm, Natasha simply nodded again, her eyes sparkling a duller version of Valerie’s, and my gaze flickered to her. She’d had a slice of pizza and then nibbled on the crust for the duration of the lunch, and I pursed my lips against my smirk.
“Okay, well, I better go let my boyfriend know I won’t be getting paid for a few weeks. Thank you for lunch, sir.” Fred, I thought, shuffled out of the booth, and I tilted my head in acknowledgment before he left the restaurant. The other guy just got up and walked off, maybe sensing he was no longer wanted around, and I propped my elbow on the table to hold my chin on my fist.
“Is your mom the reason you moved here?” Okay, so the issue was more complicated than dropping her phone in the toilet and less complicated than Valerie ignoring me for not sleeping with her. I got that. She slumped in her seat in reply, and I frowned under furrowed brows. “Where did you live before going to college? You two went to different ones, I remember.”
“We grew up in Dallas. I swear, if I ever hear that stupid drawling twang again, I’ll explode. I hate the South. There’s nothing but bigots and racists and wannabe country music stars.” Hiding my alarm, I nodded as Valerie’s tone turned bitter and sharp.Fucking Texas . . . again? I haven’t even started interrogating Isobel yet.“She got in some trouble with a gang while she was in jail when we were in college. When she got out, the only reason she talked to either of us was for money. The call I got the other day, I don’t know, It just made me more angry than usual. She hasn’t called me in over a year.”
“Right.” Shaking Isobel from my mind, I focused instead on Valerie’s cute, although genuinely upset, expression. Reaching to cup her cheek, I brushed my thumb along her smooth skin, and she gulped noticeably against the butt of my palm. “She doesn’t know what she’s missing out on.”
“Is there any particular reason you lay it on so thick, and thendon’tfool around with me?” The incredibly direct question rose my brows, and Natasha choked on her pizza from across the booth. Valerie’s beautiful, brown eyes glimmered with all seriousness, and I tapped my own cheek absently. “If you’re not gonna screw me, what’s the point?”
“The point was to have you stone-cold sober, but I’m not going to ‘screw’ you.” Trailing my fingertips along her soft jawline, I gripped her chin hard, and she gasped as pink tinged her cheeks. My eyes narrowed on her as I drew her face to me, and she held her breath as her eyes melted into pools of liquid chocolate. “Don’t be bashful, Valerie. I’m going tofuckyou, and you shouldn’t go on violent rides while drunk.”
“Oh . . . ” Her eyelids popped open, her little sound caressing my ears as I sat back, and she sunk down to hold her cheek on her forearm on the table. “You have a point, I guess. Anyway, it wouldn’t be too bad an idea to keep you where I can see you until I get a new phone.”
Chuckling at her husky grumble, I only shook my head as strange pleasantness flooded my chest. I almost felt, dare I say it,relaxed. Turning to Natasha as she stared decidedly at her plate, I reached for my drink to take a sip before speaking up.
“Regardless . . . ” Clearing my throat roughly, I watched in amusement as Natasha glanced up warily. “I want this arrangement to work out for you two. If your mother or anyone on her behalf starts giving you trouble, let me know. I’ll deal with it.”
“I have no idea what her debt is right now, but like fuck are you gonna pay it for us.” I cocked my head at Natasha’s snap, and she scrunched up her nose in disgust as she slopped her pizza onto her plate. “There’s no point in paying that off if we’re just gonna owe you.”
“Why would you assume I would pay it off rather than pay those rats a visit myself?” Valerie lifted her head to cast me a questioning glance, but I held Natasha’s gaze as it widened in surprise. “You don’t honestly expect that one, you would owe me in the first place, or two, I wouldn’t protect my investments. If you’re afraid, you can’t do a proper job for me. I won’t allow that.”
“What are you gonna do, bring the almighty wrath of your bodyguard’s scowl down on them?” For a second, my gaze flickered to Theo as he did just that— scowl nastily— and I shrugged as I sat back in the booth.
“I’m not offering, Natasha. You work for me now, and I provide well for my employees. Under certain circumstances, that includes providing protection in whatever form it has to take.” Gesturing to Theo, I didn’t look away from her, and she didn’t drop her gaze, either. “I would never waste money when it’d cost less on airfare.”
“If Mom does throw us under the bus, I’d rather be in debt to Carlyle than on the run for my life forever.”
“That’s just because you wanna bone, Valerie. It doesn’t count.” I smirked at Natasha’s exasperated sigh, and Valerie stuck her tongue out childishly in response. Grabbing her purse, the elder of the two shimmied out of her seat with a huff. “I’ll go get my laptop and get started on your program. You two are suffocating, anyway.”
“You’resuffocating . . . suffocatingly prudish.” Valerie had to get the last word in, and Natasha rolled her eyes before strutting out and not looking back. Almost immediately, she wiggled her juicy ass over to me, and I ground my teeth when she put her palm right on my crotch. “Seriously, you don’t have to go that far. We’ve dealt with it before, and we’ll deal with it again.”
“Something you’ll find about me, Valerie, is that I don’t appreciate people that mess with my property.” That sultry look on her face shot straight to my cock, and I inhaled a deep, calming breath through my nose. She squeezed, put a little pressure on her arm, and I rolled my shoulders as her warm breath rolled down the collar of my shirt.
“I’m just a thing you own?” Her tongue snuck out to flick my jaw, and a shock rippled down my neck. I’d almost forgot what it was like to have to work for it, and the satisfaction of that work paying off. Soft breasts pressed insistently against my bicep, and she parted her thick lips in a slight sigh. “When was that decided?”
“About half an hour from now.” My murmur floated between us as Valerie stroked my cock outside my pants, and I reached to boop the tip of her nose. “And you say I’m the one who lays it on thick.”
“Since we’re gonna do this, I’m clean, and I’m on birth control.” She squeezed a little tighter, put on a little more pressure, and pressed against me a little more while I hummed in acknowledgment.
“Well, I guess that makes two of us.” Her brows wiggled in surprise, and I grabbed her hand to pull her knuckles to my lips. “I got snipped. No kids for me, ever.”
“Oh, man, you can’t get more perfect, can you?” The eye contact we’d shamelessly been maintaining this entire time intensified, and I was almost disappointed she didn’t climb in my lap. Valerie puffed a sigh, her lips brushing against my chin, and a hard shiver lodged between my shoulder blades.
