A ruined suit and an outfit change was not on the agenda.
“Just my fucking luck,” I muttered as I continued swiping at my suit in a futile effort.
“I-I’m so sorry,” a voice stammered. “I wasn’t looking where I was going… and… and…”
My eyes snapped up to take a look at the idiot who caused this commotion to my otherwise perfect morning. My furrowed brows softened slightly as I looked at the woman from the coffee shop who had caught my eye earlier. Up close, I could see her light eyes were hazel as they played a game of ping pong, falling to my soaked suit to shooting back up to study my face. She looked absolutely horrified. If I weren’t so annoyed, I might actually feel pity for her.
“Please, let me help you,” she said, taking a step forward.
She began wiping at my chest with her hands before rummaging through her purse and pulling out a pack of tissues. She dabbed at my chest, working her way down to my abdomen, her hands shaking and moving frantically. I watched her in slight amusement, trying not to get distracted by her hands venturing lower. Her efforts were pointless, but I didn’t stop her. Not yet.
She seemed to notice how my body stilled as her hands dabbed just above my waistline. She withdrew her hands quickly and took a step back, clearing her throat nervously.
“Please, let me pay for your dry cleaning bill,” she said insistently, shoving the wet tissues into her purse.
I scoffed and she raised a brow.
“No offense, but I doubt you can afford it.” I shrugged.
Her mouth snapped shut. It was a pretty mouth. Full lips. Shiny with a clear gloss. I would have liked to run my thumb across them. Or my lips. Of my teeth. Or other things.
I could see that I offended her. I wasn’t trying to be rude, but this was a designer suit. The dry cleaning bill would be a nightmare if they even dared touching the $12,000 custom creation.
Her panic to remedy the situation seemingly turned to a look of defensiveness with a snap of a finger. I’d seen it many times before. My impudence turned a lot of people off. But it was also what had gotten me to where I am today. Being cutthroat. Ruthless. Direct. Normally, I wouldn’t care how my words affected others, but the pretty face before me had me trying to backtrack.
“Really, the bill is pennies to me. I’ll take care of it,” I assured her, waving her off. “You should really worry about your own shirt.” I nodded to her own soaked outfit.
She quickly looked down, as if suddenly realizing she was sopping wet too. My eyes followed hers, down her long neck to her collarbone to the cut of her suit. Her pale blue blazer was now dyed a dull brown, as if it had been tie-dyed with an icedlatte. The white blouse beneath it was soaked, clinging to her tan skin. I could make out the lace detail of her white bra that was now on display through the wet, thin fabric. She had a nice rack that I could see myself burying my face in. My eyes lingered longer than I should have dared to. I could almost make out her areolas. A nice rosy pink…
She groaned as she observed the damage and the sound of it went straight to my dick. It twitched in my pants, but I snapped my eyes back up to her face just in time to meet her gaze. I couldn’t be horny right now. Not when I was supposed to be at a meeting in an hour. A big one.
As if sensing the heat coming from my crotch, her cheeks turned the same rosy pink of her nipples. She quickly gripped the lapels of her blazer and pulled them together with one hand to cover herself. The other hand ran through her hair nervously.
As if remembering what the morning held, I glanced at my watch. I had to go. I had already spent enough time with this woman who unintentionally threw a wrench in my morning and given me a nice peep show in the process. As much as I would like to spend a few more minutes seeing what else her damp blouse would reveal, I couldn’t afford the distraction right now.
“Well, good luck with that,” I said, nodding to her ruined skirt suit.
Her gaze narrowed. A blaze forming behind her eyes. Not the turned on kind, but the kind that saidI want to murder you right now.
I ignored it and turned to walk to my car that was parked illegally at the curb. I clicked the fob and pulled open the driver’s door, sliding into the camel leather seat that was warm from the sun.
I could have sworn she muttered something foul under her breath, but her voice was drowned out from the purr of the engine coming to life as I turned the key. I pulled my seatbelt on, and adjusted the rearview mirror. I spotted my dry cleaning draped over the backseat. I breathed a slight sigh of relief. At least I had a change of clothes for the meeting, since I didn’t have time to go home and change. I put the car in drive and peeled away from the curb, leaving the drenched, seething woman on the sidewalk. A few minutes later, her and her see-through top were out of my mind completely.
Thank God. I needed to focus.
Chapter 3
Gabriella
I watched as Mr. Rolex, who I had now dubbed as Mr. Asshole, peeled away from the curb in his fancy black sports car. Of course he would drive a car like that. It went along with his watch and his suit and his stupid handsome face. Too bad none of that did anything to hide his personality.
“Prick,” I muttered as his car disappeared around a corner.
I shivered slightly, even under the summer sun, as the cold coffee seeped into my skin. I looked down at my ruined outfit and shook my head. Today of all days. I checked the time on my phone. There was no time to go home and change, especially since my father was already expecting me twenty minutes ago. With coffee.
I groaned as I headed back into the coffee shop, grabbing a few napkins from the counter and stepping back into the line that thankfully had dwindled slightly. As I waited, again, I dabbed at the coffee that was drying into a sticky coating. I sighed, tossing the napkins and tissues I had used on that jerk’s suit. It had been hard to ignore how solid his body felt under that suit. I could see the pleased expression on his face as my hands had tried to clean up. I rolled my eyes and stepped up to the counter to place another order.
With coffee in a carrier this time, I walked quickly down the sidewalk toward work. On the way, still peeved from this morning’s encounter, I called one of my best friends, Juliet. She picked up on the third ring.
