Authors: Michelle Love
Talmidge
Hunt looked up as Cosima knocked on his door, and smiled. Since joining his firm two months ago, after an interview that for both of them had been like a meeting of the minds, Cosima Bedi had won over practically everyone in the firm and had settled in so quickly they couldn’t remember a time she hadn’t been there.
Now, as he beckoned her in, he beamed at her. ‘Now, my dear, I have some exciting news. Arlo Forrester’s people are coming to see us tomorrow.’
Cosima, sitting down opposite her boss, looked
blank,
and Tal smiled. ‘I forgot, you’re a New Yorker. Forrester is a California-based company, boutique hotels mostly.’
Cosima grinned. ‘California? Did you just make that up?’ She pretended to count on her fingers. ‘New York, India, New Orleans…nope, no, never heard of this
‘California.'
’
Tal flicked a paper clip at her, chuckling. ‘Funny girl. Now, seriously, they’re coming to see us
to discuss
a hotel right here in New Orleans.
This would
be a huge boon to our practice should we land the account. So, what do you think?’
‘I think it’s great…Harry or Penelope would be fantastic for that kind of thing.’
Tal laughed softly. ‘Cosima…I’m asking if you would like to be the lead on it.’
Cosima was stunned. She blinked at Tal for a second, trying to gather her thoughts. ‘Tal…I’ve only been here for two months and although I’m deeply flattered, I wouldn’t want to step on anyone else’s toes.’
Tal shook his head. ‘You wouldn’t be, I promise. Both Harry and Penny specialize in manufacturing
premises; you
know that. And no-one else has your eye for detail when it comes to décor and aesthetic. I’ll be your second on this – show you there’s life in the old dog yet.’
Cosima grinned. Tal was nearly eighty though a shock of white hair and the cane he used the only indicators of his great experience. His blue eyes were still strong, his mind razor-sharp and when he brainstormed with his team, Cosima
was enraptured
.
‘In that case, I would be honored,’ then realizing what she’d committed to, blew out her cheeks. ‘Wow.’
Tal clapped his hands together, delighted. ‘Good. So, they’ll be
here; I
’m assuming
mid-morning,
so I thought we do introductions then take them to lunch. I’m assuming Arlo Forrester won’t be one of the
party
but who knows? I’ll get Mandy to book us a table at Arnaud’s, show these surfer types real Cajun cuisine.’
Arlo
wished
he hadn’t picked up the phone that morning. Sabine, sobbing, was calling him, begging to see him ‘Just to talk,
bebe
, please.’
His mind full of Cosima Bedi’s luscious thighs as it had been for the last two months, he’d absentmindedly
agreed,
and now Sabine, all blonde
hair
and long legs,
was
sitting on his couch, a glass of straight vodka in her hand, begging him to give her another chance.
‘I’m so sorry, bebe,’ she said for the hundredth time.
‘Cole and I were stupid, reckless, and wrong.’
‘For five whole years,’ Arlo said coolly, really not wanting the same argument all over again. He was
tired
and wanted to get to bed. Tomorrow he would see Cosima for the first time – and she had no idea. That thrilled
him,
and all he wanted was to get Sabine out of his apartment. Sabine, however, had other ideas.
‘Bebe…please. Won’t you think about trying again?’
Arlo ran his hands over his face, frustrated. ‘Sabine…why would you even want to? It’s not as if we were ever going to be a family. You never wanted kids, I do…it wasn’t working for a long time. Look, I forgive you for straying, although I wish it hadn’t been with my best
friend, but I
admit – I was absent from the relationship for a long
time,
and that’s my bad.’
‘But still – ‘
‘But still nothing. If I thought the relationship was worth saving, maybe things would be different.’
He was sorry he’d framed his response so harshly when he saw her wince. He went to sit by her, held her hand. ‘Sabine…I’m sorry. I’d like to be friends
still
if that’s possible. But please know, it can never be more than that.’
Sabine studied his eyes for a long moment. ‘Who is she?’
Arlo blinked. ‘Who?’
Sabine smiled. ‘There’s someone else.’
Arlo got up and went to pour another drink.
‘No.’
Liar.
Sabine sighed.
‘Well, you can do that, Arlo; you can lie to my face but remember, I tried to take the high ground.’
Arlo nearly spat out his drink, wiping his mouth and grinning widely. ‘Did you
really
just say that? Sabine, let me make it clear. My life – and those who are or aren’t in it – are no longer your concern.’
Sabine sniffed. ‘I can see we’re getting nowhere.’
‘We’re getting nowhere because we
are
nowhere, Sabine. I wish you every good
thing,
but I do not wish to reconcile. Thank you for the offer.’
She flushed at his tone, which he had to admit, was
condescending
. ‘Sabine, I
really
do have to get back to work now, so if there’s nothing else?’
Later, he stared out at the dusk falling over San Francisco. As much as he loved this city, he needed to get away. From Sabine, from Cole…
ah, screw it,
he didn’t need to get
away; he
just needed to be near
her.
Cosima. Her face haunted his days and nights, the memory of her skin on his. He had meant every word about the pact they’d made – he
really
did.
Right up to the moment he had entered her, and it had felt so right, so perfect, all his plans to remain aloof and unattached had faltered.
Yes, it had taken two months to get up the courage to set up the meeting with her firm, but it had been necessary to wait. If he’d tipped up on her doorstep the minute he’d landed on US soil, she might have
freaked out
, turned him away and he hadn’t
been
able to bear the thought of it. No – patience was the key. He would not harass
her; he
would simply be…present. Charming. He was confident she would be responsive plus there was the matter of her and her sister’s security. He’d read everything he could find on Prince Arjun Malhotra, from his beginnings as a
young
prince to the assassination of both the King and of the Prince. There the trail ended – at least via a Google search. The only mention of the Prince’s daughters was a brief article; obviously written by the Prince’s enemy, saying that
all of the Prince’s offspring were to
be exterminated
before the ‘taint’ of the Malhotra family was wiped out.
God
. The thought of anyone laying a hand on Cosima made his blood boil. Suddenly he wished himself back to the island, back to when he could have asked her for her number, called off the whole ‘What happens here, stays here’ thing, begged her to be with him.
You are the least playboy-like of any alleged playboy;
he shook his head, grinning to himself.
You seriously have no game,
dude
. None.
What would the readers of Forbes think if they knew this year's ‘Most Eligible Billionaire’ was a geeky romantic, instead of a devil-may-care heartbreaker? He liked that image, the dashing rogue, the aloof property magnate – it helped him deal with some of his anxiety issues. Had his beloved older brother, Mason, still been alive, he would have laughed at the image Arlo projected – not in a cruel way but just because he had known his little brother better than anyone. Mason had been a Professor of the Arts at an upscale private college before he died in a homophobic attack by one of his students. Arlo still felt that grief and, reading over Malhotra’s
assassination; he
knew Cosima must feel the same. Another thing they had in common.
You’ll drive yourself crazy thinking like that
, he told himself and grinned wryly.
Tomorrow I’ll be with you, my beautiful Cosima. From tomorrow, I’ll try to let you know just how much you mean to me…
Cosima was suspicious. So far today – the most important day of her career to date – nothing had gone wrong. The shower had run at the right temperature; her power suit had stayed where she hung it, on the back of the bedroom door and no dreadful fate had befallen it. There had even been little traffic as she drove into work and parked easily. She got out of the car and looked around, her eyes narrowed. ‘Zombie apocalypse,’ she decided and laughed. ‘Zombie Apocalypse’ was her go-to excuse for everything these days – she blamed
The Walking Dead
– Harpa was obsessed with that show.
So she was ready when, at eleven-thirty, she saw the entourage from Forrester
walk in
.
Two women and a man, not too scary,
she thought to herself. Tal beckoned her
over,
and she walked into the boardroom with them all. They introduced themselves; Beth Richards, the deputy CEO, was a kind-faced, dark-haired
middle-aged
woman who eyes were sharp with knowledge and humor; Savannah Mills, buyer, was sharply dressed and elegant and Ben Sandoval, a tall Native American with an easy smile and quick wit. Ben was head of design. ‘Arlo will meet us at the restaurant,’ he said, ‘He prefers to let us do the preliminary work ourselves.’
Tal nodded and indicated they should all sit. ‘We’re very happy to have you with us. Cosima will be your main liaison and architect for the new hotel
…
shall we start by telling you our initial thoughts?’
An hour later, with her brain spinning with ideas, Cosima followed the party down to the waiting town car for the
five-minute
drive to the restaurant. It had been a long time since
she’d been
this excited about a work project; from what Forrester’s people had told her, Forrester himself was open to any ideas. ‘He wants something that will fit in with the aesthetic of New Orleans obviously but not
be
derivative. No voodoo dolls on the nightstand,’ Beth had joked. Cosima, relaxing in their presence, had pretended to screw up a piece of paper at that, throwing it over her shoulder. Tal gave her an encouraging wink as they laughed.
Now as they walked into Arnaud’s, Cosima could relax. She loved this place, loved the
food,
and now she felt at ease with these people, she felt a wave of confidence come over her.
This was
it, her big break, and the project she could
really
showcase her
talents on
.
They ordered some
wine,
and she sipped it gratefully. They had been at the restaurant for only a few moments when Ben said, ‘Ah, good, here he comes.’
Cosima looked up curiously – and nearly squeaked with surprise.
Oh my God
…
It was
him.
The tall, glorious handsome in a suit, slightly smirking man walking towards them was Adam.
Or rather was Adam aka Arlo Forrester.
He never took his eyes off her as he approached the table. Only when he
was introduced
to Tal, did he politely smile and shake the older man’s
hand.
‘So good to meet
you
at last, I’ve heard wonderful things.’
Tal smiled. ‘And talking of wonderful things – if you’ll excuse me, dear – ' he grinned at a flustered Cosima, ‘
Mr
Forrester, please meet Cosima Bedi, your architect for this project.’
Arlo Forrester had the nerve to shake her hand like his cock had never been inside her, that his tongue hadn’t driven her almost insane with pleasure.
‘Cosima,’ he said, his dark green eyes intense on hers, ‘An absolute pleasure.’
Why did she feel naked when he looked at her like that? ‘
Mr.
Forrester, I’ve heard so much about you.’
Arlo Forrester winked at her. He
winked
at her. She didn’t know whether to laugh or
freak out
. She settled on a knowing smile. ‘We were just about to order,
Mr.
Forrester.’
‘Please, call me Arlo.’ The twinkle in his eyes was too much.
Please, call me Arlo.
Cosima turned a snort of laughter into a cough as they sat down. Somehow, Arlo managed to snag the seat next to her. ‘So,’ he said, ‘what’s good here?’
‘The Mahi-mahi is something special,’ Tal said, completely oblivious to the turmoil raging inside his young associate. ‘Cosima, didn’t you say you’d had a spectacular meal in the Maldives, some
sort of
curry dish with Mahi-mahi?’
Cosima nodded. ‘I had a lot of delicious things
while
I was there.’
Arlo cleared his throat and out of the corner of her eye, she could see him smirking.
Luckily, the others kept the conversation going, and Cosima was distracted by the arrival of their food. Arlo had ordered the same as she had, and they shared a conspiratorial look.
God,
he was so damn good looking; memories of their time together in her villa, on the beach, in her bed came flooding back.
Arlo…Adam….
now she thought about it, Arlo suited him better.
She almost dropped her fork when she felt his cool fingertips drift up her inner thigh. He was talking to Tal and Beth, explaining something, gesturing with his fork, but his other hand was warm and soft against her thigh. God, how many weeks had she dreamed of his touch? She leaned forward to shield his arm from view and engaged Ben and Savannah in conversation. But all the while, she was aware of the soft, sensual brushing of his fingers against the soft flesh of her thighs.
God,
I want you,
she thought,
but two can play at that game, mister.
She slid her hand onto his lap and cupped his cock, squeezing it gently, feeling him start a little. She smiled, not looking at him as he turned to gaze at her.
‘So, you’re the big honcho on this project? Good…I’ll be taking care of this one myself so we’ll be working closely together,’ his green eyes were
amused,
and she grinned back.
‘Um, boss? We didn’t know you were going to be so closely…’ Ben looked confused, exchanging looks with his two colleagues. Arlo smiled – remarkably controlled seeing Cosima’s hand was stroking his cock, which was diamond hard against the fabric of his pants.
‘Well, now, I did say I wanted a project. I get bored of sitting in my ivory tower
sometimes,
and this is perfect for me.’ He turned to meet Cosima’s gaze. ‘I’ll be living in New Orleans for the duration of the project.’
Cosima felt a jolt. God, why hadn’t she seen this?
This wasn’t
a happy coincidence
….
Arlo Forrester had
found
her. On purpose. He’d hunted her down, broken their agreement – how?
Because he was a goddamned billionaire of course.
Suddenly she felt sick.
God, woman, how stupid are you?
The man thinks you can
be bought
.
She withdrew her hand and concentrated on finishing her meal. Arlo’s hand stroked her thigh, drifted higher but she rammed her legs shut, causing him to jerk his hand free.
Later, at the office, they finalized all of the details and the Forrester entourage left. At the door, Arlo turned and
looked
at Cosima. She nodded, stone-faced and
frowning,
he left, his confusion obvious. Tal went back to his
office,
and Cosima followed him. ‘Tal, can I talk to you a second?’
‘Sure thing, Cos, have a seat.’
Cosima sat and chewed her lip for a second. ‘Tal, I have to ask you a question.’
‘Go ahead.’
‘Why did you offer me this job? I mean, why hire me? I know I had a lot of good recommendations but even so…Penny told me you put her through the ringer before she even got a second interview.’
Tal smiled. ‘Cosima…what do you
really
want to know?’
She steeled herself. ‘Did Arlo Forrester recommend me for this job? What I mean is: did he tell you he would hire this firm if you hired me?’
Tal frowned. ‘
Absolutely not.
Cosima…you
were hired
because you were the best candidate. Yes, I put Penny through the ringer because, although she was supremely talented, she needed fire in her belly. You already have that. Now, I take it from your question, you and
Mr.
Forrester
are acquainted
…and yet you made no indication of it at dinner. Either of you.’
Cosima flushed. ‘Tal…whatever acquaintance we may have had is nothing to do with how I will handle this
project,
but now that you know, maybe it would be best to put someone else on it.’
Tal shook his head. ‘No. I trust you, Cosima, I trust you to keep anything personal out of office hours. Apart from that, you’re both adults.’
Cosima started to smile, noticing the gleam in Tal’s eye. ‘Talmidge Hunt…are you matchmaking?’
He laughed. ‘Cosima, I’m old, I’m not dead. Nor blind, I saw the chemistry between the two of you.’
She shook her head, laughing, as she got up to leave, relieved that she’d got the job on her own merits. ‘Whatever you say, boss. Look, I’m going to get started…anything else you want me to know?’
Tal was still grinning. ‘Yes. I want the gossip,
Cos; I
want to live vicariously through you.’
She burst out laughing, looking at the old man fondly. ‘Tal, you are the worst – and the best.’
She was the last to leave the office that evening, switching off the lights just after eight o’clock. As she walked out to her car, she was alarmed to see someone leaning against it. Then as she stopped and her eyes grew used to the low light, her heart started pounding but not from fear.
Arlo Forrester grinned at her as she approached him. ‘Good evening, Miss Bedi. I think we have some unfinished business.’