The Unblocked Collection (16 page)

I ignored Derek entirely and walked to the front of the ballroom. I remembered once I reached the lobby that Zack had checked our jackets. I didn’t want to take the time to ask him for the ticket, so I held the top of my dress to make sure my breasts wouldn’t fall out and ran through the door. Norm, my driver, was parked outside in the company SUV. The backseat was locked, so I knocked on the window to let him know I was there.

“Ms. Jordan,” he said, stepping from the car and joining me on the curb, “I wasn’t expecting you so soon.”

“I’m not feeling good. Could you give me a ride home, and then come back to pick up Zack? He’ll probably stay until the party’s over.”

“Yes, of course.” He opened the backseat door and helped me inside. “Hang tight; I’ll get you home in no time.”

I fastened my seatbelt, took out my phone and started a new email. I’d noticed Zack had checked his email several times during the party. I didn’t have his number to text him, so this would have to do.

FROM:
Jordan, Frankie

TO:
Mucci, Zack

SENT:
April 20, 11:46pm

SUBJECT:
Leaving the party.

Zack,

My apologies for leaving so abruptly, but something has come up that I have to tend to. Norm will drop me off then come back to get you. Enjoy yourself, and don’t rush. He’ll be outside when you’re ready to leave. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to say good-bye.

-Frankie

I stared at my phone, my thumb hovering above Brea’s name, wanting so badly to call my assistant and tell her what had happened. But that would mean I’d have to tell her about the office…about Derek touching me…about how I’d fled. Though I usually told her everything, I wasn’t ready to admit the feelings I had for him—feelings I’d been keeping secret.

Derek was a client, and clients were off limits. Securing his contract would be my way of showing my father how much of an asset I was to his business, in hopes of having him turn Jordan International over to me. If my father suspected I was getting involved with Derek, those plans would be derailed. Even if I was willing to take that risk professionally, I wasn’t sure I was ready to fall into a relationship that heavy again. And I didn’t trust myself not to, given the chance.

But was that something Derek even wanted?

After tonight, I wasn’t sure where I stood—with anyone.

DEREK

I CHECKED
my text messages as I stood outside the motel door, just to make sure I had the right room. My coordinator, Will, had sent me all the details of this meeting he had arranged before I left Timber Towers that morning.

“You’re late,” Tamra said, opening the door before I had a chance to knock.

My eyes ran the length of her…quickly. Most men would find Tamra hot—an attractive face, a fake pair of tits and a pussy that could really milk the cum out of you. But that’s all she was. She had no substance, no intrigue.

In other words, she had nothing on Frankie.

“There was traffic.” I stuck my phone back in my pocket and caught her by the wrists as she reached for my neck. “You know better,” I growled, holding them above her head. “You’re only allowed to touch me when I give you permission… and I haven’t.”

Tamra played realtor for Randy White, the man I was trying to destroy for the damage he’d done to my family. Whenever Tamra gave me pertinent information on Randy’s dealings, I rewarded her with my cock. But things had been different since I met Frankie, and my cock hadn’t been inside Tamra since. I hadn’t even gotten hard in her presence, though that didn’t seem to deter her.

She giggled at the way I bound her wrists, as if she enjoyed it, which made me want to release them. “I know, baby,” she said, “and I’m sorry, but I haven’t been able to get you off my mind since the last time we were together.” Her eyes dipped to my waist, devouring me before they rose again.

The meeting she referred to had taken place a little less than a week ago; it also happened to be the day I had met Frankie. An hour with that gunmetal-eyed beauty and her spicy mouth was all it took to know I’d never touch Tamra again. So instead of using a part of my body to get her off, my voice had directed her to rub her clit and finger-fuck her pussy. My dick made Tamra happy; I needed to keep her that way if I wanted her to continue fetching information for me.

I released her wrists. “What did you find out?”

She led me to the dresser, picked up her tablet, and held it so both of us could see. “Randy’s making an offer on the property in Hull.” She tapped a button and the offer letter popped onto the screen. I skimmed the first few lines. “He’s offering just under the asking price.”

My sister, Hayden, had learned the seller on this particular property wasn’t willing to negotiate. That made the seller a fucking idiot. The land wasn’t worth what he was asking, which made Randy an even bigger idiot to propose the number he had. “Is he prepared to pay full asking?”

She nodded. “The investors aren’t happy about it.”

No surprise there. Anyone with a brain wouldn’t be happy about it. Even if he purchased building materials from the cheapest manufacturer in Asia, he still wouldn’t be able to steer himself out of the red. “They’re trying to talk him out of it?” I asked.

“Worse.” She scrolled down until she reached the financial section of the offer. “They’ve pulled their line of credit.” Hayden had a feeling that was going to happen once Randy’s investors saw the comps. “I tried telling them all how good of a deal this is,” she added, “but they won’t listen. You know how investors can get. They’re too egotistical for their own good.”

I had to stop myself from laughing at her and concentrate on the terms she had listed on the contract. The box for traditional financing was checked. “He’s working with a bank?”

She rubbed her lips together. “A local one. I connected them, the branch manager is a good friend.”

I noted the name of the bank so I could have Hayden look into them. Something told me Randy was likely offering the lender an extra point at closing that they would keep off the books…or maybe he was paying off the appraiser, since without one, this deal wouldn’t go through.

“When are you submitting the contract?”

“I did it first thing this morning,” she explained. “We gave the seller seventy-two hours. I suspect there will be a few rounds of negotiations, but the selling agent says he’s motivated to get a deal done.”

Of course he was; he’d found a sucker to pay his ridiculous asking price. I hoped Hayden and I could find something in this deal that we could use to take Randy down. With every closing, we were one step closer. We just hadn’t been able to secure enough evidence yet. For being as dumb as he was, the motherfucker really knew how to cover his tracks. And I had no doubt he buried them under stacks of green.

“I’d email you a copy of the offer,” she said, “but if I got caught doing that, I could lose my license.”

My knuckles grazed her cheek. She was hot and submissive… and so stupid. Showing me as much as she already had could jeopardize her license as much as emailing the offer to me. “I wouldn’t ask you to do that. You’ve done enough.”

“I hope that means you’re going to give me what I’ve been dreaming of…”

I cupped her cheeks, holding them tight enough to keep her from moving. “You’ve been a good girl.”

“I have.” She pursed those plump, shining lips. “So come give my pussy some love.”

My phone rang from my back pocket. It was Will’s ringtone. His timing was perfect. My hands dropped from her face as I answered. “Yes?”

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” he asked. Smartass.

“What happened?” I took a step away to keep Tamra from hearing him and tried my best to sound alarmed. Acting wasn’t one of my strengths, and neither was lying.

“Oh, you know, just finished my third cup of coffee, answered some emails. Julia has called twice since you left. That’s about it. Hope I’m not too late…”

“Fuck,” I barked. “I’ll be right there.” I shoved the phone into my back pocket and walked over to her again.

“Is everything all right?”

“Fire alarm at the office. I have to go.” I leaned into her neck, struggling from the smell of her skin and the feel of it under my hand. It was all wrong.

It wasn’t Frankie.

“You owe me,” she said. “Big time.”

I brushed my lips over her cheek, not enough to be considered a kiss, just enough for her to feel a little affection. Then I moved to the door. I glanced over my shoulder as I opened it. “You did good today.”

She winked. “I know.”

I drove out of the motel’s parking lot and called Will back. “Did I time that right?” he asked. “Hope I didn’t catch you in the middle of something you’ll regret later?”

“Nope. Couldn’t have been better.”

“Excellent.”

Tamra said I owed her, and I knew she’d expect to collect before she gave me any more information. I really needed to find a substitute for my dick. “Have one of the assistants send Tamra a gift.”

“Anything in particular?”

“Something expensive, but nothing that sparkles. I want to send a message, but not
that
message.”

“Got it.”

We hung up, and I pulled up my email at the red light, scanning my inbox for Frankie’s name. There was nothing from her, no contact since last night when she ran out of that beat-up office I had dragged her into at the party. I thought of her body, the way it had felt in my hands, how her open mouth had begged me to kiss it. My hard-on grew.

I couldn’t shake the memory of her face when Reed had busted in. She was worried I would ruin her reputation, tarnish her career. She didn’t have to worry; our business was
our
business. I didn’t want to ruin anything for her. All I wanted was to taste her cunt, to feel her tight wetness grip my dick. And once I had her, things could go back to normal. It’d be as if I’d never seen her naked, never had her juices coating my face…never heard her scream my name as I made her come again and again.

At least that was what I was telling myself.

Because I wouldn’t let myself have her.

I wouldn’t even let us get as close as we had last night. I couldn’t. Hayden and I had a plan and Frankie would be too much of a distraction. I’d gone down relationship road once, and I would never do it again.

I’d watched Frankie pound a few shots before she left the party. She was probably still in bed, hungover. It didn’t matter. We had dinner plans tonight, and I wasn’t going to let her cancel.

I waited in a line of traffic and started a new email.

FROM:
Block, Derek

TO:
Jordan, Frankie

SENT:
April 21, 10:11am

SUBJECT:
Dinner

I’ll pick you up at your office at 8:00 tonight.

FRANKIE

I WAS WRAPPED
in my warm, fuzzy blanket with two cups of coffee on the table, a bottle of water, aspirin and the TV remote. I couldn’t move from the couch, which was fine; I didn’t plan on moving anyway…not for a very long time. I kept my phone on the pillow next to my head so I wouldn’t have to shift anything more than my eyes to see the screen. It had been lighting up all morning.

It did again, this time with Derek’s name.

My stomach churned as I read his request. I hadn’t forgotten about our dinner plans. But I was so apprehensive about it. We’d blurred the lines last night, and I couldn’t let that happen again. But he was still a client, and still in possession of a lengthy and extremely significant contract that I wanted—no, that I
needed
—him to sign. So if he wanted dinner, that’s what I had to give him.

I selected Brea’s number very carefully from my contacts and winced as the ringing tone echoed through my head.