Page 24 of Cocky Tech God
“More orgasms than you’ve ever had, and the opportunity to fulfill that fantasy from a month ago.” He leaned on his elbow; his eyes intense on me.
What about Calista? Weren’t they going to have a date? The idea of being sloppy seconds to a woman I wanted to do business with didn’t sit well with me.
“Hmmm…” Inside I was dying, but outside I made sure I didn’t sweat. I lifted my drink to my lips and sipped until I drained the whole thing. I set it down. “I tell you what. If I’m in the room tonight, then I accept your terms.”
His eyebrows lifted. “Don’t fuck with me.”
“Would I ever do that?” I stood and walked away, not looking back.
Hansen
I couldn’t get Lucia out of my mind the whole evening. Even when I attempted to network and meet up with old colleagues, I couldn’t shake our last conversation. She left me hanging, per usual. But this time, my anticipation to find her naked in our room tonight was giving me life.
I was just going through the motions until the time gods wanted to throw me a fucking bone.
It was close to nine at night when my cell phone buzzed. In teenage boy anticipation of it being the hot girl messaging, I practically ripped through my inside blazer pocket to pull out my phone. I thought it was Lucia. It wasn’t. Calista had messaged me.
Calista: Hello, gorgeous. Joy is awaiting your arrival. Can you come round now? Room 620.
I sighed. I didn’t want to disappoint her, not with this. And I actually did want to meet Joy. Nothing cured a lowered mood than holding a baby, watching with wonder at all the life the little one had yet to live.
Anais had said that on many occasions. I could only imagine what that kind of happiness felt like.
I pushed the thought away. It had no place here.
I typed back a message.
Me: On my way.
I slipped my phone back in my pocket and headed toward the main elevator banks. A crowd had waited around it. Who knew how long it would take to get to the sixth floor? I stopped, observing the crowd from afar. I could take the stairs. My gaze moved over the nondescript faces until I came upon a face I knew very well.
Lucia.
She was leaning against Brett Doran, the person I was to meet with on Thursday. A punch of jealousy jolted me. Fuck. All the worst-case scenarios ran through my mind. She wouldn’t show up tonight. She’d stay with him. I looked down at my Prada loafers. I hated the notion that she’d stay in his bed and not ours.
When I looked up, she and a chunk of the crowd were gone, shooting up in the glass elevator to an unknown floor.
Stay cool, Holte. She could do what she wanted. Just as I could. But I couldn’t begin to look for another woman until I knew without a doubt Lucia and I weren’t going to happen. Until I’d seen her with Brett, I thought the proposition was a done deal.
That’s what I got for assuming where she was concerned. I’d never had the upper hand with her. So, my patience would be tested. As would my ability to not create scenarios in my mind about what she was doing with Brett.
With all this weighing on my mind, I took the stairs. The six-floor climb did wonders for the adrenaline coursing through me. I sprinted up them, exploding up the floors until I came to the sixth.
At Calista’s door, I could hear Joy’s wail from the other side, and then the subsequent soothing sounds that sounded British, though I couldn’t decipher the words. I knocked, after a quick hesitation.
A second later, the door opened. Not Calista, but a thin blonde woman in jeans and a black, long-sleeve shirt. “Good evening,” she said. Her accent wasn’t quite like Calista’s, more Essex.
“Hi.” I looked past her to Calista, deep within what looked like a suite with a full living room. “Is this a bad time?”
“Not at all. Misses has been expecting you.” She moved so I could walk inside.
“Hansen,” Calista came over, a wailing, red-cheeked baby on her hip. “Thank you for coming, love. I’m so sorry about this. She’s been fine until a solid minute ago.”
I kissed one of Calista’s cheeks and then the other.
“Lydia, take her, please.” Calista handed Joy over to the thin woman. “Give her a bottle. I think she’s peckish.”
“Yes, ma’am.” She took the baby in her arms and walked toward a closed door.