Mr. Right Now: Vol. 1: Party Boys Who Get What They Want (7 page)

“Eli, there you are.”

The couple looks up to see Eli’s brothers staring down at them. They don’t say another word, but by the looks covering their faces they know exactly what’s going on. Eli plays it cool while Chloe dies on the inside.

Eli moves slowly, easing his fingers from her and making sure not to touch her skin as he moves. He stands in one fell swoop, snatching her purse and pulling his hand from under her skirt. Even Chloe is amazed at his talent, and if it wasn’t for his hand getting her off she never would’ve even known he was in there. Damn Sterlings.

Eli rises to his feet, leaving Chloe in shock and awe on the marble. Her legs tremble from the excitement of everything that just happened. Eli’s hand appears in her face. She grabs it and stands. She watches him lick off each finger on his other hand and her eyeballs nearly pop from their sockets. The action is hot and heating her up again, but in the same sense it’s downright embarrassing. His brothers for sure know what he was doing.

“Chloe,” Cole greets while the others nod.

She tries her hardest to squeak a word, but nothing comes out. She lets her hand do the talking with a quick wave.

“Breakfast is waiting down here for us,” Kam says.

They head toward the same restaurant where they all had dinner and where Chloe’s fate was sealed. The lights at the bar are dim and fewer bodies fill the area. The group walks past the table where they sat the other night to a more secluded booth. A half wall secures the booth, creating a sense of privacy.

Chloe’s stomach grumbles as the aroma of fresh food hits her senses, and she’s a little let down when there’s no food on the table. She scoots into the booth first as Eli guides her down. His action shocks her. She wasn’t sure how he’d act around his brothers. They were notorious for giving him grief about her when they were dating. Most of it is just good fun.

“I still can’t believe it’s you, Chloe.” Dax scoots around the other side next to her. “I mean string bean, pale, blonde Chloe to this.” He gestures with his hands.

“Really, Dax, don’t hold anything back,” Cole says.

“I so regret not tapping that ass when you bailed me out. Fuck, if only I’d been a little more sober.”

Chloe clears her throat. “Dax, there’s no way in hell you would’ve tapped anything on me, sober or not sober. I may look different, but I do still have standards.”

The table erupts in laughter at Chloe putting Dax in his place, and Dax takes the opportunity to flip them all off one by one, even Chloe.

“I have plenty of pussy, and speaking of pussy…”

A slender waitress joins their table. Her bright red hair grabs everyone’s attention and appears natural. She’s plain, but gorgeous somehow. Even Chloe stares at her beautiful complexion and put together, simple look.

“Are you guys ready to order?”

Dax opens his mouth, but Kam’s elbow lands in his gut before his asshole sexist remark comes out. Cole speaks first, ordering his breakfast, and Chloe doesn’t hear a word of it. The waitress captivates her with her haunting eyes and the stories they hold in their depths.

This time an elbow gets her attention. It’s a loving nudge from Eli. All eyes are on Chloe as she’s the last to order.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t even look.”

“I ordered for you,” Eli says. “But what do you want to drink?”

“Water is fine.” Chloe passes the menu over the table, shaking her head to rid herself of the confusion. “That girl was gorgeous.”

“No shit,” Kam chimes in.

“I haven’t seen her around here. Maybe she’s new.” Cole shrugs.

“Has to be, because we’ve been here seven days and I’ve fucked all the waitresses.”

“God, Dax.” Eli shakes his head at his brother.

“What did you order me, Eli?”

“Your favorite.”

“Oh, really, maybe my taste has evolved over the years like my looks.”

“It didn’t last night.”

Chloe’s face heats, and she knows it must be bright red. She buries her face in his shoulder, avoiding the stares of the other brothers. They all get quite the kick out his comment. Even Chloe has to admit it was a good comeback.

“I know it’s Sunday,” Cole taps the side of his glass, “but it’s business time. No more funny biz.”

Just like clockwork Chloe shifts into business mode, her mind racing with numbers, dates, and calculations.

“We’re still on to meet with Seidman’s tomorrow. I have a groundbreaking ceremony scheduled tomorrow as well, with the press and media to attend.”

“Nice,” Cole mutters. “But we have a slight problem.”

Eli shakes his head in disgust, as does Kam. Chloe immediately picks up on their foul mood. Something lingers over the table, dampening the atmosphere and clearly hindering their plans.

“We can’t break ground tomorrow, and will have to wait a couple days.”

Chloe’s brows scrunch as she tries to process his words.

Eli sits up in his seat and rests his elbows on the table. “See, the morning you bailed out numbnuts, here…well, he was thrown in jail for assault. Assault against Harwell’s youngest son.”

“As in
the
Harwells.”

Eli nods in Chloe’s direction. She instantly flies off the handle. She tamps down deep, trying to control her rage. She dealt with months and months of fighting and legal battles with the Harwells, and then this. A drunken asswipe does this to ruin it all.

She strikes Dax in the arm with a closed fist. Not once or twice, but repeatedly.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Dax? Do you even have any idea of how many hours I fought to get all your permits with planning and zoning?”

The other men’s faces are somber as Chloe rattles on her anger.

Cole finally interrupts her. “It wasn’t Dax’s fault.”

“Never is,” she mutters under her breath. Chloe remembers the eight stiches across Eli’s head their freshman year. A knife accidentally slipped from Dax’s hand and coincidentally landed on Eli’s forehead.

“Really, Chloe, it wasn’t.” Cole takes a long pull from his beer bottle. “We were at a club, not even theirs, minding our own business. Dax was dancing with a blonde.”

“First mistake,” Chloe interrupts. “Enter a new town, not your turf, and start dancing with the hottest pussy around.”

Chloe’s fists clench to balls underneath the table to prevent her from picking up the steak knife and stabbing Dax in the eyeball, but Eli intervenes. He pries her fingers open, lacing them with his. The action comforts her, but she’s still reeling from the colossal fuck-up sitting in front of her.

Cole tries again to defend his brother. “I understand where you’re coming from, but we didn’t do a damn thing. The blonde came to Dax, and I questioned her ass. She was either sent to start a fight or damn hard up for Dax.”

“Ethan,” is all that leaves Chloe’s mouth. “It was Ethan.”

“Yes.” Dax nearly leaps from the booth, his knees jolting into the table. “How do you know?”

“Like I said, I’ve been working on this project for months. This wouldn’t be the first nasty thing he’s tried to pull.”

“Is there a loophole? Dirt on him? What can we do not to hold it up?”

“I have more than dirt on him.” Chloe digs her phone from her purse. “I have pending charges against the motherfucker.” She pushes against Eli’s shoulder, nudging him. “Let me out.”

Eli doesn’t ask questions and stands, holding his hand out for her. She lets him drag her to her feet.

“What are you doing?” he asks.

“Taking care of this. Would’ve been nice to know this interesting little fact a couple fucking days ago.”

Chloe spins on her heels in search of a private place. She knows exactly what needs to be done and whose strings to pull. Being the second person behind the scenes to Clint for years has left Chloe very street savvy. There’s no way in hell she’ll let Harwell get away with this. Dax is a fucking dough head, but it’s clear they set him up. Oh, and as far Ethan goes, she has a score to settle with him.

“See, she still has the temper of a raging bull,” Kam announces after Chloe stomps off.

Eli’s fingers strum the tabletop. He didn’t care for some of the words that came from Chloe, especially the ones about an open charge or some shit like that. Had she lied about not being with someone? His mind races with all the possibilities as his brothers chatter in the background.

One thing he does know, she’s hot as fuck in work mode with those heels stomping away and her short skirt revealing just the right amount of flesh. His thoughts cause his cock to strain under his zipper. Reaching under the table, Eli adjusts himself, trying to find a more comfortable place. He knows there’s lots of business left to discuss this morning, and a very long time before he’ll get some private time with Chloe.

Eli tries like hell to think of kitties or naked grandmas, but Chloe’s scent overpowers all of them, causing the problem in his pants to grow even larger. His toes cringe with the thought of waiting hours until he can have her again.

“Who ordered the steak and eggs?” A familiar voice invades the Sterlings.

Looking up, he sees the waitress from the other night standing there holding plates of food. She does the trick, causing his cock to immediately soften. She sends him a little wink and Eli acts like he didn’t see it.

She hands a plate to Dax and Cole. Another server joins in behind her, delivering the other plates then leaving. Eli grabs his plate and then Chloe’s, and both times the waitress lets her fingers linger over his. This bimbo should’ve gotten a clue the other night when she tried sucking him off and couldn’t keep him hard that Eli just wasn’t into her at all.

  “Got an extra room key?” The waitress leans on the table, exposing her breasts to him. Her breath tickles his face. He steadies himself, ready to duck a kiss she may try to land on him. Could she be any more obvious about her intentions?

“No.” A loud voice startles everyone at the table. “In fact, he doesn’t have an extra fucking room key, and this is a business meeting.”

Chloe, red faced, arms crossed, and a fire burning in her eyes, stands right behind the waitress. Her words cause everyone at the table to tense, especially Eli. It’s like a nightmare playing out before him. A train wreck that he can’t stop, no matter how hard he tries.

“You can go now, and we’d like the first waitress to serve us,” Chloe says, pushing the woman to the side. She climbs very seductively over Eli to her position back in the booth.

“Well, if you want your cock sucked like you did on Friday night, I’ll take a key.”

Chloe flinches and Eli doesn’t miss it, and neither does anyone else. An awkward silence falls over the booth. Several minutes pass before Chloe speaks her mind.

“Wow, you remember my favorite food. Fried egg and bacon sandwich.” She peels back the toast. “Oh, and you even remembered to have them put pepper jack cheese on it. I guess all those lips that’ve been wrapped around your glorious dick haven’t made you lose any brain cells over the years.”

“Chloe.”

“Don’t Chloe me. You fucking asshole.” Chloe’s finger pokes Eli’s chest with each word. “I must’ve been a real bitch in my former life to have to put up with you Sterlings. Fucking incredible.”

It’s as if the other Sterling brothers melt away as they watch Chloe chew Eli’s ass. They’re usually the first to defend each other, but not this time. Eli glances over in their direction for help, but none comes. He’s fucked up beyond the point of fucking up, and Chloe knows it. It was the day he saw her for the first time, faked not recognizing her, and then let a woman try to suck his dick to get her off his mind.

Eli pushes his plate forward, leans back in the booth, and drops his head in defeat. He has no excuses this time. He simply fucked up.

“Not going to eat, lover boy?” Chloe taunts, stuffing her sandwich into her mouth and snagging a fry off of his plate. “Well, I have good news to get you boys back on track to fucking your way across the West Coast. I’ve talked to our firm’s lawyer, and Dax’s charges can’t stop our schedule.”

“But they’ll drag his name through the mud and badmouth the club,” Kam interrupts.

“All PR is good PR. That’ll be my job, and I have plenty of reinforcement behind me that I can bring in.” Chloe takes another large bite of sandwich. “This isn’t my first rodeo, boys.”

Eli swirls his fork around his plate, not taking one bite. She’s pissed, and he knows it. Probably too fucking pissed to listen to reason, and, well, it wouldn’t do him any good because he didn’t have any reason.

“So, in your professional opinion, you say move on?” Dax asks.

“Move on and keep your ass out of trouble.”

An elbow nudges Eli in the side, drawing him from his thoughts. “Let me out, please.”

Dropping his head to the side, he begs her to stay. “Chloe, please, can we talk?”

“If you have anything to say to me, please do so here. Consider our relationship a business one.”

Eli brings his elbows up on the table, burying his face in his hands. A deep growl emanates from him.

“Dax, Cole, Kam, please let me out.”

The three brothers look to Eli for a sign. He doesn’t give them one, and instead forces Chloe to face him.

“Get your fucking hands off of me,” she growls in his face.

“Give me fifteen minutes, Chloe, please.”

“Go.” Chloe brings her white gold wristwatch up to her face.

“In private.”

“Um, no. Fourteen minutes left.”

“You don’t want me to do this here,” he warns her.

Her hands ball into fists and punch down into the cushioned seat.

“Fine, Chloe, here you go. I let the waitress suck my dick the other night. Seeing you brought back a ton of memories, and I…”

“So you decided the best approach would be faking you didn’t recognize me and having a skank suck you off?”

“Jesus Christ, woman, you’re fucking impossible. It lasted like five minutes when I couldn’t stay hard for her.”

A chunk of bread launches from Dax’s mouth and lands across the table near Cole’s plate. The other two men hold back their laughter. Dax covers his face with the burgundy cloth napkin to hide his amusement.

Eli slides from the booth, holding both hands out. “Go. Fucking run.”

Chloe follows Eli’s movements, even throwing her arms up in the air.

“Learned from the best, fuckface.”

Eli can’t believe his eyes as he watches Chloe bolt from the restaurant.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Eli slumps down into the booth and covers his eyes.

“Eli.”

He doesn’t acknowledge Cole. Eli doesn’t need advice and the fucking speech from his brothers. They rode him for years about being too obsessed with Chloe, and then even after he left Chloe they still reminded him how much better off he was. They wanted him single and free to fit the rest of their lifestyle. He needed to have a clear head to be an effective business partner. He’s heard the speech a hundred times and is not in the fucking mood for the lecture now.

“Listen, Eli,” Cole says again.

“What?” he roars, pulling his head from his palms. “What the fuck do you want? Lecture me more. It’s better this way than falling completely back in love with Chloe. Well, guess what, I never stopped loving her a day in my life. I sacrificed every single fucking day for the last five years for you assholes.”

Eli rises to his feet and slams his fist onto the table.

“I’m fucking done with you three. I’m fucking done. I’ve tried to live up to the Sterling name my whole life, and you all know better than anyone how fucking hard it is to fit the mold when you’re adopted. I tried and tried for you. I’m done. I love Chloe, and I’m fucking done.”

“Just calm down, Eli. I wasn’t going to say what you think,” Cole insists.

Eli lowers his angry face and squares up with all three of his brothers. “Our mom gave everything she had by taking all four of us in as her own. She always told us to embrace our differences and to never give up on each other. You fuckers have never let me be that.”

Eli’s fist slams into the table again, sending several glasses and plates to the ground. They shatter instantly.