Porter (Dick Dynasty #1) (16 page)

“Holy shit, Porter.” I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the most beautiful piece of machinery I had ever seen.

“She’s pretty, isn’t she?” He said the words like he was talking about a child.

“Is that a Panhead? Forty-eight, I think.” I rushed over to the window and pressed my face against the glass like a kid in a candy store.

“Holly Nash, you are full of surprises.”

His voice was dangerously close. I could feel his breath on my ear and it sent a shudder down my spine.

I took a wide step to the side and reluctantly tore my eyes away from the classic Harley to face him.

“My mom had a thing for bikers after my dad died. I’ve seen a lot of pretty bikes in my life, but I’ve only ever seen one other bike like this in my life. It had been ridden well though. Yours is pristine!”

He smiled again, sending another jolt of need through my body.

“I’ve had a lot of work done on her. She’s my baby.”

“I’d say…”

The frame and body were in mint condition. The massive whitewall tires complimented the powder blue paint and white pin stripes to perfection. The massive leather seat sat on top of two brand new springs and the chrome pipes glinted brightly in the sunlight.

“You’ve gotta let me ride it,” I begged.

“Woah now!” he took a few steps backwards and held up his hands, “Don’t get crazy on me!
Nobody
rides my bike. Nobody even
sits
on my bike. That’s part of the reason I bought it! There’s no way to put a bitch seat on the back of that thing, so I don’t have to let anyone else near her.”

“Porter,” I leveled my gaze on him, “I grew up on motorcycles. That bike is not just any bike. It’s a fucking
legend
. You can’t tell me no. Please don’t tell me no.”

“I’m telling you no.” The expression on his face told me it was the end of the conversation—for the time being.

I promised myself then and there that I would ride that bike someday.

“Fine,” I said, casting one last longing glance through the window, “Let’s get down to business then.”

We returned to our seats at the counter and placed our drink orders with the barista.

“Your brother came to see me at work yesterday,” I said casually.

“So I’ve heard.”

“So he told you about our little visit then?” My heart rate spiked at the possibility that Preston had spilled the beans about my crush.

“Not exactly,” he folded his arms over his chest causing his biceps to strain against the cotton of his tee shirt, “He told Parker that he was at your office and Parker told me.”

Oh thank God.

“Well,” I tried for my best business voice, “Your resume is impressive. You know as well as I do that your current line of employment leaves a lot to be desired as far as PR goes, but I think if you can land a few good roles and keep your nose clean for a couple years, we could build you a pretty solid career in mainstream film. Now, I want to focus mostly on your musical theatre days,” I fished the manila envelope out of my purse and retrieved his résumé, “There are some pretty major roles on this list, Porter. I was more than a little impressed, to be honest. Do you know of any critical reviews that you could dig up for me?”

I glanced over at him at that point and was surprised to see his mouth hanging open. He was staring at the piece of paper in my hand like it might catch on fire and explode at any moment.

It dawned on me that he had no idea why Preston had been in my office.

“You didn’t know he was dropping this off?”

He slowly shook his head from side to side, still not saying anything.

“I see,” I returned the sheet of paper to the envelope and held it out to him, “I apologize for the confusion. I assumed you had asked him to drop it off on your behalf. It’s impossible to get into our agency without a solid referral from an agent or someone with a foot in the door. I thought I understood that you wanted to be one of our clients.”

Something I said seemed to snap him out of his stupor.

“Absolutely!” he cranked up the charm with another dazzling smile, “I just… I had no idea that this is what was coming! I thought this was your way of paying me back for our botched dinner date! I wasn’t expecting a business meeting!”

I lowered the envelope into my lap, “So you
are
interested?”

“Hell yes I’m interested!” He drummed his hands on the counter and
barely
managed to contain the excitement I could see buzzing through him.

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Good,” I smiled as the barista set our coffees on the counter, “I’ll get the ball rolling then. You’ll have to come in and meet with the rest of the casting directors and of course we’ll have to get approval to take you on as a client, but I don’t see it being
too
much of an issue. There are bound to be some bumps, but nothing I can’t handle.”

I held up my coffee in toast, “To new business ventures.”

He touched his own cup to mine and we sipped.

He practically threw his cup down on the counter in his excitement and jumped out of his chair. He leaned over and placed his hands on my knees, spreading warmth up my thighs, “Holly, we
have
to go celebrate! You have no idea how much this means to me!”

His excitement was infectious. I could feel it bubbling up in my own chest and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.

“Say you’ll come spend the day with me! Please!”

He was almost bouncing up and down and it was the most adorable thing I’d ever seen.

“Okay, okay!” I laughed, placing my hands on his shoulders to keep him from shaking me, “What did you have in mind?”

“It’s a surprise!” He hummed, almost squealed, with excitement, “I’ll just need you to follow me to my condo so I can drop the bike off. Then we can either take your car or switch it out for the Land Rover. We’ll decide there! Holy shit, Holly! I can’t believe this just happened!”

He plopped back down on the stool next to me and spun it around in circles.

I’m surprised he didn’t hoot and holler like a mad man.

“You should probably call Preston at some point,” I grinned, “You owe him.”

“Trust me,” he planted his feet on the ground and stopped the stool from spinning, “I will.”

We finished up our drinks and he gave me his address, just in case I lost him on the bike, and we headed out.

It took a whole three minutes before he darted between two cars and took off like a shot.

I pulled up at the address he gave me and shook my head.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” I muttered to the steering wheel.

My phone started ringing from its cradle on the dashboard. I hit the green telephone button on my steering wheel and answered with, “Really, Porter? The Ritz-Carlton? Don’t you think that’s a little over the top?”

The sound of his laughter came through my speakers and filled my car. Porter Hale in stereo was a whole new level of torture for my hormones.

“When you can have anything you want,” I could hear the smile in his voice, “why settle for less than the best?”

The line went dead and a split second later, there was a knock on my window. A shrill squeak jumped out of my throat and I turned my head to face the offending knuckles.

I rolled down the window and let loose barrages of swear words that would’ve made my father proud.

Porter just laughed at me and shook his head. “A pretty lady like you shouldn’t know words like that,” he said when I had finished, “Are we taking your car?”

“Get your ass in here, you idiot.”

He jogged around the front of my car, running an appreciative finger over the hood, and let himself in the passenger side.

“Where, are we going, Miss Daisy?”

He made a show of primping an imaginary bob cut and clutched a string of invisible pearls at his throat. “Well,” the thick southern drawl he used was surprisingly accurate and forced a laugh out of me, “I do believe there are some
lovely
tide pools down at Dana Point if that’s the kind of thing that interests you. There’s a Wayland Gallery in Laguna that carries some
amazing
pieces, and, if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, there’s also a paddle board rental shop on the beach next door.”

I could see the challenge in his eyes as he spoke the last sentence and something inside of me rose to the occasion. There was no way in hell I’d let him win this game.

I put the car in drive and pulled away from the curb, slamming on the gas and darting into traffic like a crazy person. I watched him in my peripheral, hoping to see him flinch or grab for the “oh shit” handle above his door.

The bastard didn’t move a single muscle. He remained completely relaxed and his giant goofy smile never faltered once.

I maneuvered through the city traffic and onto the freeway like a precision driver and let the horses beneath the hood carry us away.

The great thing about traffic in Los Angeles is the fact that there can be a million cars on the road and, unless some idiot causes an accident, you never come to a stop. Bumper-to-bumper traffic in California just means that everyone drives
really
close together at freeway speeds. Everywhere else I’d ever driven, nobody rushes
anywhere
during rush hour. It’s just gridlock for as far as the eye can see.

“What made you pick Audi?” Porter asked as he poked at the buttons on my stereo.

“They’re the best,” I said simply and swatted at his hand, “I could’ve spent more money and gone for something a with a little more luxury, but at the price point I paid for this thing, there isn’t a better car on the road.”

He laughed and went back to messing around with the buttons, “I’ll accept that answer. It seems we have more in common than we initially thought.”

I quirked an eyebrow and glanced over at him, “What do you mean?”

“Well, we both own what we consider to be the best, we both drive like maniacs, we both know Preston, we both work in the film industry,” his smile grew even bigger, “and we both think I’m gorgeous.”

“Ha!” I almost swerved into the next lane as I laughed, “Conceited much? Someone needs to poke a hole in that ego of yours before it explodes.”

“Are you denying that you want to climb me like a tree?”

No.

“You bet your ass I am!” I lied, “I’m not going to sleep with you, Porter. Two of my best friends have been trying to talk me into it since before I even met you. If
they
can’t do it, neither can you. And now you’re a client. Conflict of interest much?”

“Hmm…” he hummed thoughtfully, “I see.”

I
really
didn’t like the sound of that.

I already knew Porter Hale well enough to know he’d
never
give in that easily. He was up to something. Whatever it was, it couldn’t possibly be good for me.

“Save us both the trouble and put it out of your head. Give it up. I don’t want to have to bury a body this week.”

The laugh that burst out of him was sudden and loud, causing me to jump and jerk the wheel to the left. The car went with it, jolting perilously close to the car next to us before I could guide it back into my lane.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I asked accusingly, “Are you
trying
to get us killed? You almost gave me a damn heart attack!”

“I’m sorry,” he said between breaths, “but that was the funniest thing I’ve heard all day!”

“I don’t remember telling any jokes,” I glared at him with one eye, keeping the other on the bumper of the car in front of us, “You must be
really
easily amused.”

“There were two jokes in there, Holly. The first one being that you think you could do enough damage to have a reason to bury me,” he chuckled to himself quietly. “The second being that you think I could put you out of my mind for even a second.”

I think my ovaries blushed.

I could feel the heat travelling through my stomach and radiating out into my body like a miniature sun had taken up residence inside my vagina. It was a sensation I had almost grown accustomed to since Porter Hale had trampled his way into my life.

I fought the urge to press my thighs together and hoped that he wouldn’t see the flush I could feel creeping up my neck. I didn’t want him to know the kind of effect he had on my body. He would absolutely use that knowledge to his advantage and make it a point to reduce me to a babbling, blushing schoolgirl at every opportunity.

“Porter,” I sighed, giving him time to interrupt my protest.

“I’m not saying you have to marry me.” I scoffed but he ignored it and continued, “Hell, I’m not even saying I want you to stay the night. The only thing I’m saying is that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since we met. I need to get you out of my system so we can go on with this business relationship you’re so intent on having. I can see it in your eyes, Holly. You want me just as bad as I want you. There’s nothing that says we can’t burn bright for a night and scratch whatever itch it is that we’ve both got for each other.”

“That’s the difference between you and I, Porter,” I tried to keep my voice calm and level, “Just because I want something, doesn’t mean I
have
to have it. You’re the cake to my diet. I might crave whatever you’ve got to give, but I know damn well that it won’t be good for me and I’ll just hate myself for it in the morning.”

“Are you always this cold, Holly? Or is it just with me?”

“You’re the only one who has ignored the No Trespassing signs and forced your way into my bubble in a while. So I guess it’s just with you.”

I could feel my defenses going up and if he didn’t drop it, I was going to start saying things I’d probably regret even more than sleeping with him. He was a nice enough guy and didn’t deserve that. I had to find a way to distract him and get him to change the topic of conversation for his own sake.

“I know Preston well enough to understand your relationship with him, but I don’t know anything about Parker. Preston doesn’t really say anything about him and, from what I gather, you guys aren’t very close either.”