Skin Deep (7 page)

“No, of course not.”

Ryan tried to join in the conversation as he waited for Joan to return, but he couldn’t focus on anything until he saw Alana.

A few minutes later, Joan returned, a dour expression on her face. “I’m sorry, dear. It seems your young lady has left.”

He stood quickly, almost toppling the heavy chair. “What are you talking about? Where the hell did she go?”

“The doorman told me he called a taxi for her a few minutes ago.”

“Shit,” he muttered, tossing the napkin on the table. “I’ve got to go. I’m sorry,” he said, casting a glance over his shoulder as he made his way out of the crowded ballroom. With perfect timing, the twin turbos cornered him before he could make his way to the door. “You’ll have to excuse me, ladies,” he said, trying to avoid being cornered. He knew from experience these two were relentless.

“What happened to your girlfriend?” Jade said, grinning.

“You saw Alana?” he asked, his heart racing. Shit, this could not be good.

“Yeah, we ran into her in the bathroom. We were just telling her about your antics, you bad boy,” Tara said, licking her lips as she reached around to grab his ass. “Have you got time for a quickie, Doc? We won’t tell her.” She crossed her fingers over her chest. “Promise.”

He was so screwed. What the hell had they told Alana? “No, I’ve got to go.” He pulled the doorman aside, trying to be discreet when he slipped him a hundred dollar bill to supply Alana’s address. The hotel staff knew him well, too well. He often brought one-night stands here instead of taking them to his home. Consequently, they saw him pass through with more women over the years than he cared to count.

Still, the doorman was reluctant to share the information. “I’m so sorry, Dr. Lang. That is against company policy.”

After peeling a few more hundreds off the roll of cash in his pocket, Ryan said, “I don’t give a shit about your policy, Albert. I need to find that woman, now.”

“Sir, I can’t help you. I’m sorry.”

Ryan knew from previous conversations that Albert was a retired welder and he needed this job to put food on the table. Ryan couldn’t live with himself if he did something to cause Albert to lose it. “Fine,” he said, stuffing the money back in his pocket. “I understand.”

Albert attempted to pass the single bill back to him, but Ryan shook his head. “Keep it, for your trouble.” He smiled. “Don’t worry; I’ll track her down myself.”

“Good luck with that, sir,” he said, tipping his hat. “She sure did seem upset when she left.”

Thankfully, she was listed in the directory, and he found her telephone number and address on the short drive to her home. His GPS guided him to an unfamiliar part of the city, and he sat in his car seething as he stared up at an apartment building that had fallen into disrepair with no visible signs of security. Was she crazy? A beautiful, single woman living in an environment like that was just begging for trouble. He’d ream her out about her living situation later; right now he just needed to see her.

He stood in the hall banging on her door as he punched her number into his cell. He heard her moving around behind the thin wood panel, so he knew she was trying to avoid him. Like hell. “Damn it, Alana, open this door before I wake the whole goddamn building!” he shouted.

Finally the door flew open and she stood barefoot, glaring up at him.

He swallowed, trying to ignore the fact that she looked even more beautiful now than she had earlier. Her face was scrubbed free of make-up, and she was wearing a short, white eyelet nightgown that fell just above her knees with tiny straps that would break with one quick snap. “Jesus,” he said, reaching out to touch her. “You are so sexy you take my breath away.”

She pushed him hard, trying to slam the door in his face.

He managed to stick his foot in the door before she could close it. “Damn it, just give me a minute to explain,” he pleaded, feeling his one chance with her slipping through his fingers. He never got rattled. Those who knew him described him as unshakable, but what he was feeling now could only be described as full-blown panic. “Please, baby.”

“Don’t you call you me that!” It was obvious she’d decided to give up on beating him in a physical battle when she stormed away, leaving the door partially ajar. “I don’t want to see or talk to you ever again!” she shouted. “Forget you ever met me.”

If only he could. “Sweetheart, I know you may have heard some things about me tonight…”

She turned on him, her light hair framing her face. “You’re a man-whore.”

A beat of silence passed and he knew she was waiting for him to refute her claim.

When he said nothing, she pointed to the door. “That’s all I need to know. Get out before I call the police.”

He knew he was running out of time to plead his case, and he had no idea where to begin. “Can we sit down for just a minute, please?”

She gestured toward the non-descript taupe couch. “Be my guest. I’d rather stand.”

Sighing, he claimed the seat offered, dropping his head in his hands. “I’ve slept around a lot over the years, but I’ve always been careful.”

She snickered. “That’s supposed to make me feel better, knowing I won’t get some nasty STD?”

“Baby, you’ve got to know I’d never put you at risk that way.”

“What I know is that you’re a dirt bag. You don’t respect yourself or the women who share your bed.”  

“Honey, I’m not going to deny that I’ve played the field. I’ve slept with a few of the nurses at the hospital, including the women you obviously met in the restroom…”

“Not to mention the administrator?” she asked, folding her arms.

“How did you know about Colleen?”

She grabbed a throw pillow from a nearby chair and fired it at his head. “I hate you! I can’t even stand the sight of you. Just get out…” Her voice broke on the final word and she sank into the chair, burying her face in her hands.

He got up and went to her, crouching beside her chair. He was desperate to touch her, but the vase at her elbow looked heavy, and if she snapped and hit him upside the head with that, it could kill him. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you, Alana.”

She looked up at him, her face streaked with tears. “You know what hurts the most? I allowed myself to believe you. I walked in there on your arm tonight feeling special, as though you had chosen me above all the other women you could have been with.” Shaking her head, she sniffled. “What I didn’t realize is that I was one of many, wasn’t I?”

He berated himself for the actions that led to her anguish. He had a long way to go to prove that he was worthy of her. “I meant what I said earlier. I haven’t been able to get you out of my head. When I came to you today, it was because I wanted you and only you.”

“Have you really slept with more than one woman at a time?” she asked, swiping at the tears on her cheeks.

He dropped his head, wishing he could plead the Fifth. “I have.”

“Why?” she asked. “One woman’s not enough for you? Today…”

He took a chance, cupping her cheek in his palm. “Babe, today was everything I imagined it would be and so much more. You’re more than enough woman to keep me happy, forever.” More than anything, he needed to make her believe that he was finally looking for forever, with her.

“I don’t believe you,” she said quietly, looking at her clasped hands. “Men like you are never satisfied with one woman.” 

“Men like me?”

“I dated someone just like you once. He said and did all the right things, made me feel like I was the only woman in the world for him.”

He knew right then and there she was holding him accountable for her ex’s sins.  “But he was sleeping with other woman while you two were together?”

“There were dozens of them.” She swiped at the tears still streaming down her face. “My friends tried to warn me, but I refused to listen. I wanted to believe that he loved me, that we would get married after graduation.” She reached for a tissue, fisting it in her hand. “We were looking for apartments, planning a wedding…”

He reached for her hand to still the subtle tremble. If he ever got his hands on this guy, he’d be happy to administer the punishment he deserved. “Go on.”

“He thought I was away visiting my family for the weekend, but my flight was canceled due to foggy conditions. I thought I’d surprise him, but it turns out he surprised me.”

“He was in bed with someone else?” he asked, trying to imagine what that must have done to her.

She looked at him with such contempt that he was certain she saw her ex in his eyes. “Not just one girl; there were two. Apparently he’s not the only one who likes to experiment with multiple partners.”

“Baby…”

She pushed his hands away. “If you touch me, I swear to God I’ll scream.”

He squeezed his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose. “What can I say to convince you that I would never cheat on you? I may have slept around in the past, but if you’re willing to give me a chance, I swear to you, I won’t let you down.”

“I don’t believe you.” She looked him in the eye. “And I don’t trust you. I think you’re just like him. You’ll say or do anything to get what you want.”

“Alana,” he said, his voice breaking. “I’ve never felt this way about anybody. You’ve got to believe me.”

“I’ve wasted more than enough time listening to your lies. I want you gone, now.”

“I’m not leaving until you agree to…”

She picked up the cell phone on the table at her elbow. She punched in two digits and said, “This is your last warning. You can leave on your own, or I can arrange a police escort.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Try me.”

Chapter Five

Three Months Later

Alana was eating cold Chinese food from a cardboard take-out container when her brother, Justin, barged through her office door.

“How’d I know you’d still be here at 10:00 at night, sis?” he said, rolling his eyes as he claimed the seat across from her. “It’s pathetic. You really need to get a life.”

She was tired of everyone telling her that. The one time she’d tried, it was an unmitigated disaster. At least she’d gotten a sale out of it. When it came to buying the car, Ryan was true to his word. If he thought he would score points with her just because he’d spent a small fortune on a new car, he must have been disappointed when he learned she’d passed the sale off to one of her salesmen so she wouldn’t have to see him again.

“How’s the new job going?” she asked, trying to sound indifferent.

Apparently Ryan had called Justin to extend the offer they’d talked about, and Justin jumped at the opportunity. She was sure Ryan was trying to win her over, but she didn’t want to spoil the opportunity for Justin, so she said nothing.

“Oh my God, Ryan Lang is a freakin’ genius,” Justin said, reaching over to steal a deep fried chicken ball from her container. “I’m telling you, he’s an artist. It’s no wonder he has a waiting list longer than my arm.”

She pushed the container of chicken balls and fried rice toward her brother. She’d suddenly lost her appetite. “I’m glad it’s working out for you,” she said, shifting her chair and firing up her computer.

“Al, he could have any intern he wanted, but he chose me. Any idea why that might be?” Justin asked, forking rice into his mouth.

“Not a clue,” Alana said. She knew Justin would eventually figure out the connection between his sister and new boss, but she hoped he would let it pass without putting her on the spot about it. Apparently that was too much to hope for.

“Liar,” he said, smiling. “Ryan told me you two…”

Alana felt the color rising in her cheeks. Would he have actually had the nerve to tell her kid brother that they had a one-night stand? “What did he tell you about us?” she asked, trying to appear nonchalant as she stared at the numbers on her computer.

“He told me he was crazy about you,” Justin said quietly.

Alana sat back in her chair, staring blankly at the computer screen as she fought back tears. She hated Ryan more now than the night she found out about his sexual escapades because now she knew what living with the memory of their love-making every day and night felt like. “I don’t want to talk about this,” she said, gripping her armrests. “He means nothing to me.”

“You certainly mean something to him,” Justin said, reaching for an unopened bottle of water on the desk. “We went out for beers after work last night and this smokin’ hot chick came on to him. When he blew her off, I thought maybe he was gay because I’d never seen him with a woman. I’d never even heard anything about him dating recently…”

Narrowing her eyes, Alana looked at him. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I think he’s in love with you, sis.”

Her brother telling her his boss was getting married to someone else would have hurt less. At least then she could go on with her life, confident in the knowledge that he was a fraud. “No, he’s not. Just because he turned down one girl doesn’t mean he hasn’t been with a dozen others over the past few months.”