SOLO (6 page)

I've been trying to forget her since she practically pushed me out of her apartment a few nights ago. I'd gone to the gym after that encounter. I had to work off all the pent up energy that was racing through me. I'd thought about picking up someone to fuck, but I couldn’t get the image of Libby out of my mind.

"Sir, you have a meeting in ten minutes." Lance pops his head around the corner and into my office. "Are you ready for that?"

I'm ready to fire his ass. I can't tolerate when anyone second guesses me, even if it's my assistant. I pay him well to make sure that I'm at the top of my game but I don't tolerate foolish questions like whether I'm prepared for a meeting. I've been working at my father's company since I graduated from college, seven years ago. I'm one of the youngest CEOs in Manhattan.

"Lance, get in here." I motion for him to shut the door behind him.

A flash of concern dodges his expression. "What is it, sir?"

As much as I'd revel in watching him plead for his job, I need him too much to toss him to the curb at this point. "I spoke to an old friend earlier. His name is Hunter Reynolds."

"The Hunter Reynolds who owns Axel NY?"

Apparently I'm paying Lance enough to eat there. I need to check on that. "That's him."

He nods before jotting something down on his legal pad. Who does that anymore? Isn't that what a tablet is for?

"I need you to make a reservation for me there for tomorrow night." I shuffle through a few papers on my desk looking for a contract that I need to take to my meeting. 

"Tomorrow night?" he parrots back. "I heard it takes months to get a table."

I drop my hands before I turn my face to look directly at him. "It doesn't take months for me." It sounds cocky. I'm cocky. It fits.

"Do I say it's for you?"

I really need to check on Lance's salary. Did he seriously just ask me that?

"I mean…" he stammers. "I just meant are you dining alone?"

"What to do you think?" I tilt my chin up.

"I think it's for two." The corner of his mouth twitches.

"Eight o'clock."

"Consider it done." He jumps to his feet before he slides out the door and into the hallway.

With that taken care of there's only one more slight detail I need to tend to. I want Libby Duncan's perfect ass in the chair across from me at Axel tomorrow night.

***

"You've been thinking about me," I say the words smoothly the moment the elevator doors open on the fourteenth floor. It's precisely four o'clock. I'm here to convince her to have dinner with me tomorrow.

Libby's head darts up just as her feet stop in place. Everyone behind her bottlenecks and she's thrown forward in an instant. I reach out to try and steady her as she drops into the car and onto her knees.

I stare down at her for what feels like an eternity. Sweet Jesus. Is that what she's going to look like on the floor of my condo before she wraps her gorgeous pink lips around my dick?

"What?" She reaches behind her as if she expects one of her cast mates will help lift her to her feet. "What did you say to me?"

I take a full step forward as I raise my hand warning them all to stop. "Take the next one," I bark at them.

They acquiesce. It's not as though they have another choice. Each of them knows exactly who I am. I push the button for the lobby just as the doors close.

"Don't bother helping me up." There's no masking the sarcasm dripping from the words. She's clawing at the wall of the elevator, trying to gain some sense of traction.

I don't move. It's not that I'm a selfish and inconsiderate bastard. It's that I'm stunned by the way she looks. Her blonde hair is tied loosely into a ponytail, although half of it has fallen out around her face. She's wearing a light blue tank top and apparently a black bra underneath judging by the strap that is falling onto her shoulder. The very tiny black skirt she has on is inching higher with every single movement she makes. I can't take my eyes off of her.

I watch in silence as she adjusts her skirt once she's on her feet. Her hands pull her hair completely free of its restraints. The long blond locks tumble free. Christ. She looks like she's just been fucked. She's a sweet mess.

"Why are you here?" she throws the question at me without following it with even a slight glance.

"Look at me, Libby," I order. I'm not going to play any games today. We are not going to have a repeat of what happened in her apartment the other night. After seeing her today, I know what I want. I don't see any reason to not be open and direct. We're wasting precious time.

"What?" she asks in a mix of a whimper and a whine. "What do you want?"

I charge towards her grabbing both her shoulders in my hands. I push her back until she's resting against the elevator wall. The low moan that escapes her travels straight to my cock. I can't stop myself. I won't stop myself.

"You," I whisper the word against her lips. "I want you."

Libby

The elevator jars to a hard stop when it reaches the lobby of the building. He steps back as his hands drop from my shoulders. Damn my life all to hell. He said he wanted me. I heard him. He was just about to kiss me and now he's standing at least a foot away from me.

Maybe it's fate. Maybe my initial reluctance to stay away from him was right. I'm just another conquest to him. I don't need that complication in my life right now. I have to stay focused on my role in the musical. It's why I came to New York in the first place.

The doors fly open and several people rush in before either Alec or I have a chance to get off.  I push through them. I don't feel as though I can breathe in this tiny space. I need air. I need to get outside and onto the street.

"Libby, wait." His voice is behind me as I make a rush towards the glass doors.

"I can't," I mutter under my breath. "I can't."

I know it's impossible for him to hear me in the crowded space. I doubt that he can even see me. It's late afternoon and many of the people who work in the offices are clearing out for the day. It's congested and I'm grateful for the reprieve from the intense moment we shared in the elevator.

"Stop." The word hits me an instant before his hand is around my waist.

I try to break free but any effort I'm putting in is in vain. It's almost as though I'm in a struggle by myself. I'm twisting recklessly and he's standing behind me, almost motionless. "I need to be somewhere, Mr. Hughes."

His grip on my waist doesn't lessen as he guides me through the glass doors of the building and into the street. "I'll take you anywhere you need to be."

Even though I know that getting into a car with him is a mistake I'm likely going to regret the moment it pulls away from the curb, I do it. I do it willingly. I crawl into the open door of the same sedan that was idling by the curb the other day. I slide across the seat so Alec can sit next to me and I stare out the window as I hear the car door slam. This is it. This is when I tell Alec Hughes to go straight to hell.

***

"As much as I'm thoroughly enjoying this random drive around the city, Libby, it would be helpful if you could supply an address of the place you need to be."

It would be helpful if you weren't as good looking as you are. How am I supposed to resist him when we're sitting this close together?

"When you were in my apartment the other night, you said that you could help my career." I take a slow breath to quiet all the anxiety I'm feeling. My lips feel as though they're still back in that elevator waiting to be kissed by him. "I'd like to know exactly what that means."
              His hand is resting leisurely on the back of the seat. His chest heaves slightly before he turns his face towards me. "It means I have the ability to open a few doors for you."

That clarified absolutely nothing at all. "Can you be more specific?"

His mouth thins into a serious line. "I'm funding the entire project, Libby. I do have some say in the production."

I want particulars. It's not going to change my mind about hopping onto his dick, but I'm curious. I want to know exactly what Alec Hughes would do to get me into bed. It's completely and totally about perceived value. I'm curious about where I rate on his scale. "You must have something in mind that you can offer to me."

"There are many things I can offer you, Libby. I was thinking about a solo."

"You would get me a solo if I sleep with you?" I ask the question while staring at his face, looking for clues about how serious he is. This can't actually be real. I've heard about the infamous casting couch. This wasn't how I pictured it at all.

He leans forward, his fingers flitting past the bottom of my hair before they land on my chin. "Is that what it's going to take to get you into my bed?"

He actually is as big of an asshole as everyone says he is.

"Mr. Hughes," I stress his name wanting to make it abundantly clear that the two of us are in a business relationship and nothing more. "Mr. Hughes, if I wanted to get into your bed, I would do so because I wanted to fuck you, not because you promised me a solo or anything else."

He closes his eyes just as a soft curse falls from his mouth. "Libby, we're both adults. I'd like to have sex with you. I'm reasonably sure you'd like to have sex with me. I can make it worth your while if you agree to spend time with me during the run of the play."
              "I don't sleep with men for favors." I point out.

"I can change the entire course of your career, Libby." His fingers pull on the bottom of my hair. "I can make you a star."

I'd be lying if I said that it isn't tempting. From where I'm sitting, with a very full and clear view of how impossibly handsome he is, I can't honestly see a downside to this. I get a chance to stand out from the rest of the actresses in the chorus and I get to have sex with the most attractive man I've ever laid eyes on. Why am I not saying yes to him? Oh, wait. It's because it would make me a whore.

"It would mean I'm a whore." That's what happens when I speak before I think. "I mean, I don't have any problem with a woman doing what she needs to do to make a dollar or to get a leg up in the world, but I can't do it. It's just not who I am." Aren't you a fucking angel, Libby? No wonder he's staring at you like you have three heads attached to your neck.

"What if I took sex out of the equation?" His tongue flits over his bottom lip.

My panties are officially wet after watching that. "What? No sex?"

"I didn't say forever." His chin lifts. "Let's start with one dinner. You agree to go to dinner tomorrow evening with me and we'll take it from there."

"Just dinner?"

"Just dinner, Libby. No strings attached."

Alec

Who the hell was that in the car with Libby Duncan? Did I actually agree to take sex off the table? That may have been the most fucked up thing I've ever done. I almost had her in the elevator. She was practically waiting for me to kiss her and then she took off the minute the doors opened. Christ, this one may be more trouble than she's worth. I shouldn't have to work this hard to get any woman.

That's exactly why I'm at this club. It's in the heart of Times Square and there's a hotel an elevator ride away. It's what every man's fuck pad dreams are made of. I paid for a room in Hotel Aeon as soon as I walked through the doors. Now I've got my drink in my hand, a clear view of the club's entrance and a pocket full of condoms. If I fuck someone tonight, Libby Duncan becomes just another girl in the chorus line. This insatiable need I'm feeling isn't about her. I'm here to prove that to myself.

I watch the steady stream of women entering the club. I can have my pick. It's a sea of blondes and brunettes with an occasional redhead tossed in the mix to throw the balance off. I scan the faces of each as she enters. Not one of them is doing anything for me or my dick.

I want a blond with full lips. I want a nose that perks up just at the tip. I want brown eyes that are big, wide and full of desire. I want Libby.

Fuck me all to hell. I have to get her out of my mind.

"Hey." It's almost as soft as the tap on my shoulder.

I spin around. She's acceptable. Brunette, tall, and curvy with gorgeous blue eyes and a dress that's two sizes too small. "Hey," I parrot back.

"Will you buy me a drink?"

If it's going to get me laid, I'll buy you ten. "Sure."

"I'll have a screaming orgasm."

"When you finish your drink, I'll see to that myself." I raise my glass of bourbon in her direction. "Now, tell me what you're drinking."

She throws her head back in laughter. "I meant I'll have a screaming orgasm martini. You're funny."

You're not that bright. "I aim to please." In more ways than one, I might add.

"What's your name, handsome?"

"Charlie," I toss out because I don't want to hear her screaming my name out when I'm devouring her cunt. "What's your name?"