Page 18 of Taming a Heartbreaker

Redford barely gave Sloan a chance to enter his office and close the door behind him before he said, “Funny you showed up here today. I had planned to call you later. I need Carmen Golan’s contact information, Sloan. If you refuse to give it to me because of Leslie, then I’ll hire a private investigator.”

Sloan lifted a brow before dropping down into the chair across from Redford’s desk. Frowning, he said, “You sound desperate. Didn’t you seduce and drop her like you do all the others? So why do you want to contact her? Follow-ups aren’t your thing, Redford. Besides, you claim it wasn’t your fault if she assumed your night with her was the beginning of something more.”

“Yes, but...”

“But what?”

Deciding to place all the BS aside and answer truthfully, Redford replied, “I honestly don’t know what is happening to me, man. I refuse to believe I’ve been p-whipped, but I feel like I have. All I know is that I can’t get Carmen Golan off my mind. I’m convinced her scent is embedded into my skin and the taste of her is a flavor I can’t forget. I haven’t thought about sleeping with another woman since spending that night with her, and I can’t seem to desire anyone else.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Sloan asked in a disbelieving voice.

“I wish I was kidding, but I’m not. And it’s mind-boggling as hell. I’ve never been in a state of sex deprivation before. I need to see Carmen again and bad.”

Sloan frowned. “Why? So you can seduce her into sleeping with you again?”

Redford heard the disapproving hardness in Sloan’s voice. Seducing Carmen again sounded pretty damn nice, considering his present sexually deprived state. However, he knew doing such a thing would only add to his troubles.

“No. I refuse to be that weak and break my rule of not having sex with the same woman twice. Besides, I’ve never bought into that asinine premise that in order to work a woman out of your system you need to sleep with her again. It’s conjectural and unproven.”

“So why do you want to see her again?”

“I did research on the matter,” Redford said.

“Now why doesn’t that surprise me?” Sloan responded, sarcastically.

Redford took Sloan’s taunt in stride. During their days in college, not only was Redford known as the king of quickies, he was also regarded as an OCR. An obsessive-compulsive researcher. He loved gathering and analyzing data. Sometimes just to prove his point about something, and at other times just for the enthusiasm of acquiring knowledge.

“I’m going to ignore you, Sloan, since over the years a number of your companies have benefited from my skill at data crunching.”

Sloan chuckled. “Touché. So why do you want to see her if not to seduce her again?”

Redford leaned closer to Sloan as if he was about to share some secret formula. “Some of the top relationship experts all suggest the same thing. It’s all about the power of controlling your own body and mind, and not believing someone else has the ability to do so. That means I need to take Carmen out on a date.”

“A date?”

“Yes. A date where we spend a nice evening together and where we won’t end up in bed. I need to control my urges and desires and not let them control me. I have to prove my ability to do that with her.”

“Do you honestly believe Carmen would go out on a date with you?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“Well, I do. Carmen slept with you that night believing the two of you were soulmates. She was hurt to find out that wasn’t the case.”

“I don’t believe there is such a thing as soulmates, Sloan.”

“You’ve done research on the subject?”

“I didn’t have to. I see a date with Carmen benefiting both of us. It will help me move on and it will also clear the air about a few things. Especially all her misconceptions of that soulmates thing. Over time, I hope we can become friends. After all, we’re godparents to your daughter, so it’s time we build a platonic relationship based on that, and for her to stop thinking there will ever be anything more between us.”

Sloan didn’t say anything for a long moment and then he said, “All that research you collected might have worked if there wasn’t the issue of fatherhood.”

Redford lifted a confused brow. “Fatherhood?”

“Yes, fatherhood. Carmen is pregnant.”

Redford jumped to his feet. “Pregnant!”

“Yes, pregnant. So I can only assume you got sloppy that night, which is so unlike you, St. James.”

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