Page 15 of Playboy Boss

Chapter Five

Konrad met Dallas at Halman Hotel for lunch. The two men had been discussing a joint venture, an upscale boutique hotel. Konrad hadn’t embarked on that territory yet, and it had been a dream of his. As heir of the Halman Hotel chain, Dallas was the best man to go into business with.

At the Mariposa bar attached to the Halman Hotel in the heart of the Museum District, Konrad drank a short glass of scotch, neat. With the way Scottie made him feel, he needed a drink to get himself straightened out. What was it about her that ruffled him so much? Besides the obvious, which was that she was stunning. He’d been with stunning women on most days of the week though. She was something else he couldn’t pinpoint.

“Hey, man.” Dallas came up behind him, tapping him on the shoulder, startling him. “Sorry I’m late. Was crunching some numbers upstairs.”

“As a JVP of Finance does.” Konrad shook Dallas’s hand. In all sincerity, Dallas was the one friend he trusted most. Though rough around the edges, considering he spent the majority of his childhood on a cattle ranch in East Texas, Dallas had a lot in common with Konrad. They both were dedicated to their work and to expanding their empires.

Dallas sat, nodding at the cute bartender who apparently knew exactly what he wanted. In seconds, she placed a Jack and Coke in front of him. He winked in appreciation. Not two seconds passed before he’d taken a hefty gulp, nearly emptying the glass. Looked like he’d needed a drink too.

Dallas knocked on the wooden bar with a heavy knuckle after he’d set his glass down. “I sure as hell needed that. So, what’s going on?”

“What did you think about Fabian’s dinner party last night?” Konrad surprised himself with his question.

Dallas shook his head. “Antonia has that son of a bitch by the balls.” He took another drink, the last of it. He chuckled, maybe feeling the same disbelief Konrad felt. “Lucky bastard.”

Perhaps not.

“I must admit, he does look ridiculously happy.” Konrad recalled the look on Fabian’s face when he’d announced his engagement to Antonia. He looked absolutely smitten. Antonia was his world, and there was no question about it.

“She is a lovely woman,” Konrad added. Antonia was more than that. Had to be. Fabian had been more of a ladies’ man than Konrad. In fact, Konrad assumed he and Fabian would be bachelors for life. If Antonia could make him fall… Well, that meant it was possible to fall, which was a disconcerting thought.

“Fabian better not fuck it up is all I’m saying.”

Konrad looked Dallas square in the eyes. “Could you allow yourself to fall like that?”

Dallas didn’t answer straightaway. He mulled over the question, looking in his empty glass like a psychic looks at a crystal ball. “Let’s just say I did fall for someone, but out of my own stupidity, I lost her. Seems like a lifetime ago now.”

Konrad was shocked. He’d never heard Dallas mention this before. From that revelation, Konrad concluded that falling in love appeared to be either the best thing or the worst thing that could happen to a person. “Well, mate, we don’t have to worry about running out of women. We’ll always attract them. Even when we’re fat, disgusting bastards.”

Dallas grunted. “How do you figure?”

“We have accents. Women love accents.”

“Mine is nothing exotic like yours.”

Konrad laughed. “If only they knew who I really am, they’d stay far away from me.”

“Oh, come on. You’re being hard on yourself.” Dallas punched his friend in the shoulder.

Perhaps. Emotions rose up in him again as he thought of everything that had happened the last couple of days. A change of subject would fare him well. “Where the hell is the lunch menu? What kind of two-bit operation are you running here, Halman?”

Dallas punched Konrad again, that time not as light. He waved over the bartender. “Bea, what do you recommend for lunch?”

“Filet mignon and sautéed spinach?” Bea set her slim hand on the bar. Konrad noticed the shiny cherry-red varnish on her petite nail beds. She was coquettish indeed, and she might be Konrad’s one-night-stand type if she didn’t work for one of his best friends. Which brought him to another thing. Scottie…

“Works for me,” said Dallas, answering Bea. “You good with that, Kon?”

Konrad nodded.

With a thumbs-up, Dallas turned to Bea. “Two.”

Once Bea had left to fulfill their orders, Konrad took a sip of his drink, nearly draining it, his thoughts on Scottie again and the secret they shared. He still didn’t understand why she’d opted out of acknowledging him as her boss. And why it bothered him so deeply.

Dallas nudged Konrad. “What’s wrong, man? I can see the wheels turning in your head.”

“I’m a bit out of sorts today.” Konrad glanced out past the bar to the fountain off Main Street, the crystalline water streams gleaming in the sun.

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