Page 32 of Velvet Sin
“No.I get it.”Aiden’s head bobbed.“My mom can have whatever she wants, so long as I don’t have to see her face-to-face except on holidays.That’s about as much as I can take,” he concluded.
I was getting more uncomfortable by the second.This conversation needed to end.“All right, gentlemen.You have a little liquid courage in your veins,” I pointed out, opening my desk drawer and withdrawing four silk masks.“Do you have the courage to go down there and indulge?”
“Courage, nothing.”Grayson snatched one of the masks from my hand.“I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks.”This was the only night the four of them could get together at the same time to check out their investment.As if they needed to.They knew damn well, after reviewing the financials from my other properties, just how profitable this would be.
“Enjoy.Don’t forget to have your IDs scanned when you’re downstairs,” I reminded them.“You might be investors, but rules are rules.”
I couldn’t help but be kind of grateful nobody had commented on Lenny.That might have made the whole situation that much more uncomfortable.After all, people tended to take it seriously when they got punched in the nose.
I sat back, savoring what was left of my drink, observing the front counter.The men were respectful, making the girls laugh.Probably busting balls the way they always did.Once they were on their way, Lenny murmured something to Chloe before leaving the counter and disappearing from sight.It wasn’t another thirty seconds when there was a knock at my door.“Open,” I called out, grinning as I turned in my chair.
Lenny poked her head into the room, dark waves framing her face.“Were those the guys you told me about?”
“That was them.What did you think?”
Stepping into the room, she closed the door behind her.“They seem nice.Like close friends or even brothers.Cute, too,” she added with a smirk.
“That was unnecessary,” I muttered under my breath.
“And unapologetic flirts,” she added, and heat rose in my face, which, of course, she noticed.Laughing, she crossed the room.“You’re going to have to get used to it, you know… men flirting with me.They don’t come here because they’re boring and dry and have lost all interest in sex, you realize.”
The swaying of her hips was enough to test the limits of my control.It made my mouth go dry and my pants tent.“Let them indulge in that shit once they’re past the lobby.”
“You might want to add that to your list of rules,” she purred.I pushed my chair back far enough from the desk that she could slide in front of me, leaning over and giving me a look down the front of her blouse.Her creamy tits demanded to be touched, though when I reached for them, she playfully slapped my hand away.“Working hours, remember?”
My head fell back as I groaned at the reminder.Of course, it would be a disaster if anyone found out what went on at my house a few times in the past week since I had first introduced her to the room I was setting up across from my suite.My reputation would take a hit it might never recover from, to say nothing of hers.Fucking her boss?It wouldn’t look good and might give any future employers the wrong idea.Over my dead body.
“You have a lot of nerve showing up here, looking the way you do and expecting me not to want a little touch.”My dick didn’t give a shit about my reputation or hers.Things were pretty much black and white as far as that part of my anatomy was concerned.Right now, he wanted something warm and wet to sink into, and he happened to be mere inches away from his favorite partner.
“Aren’t you the one who always tells me the longer you wait for satisfaction, the better it is?”she teased, and I let out a miserable groan at the way she turned my words around on me, making her slightly laugh as she straightened.“I better get back.I told Chloe I was coming up to make sure those were the VIPs you mentioned.”
“Hey,” I blurted out before she could leave.“I have a question for you.”
“If it has to do with the next time we?—”
I shook my head, cutting her off.“No, this is serious.Do you think it’s strange that I haven’t told my mother I’m in town?”’
Clearly, she hadn’t believed me when I told her I was serious.Her head snapped back, eyes narrowing in confusion.“I didn’t know you hadn’t told her.I guess I should’ve asked.”
“We don’t talk about a lot of serious things when we’re together, do we?There are more important things to do.”
I should’ve known she would consider the question seriously instead of rattling off whatever she thought would soothe my conscience.“I think in a situation like this, you need to protect yourself.And not in the way you’re thinking,” she added before I could agree that, yes, it was better to limit our contact for everybody’s privacy.“You need to protect your… I don’t know… your energy.Your mind.If it stresses you out too much and makes you feel like shit when you see her, then by all means, keep her at a safe distance.You deserve a little peace.And in case you’re wondering…” she concluded as she opened the door, “… you’re a good son.You take care of her.”
How did she know that was exactly what I needed to hear?“Thanks.Now get back to work,” I growled out.She gave me a smirking salute before ducking out.Soon, she joined Chloe, who was smart enough to only glance up at one of the two cameras in the lobby on her way back to her work with her lips twitching in a grin.
She suspected there was something happening with us.She had to.If she were smart, she would keep it to herself.It would be better to stay quiet and pretend I didn’t notice.‘Least said, soonest mended,’one of Mom‘s favorite sayings.
I had her on the brain tonight.My phone sat on the desk, and I grabbed it on impulse, opening the text app and scrolling until I found the message thread between Mom and me.It was a short thread, and the last message had come from her three months earlier.
Mom:Checking in to see if you’re all right.I hope you’ve had a change of heart and decided to start attending church again.
Funny.I picked up the phone with the intention of sending a text to say hi and eventually steer the conversation toward being in the area and wanting to visit.All it took was a glance at that message to remind me why I hadn’t told her I was in town.It was enough to read a message like that and know I would never be the son she wanted.What I didn’t need was hearing her tell me to my face.
Leaving the phone on the desk, I turned back to the monitors, watching Lenny.Watching over my kingdom.Mom wanted me to go to church?Thiswas my church.
Only I wasn’t a worshiper.I was a deity, overseeing things from high above.
And that was the way it would stay.
