Page 31 of One Taste
She looked like a good girl sitting at the bar, but when her mouth opened, and she wanted to play, she wassofucking bad it was good. The way she sounded when she moaned for the first time against my lips. It was so fucking real—unfiltered and sexy as hell. Damn did she taste good—so sinful but sweet at the same time.
I think about the little hotel napkin she left stuck to the door with her bubblegum sitting on my dresser back home. A small smile spreads across my lips.Fucking bubblegum.At least I have one last thing to remember her by.
“Damn, man.” He laughs. “I would have loved to see you dashing through Penn like a madman.”
“It was like I was under a spell,” I tell him. “It wasn’t a conscious decision. It was as if I was moving on autopilot. That’s how the whole night with her went though. It was all smooth and cohesive. I led, she followed. She led, I followed. Man, the way we moved together.”
He barks out another laugh. “Too bad she ditched your ass. Smart girl. I know she was too good for you.”
I nod. “She definitely was. I guess it’s a good thing she left. If I had a way to contact her, I’d probably be consumed with her. I’ve got too much on my plate. Madison and I think someone is trying to sabotage me. Or Midtown. We’re notsure yet.”
He stops in his tracks, midthrow, and his head snaps in my direction, shot forgotten. “What?”
Jax listens intently as I tell him everything Madison disclosedyesterday. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around it all. I mean, yeah, I’m Sebastian Brooks, but I’m not a dick. I’m not your typical New York asshole, as people like to refer to us. I’m not vicious. I mind mybusiness. I’m never out to hurt anyone. I don’t make promises I don’t intend to keep or lead anyone on.
Who did I piss off so bad they’re willing to go through all the effort to hurt me? Or my company?
“What do you guys plan to do?”
Madison and I didn’t come up with anything concrete yesterday. I think we both needed the afternoon to hang together as Madison and Sebastian, sister and brother—not Madison and Sebastian, legal counsel and CEO.
“We haven’t set a plan or anything yet.” I run my hands through my hair. I need to get a damn haircut. “I know Madison has a ton of stuff up her sleeve for trying to paint me in a different light, but she's told me none of ityet. Right now, I will play nice during the interviews, and hopefully we can find someone I feel I can work with. I truly hope whoever we hire and I vibe well together because there’s no way I won’t be involved in everything going on. I will not allow myself to be an outsider atMidtown. I’ve worked too hard to get to where I am. I don’t want to argue over everything.”
Rage consumes me as I think about this situation. I have no clue what sparked it, but it seems to all stem from the incident with Faust’s daughter. I had no clue that woman was engaged. I saw noshiny ring on her finger. I always check for a ring. It’s my fault she took it off? It’s my fault she wanted my cock in her already claimed pussy? Fucking bullshit! “I’m being punished for something not even related to bad business. It’s bullshit.”
Jax places his hand on my shoulder. “Take it easy, man. We’ll figure this out. I agree. Nothing here seems right. I can understand the dad pulling his account, but the rest of this is off. For now, keep your head down.”
I nod and take a few deep breaths as he continues. “Listen, I think you should allow whoever you guys hire to take some of this off your plate. I know you, Brooks. You won'tstop until you find out who is behind all of this, and you don’t want the company to suffer any more than it has to. It’ll distract you. Let this guy help. Another set of eyes can’t hurt here. Keep an open mind in the interviews.”
I guess I can do that.
My carefree lifestyle just went from uncomplicated to clusterfuck in less than a week. A little help can’t hurt too much, right?
Sebastian
Madison trots into my officewith a smile on her face and a stack of files in her hand. The tension between us has dissipated since our bonding Saturday. It could’ve been avoided if she had come to me in the first place.While my sister and I may bicker, I hate having tension between us. It makes everything uncomfortable. That’s one thing that sucks about working with family—they’re always around and involved.
“Morning, Sebastian.”
“Good morning, Madison.”
Walking in as if she’s on a mission, she places the file folders on the coffee table and takes a seat on the black leather sofa beside my desk.
“Are you ready for today?”
“What do you have scheduled?” I ask, trying not to take this personally. “What time is the first meeting? How many applicants are we seeing today?”
“Haven’t you checked your e-mail and updated schedule?” She pulls the sheet of paper off the top of the stack. “I only need you for a few hours this morning to go over a game plan. We need to decide how you want to handle your new partner. I know it may seem like you’re being replaced, but you’re not. I need to know how you want things to run so we have a clear protocol to give to the applicant on Friday. He starts on Monday.”
“Wait, what?”
She looks at me like I’ve grown another head. “The interim CEO starts Monday, Sebastian. We have a lot to discuss between now and then.”
Is she joking?I glare, my anger rising. “You hired someone already?What the fuck, Madison? I can’t believe this!”
How could she do this behind my back? We spent all day Saturday together, and none of our conversations mentioned she hired someone.
She, at least, has the decency to look remorseful while she nods. “I’m sorry.”
