Chapter 12 Playboy Tactics
ALICE
I was fuming as I stormed out of the meeting room.
That...that man just couldn't stay civil for one minute!
I hated how he thought that he could talk to me however he wanted just because I worked for him. God, it was so exhausting. And dehumanizing.
It was like he took pleasure in being an absolute dick.
I folded my arms and waited for him, like he commanded. Man, if I could, I would've flown right back to New York. Fuck him and his meeting. And his plans. How about that?
I was so pissed off that I didn't hear it when I was approached by someone until they said close to my ear, "Someone doesn't look too happy to be here."
I whirled around and saw the dick's business partner, Mr. Steimer. He moved to stand directly in front of me and flashed me a charming smile. "Then again, maybe I don't know you well enough to tell. How about we fix that?"
That last line right there was him flirting with me as I blatantly chose to ignore that. I stood up straighter and said, "I'm a little tired, that's all. I think the meeting was...very productive."
He laughed. "It was a snoozefest. One of the most boring meetings I ever attended. Would you like to know what made it worthwhile? Looking at you. Watching you work from across the table."
I lowered my gaze. Now this was going a little too far. "Well, I don't know what to say to that, Mr. Steimer."
"Mr. Steimer is my father. Please, call me Todd."
"Okay."
He slid his hands in the pockets of his pants and stood watching me with a look that truly made me uncomfortable, to an extent. I was usually pretty good at ignoring flirtatious men. I never really let their words get to me because I know most of them were lies to get me into bed.
This man's words were no exception.
He'd done this before. He was an expert at it.
"I hope I'm being clear, Miss Rhodes. Or may I call you Alice?"
"You may."
"Good. I hope I'm being clear. I'd like to take you out." After smirking at my stunned expression, he added, "My company has no rules that prevent people from...getting to know each other."
"You know about that, huh?"
"Of course. Theo was the one who enforced it. Of course, that rule was mostly for others and not necessarily himself, but he became more serious about it in the last few years. Probably because he never found someone...worthy of breaking the rules for. Catching my drift?"
"I guess so. Do you know why he changed his mind and started enforcing that rule more?"
Todd looked around. "Don't tell anyone I told you this. It'll be our little secret. Deal?"
He offered me his pinky, and I linked mine with his. Then, he playfully winked and said, "This is old news in our little group, but I'm guessing you don't know anything about it. Theo's father had an affair with some secretary a couple of years ago. It broke his mother's heart and started a bunch of shit. I guess that's what changed his...perspective."
I was definitely shocked at hearing this. Mr. Hawthorne always seemed like such a...steady, loyal man. Well, what did I know? I hadn't known him personally. He was a much better boss to me than his son, that was for sure.
"I see."
"Yeah. Anyway, if you enjoy, you know, what he does for you, then I promise you you'll love what I do. I promise you, we'll have a great time."
My face reddened right away. "I don't...I've never..."
I couldn't finish my sentence because we were approached by Mr. Linden-Hawthorne. He gave us both a withering look and said to me, "I thought I told you not to go anywhere."
"I didn't."
"I'm the one who approached her, Theo," Todd said to him with a malicious smile. "There's no need for you to scold her."
Mr. Linden-Hawthorne stepped closer to his partner and said to him in a low voice, "Why don't you find anything better to do than mess around with shit that doesn't concern you?"
Theo didn't even seem offended by his tone, or his words. "Because pissing you off is so, so fun."
Without another word, my asshole of a boss grabbed me by the arm—by the arm—and started dragging me toward the elevators. I looked around in confusion, wondering if anybody else was watching this insanity.
We stopped in front of the elevator and I said his name, but it seemed he wasn't listening to me. We stepped inside and I said it in a much louder voice. "Mr. Linden-Hawthorne!
He looked at me like the sound of my voice startled him, and then he looked down at the spot where he was gripping my forearm tightly and released me. I rubbed the sore spot, glaring at him from the corner of my eye.
What was this man's problem? Genuinely?
We got in the car, which was waiting for us outside. If I thought it was freezing in New York, there were no words for what it was like here. If I stayed out in the cold for too long, I wouldn't have an ass left to freeze.
Plain and simple.
I hoped, as I had earlier, that we would be heading back to the Airbnb, but it seemed we were going deeper into the city, and the car stopped in front of a restaurant that looked really high-end. Of course, he only ever went to places like this.
What surprised me was that he hadn't asked me to make a reservation.
I didn't ask him what we were doing here, nor did I mention that I wanted to sleep for a few hours. He was in a clear bad mood, and I was cranky already, so there was no point in arguing with him.
Why was he bringing me here, though? He didn't have to. I wanted to ask him this so badly, but I took another look at his face and shuddered.
No interaction of ours would end well. I knew that deep down.
The manager greeted him in a friendly way, and became even friendlier when he was told that the owner was Mr. Linden-Hawthorne's friend. Moments later, a balding man in his thirties appeared.
"Thank you for stopping by, Theo," the owner said in a thick English accent. "What can I get for you? Everything's on the house."
"No, please, Matti."
"Please, Theo. It's my pleasure. Sit down. I'll bring you the best wine."
We were taken to a table farther away from everyone else, and sat down across from each other. He still hadn't looked at me, and I found that so strange.
I was tagging along with a man who wasn't even looking at me. This was so embarrassing.
I didn't even have an appetite. I wouldn't be able to eat anything.
But at last, he looked, and I found myself wishing he never had. He leaned closer to me and asked me openly, "What did he tell you?"