Chapter 14 Wicked Intention
THEODORE
I was losing my mind; there was no other explanation for why I, Theodore Linden-Hawthorne, was putting myself through this.
The need to have this woman wasn't letting me rationalize. What happened over lunch was a perfect example of that.
If anyone else spoke to me the way she had, I would've fired them on the spot. Especially someone like her, who was playing games with me and turning me into a fucking wishy-washy fuck.
Every time I told myself that I'd pull away from her, I found myself wanting her even more.
It was an endless game. An endless battle with myself.
It frustrated me, yet kept me intrigued.
Since arriving at the Airbnb, I'd had no rest. The thought of her upstairs, not too far away from me, lying on a bed, made me think of shameful things.
Todd's call was a welcome distraction from the noise in my head, but just as I pressed the phone to my ear, I realized that I was really fucking mad at him for eye-fucking her the entire meeting.
"Theo," he said as soon as I answered, "come on."
"What?"
"Are you kidding? You haven't called me at all."
I brought the glass of whiskey in my hand to my lips. "I have better things to do than to think about you, Todd."
He chuckled. One thing about Todd was that he'd almost always take my jabs as a joke. Easygoing was the only way I could ever describe him. "Look, if you're fucking her, just say so."
His remark made me clench my jaw. "I'm not."
"Do you want to?"
"Is that why you called?"
"I actually meant to invite you out. There's no reason why we need to stay holed up in our hotels. The night is young. Let's hit the town."
"I'm getting a little too old for that, Theo. What if I want to stay indoors and have my whiskey in peace?"
Again, he laughed. "You're so full of shit. Come on, Theo. Let's go out. Hit our favorite clubs. Reminisce. We fucked a storm in this city before, didn't we? Do you even remember? Just two twenty-one-year-olds and their cocks against the world."
A small smile stretched across my lips as I remembered the time we spent here seven years ago. Man, those were the good old days. I had zero sense of responsibility. I was fresh out of college and looking to have fun.
All of this made me realize that Todd was my friend, yet now, I was treating him like an enemy out of jealousy.
What sense did that make? For all I knew, Alice Rhodes didn't want me. She didn't act like she did, even though I caught her looking at me occasionally with clear lust in her eyes.
But at this point, I had to ask myself if I was just seeing what I wanted to see.
"I'm not alone, Todd."
"Leave the secretary, then. Or bring her."
"I'm her boss."
"Hasn't stopped you from tapping her, has it? I know you have your fun with her. You can deny it all you want."
"I haven't."
And it was driving me fucking nuts.
"Ah. So, the obsession is because you haven't fucked her yet. Got it."
"Fuck you."
"I'd rather she fuck me instead."
My silence made him laugh loudly, and I was this fucking close to ending the call right in his face. "Step aside if you don't want her, then. Or admit that you do and I'll back off."
"I'll hang up."
"Just think about my invitation, then. Give me that, at least. Get back to me in around two hours, yeah? I have something wicked planned."
My first instinct was not to go, but I ended up giving his proposition more thought than I intended, and all I could see was her in a tight dress, dancing to the beat of music.
It excited me way too much.
I could go out, but not with Todd. I didn't trust myself around him looking at her the way he did. I looked up at the stairs and an idea formed in my mind.
I drained the glass and headed upstairs. I prepared myself to deal with her attitude. At this point, I was getting used to it. She made me want to fuck it right out of her, but of course, I had to be civil right now.
Those were the rules of whatever game she was playing, after all.
I knocked on her door. It had been five hours since we had that disastrous lunch, and we hadn't exchanged a word since. I heard her shuffling from the other side of the door, and then she opened it.
Her eyes were sleepy as she stared back at me. She cleared her throat before asking, "Yes?"
"Get ready?"
"Ready?"
"We're heading out."
"Do I have a choice in this? I'd rather not go anywhere with you if it's not professional."
"Who says it isn't?"
Her expression softened, and then she nodded and told me she'd be down in ten minutes. I smiled to myself as I made my way downstairs. This was a trick, of course.
I couldn't tell her that my plan was to take her dancing somewhere for a drink or something similar.
The truth was that I didn't know she'd say no, and I was way too determined to just let her stay behind.
Ten minutes later, I heard her coming down the stairs. She was dressed in a black dress with a turtleneck and long sleeves. It ended way below her knee. Despite how much skin it covered, it hugged her body in all the right places.
Alice Rhodes was dressed like a nun, but one who prayed to a fuck god and begged for pleasure, not blessings or peace or even salvation.
And I was enthralled.
"Ready?" she asked a little sharply, pursing her painted lips at me.
Before I could answer, she walked right past me without a single word. I followed, grabbing my coat from the hanger by the door. She did the same.
I had no idea what the night had in store for us, but I knew for a fact that it would be really fucking fun.
There was no way around it.