RISK(25)

I draw in a quiet breath. "I remember something about a good bottle of cabernet and a steak. Is that still on the menu?"

"We can have whatever you want. If you agree to have dinner with me, I'll eat dirt and drink week old coffee. Just tell me it's a go."

"What about my job?" I pause and pull back. "I lost one job because of a man. I don't want to repeat history."

He tips his head. His eyes are pinned to mine. "That man is an idiot. In case you haven't noticed yet, I'm not. "

"I know it's just one date, but I like this job. I want to keep it for now."

"For now?" He studies my face. "You have aspirations beyond Matiz?"

"Of course," I answer confidently. "I'll tighten your security and then I'll chase my dream job."

"What's your dream job, Ellie?"

It feels too personal to share. It's the only job I've wanted since I was a kid. One day I'll be a member of the New York Police Department. I'm determined.

"I might tell you about that on our date if we can come to an agreement about my job security."

He nods. "As of tomorrow morning, you report to Crew. He's your boss. You run everything past him. I have no say in anything related to your position at Matiz."

I bite the corner of my lip. "You'll honor that even if we end up in a place where we're not on speaking terms?"

"That will never happen."

"It could happen, Nolan."

"It won't. I can assure you, that I won't stop speaking to you."

"You can't see into the future," I point out. "You don't know what tomorrow will bring."

"I do know what tomorrow will bring." He reaches forward to push back a piece of hair that has fallen loose of my ponytail. "Tomorrow I'm going to have dinner with you."

I don't move as he glides his fingers from my cheek down to my neck. I'm still dressed in what I hastily put on after having a cool shower when I got home from work.

I meant to throw a T-shirt over my bikini top, but I've been too pre-occupied with everything that's happened since Nolan arrived. For the first time tonight, I feel exposed. Goosebumps crawl up my skin at his touch.

His gaze lingers on my mouth. "So we're in agreement that I'll pick you up here tomorrow at eight for dinner?"

I dart my hand in the air between us. "Yes, we have an agreement. We'll go on a date and Crew is my boss. Let's shake on it."

His tongue slicks his bottom lip as his hand slides to the back of my neck. He cups it, tilting my head slightly. He leans close, his breath rushing over my cheek. "Let's seal it with a kiss."

I breathe in the masculine scent of his skin when I feel his soft lips brush across my forehead.





Chapter 17


Nolan




I should have been all in. Lips, hands, cock. She was right there. Her mouth inches from mine, her breathing as rough as my own.

I wanted the memory of last night just as it was. The lingering kiss on her forehead, her fingers drifting to my bare chest and then my hand tightening its grip on the soft, smooth skin at the back of her neck.

I held back, instead staring into her eyes so she could see something in me that the * who f*cked her over doesn't possess. I don't know him, but I want to be a better man than him.

When the property manager knocked on the door, Ellie pivoted away from me and the moment was lost. I didn't expect the guy to show up until I'd left, but dropping Crew's name during our phone call was all it took. He was there within minutes with keys in hand, eager to take Ellie to her temporary home on the second floor.

She changed her clothes, thanked me awkwardly while the guy watched our every move and then I left. I exited the building to a warm breeze and air thin enough that I could finally breathe. That's what I did. I stood on the street, looking up at her apartment window and once the light flicked off, I finally turned away. I walked home through the streets of the city I love. This city has taken so much and given me more than I deserve.

It's the same city I'm now surveying from the window of my office. People scatter as they step off a bus. Each of them is in a rush to get to a job that steals hours from their life just to pad their bank account enough that they can barely maintain the cost of living in Manhattan.

Others wander the streets aimlessly in search of anything that will give them the hope they need to make it through another day. Those are the people no one thinks about when they're window shopping on Fifth Avenue. I think about them. I still search their faces looking for Kip.

"You cost me a new air conditioner." Crew chuckles as he walks into my office through the open door.

It's too early for Eda to be at her desk. I was up at dawn, trading breakfast for a call to London to discuss the launch of our first international location. By the time I exited my apartment the sun was flooding the streets with the lazy morning light that lures people from their beds.

I skipped the routine of stopping for a cup of coffee around the corner from my office. The smile of the tall black-haired barista who always wears our Classic Crimson lipstick used to be the perfect complement to my medium cup of dark roast. We never exchanged a word, only a knowing glance after seeing each other at a park on the Upper West Side. I walked right past the café today, my mind consumed with thoughts of Ellie.