Aroused (Taming Himself Book 1) (2 page)

Chapter Two

“
Y
ou are unreal,” Amber said, her Italian accent tinting her words with anger. Her accent only strained like this when she was exasperated, and that was most of the time when I was around. “What if one of the journalists had come in wanting to pick your brain about something? Your little golden bombshell with the blue dove on her tit would have been sprawled over the papers.”

She threw her hands in the air, agitated. She looked like a child throwing a tantrum because of her tiny, childlike body. She was fuming, but managed to keep a hushed tone as we walked down the hallway to where the meeting would be held.

              I arched my eyebrow at her, surprised at her evaluation. “I hadn’t noticed she had a tattoo. Taking a peek were we, little Amber?” My tone was teasing, almost flirtatious. I knew it was futile though; she had worked for me for four years now and no matter how much I coaxed her, she flat out rejected me, and publicly at that. She was utterly immune to my charms.

              “Don’t make me gag, you disgusting womaniser. It’s my job to notice the finer details. Considering all you ever notice is tits, you’ve got a cheek. It’s why you work best with men,” she hissed furiously.

She pushed open two wooden doors, revealing four chubby men who sat waiting around the table. “Gentleman,” she smiled, clasping her hands together. “Can I get you any refreshment?”

I was yet to confirm if she was borderline bipolar or if she only turned her attitude towards me.

              The men politely declined. They had been in this office before and they knew very well not to look at Amber twice. She could be the sweetest thing, but as soon as a man was even the slightest bit suggestive, the pleasant smile vanished and she let them know who truly dominated the room. She was a great personal assistant to have in the industry we worked in.

              I was a sports manager and investor who had landed a few big players over my six years of being in the business. Since then I had built my own empire: Zilch Enterprises. It was only a small office and team, but one I proudly managed. It kept the wallet fat and enabled me to enjoy all those leisurely things I thrived for. My home was nice and my car was even nicer. I could have even nicer, but didn’t like when others knew my true worth. Only my accountant, Gregory, knew the full figures. Amber had an idea, but she had no interest in my money. No, it was the other women I had to look out for.

I loved women, or should I say, my cock loved them. I was confident in myself and in making women happy. It was what I lived for and it helped me relieve some of the stress from my job. But I found every time a woman had an inclination of my worth, I was forced through fake pregnancies or expensive demands. They tried to entrap me like I was some kind of rare peacock.

              I looked at Amber across the room as she connected her laptop with the projector. I had a lot to thank Amber for. She kept me out of trouble for the most part, and she certainly kept me grounded. I could grow larger if I moved into the larger cities of Manhattan and New York. I had decided to keep my office in a small area of Ithaca, the same place where I had studied Sports Management and Journalism at college. How I ever passed I have no idea, most of those party days of sex, weed, alcohol and a whole lot of women was a blur.

              “Hayden, heard you signed up that new youngster of a baseball player?” Mr. Reece waved his fat finger at me. “Are you sure that is a wise investment, son?”

I smiled. Although he was a former coach and a well-respected announcer at sports events, he still misjudged players’ performances. And I was not his son.

              “I am very certain, Mr. Reece. I have had my eye on him for a while and his performance has gradually increased. I wouldn’t sign such an impressive contract if I doubted I’d get my moneys’ worth. But thank you for your concern, I will remember this conversation if his performance does drop.”

              I sat in the leather chair at the end, nodding for Amber to proceed. It was the usual when these men came here. They all sat on the board of the most well known events. This was the time when models, coaches, and in-between men such as myself would meet. They only came for one reason: to see if I wanted to invest any money into the events for extra exposure.

              After an hour, we finally wrapped things up with handshakes and goodbyes. As usual, I told them I would run the budget past Gregory, who could not attend that morning.

“I think you really rattled Gregory this morning,” Amber said calmly with her nose pointed in the air as we walked down the hallway.

              “Please, I’ve known Gregory since college, and if I am certain on anything, it is that he loves a free show. That man is dirtier than me when it comes to women.”

              “He’s married,” she hissed under her breath.

              “He’s a man,” I countered.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, saving me from the words Amber was about to rage at me. “Hayden Zilch speaking,” I answered as I distanced myself away from Amber, who I thought would still backhand me whether I had a potential client on the phone or not. Her temper could not be tamed. She was such a furious little thing.

              “Hey there, handsome.” Amy’s voice was like music to my ears. “I got a new number. I was thinking maybe I could have played with you for a bit and asked for some phone sex.” I could already imagine that tongue of hers rolling in her mouth, a habit I had noticed from the very first event I had taken her to. Amy was a bikini model trying to make her way into the mainstream shows and magazines. She was sexy as all hell, although I found her a little too thin compared to how I liked my women to be.

              “Hmmm, that I could have easily obliged.”

              “It’s been a while,” she sobbed playfully. “I was scared you had forgotten about me.”

              “Not at all,” I charmed her. “In fact, I have an event coming up in the next few weeks if you are interested in being by my side?”

              She squealed through the phone as expected; she always did when I told her I was taking her to an event with athletes.

“That I could certainly assist you with,” she toyed.

Gregory was now standing beside Amber. Her foot was impatiently tapping for me to get off the phone.

              “Okay baby girl, I gotta go in for a meeting. I will send you through the details shortly.” I hung up on her, smiling at Gregory’s eager expression. He had come to collect me for our budget discussion.

              “Was that head-job-Amy?” he asked with a smile, obviously recalling the stories I had told him. He had met her at an event with the largest of smiles on his face as he shook her hand.

              “Yea,” I said and returned the high-five he was expecting.

              “You have got to be shitting me. Grow up, boys,” Amber said, storming into her office.

              “I love you, Amber,” I called out after her.

She returned her index finger without looking back.

Chapter Three

T
he day couldn’t have gone any slower. I had an interesting date ahead of me this afternoon. She was a college girl, one with a double-D, perky chest. She grabbed my attention at a game I attended as she bounced around in her cheerleader collegeform. Her eyes kept rolling over me with interest and I just couldn’t ignore her flexibility.

              She had called me up to ask if we could meet up privately. Jewels Bar was my favourite in Ithaca, although it was a twenty-minute drive from my own home. It was definitely worth the drive. Best of all, it had my beautiful Brandy in it. Her father owned the bar, but she ran it. Her attitude was as fierce as that of some of the bikers who stopped by. She evenly matched them in attitude and intimidation.

              I opened the wooden door to enter the darkly lit bar. Only a few punters sat at the wooden long bar. In the corner on my left were the few chairs and tables for those who dined here. It wasn’t the most expensive-looking place but it certainly had an amazing chef. In the far left corner besides the toilets were the pool tables. The clinking noise of pool balls and the smell of stale beer made me feel instantly at home. It brought back so many memories of my college years.

              “There he is,” Brandy smiled. She walked past the bar and the neon blue lights fixed above her highlighted the red in her pixie cut. “I’ve missed you,” she said wrapping her arms around me and pushing her tongue into my mouth. This was Brandy through and through. Wild, adventurous, sexually curious, she did not apologise for who she slept with. She bit the bottom of my lip before pulling back with a devilish smile.

              “It’s been a while, what are you after?” she asked, adjusting the small tea towel that was over her shoulder.

              “Actually I will wait for a bit. I’m waiting on someone.”

              “Ohh, a date. What’s this one like?” she asked, leading me over to the bar.

“Oi!” she suddenly yelled at some young men in the back. “You keep fucking around with that pool stick like that and I will shove it up your ass in a second. You will be replacing it as well.” The guys quickly dropped their gaze and placed the pool stick down. Yep, her fiery assertiveness certainly did give her a lot of power over the men who entered this bar. That was why I liked Brandy. Our relationship was simply what it was: some pleasure from one another and a great friendship.

              “College girl,” I smiled sheepishly.

              “Wow, a college girl. It’s been a while since you brought one of those in. What happened to that pretty one with short black hair,” she clicked her fingers together a few times. “I can’t recall her name.”

              “Naomi? Yea, didn’t work out. She called me about seven times the next day. I thought I would need to change my number.”

              “And how’s Amber from the office going, still no bite?”

              “I’m telling you that woman will destroy any man who tries it on with her. Even me.”

              “I’m telling you she’s a lesbian.” She threw ice into a glass and poured me some whisky before passing it over to me. Even when I told her I wasn’t drinking, she often fed me alcohol. I wouldn’t say she was the best influence, but we had a hell of a fun time. “I’m a lover of both men and women and I’m telling you, she’s a dyke.”

              “She’s not a lesbian,” I laughed, taking a sip of the whisky.

The door opened and the afternoon sun pooled in, grabbing my attention. My date had arrived. Simone was her name if I remembered correctly. She was shorter and a little bit plumper than the last few college girls I had seen. But I preferred them to have a little more weight on them. I found it more womanly and attractive. I threw back the whisky and enjoyed how the burning taste rolled down my throat.

              “Good luck,” Brandy said with a smile, grabbing some menus for us.

              “Hi there, Mr. Zilch,” Simone said, looking around the bar with an expression which said she was less than impressed.

              “Please, call me Hayden,” I said with a smile. I gestured to a nearby table. 

I looked her up and down in approval as she took a seat at a booth. She was wearing a purple dress and was nervously fidgeting with her silver clutch. I guessed she was about six years younger than me. I was twenty-eight in four months. How time flies.

“This isn’t exactly what I expected?” she said, glancing around.

              “What do you mean?” I smiled charismatically. I knew exactly what she meant. She wasn’t the first woman I had brought here, or the first to point her nose up because I didn’t take them to some fancy restaurant or another.

              “I just thought that someone like you, with all your wealth... No, wait, I don’t mean wealth, I meant, reputation… wouldn’t come to a place like this,” she stuttered.

Brandy was walking towards our booth. “A place like this?” Brandy interrupted, her eyebrows arched above her striking eyes.

              “I don’t mean to offend,” Simone said, diverting her eyes to her lap.

              “No offence taken,” Brandy palmed her off. “It’s a shithole.” She gave me my menu with an expression that said, ‘Seriously, another one like this?’

              “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to sound rude,” Simone said, taking her phone from her clutch to read a text message, which I found to be even ruder. “Why did you bring me here though, out of curiosity?”

              “I like it here, the food is nice and the staff are friendly,” I said, calling for Brandy to bring me another glass of whiskey and something for Simone. Brandy had an amazing sense of guessing what people would drink just from looking at them. She was usually fairly accurate, but she looked Simone up and down from behind the bar then threw her arms up at me as if to say, ‘How should I know what the little princess wants?’

She frowned at her message. It looked like it would be one of those dates when the girl would say, ‘Oh sorry, something personal has come up, I have to go.’

              “Do you know my friend Naomi?” Simone asked with accusing eyes. That drink couldn’t come any sooner because this date was going down fast.

“I know a few Naomi’s, yes,” I said evenly.

              “Did you fuck my best friend and then ask me out on a date?” she said, suddenly aggressive.

“I’m sorry? How would I know what your friend Naomi looks like?” I asked, playing dumb.

She pushed the screen of her phone in my face, which showed her and Naomi together, laughing happily.

“Oh,
that
Naomi!”

              “You’re nothing but a manwhore!”

              “Well, that escalated quickly,” I remarked, taking another sip of my drink.

              “Bringing me to a place like this, and after already having been with my best friend too! You’ll never be anything to any woman!”

She stormed towards the door. I held a hand up to halt Brandy, who clearly wanted to give chase. Her expression was hard as she came over to my booth, carrying drinks. “Well, that was fun. Outright little bitch, ain’t she? Can’t have her coming in and stealing my thunder,” Brandy smiled. She held a glass of whisky and some fruity pink cocktail. I grabbed both out of her hands and gave her a very charismatic smile.

              “Keep these coming please, Brandy,” I said, knocking back the strong pink liquid. “Just keep ’em coming.”