Beautiful Liar

Evernight Publishing ®

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright©
2015 Lexie Davis

 
ISBN: 978-1-77233-603-0

Cover
Artist: Jay Aheer

Editor:
Audrey Bobak

ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED

WARNING:
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is
illegal.
 
No part of this book may be
used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission,
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This
is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any
resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or
dead, is entirely coincidental.

BEAUTIFUL
LIAR

Lexie Davis

Copyright © 2015

Chapter One

Noah
Reese sipped at his drink while he waited for the man who had rented him for
the night. After the third drink, he realized Mr. Rich and Wonderful was a
no-show. Huffing a breath, he glanced around the room. It wasn’t his normal
scene to attend an art gala and mingle with some of the wealthiest people in
New York City, but part of his job as an escort demanded his participation.

The
charity art gala proved to be a boring event. He’d resigned himself with the
idea of a dull night with mediocre sex, though, even that didn’t seem to be in
the books for him anymore. He stood from his table and decided to leave before
he became too drunk and they kicked him out for not being wealthy enough to
attend. Hell, that or have him arrested. He’d been in both situations before and
neither had been pleasant.

Soft
music played in the background while several people looked at some of the
ugliest artwork he’d ever seen. Even though he hated catering to the rich, they
paid the best money for a night’s effort and work. He’d actually developed a
client list that requested him by name from his agency to go to these boring
social functions. It was something he’d come to live with considering his
occupation, but being stood up really sucked.

A
waste of time and a waste of effort.

He
made his way through the room and paused to study
a grotesquely erotic piece of art.
Not only were the man’s balls bound with rope, but he was hung up by them in a
weird version of erotic pain. Noah cringed thinking about it.

“The
artist is insanely talented if not a bit kinky as well.”

Noah
tilted his head to the side, staring at the piece. “I don’t know. Bondage is
one thing, but hanging a man up by his balls is another.”

The
other man laughed. “You don’t like it rough?”

Noah
finally glanced over to his side. The man who stood next to him appeared like
he belonged at one of the fancy parties. Larger than life, everything about him
was proper and in place. The dark hair and even darker eyes went well with his
dark grey, almost black, suit and lavender shirt. He matched the attire with a
paisley-printed tie with stripes of plum and lavender swirled into it. Noah
tried to pull his attention back to the painting, but he lifted his gaze to the
man before him. Some kind of magnetism kept him from looking away from the depths
of those dark green eyes.

“I’m
pretty certain I wouldn’t let anyone hang me from the ceiling by my balls. It
doesn’t really matter how good the sex is.”

Mr.
Sexy smiled. “I’m Tanner Lachlan. What’s your name?”

“Noah.”
Being polite, Noah stuck out his hand. “I was someone’s plus one here, but they
stood me up. I figured it was time for me to leave before they kicked me out
for not being able to afford the damn thousand dollar lobster they were serving
earlier. I’m all for giving to charity, but I don’t have that kind of money.”

Tanner
glanced at the Rolex that wrapped around his wrist. “I don’t have a plus one.
I’m fairly certain that if you’re inclined to stay, nobody here would mind. If
they do, you can simply say you’re with me.”

Noah’s
stomach took the opportunity to growl like a jungle cat. “I appreciate it, but
these things are boring and I don’t have the thousand dollars to spend on the
lobster.”

Tanner
smiled and perfect, white teeth shined back at Noah. “I’ll pay for the food.
And if you need entertainment, I’d be happy to keep you company as well. I’m
done schmoozing this crowd for the night.”

Tanner
led them back to the table and sat down to order a wine that cost more money
than he’d ever seen in person. Noah licked his lips.

“So,
who stood you up?” Tanner asked.

Noah
glanced around. He wasn’t accustomed to giving out clients’ names, but people
normally didn’t ask. They usually ignored him if they didn’t try to hit on him.
“Alan Kidd.”

Tanner
snorted. “I wasn’t aware that he was into men. Have you been dating long?”

“First
date.” Noah shrugged. “Clearly, it didn’t go to well. Maybe he got nervous and
backed out. Maybe he’s still in the closet. I don’t know.”

Tanner
rimmed the water glass with his finger while he stared at Noah. “What do you do
for a living?”

Noah
was well-versed in responding to this question. Generally it changed according
to the crowd. Some circumstances called for him to be a waiter. Some a model.
This time he decided to go with both.

“I
aspire to be a model but my income comes from waiting tables at Torelle’s Café
in Soho.” It was a good cover since his best friend’s family owned the place.
If anyone ever followed up with his lies, then they would cover for him.

“A
model, huh?” Tanner studied him. “You’ve got the face for it. But models are
one dimensional asshats. You don’t need to aspire to be that.”

Noah
chuckled. “Bad experience with models?”

“Plenty.”
Tanner licked his lips. The waiter brought them the ridiculously expensive meal
and served them the even more ridiculously expensive wine. “I’ll offer you a
job though, if you want it. I need someone to be the face of a new campaign for
Lachlan Enterprises. If you’re interested, it pays significantly more than a
waiter’s salary.”

He
stared wide-eyed at the sexy stranger in front of him. “Are you serious?”

“Of
course. I don’t joke about business.” Tanner dabbed at his mouth. “If you want
the job, it’s yours. Mostly photo shoots. Maybe a short commercial. I’m not
really sure about what the head of promotions has planned for the campaign, but
we’ve had a difficult time finding someone to front it and I think you’d be
great for the job.”

Noah
never expected a billionaire to actually give him a job in modeling. As much as
he’s used that tired line, nothing remotely ever came from it. Granted, most
men he met up with weren’t really interested in his aspirations since they knew
he was an escort. He was a man they hired to accompany them to fancy parties
and social gatherings. Afterward, for the right price, he even engaged in more
scandalous deeds. He never dreamed of a man actually offering him a job.

“I
don’t know what to say.” Noah reached for his wine glass. “Yes. Thank you. I
accept.”

Tanner
nodded. “Good. Just call my office and ask to speak with the head of
promotions. I’ll let her know to expect your call and she can arrange with you
the details of the job.”

Noah
grinned like a fool. “Great. That’s awesome. I never expected this.”

They
dug into their meal. Tanner chatted lightly about the charity and the art gala.
Noah learned all about how Tanner inherited the company from his father who
retired a year prior. The conversation was nice. A change of pace from what
Noah was used to. Most of his clientele wanted him for arm candy and having a
decent time at a fancy event was usually not in the cards for him.

But
he liked Tanner. He liked what he stood for and the way he looked at him. There
was something electric there that Noah hadn’t felt in a long time. Sex had
become a job for him and the motions had become stagnant and boring. Even with
the ones who demanded adventurous things in the bedroom, he’d learned to
service and go home. Tanner made him feel different. He awakened a spark inside
him that most of his clients couldn’t touch. It was completely wrong to start
imaging how he’d get him to go to a hotel for the night. It wasn’t like Noah
had a lot of money to impress him with a nice room. He could probably afford
the hundred dollar special at Budget Inn.

He
stared at his half eaten lobster, knowing that there was no way he could finish
everything on his plate. While it did cost a lot, it was delicious and covered
the majority of his plate. His throat was damn near parched and he took a gulp
of wine to sooth it and his nerves. Since when did he ever get nervous about
taking a man to a hotel? Hell, he was a pro at it.

“You’ve
got big plans for yourself tonight?”

Noah
met his eyes. “Not really. I thought I’d go home and enjoy take out since I
couldn’t afford this damn lobster, but now my plans have changed.” He shrugged.
He didn’t add the part about the plan to have mediocre sex.

Tanner
studied him, deliberately taking his time which made Noah squirm. Noah didn’t
know much about business, but he supposed that careful consideration had at
least a little to do with his success. He didn’t look like a man that made poor
decisions regularly.

Tanner
pulled out his wallet and grabbed the pen inside his jacket pocket. After
scribbling something on the card, he handed it to Noah. “An alternative, if
you’re willing.”

Before
Noah could comment, Tanner stood and went to talk with another guy in a suit. Noah
glanced down at the card. On the back was an address. Lifting his attention to
Tanner, who seemed to have forgotten all about Noah’s existence, he studied the
billionaire’s back. An invitation to his apartment in the city. What the hell
did he do now?