Beautiful Liar (5 page)

Noah
decided to borrow some clothes from Tanner instead of wearing his dirty clothes
home. The man had some of the most damn expensive jeans he’d ever seen in his
closet. He grabbed a pair and searched for a T-shirt. He found one that had
“Yale” on the front and decided that was as good as it was going to get.

After
dressing, he went downstairs to catch a taxi to Brooklyn. DJ was outside the
café wiping the windows when he rolled to a stop in front of the building.

“You
weren’t kidding about that damn commercial.” DJ shook his head. “It’s been on
the fucking TV all morning.”

“Really?”
Noah stuffed his wallet in his pocket after paying the taxi driver.

“Yeah.
People around here think you’re famous now.” He stared at him. “Is he really a
decent guy?”

“Yeah.
He is.” Noah grabbed the squirt bottle and sprayed the glass door. He wiped it
down with a paper towel while DJ watched him.

“Are
you shitting me? You really like this guy. And not just for the sex.”

Noah
continued working on the windows. He did like Tanner. Probably more than he
should. If he let himself do it, he could see them together. He didn’t like to
fantasize about that too much. It was usually the best case for extreme
disappointment.

“Wow.
I’m happy for you then. Maybe I should have been a little nicer.”

Noah
grinned. “I told him you weren’t normally an ass. It’s all good.”

DJ
smiled. “Thanks for sticking up for me.”

“Yeah,
well, it’s the least I could do.” Noah stepped back and stared at the smudges
smeared all over the glass. “I love you and you know it.”

“Yeah,
yeah.” DJ moved past him. “You want something to eat?”

Noah
followed him inside to find Mike helping himself to a pastry. DJ shooed him
away from the cabinet right as he bit into the delicious treat.

“Hey,
Hollywood.” Mike grinned at him. “I can’t believe you’re on fucking TV.”

Noah
sat at the first table with Mike joining him. “It’s a legitimate job.”

“That
your sugar daddy gave you?”

Noah
shook his head. “He’s not my sugar daddy.”

“Baby,
he’s got money to burn and you’ve got nothing. You give him sex and he gives
you…” Mike took in the shirt Noah wore. “Clothes?”

His
friends were complete morons. Noah took the mug of coffee that DJ brought him
and sat back, enjoying the friendship he shared with the men. They may rag him
about modeling and being with Tanner, but deep inside, they both cared about
him. Just like he cared about them.

Mostly.

Chapter Six

Tanner’s
conference call lasted most of the morning. When he finally hung up he
immediately went into a meeting with several of other real estate businessmen
in the city. After that was taken care of, he’d skipped lunch and went straight
back to his office for more phone calls.

“Tanner
Lachlan.” He responded as he answered the phone.

“Tanner,
it Alan Kidd, how are you?”

He
frowned. “I’m fine. Busy.”

“Yeah.
I figured.”

Tanner
rubbed his forehead. “What can I do for you, Alan?”

“Oh,
I just wanted to compliment you on your commercial. It’s been all over my TV
all day.”

“Thanks.”
He turned to his computer to check his hundred emails that were neglected all
day.

“I’m
curious though as to why you used an escort for the leading guy.”

Tanner
paused, frowning. “What escort?”

“You
didn’t know? That guy in the commercial works as an escort in the city. He’s
had some top clients. I actually got his number from Mac Harold and invited him
to the charity function for the night a few days ago.” He paused for a minute.
“How did you meet him? Modeling agency?”

“I’m
not sure how my promotions director found him.” Tanner sat back in his chair.
“You hired an escort?”

“Yeah,
well, Harold raved about it. Said he’s a fucking dream in the sack. I wanted to
see what all the rave was, but I had to cancel. I wasn’t sure I could have sex
with some random guy.”

Tanner
blew out a breath. He didn’t know what to think about Noah potentially being an
escort. He never mentioned it to him and when he asked what he did, he said he
worked at the café and aspired to be a model. What the fuck.

“I
wasn’t aware that you were into men.”

“I
don’t broadcast my love life to the world, but I don’t deny it either.”

Tanner
rolled his eyes. “Well, thanks for calling. I really need to get some stuff
done before I get a late lunch.”

He
was pretty sure the café would be open for the lunch crowd. He was dying to try
their food. If Noah was there as well, then so be it. They had some talking to
do.

After
he hung up from Alan, he clicked on his internet browser and Googled escort
services for men in New York City. A few results came up and he clicked on the
top one. Scrolling through the pictures, he found Noah. The bio next to his
picture made him sound like a piece of meat.

“I
will be your prince charming, if only for a night.”

Tanner
rubbed a hand over his face. He played him. Where did the real Noah end and the
fake one begin? Tanner thought about the night they’d met. He’d actually been
the one to initiate sex. He invited him back to his penthouse and sucked him
off against the door. It’d been careless and stupid and he fucking wanted to
punch something as a result.

He
blew out a breath and clicked off the screen. He had no fucking right to get
too pissed. He lied, but he didn’t steal money from him like some prior
relationships of the past. But it felt worse. In such a short period of time,
he allowed himself to care. God, he didn’t want that. He didn’t want to think
about someone all the time because for a few seconds they made him happy. Noah
was good at making men happy. It was part of his job description and Tanner
fell for it.

He
fell hard, too.

He
left the office and drove to Brooklyn within a reasonable amount of time. He
wasn’t sure what he wanted to say to him, but he needed to find out the truth.
Alan Kidd was not necessarily a close friend of his and he took what other
businessmen said with a grain of salt. If Noah was an escort he needed to tell
him himself.

He
parked in front of the café and got out to go inside. Pulling of his
sunglasses, he spotted Noah laughing with his friend behind the counter. He
slowly turned and smiled when he saw Tanner.

“I
thought you’d be too busy to visit today.”

“I
am.” He pocketed his sunglasses and glanced around. “I need to talk to you.”

Noah
came around the counter and smiled at Tanner as he walked over to him. He
leaned in and pressed his lips to Tanner’s before heading outside. The
temperature was actually warm enough to make him sweat as they sat on the bench
outside the café doors.

“What’s
wrong?”

“Alan
Kidd called me today.” Tanner rubbed his hands together. “He asked me why I
hired an escort to be the front of Lachlan Enterprises.”

Noah’s
happy-go-lucky personality faltered. He stared at him, not saying a word. Bad
sign. How could he have been so stupid? Tanner leaned back.

“So
I guess it’s true? You have sex with men for money?”

“I
accompany men to events for the evening. Sex is negotiated and not a service
offered.”

“Does
it fucking matter?” Tanner shook his head. “I asked you what you did for a
living. You said you worked at this café. You said you fucking quit your job at
this fucking café this morning. You told me that you were aspiring to be a
model. Where the hell does the fucking lies end?”

“I
didn’t know you. I don’t just give out personal information to anyone.
Definitely not people I just met that took me home to fuck.”

Noah
grew defensive with him which only pissed Tanner off even more. Tanner shook
his head. Lying was a deal breaker. If he’d been fucking honest about
everything then it really wouldn’t fucking matter. It was the very need that
Noah felt he had to lie that royally pissed Tanner off.

“So
lying just comes natural to you? How long did you really plan to keep this
going? Were you still going out on dates after you met me?”

“No.”
Noah scoffed. “Lying is a matter of opinion. You said you didn’t do
relationships, so why would I need to tell you anything? You’d break it off
after you’d had your fill and we’d part ways. You said yourself that you didn’t
really want to do all the getting-to-know-you-bullshit. It’s not exactly my
fault you’re upset. You asked for a blood test. I automatically assumed you’d
do a background check as well.”

Tanner
stared at him dumbfounded. What the hell was happening here? He ran a hand over
his face. He didn’t even know what to think. He got himself in this mess and he
got burned. He supposed it really was his fault.

“I
don’t want anything to do with a fucking liar. I’m pulling the ad and canceling
the contract. You can find some other dumbfuck to play your games with.” Tanner
stood. “I’m sure there are plenty out there who would pay for you to suck their
dick. Good luck with that.”

“What
games? It’s not like we were fucking anything to each other. You wanted someone
to suck your dick and I did that.”

Tanner
nodded. “Yeah, I felt absolutely nothing for you, too.”

He
went to his car and climbed behind the steering wheel. He couldn’t think about
going back to work. All the shit he brushed off today would simply have to
wait. Instead of heading back to the city, he went east. The Hamptons sounded
like a good place to lick his wounds.

This
was why relationships didn’t work. He didn’t have time for the bullshit games
people played. Honesty went a long way and the defensive attitude Noah had
expressed absolutely nothing for Tanner.

Punching
in his secretary’s number on his dash, he waited while the phone rang.

“Lachlan
Enterprise, how may I help you?”

“Gemma,
it’s Tanner. Cancel all my appointments for this afternoon and tomorrow, too.
I’m going to my house in the Hamptons and I don’t want to be disturbed.”

“Yes,
Mr. Lachlan. I will remind you though that the Japanese ambassador wishes to
speak with you. He’s missed you several times due to the time differences
between America and Japan.”

He
blew out a breath. “I will talk to him later. Just make it work, Gemma.”

He
hung up and changed lanes. The last thing he wanted to do was sit at his desk
and constantly go over all that had happened in such a short period of time. Hell,
it didn’t make sense to even fucking care about Noah. He didn’t know him long
enough to care no matter how good the sex was.

And
the fucking sex was pretty good.

His
mind drifted to how much Noah really entertained men in his line of work.
Escort was essentially a term for getting around prostitution. A rent-a-date
could turn into paying for extra special services once the night was over. How
the fuck did someone wrap their mind around their boyfriend doing something
like that for a living? Why would he, or should he be okay with it?

The
questions only added up the closer he got to the Hamptons. If he’d been honest,
it would have been different. At least if he made the decision to sleep with
the man, then he would have known exactly what he was getting himself into.

Literally.

He
pulled in the drive of his beach house and parked. After changing into loose
shorts and tennis shoes, he decided a run on the beach was necessary. It would
clear his mind and the salty air would take way all that ailed him. In theory
anyway. He’d been coming to his Hampton house for years when life in the city became
too difficult. It was his second favorite piece of real estate he owned, the
first being his villa in Italy.

 
One day, he determined he would settle down
and move there. It wouldn’t make business too difficult with the modern
technologies, but he was a long way from actually achieving that goal.

He
stopped running and bent forward to take a deep breath. Sweat dripped down his
back and chest on the hot day. He stared out at the water, the placid ripple of
waves that drifted to shore. Damn, he loved it here. His private island was
great, but he liked the simplicity of the Hamptons having amenities close by.
It was an hour from the city and perfect for a home away from home.

It
was exactly what he needed and if he was smart about it, he’d never leave.

Chapter Seven

“You
stink. You need to take a shower.” DJ stood in Noah’s bedroom, hands on his
hips. “Quit moping. It’s not like you knew the guy that fucking long.”

He
knew him long enough. Noah held his pillow to him and stared at the wall. None
of it fucking made sense. He tried to tell himself in his anger that they were
just fuck buddies, but he didn’t feel that way. The intense passion they’d
shared was part of the connection they had. He never really felt comfortable
with a man. Not completely. Not enough to let his guard down. He spent the
night with Tanner and enjoyed sharing that intimacy with him. He enjoyed waking
up next to him and having breakfast with him. They promised to do naughty
things to each other later that night and it felt so fucking real.

He’d
never shared something like that with a guy before. He’d gotten so used to his
ways that when it actually hit him, the feelings and the intimacy, he couldn’t
protect himself from it. Didn’t want to. He wanted to do those things with
Tanner. He enjoyed talking with him, sharing laughs and stolen kisses in bed.
His chest felt like it would cave in and he wanted the pain of it to go away.

“Dude,”
DJ said and came toward him. “I’ve never seen you like this. You’re freaking me
out.”

Noah
rolled to his back. “What do you want?”

“I
want you to get up and take a shower. You haven’t been out of your bed for two
days and it all stems from Tanner visiting you at the café.” DJ stared at him.
“What’s going on?”

“He
dumped me.”

“Why?”

“He
found out about my job. My real job.”

DJ
sighed. “I told you that it would bite you in the ass one day. What happened?
He’s mad about you fucking other men or lying about it?”

“I
don’t know. Both maybe. He called me a fucking liar.” Noah shook his head.

He
lied intentionally. He wanted to put that part of his life behind him before
Tanner found out about it. Making a fucking commercial and screwing members of
his same social circle probably didn’t work in his favor, but he figured most
of them would keep discretion. They, least of all, didn’t want anyone to know
they paid someone to have sex with. Some of them were married and had kids.
Some even requested that each party sign confidentiality agreements due to the
nature of their business and the potential hazard it would cause if the
information leaked out.

“You
fell for him.”

Noah
blew out a breath. “So what?”

“You
never fall for anyone. What the hell happened with him that made you fall for
him?”

“I
don’t know.” Noah grabbed his phone. He rubbed his eyes, wondering how he got
here.

“When
did you start to have feelings for him?”

“That
first night.” He wasn’t sure that he really believed in love at first sight,
but every time he saw Tanner his mood grew brighter. His chest ached just
thinking about it.

“That’s
not love. That’s hormones screwing with your good sense.” DJ shook his head.
“Go take a shower. You’ll feel better.”

Reluctantly,
he listened to his best friend.
 
He
disappeared into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Stripping, he stepped
under the spray and let it beat down against his tired muscles. He wasn’t in
the mood to deal with DJ’s bullshit, so he took his time, hoping his friend
would eventually leave his apartment.

When
he exited and went back to his bedroom, DJ was holding his phone. “Work keeps
texting you. They want you for tonight. Some bigwig.”

He
handed Noah his phone. He didn’t feel like going on a date with some guy. He
especially didn’t feel like entertaining the idea of having sex with some guy.
He rubbed a hand over his hair and stared at the gadget in his hand. He’d
probably regret the lack of money if he didn’t go. When people request him, he
got paid a higher percentage since they charge more for the date.

He
text his employer back and set up the arrangements for the date. “I need to get
ready.”

DJ
shook his head. “For a moment there I thought you really were in love with that
guy. You proved me wrong. Your dick will always make demands and you’re too
self absorbed to see them.”

Noah
rolled his eyes. “It’s called money. I need money for rent that’s due next
week.”

“I
thought Tanner paid you for the commercial.”

“He’s
pulling it. Canceling the contract and deleting me from his memory.” Noah’s
stomach lurched at the thought. He didn’t want things to end so badly. He
wanted to make sure that Tanner knew he didn’t intentionally set out to hurt
him. “Maybe I should call him.”

DJ
waved him off. “Do whatever you want. I need to get back to the café.”

He
left the room and Noah dropped his towel. He grabbed a fresh pair of boxer
briefs and went to his closet to pick out his clothes for the date.

“Uh,
Noah?” DJ called from a different room in his apartment. “You need to come look
at this.”

Noah
frowned and walked into the living room where DJ had the remote in his hand and
stared at the TV. A news report had his commercial on the screen and they
talked about how he was an escort and the potential lover of Tanner Lachlan.
They made their relationship out to be some big fucking news.

 
“How did they find out about it?”

“You’re
dealing with the rich and famous, son. They find out about everything.”

Noah
shook his head. Tanner was probably livid. He was pretty fucking mad at him
when they parted and he wasn’t sure that had changed all that much with time
apart.

DJ
left and Noah continued to get ready. He didn’t have paparazzi breaking down
his door so going out was something he could do to get his mind off Tanner. He
had no interest in having sex with anyone else, which surprised him. Even if he
wasn’t in the mood, it still became somewhat of a job requirement some nights.

The
dinner date was at a luxury restaurant. The event was some kind of black-tie
affair, so Noah pulled out his one and only tux. Maybe taking his mind off
Tanner for a little while would help. Plus, he got paid in the process.

He
got ready and looked at himself in the mirror. Nothing about him really wanted
to go. He tried to psych himself up, but the reality of it was he wanted
Tanner. He wanted to go to his penthouse and figure things out. He glanced at
his phone and saw it was too late to cancel. He blew out a breath and grabbed
his wallet and keys.

The
cab ride to the event was uneventful. The cabbie tried to engage in
conversation and he simply wasn’t in the mood. He nodded and gave short answers,
but his mind was elsewhere.

The
restaurant was packed and he found his way to the table to meet his date. He
gave him a smile and a handshake before he sat down.

“You
come highly recommended.” His client, a wealthy man who was in the fashion
industry, smiled at him. “I’m meeting with some clients, and then if you want
to continue the night, we can talk about that before we leave.”

Noah
smiled. He hated when people said he came recommended. It wasn’t like he was a
toy or something.

“You’re
all over the news. I didn’t know you and Tanner were an item. Or was he just
renting your time? The media twists things around all the time. You never
really know what to believe.”

“Tanner
and I were a couple.” Noah didn’t want to go down that road with his date. He’d
tried so hard to not think about Tanner and it seemed like everywhere he went,
his name or memory came up.

“And
he was okay with you dating other men for money? I mean, I know Tanner. I can’t
see him being okay with that. He get’s pissed off if you park in his parking
spot let alone date his man.”

Noah
chose to change the subject and did his best to avoid talking about Tanner and
other dates. He simply wasn’t in the mood to be cordial, though he tried to be
just that. Nothing about his job felt the same. He didn’t want to be
entertaining strange men. And it didn’t matter what he tried to do, Tanner’s
name and memory still lingered.

He
talked with the guy and shared wine with him until the other guests arrived.
The man himself didn’t like being alone since all his friends had significant
others. It made sense and it wasn’t the first time Noah had ever heard that one
before.

The
evening was nice enough once he stopped thinking about Tanner for a few
minutes. Noah didn’t know what the hell he wanted, but the pain he felt was not
it. He glanced up and a man who resembled Tanner walked across the restaurant.
He almost got up to go after him until he saw it wasn’t his former lover. He
blew out a breath.

“I’m
sorry. I need to go. Would you please excuse me?” Noah’s tie felt tight around
his neck. He scooted his chair back with a few complaints from his date and
headed for the cooler night air.

Loosening
his tie, he watched the people in the city go by. He couldn’t do this. Not
anymore. He didn’t want to date random strangers. He wanted to date Tanner.
Hailing a cab, he took it to Tanner’s penthouse. He waved at the doorman and
walked over to the elevator, pushing the up button.

“I’m
sorry, but Mr. Lachlan is out of town at the moment.” The doorman stopped him
before he got in the elevator.

Noah
glanced around. “Did he say where he was going?”

“No,
sir.” The doorman stared at him. “He had me forward his calls to his
assistant.”

Noah
ran a hand through his hair. “Thanks.”

He
pulled out his phone and dialed the only number he had, the promotions
director, Hannah Delane. He waited while it rang.

“Hello?”

“Ms.
Delane? This is Noah Reese. I’m trying to find Tanner Lachlan. Can you tell me
where he is?”

“I’m
sorry, Mr. Reese, but I’m not at liberty to discuss anything with you about Mr.
Lachlan.”

The
cool night air couldn’t have cut into him harder than her words. “Look, I’m
begging you. I need to talk to him.”

“All
I know is that he’s in his house in South Hamptons. He doesn’t want to be
disturbed and I strongly suggest you don’t bother him.”

“Thank
you.” He hung up and hailed another cab. He’d never been to the Hamptons and he
didn’t know how difficult it’d be to find Tanner, but he had to try.

He
had to.