Conviction (A Stand-alone Novel): A Bad Boy Romance (4 page)

"Well, business is all about trust," David quipped. "How about you tell me some of your plans and projections?"

"Slow down, honey, we just met," I drawled. "You'll have plenty of time to peek up my skirt on our second date."

"See? Didn't I tell you he was the best?" Jace asked. He clapped his hands and finished the conversation.

When he did not get to hear anymore, David checked his watch again and pretended to be late. "Jace, I'll call you first thing in the morning and let you know how the meeting went. Did you find that contract?"

"I'm going to look for it now," Jace groaned. He led the way to the door.

David straightened his bright tie and took off in the opposite direction. I stood in the doorway directly under the aquarium and did not move. The dark shadow of a shark passed over my head.

"Yeah, I know. You don't like him. But it's business, Ayden. That's the way it looks," Jace said.

"It’s not him. I don't like him, but it’s not him. VP of Business Development?" I asked. "That's not happening. I'm going to do this right. First thing I'm going to do is check in with my parole officer, and then I'm going to get a real job."

"It is a real job, or it will be as soon as Autumn draws up the contract," Jace declared. "Now, come on, it’s my ass if I don't find that contract."

"Your assistant doesn't do that for you?" I wondered.

"She put it in my home office before my interior designer decided to start a new project." Jace shook his head and gestured down the hallway. "I gotta just show you. It’s a mess."

His home office was buried under a show room's worth of decorative knickknacks, lamps, vases, and curtain samples. There was also a stash of NFL swag still in cardboard boxes. Far in the corner was a precarious tower of what looked to be party supplies.

"There's someone coming to clear it all out tomorrow," Jace explained.

"So the whole 'work from home' thing is really going well?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Alright, man," Jace chuckled, "you need a job. How about you clear all this crap out and find me that sunglasses endorsement contract."

I looked around the room and smelled a rat. "You didn't have them do this on purpose, did you?"

"No, but the timing is perfect, isn't it? It’s an en suite office," Jace said. "There's a guest apartment behind it complete with bedroom, bathroom, kitchenette, and sitting room. And the office has French doors that lead to the patio."

The doors were barricaded by a large pair of faux Roman columns clearly meant to grace a larger room. Underneath it all, the office had clean lines, hardwood floors and built-in bookshelves. The storage explosion continued on into the guest suite, but I could have it sorted and cleared out in a few hours.

"I can help you out for tonight, but there's no way I'm taking some random job title that you made up," I compromised.

"Who says I made it up? I've heard that title before, shit. I've even met some of those guys," Jace said.

"And what do they do?" I inquired.

"Good question. Make it your job to find out," Jace answered. He leaned on a cardboard box and knocked a few NFL water bottles to the ground. "I know we're not going to see eye to eye with this, but it’s happening, Ayden. I'm paying you back for the good you did for me. There's no way I'm letting you scrape by. That ex-con thing is going to stick with you. I'm offering you a legit start."

"By conning me into taking your charity?" I crossed my arms.

Jace laughed. "Would it help if I told you there's a guest cottage out behind the pool? It’s been renovated to a more male aesthetic whatever the hell that means. It also has a wardrobe full of suits and clothes in your size. That's charity, but I'm not going to offer that to you."

"Anymore," I said.

"Right. Because you want to earn your way and I get that. You gave me the opportunity to earn my way out of Texas, and I'm sure as shit going to return the favor. Clean up this sty and it’s yours. Figure out what a VP of Business Development does, do it, and the job is yours."

"I don't mean to insult you."

"Good, it's settled," Jace rubbed his hands together. He made a quick phone call and a staff member arrived at the door with my things. "Toss this in the bedroom. I'm taking you out to celebrate."

He'd forgotten about the contract, but I could find it when we got back. At least I had a place to stay for the night and a way to pay him back for it.

Chapter Three

Autumn

I was still twisting my hair into a messy bun when I reached the front door. It opened and I stepped back just in time. Ayden King held it open for me. There was not a smile on his lips, but his eyes gave a friendly flash. Stunning blue eyes under arched black eyebrows. I was glad I did not stumble over the threshold.

"Just waiting for the driver to get the car." He opened his suit coat and slipped his hands into his pockets.

The light blue shirt skimmed his flat stomach. The top buttons were loose and revealed the shadow of dark chest hair underneath. My eyes trailed up to meet his laser blue gaze. Ayden's jaw flexed but, otherwise, he could have been cut from marble.

"You changed," he noticed.

The black dress suddenly felt too little, too tight, and way too low cut. His eyes swept over me, and I tingled where they touched me as if there was no fabric between us at all. I yanked the bun tighter and jammed the silver barrette into place.

"I see you didn't," I said. "The luxury of being a man."

"The luxury of a limited wardrobe," Ayden shrugged. His eyes skimmed away from me. "You look nice."

"Didn't Jace tell you about the wardrobe he had ordered for you? I actually ordered it. The stylist assured me you would have everything you needed." I was babbling and cut myself off sharply.

"I'm not taking charity," Ayden flexed his jaw.

Yet there he stood, fresh out of prison, on the steps of his friend's Las Vegas mansion. The problem was he just stood there. Instead of studying the house, peeking in the six-car garage, or assessing the cost of the custom SUV that pulled up, Ayden looked out to the horizon over the neon blitz of The Strip.

Jace exploded out the house with a booming laugh. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's get this man to the club. We have to celebrate his new job."

"You already have a job?" I asked.

Ayden pulled his hands out of his pockets and scrubbed one across the stubble on his chin. "According to your boss, but I haven't agreed to it."

"Listen to him. That's negotiation skills right there," Jace grinned. "He's going to be my new VP of Business Development."

I could not read the expression on Ayden's face, so I turned to Jace. "He's determined not to take your charity and wear those clothes I ordered. Let me guess. That means he's going to want a cash advance on his pay in order to buy things himself."

It was supposed to set off warning bells in Jace's head. He was prone to getting taken advantage of by friends and fans alike. My comment was also supposed to let Ayden know I was on to his game. He might have been playing it cool, but I was not going to be fooled. I was determined, even as a slow smile curved the corners of his mouth.

"Only if you come with me," Ayden suggested.

"That's a great idea. Set that up, Autumn." Jace jogged down the front steps and climbed into the front passenger seat of the SUV.

Ayden followed me to the back and opened the door. "I'm just glad someone's keeping an eye on him," he said.

I held my breath as I had to brush close to him to get into the car. Despite a day of travel, Ayden smelled like fresh soap. The clean scent on top of the sexy suit and his devilish smile spun my thoughts around. When I sat down, I crossed my arms tightly over my lap and refused to be a cliché. Ayden King was a bad boy and that was not attractive to me at all.

"So how exactly did you meet my best friend?" Ayden demanded. He climbed in the SUV and shut the door. His long legs stretched across the middle set and his knee brushed my thigh. In the wide interior of the big car, Ayden dominated the space and pinned me with a sharp curious look.

"I heard he was looking for an assistant, so I applied for the job. I have excellent references," I explained. "That was five years ago when he first moved to Las Vegas."

"Autumn is a local girl. She was skyrocketing through the restaurant business when I met her," Jace said.

"Yeah, I imagine you have a different story about how the two of you met," Ayden chuckled.

Jace shook his head. "Nah, imagine all you want, but the truth is I saw Autumn's resume before her, and she's not a huge fan of football. We met, she scolded me for a bad investment, and the rest is history."

"I make it a rule not to get involved with the men I work with," I declared. It felt stiff, but I needed it to stand between me and the heat radiating off Ayden King. "In fact, when I first interviewed with Jace, he kept telling me how perfect I'd be for his friend. He wanted to set me up with him."

A bellowing laugh from the front seat shook the SUV. "That was Ayden," Jace said. "I almost forgot about that."

I grabbed the door handle and squeezed hard. I could still remember Jace describing his friend, my dream match, and now it turned out I was sitting next to him. I knew Ayden was grinning, because my stomach was fizzing. It was a ridiculous reaction. I was not attracted to him.

"So I'm a daydream come true?" Ayden raised his dark eyebrows. "Or maybe a fantasy."

"Funny how the prison record never came up," I pondered. "You both need to admit, this doesn't look good."

"Don't worry, Autumn. My image will hold," Jace said with the same old overflowing confidence that made him a constant success.

He answered his buzzing phone, so I turned to continue my point to Ayden. The fizzing in my stomach erupted into fireworks when I saw he was lounging in his seat smiling at me.

"I agree," he grinned. "It doesn't look good. I haven't signed anything, and I don't plan to overstay my welcome."

"He just doesn't see it," I sighed. "Jace still thinks of you as that young kid. You made a huge sacrifice for him, and he feels guilty. What he won't admit is how much prison has changed you."

"You didn't know me before," Ayden reminded me.

"Jace talks about you all the time, the way you used to be. Smart, deliberate, calculating, level-headed, and a hero," I said. "I bet he is ignoring what you've become. What I see."

"Look at me. Tell me what you see," Ayden demanded.

I gulped. He opened his arms wide, the loose shirt revealing more of his chest, his strong hand palm up on the seat next to mine.

"Smart, deliberate, calculating, hard, and not about to give an inch," I said.

Ayden sat up, his laser blue eyes too close to mine. "I love that man up there. He's the only family I will ever claim. You were right about hard, sweetheart. That's the hard line. Make no mistake about whose side I'm on."

He made it very clear without saying another word. The only reason he had not torn me to pieces was because he understood I was on Jace's side too.

My pulse jack-hammered until we arrived at the club. Ayden slipped out of the car, and I finally took a deep breath. When he pulled open my car door, he had doused the blue flame in his eyes and his gaze was cool and steady. He helped me out of the high SUV and waited for me to catch my balance.

Walking into the club in Jace's wake was always an experience. I had gotten accustomed to the uproar he caused, and I usually trailed far behind. Ayden waited for me and we walked in together.

It was like walking next to a tiger without a leash. The normal jostling gawkers that filled in behind Jace gave Ayden a wide berth. He held out his arm without touching me, but it electrified the air around me. I felt safe and protected though he could turn and devour me at any moment.

Ayden King turned heads. He was the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome. His shiny black hair fell in negligent, sexy waves. His broad shoulders strained the expensive suit coat as he moved. He took long, effortless strides, always confident that he was in the right place.

Women lit up, displayed curves, and could not help themselves as he walked by. Men measured him with open jealousy and did not meet his eye.

It was exhilarating. I was tempted to slip my arm through Ayden's just to see what happened. I took a quick step forward and ran into a stocky man.

He reeled drunkenly and gave me an open-mouthed leering smile. "Try that again, honey. I like the way you bounce," he slurred.

He must have been drunk because he did not see Ayden until it was too late. The stocky man's feet left the ground as his eyes bulged.

"Try that again, honey," Ayden growled. He held the man an inch away from his face.

The man nodded as much as he could under the tight hold. Ayden dropped him and then steadied him with a rough grasp on his lapels. The man swayed, then feebly brushed at Ayden's hands.

"I didn't mean anything by it," the man yelped. Ayden turned him to face me. "I'm sorry, miss. It was an accident."

"Thank you for apologizing," I said. I side stepped him and caught up to the nebulous crowd around Jace. I could not let Ayden see the glowing heat on my cheeks.

"You okay?" Jace called. His fans parted to let him grab my hand. He looked over the top of my head at Ayden.

Ayden was watching the stocky drunk as he scurried away. When the man had disappeared a smile appeared on Ayden's lips. Two men near him took an extra step back. One woman tugged at the neckline of her dress and another fluffed up her hair. He took no notice and strode towards us.

"So he's a little protective," Jace said. "Having Ayden King on your side is not a bad feeling at all. Takes a little getting used to, but I think you might like it."

"I don't need prison yard show-downs every time a drunk stumbles into me," I snapped.

"That was nothing. Ayden's just big on manners," Jace explained. He punched his friend on the shoulder. "She's worried you're gonna shiv someone."