Love Me Tomorrow (3 page)

Julia once again appeared to take pleasure from his squirming. “There wasn’t a hint of judgment in your voice, so please don’t fret, Levi. It’s something I’ve never been able to wrap my own brain around either.”

They continued to stroll along, though Julia had apparently drifted off into her own thoughts. Levi decided to leave her be and let her come back when she was ready.

“Apologies,” Julia finally blurted out, letting go of his arm. “Didn’t mean to digress so far off the topic.”

“Not a problem.”

She nodded, opening her clutch, digging out a sterling silver business card holder which had her initials engraved on the lid.

“This card has my personal cell number and will get you past my assistant, though her contact information is also listed there. I’d like to meet with you very soon, like within the next week, if possible, while tonight’s events are still fresh in my parents’ minds.”

Levi nodded, taking the card from her and slipping it into the inside pocket of his tuxedo jacket. It made sense of course, that he would have to pass inspection from the good senator, a fact he hadn’t considered until that moment.

“Rest assured,” she placed a hand on his arm, “I always get everything I want, but things will be ever-so-much easier if we get them on our side from the beginning.”

Levi grinned, appreciating that she already viewed him as part of her team. He’d instantly liked everything about her, and did even more so now. So much so that he set his mind on providing her with some magic and romance during this party, whether she thought it possible or not. “Say no more, I am your willing accomplice and co-conspirator from this moment forward. You name it and I will find some way to make it happen.”

“Never tell a girl like me something like that, Levi Goode.” Julia started to walk away, then turned back and smiled playfully. “I might think you mean it.”

* * * *

Levi slowly strode along the boardwalk, comforted by the sound of his shoes clicking along the thick wooden slats underfoot. The salty sea air seemed thicker, with a light fog beginning to roll in off the water. It was just after three a.m. and Levi had worked through his own exhaustion and was now entirely too slaphappy to go to bed. The event had gone off without a hitch and he had certainly reaped the rewards, he thought, patting his jacket pocket which was stuffed full of business cards from several of Wilde City’s elite.

He’d decided to walk the few blocks back to his loft in hopes it would allow him time to decompress and come down off the high he was currently riding. However, his brain was already making lists on how to proceed over the next few days. He was picturing the graphs and pie charts, the prioritization of which potential new clients to contact first… the thought of being booked out for months, hell… perhaps even as much as a year or more?

He was in nerdy, overly-organizational heaven until remembering that Goode City was entirely too short staffed to handle the influx of new business. His smile faded slightly, but he quickly shrugged off the panic that was threatening to encroach upon his good cheer. He’d been collecting resumes for the past few months in preparation for this very moment. Plus with Libby’s passing there was potential to poach some of her staff who’d been left unemployed with little notice.

His phone bleeped, alerting that him of a text message. Retrieving it from his pocket he smirked seeing it was from Valerie.

Stop obsessing and go 2 bed…u little freak
.

He rolled his eyes, wondering why he put up with her rudeness.

The phone bleeped again.

Cuz I’m the only 1 who is completely honest with u. Go. 2. Bed.

His lip curled, hating it when she did that. It was like she could read his thoughts at times.

He decided to ignore her text completely, but noticed he had a voice mail. A few clicks and he placed the phone up to his ear.

“Levi, it’s your mother, Ruby.”

He shook his head, wondering why she felt the need to clarify that, as if he wouldn’t have known otherwise.

“I just saw you on the nightly news!” she squealed. “You look so handsome in your tuxedo, I nearly died! So proud… though I don’t know why you had to mention that asshole Dan by name. Honestly, he treated you horribly and there you are on the news, promoting the bastard.”

“Tell me how you really feel, Mother,” Levi muttered.

“Anyway, I wanted to say how proud I was of you and how handsome you looked. I know you’ll be busy for the next few days so don’t worry about me, love. And if you end up getting back together with that Dan Cain prick, I’ll never speak to you again. Kisses!”

Levi sighed, thinking the fact she asked him not to, meant he needed to go check on her tomorrow night after work. It never ceased to amaze him that Ruby felt it her duty to continually pass judgment over his love life, or the lack thereof, considering her long and not-so-illustrious track record with men.

It dawned on him he was getting angry over nothing considering he was not getting back together with his most recent ex. They’d broken up because Levi had wanted more than Dan was capable of giving and Levi didn’t see that fact changing any time soon.

He shook his head, attempting to force all of that unpleasantness from his brain, deciding to focus on anything else as he strode leisurely down the boardwalk. Caught up in a brisk breeze, Levi recalled the gasps and resounding applause that followed the reveal of the carnival rides earlier that evening and he smiled, then started laughing. He continued walking but spun around in a couple of circles, ala Mary Tyler Moore, wishing he had a hat to toss up into the air.

For the first time in a long time all the problems he had were good ones. That was a welcome blessing.

He turned, hearing a car slowing from behind him and it was as if his mother had conjured the man out of the encroaching fog merely by mentioning his name.

Dan’s metallic silver Mercedes SLS convertible slowed, then pulled over toward the curb and rolled along as Levi continued walking—his way of not giving the man the impression he wanted to speak to him. Still, Levi plastered on a smile as Dan lowered the driver’s side window because he didn’t want the man to know that he harbored any ill will.

“You need a ride?” Dan asked.

Levi bent down to see the passenger side held Dan’s current squeeze, the snotty, steroided-twink that he suspected Dan had dumped him for. His name was Kevin and he was chattering away on his cell phone, acting as if no one else in the world existed.

“I don’t need a lift, actually, enjoying the walk, though it doesn’t look like there’d be any room even if I did.”

“We could squeeze in,” Dan said. “Kevin wouldn’t mind.”

Levi leaned over, taking another glance over at Kevin, who refused to even look at Levi.

“I’m good, Dan, thanks anyway.”

“Okay, well I never got a chance to tell you earlier, but you did a fucking amazing job tonight, Levi. I was thoroughly impressed.”

Levi nodded, trying not to stare into Dan’s eyes for any length of time for fear he’d once again fall prey to the man’s hypnotizing, evil gaze and forget all about the fact Dan was not the guy for him. It had been nearly two years since they’d split, and the man still managed to affect Levi in some sort of base, carnal-desire kind of way.

“Seriously, people will be talking about tonight for years. You truly outdid yourself. And I can’t thank you enough for bringing all this attention and media focus down to the docks, Levi. I owe you.”

“It was the right place for the event, Dan, so think nothing of it.”

Dan nodded, seeming to sense that Levi didn’t actually want anything else to do with him. “I won’t forget it, that’s all I’m saying.”

Levi sighed, wishing things had turned out differently between the two of them. He’d never come out and asked Dan if he’d cheated, but Kevin had been working as a gopher/intern in Dan’s office in the months leading up Levi’s break-up with Dan, so the fact they started dating right after Dan and Levi split felt… too convenient.

“Well… congratulations again,” Dan said. “Always knew you’d make a splash like this one day.”

The only feelings he had left for Dan were various shades of regret. “Thanks Dan, you have a good night.”

With that, Dan sped away, tail lights disappearing into the fog until there was no longer any trace the man had been there at all, aside from Levi’s memories.

In truth, Levi didn’t want to know if Dan had been cheating. He was well aware that he’d suffered a major blind spot where Dan was concerned—most likely because the sex had been phenomenal. He could feel himself getting hard as he walked along the boardwalk, recalling exactly how much he’d enjoyed it. But that sort of blind-lust meant Levi would have been more prone to overlook any signs that Dan might have been making a fool of him the entire time they’d been dating.

Growing up the way he had, with Ruby and her never ending merry-go-round of men who’d lied to her incessantly, telling her what she wanted to hear until it was time for them to cut and run—it all felt a little too close to home. Levi never thought of himself as the type to fall for the same type of man, but he was well aware that he suffered from trust issues as a result of Ruby’s frenetic love life.

It hurt more somehow, knowing that Dan had always respected him on a professional level. The fact he could so easily drop someone he held in such high regard, somehow made it worse. Deep down, Levi understood that he couldn’t ever be what Dan needed him to be. Dan liked to be in control—he liked younger guys who didn’t necessarily know who they wanted to be. He wanted to have someone waiting on bended knee at the door when he got home, ready with a scotch on the rocks and a blow job.

Levi had been that guy when they first met, but not long after they started dating his own ambitions quickly began to take precedence over being Dan Cain’s plaything. Beyond that, Levi understood that Dan was never going to be the man Levi needed him to be. Levi wanted a relationship—to find a partner he could settle down with.

Dan was incapable of commitment.

It hadn’t been easy for Levi to reach out to him. The revitalization and restoration of the docks and boardwalk had cost the city a fortune. Even with how beautiful the area was now, there hadn’t been a huge flock of businesses that had jumped at the chance to move into the area. There were still a lot of empty storefronts, mostly due to the lack of residential influx that had been forecasted when the city initially approved the project.

Unfortunately, coming off a recession, the price tag for most of the lofts, which currently sat on the market unsold, were beyond the average means of most people. To Dan’s credit the lofts had been beautifully refurbished—the entire six block area had been stunningly restored, right down to the newly uncovered cobblestone streets and gaslight streetlamps which created a picturesque glow, as it did now with the fog rolling in off the water.

When he’d approached Dan about using the community boardwalk area as part of his pitch to the board of directors of the Cancer Gala committee, Dan jumped all over the idea, knowing all the extra press and focused publicity on the area could potentially pay off for him. It’s how Levi managed to get the event space at no cost. The fact Levi was aware the historical tie-in to the location would appeal to the old-money society folks, who looked back fondly on the golden Gatsby-esque days of Wilde City, when their robber-baron ancestors made millions working people to death in sweat shops, hadn’t escaped him.

What he hadn’t expected was Dan’s plea for Levi to set an example by moving his business to the area as well. In the past nine months, his entire life had been uprooted when he purchased two floors of an exquisitely restored building right on the waterfront. The top floor, which he jokingly referred to as the penthouse and the storefront on the main level of the four-story building had become both home and work.

He’d purchased both at a steeply reduced rate, which was still a lot of money to him. But the commute no longer sucked, which was a huge bonus.

He’d also taken a teensy bit of pleasure having Dan fall all over himself to make Levi an offer he’d been unable to refuse. A lot had changed in two years. Dan used to enjoy tossing his money around like it was nothing, but was now in quite the precarious financial state. Of course that fact had nothing to do with Levi’s decision to stage the benefit from the newly refurbished boardwalk and docklands. That the area was still struggling to get back on its feet made it appealing financially, but beyond that, the setting was simply too good to pass up.

Back in the late 1800’s, the original Le Carnaval de Rêves had opened along the pier and remained a popular tourist destination until the Great Depression hit in ’29. In the years that followed the economic collapse, most of the businesses along the waterfront went under and much of the shipping industry dried up with the demise of Howard Hart’s transportation empire. Not long after, the docklands became a rather seedy and unsavory place. The landscape of Wilde City had been different back in those days, prohibition, corrupt politicians and mobsters like Mama Marlow and Bugsy Brown cut a path of death and destruction, terrorizing the entire city.

Levi imagined it all as being very
Sin City
.

Of course it was all completely romanticized nowadays, but from the research he’d done while putting together a prospectus for the Cancer Benefit, it was a bloody time in Wilde City history that he was personally happy to have missed.