Tempted (The Dark Billionaire, #5) (4 page)

Shortly after, a receptionist came to Jennifer and led her to a small and quiet room near the elevators. There were two large sofas, a coffee machine, a flat screen TV and newspapers. Jennifer sat on the soft couch and kicked off her high heels. Since she had to wait, she decided to make herself comfortable and went to the coffee machine to prepare a decaf coffee.

After twenty minutes, she heard her cell-phone ringing and thought that Vicky was finally done with her meeting. She grabbed her phone but didn’t recognize the caller.

“Hello?” she said, frowning.

“Hi Jennifer,” a familiar voice said.

“Who is this?”

“You don’t recognize me?”

Jennifer paused and tried to remember: it was definitely someone she knew.

“It’s me, Enzo,” the voice finally said. “How are you doing?”

Jennifer felt her heart was about to explode.

“Enzo? What the hell? How did you get my number?”

“Hey, hey! That’s a nice way to say hi.”

“Enzo, I’m not kidding. Where did you get my number?”

“Why? Is that a problem?”

“Yes, it is. I told you, we can’t keep in touch. And don’t ask me to come visit you in Thailand because I won’t.”

“I know you won’t.”

“So what do you want? And how did you get my freaking phone number, for Christ’s sake?”

“Come on, Jennifer. I helped your gazillionaire boyfriend to get rid of his business partner. You don’t seriously expect me to struggle to get a simple phone number, do you?”

“I don’t really care about that. Why are you calling me? I thought it was clear; we won’t see each other again. Ever.”

“Even if I was at your door step? You wouldn’t open the door for me?”

Jennifer opened her eyes wide and felt breathless.

“Are you kidding me? You’re just in front of my apartment right now?”

Enzo chuckled. “Not literally, relax. Hey, you sound so stressed, what’s wrong?”

“Stop acting like a cool dude, please. This isn’t funny. Where are you?”

“New York, New York!”

“What? What are you doing here?”

“I’m here for business. My management has sent me here to meet with a cosmetic company, for a potential deal.”

“Well, good luck then.”

“You don’t want to see me?”

“Enzo, please, stop. We’ve talked about it.”

“Oh, hell no.
You
talked about it. I didn’t have any choice. You told me what not to do and you didn’t keep your promise.”

Jennifer closed her eyes and exhaled loudly. Enzo was right; she hadn’t been fair with him.

“I’m sorry, Enzo. It’s been very complicated, believe me.”

“I believe you. But now that I’m here, you don’t have any excuse. I want to see you.”

In a flash, Jennifer uncontrollably thought about her dream and the numerous times she had masturbated thinking about Enzo. She felt a chill down her spine and goose-bumps all over her skin. Butterflies started to grow inside her burning belly.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” she said.

“I don’t see how having a coffee together can be dangerous...”

“Come on, you know what I mean.”

“No, I don’t. What do you mean?”

Jennifer fought to keep her wild fantasies out of her head but failed miserably. She had spent so much time imagining the impossible with Enzo that flashes of him licking her clit and taking her from behind came to her mind.

“I mean... I don’t want to make any mistake.”

“There’s no reason why you would make any mistake. You don’t intend to leave your boyfriend, do you?”

“I don’t.”

“So let’s have a drink. Come on, Jennifer, that’s the least you can do after all I’ve done for you.”

She paused and thought for a minute. As long as they kept their distance and stayed in a public place, there wasn’t much of a risk indeed. And she was clearly in Enzo’s debt.

“All right, let’s have a drink. How long do you stay?”

“Not sure yet, but I’ll be available tomorrow afternoon. What do you think?”

“Saturday? Yeah, okay for me.”

“I’ll call you back tomorrow morning, okay?”

“Okay. See you.”

“Ciao, bella.”

When she hung up, she raised her eyes and jumped. She hadn’t heard Vicky coming in.

“Jesus, how long have you been here?”

“Maybe a minute,” Vicky said. “Is there a problem?”

“Did you hear everything?”

“I know you’ll have a drink tomorrow afternoon with someone, but that’s none of my business. Why? Is it something I’m not supposed to know?”

“He’s just a friend.”

“I’m not asking you anything. You don’t have to justify yourself. Anyway, I’m sorry for the delay. I’m starving, are you hungry?”

“I was... but I’m not sure anymore.”

“You look quite unsettled. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, yes... Let’s go. Where is it?”

“Not too far from here, we can walk. Come on.”

Jennifer and Victoria walked out of the modern building and headed to an expensive French restaurant. Vicky had booked a table for two but apparently, there was a problem.

“I’m really sorry Ms. De Lissieu, but the mayor came unannounced and we had to give him our last table,” the Maitre D’ said.

“Meaning
my
table,” Vicky said.

“Unfortunately, yes. Everything will be free for you next time you come, but for tonight, there’s nothing we can do. We’re full.”

“Aw crap, that’s unacceptable. Where am I supposed to eat at this time?” Vicky barked.

Jennifer thought for a minute. She wasn’t really in the mood to have a fancy dinner after Enzo’s call and she had plenty of food in her fridge. Maybe they could have dinner at home.

“Vicky?” she said.

“Yes? I’m really sorry. I don’t know what to say. I always come here and it’s first time they do this to me,” Victoria said, apologizing.

“It’s not your fault. Why don’t you come home? I’ve cooked a lot of dishes this afternoon.”

“You’ve cooked? Why?”

“I’m working on my business. I want to have my own cooking school,” Jennifer proudly said.

“That’s amazing. I’d be honored to try your food.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, absolutely. If you don’t mind, of course.”

“I’d be happy to have you try my dishes.”

“All right, let’s go then.”

Jennifer turned around and raised her arm to hail a taxi, but Vicky took her arm down.

“Come on, honey. I’ll drive you there.”

They walked back to Doyle Brothers’s building and took an elevator to the parking level. It was almost empty and Jennifer spotted luxury sedans and sport cars only. She saw a black BMW cabriolet and figured this was probably Vicky’s car, but when Victoria pressed her key to unlock it, the lights of a brand new red Ferrari blinked.

“Is this...
your
car?” Jennifer asked, puzzled.

“F12 Berlinetta,” Vicky said. “You like it?”

“I would never dare driving such a beautiful car.”

“Really? Guess what, there’s a first time for everything,” Vicky said, throwing her keys at Jennifer and giving her a wink. That was what Jennifer had said the first time they had met: there’s a first time for everything, talking about Doyle Brothers always meeting their goals.

“Wh... what? No, no way!” Jennifer stuttered.

“I had a rough day and I’ve always dreamed of having my own driver,” Vicky said with a grin. “The traffic isn’t bad, you should be fine.”

“Oh my God...”

Jennifer barely stepped on the accelerator during the whole ride. She was too scared to take off and scratch Victoria’s car and it took them nearly forty-five minutes to arrive. She found an empty spot and it took her another ten minutes to park the powerful car. Vicky had been very patient during the whole process and Jennifer thanked her for such a scary - yet unique - experience.

As soon as they entered her apartment, Jennifer invited Victoria to sit down and relax. She ran to the kitchen and heated a few containers that she took out of the fridge. Finally, they both sat down at the table and started to eat.

“Mmmm,” Vicky said. “That’s delicious!”

“Are you trying to be nice with me?”

“Hell no, I’m not that type. I just tell it like it is. Jennifer, this is really good, I’m serious.”

“Thank you,” Jennifer said, blushing. Getting positive feedback was extremely important to her, especially from someone as demanding as Victoria.

“So what happened earlier on the phone?” Victoria asked.

“On the phone?”

“Yeah, when I came to pick you up in the VIP lounge; you looked quite upset.”

“Aw... Well, this is a long story.”

“I have nowhere to go...”

Jennifer smiled and hesitated. She barely knew Victoria, yet she felt that she could trust her.

“I had a crush on someone when I was visiting Thailand with Bruce,” Jennifer said.

“I see... You can’t forget him?”

“I don’t know, not really. I try but he keeps showing up in my life and I can’t get rid of him.”

“But do you really want to? Get rid of him?”

“That’s the problem... I’m not sure.”

“What’s his name?”

“Enzo.”

Victoria smiled. “So you have your own Enzo too...”

Jennifer frowned and quickly flicked her eyes to the side. “What... do you mean?”

“I also have an Enzo in my life.”

“Your boyfriend?”

“No. I have someone else.”

“What’s his name?”

“Shane. He’s a prosecutor in Chicago.”

“Whoa... You two are a power couple. You must be really happy.”

“What makes you think so?”

“You have everything...”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Vicky said, a blank stare in her eyes.

“It’s about that man, Enzo? He’s the problem, right?”

Vicky didn’t reply but she nodded, absent-minded. “It’s complicated,” she said after a while.

“I can tell. And who’s your Enzo? What does he do for a living?”

“He’s a trader...”

“Ah! Really? That’s a small world. Where?”

“Doyle Brothers, under my supervision. You met him.”

“Mr. Fancelli?”

Vicky nodded.

“You have an affair with Enzo Fancelli?” Jennifer asked, lowering her voice as if someone could hear them.

“Not an affair... Like I said, it’s complicated. I used to know him before and now he’s back. It’s a real mess...”

“I see. How is he in real life?”

“He’s a playboy, he’s cocky, he’s rich, he’s gorgeous and he knows it. That’s the reason why I hate him so much and can’t resist him at the same time. He drives me nuts.”

“Does he have someone?”

“
Someone
? Are you kidding me? He probably has more phone numbers from girls than he can handle for the next five years...”

“Ouch, that’s not good. He’s a real playboy.”

“He’s worse than that - he’s a
bad
boy.”

“But you can’t get him out of your system, right?”

Victoria shook her head and let a long breath out of her mouth.

“Tell me about your story. I don’t want to talk about me anymore,” she said.

“Well... Enzo - not yours, but the one I know - has helped me to get Bruce out of trouble. In a way, Bruce is a client of yours thanks to him; without Enzo, Bruce would be out of business and wouldn’t have anything to invest.”

“That’s interesting... And you’re going to meet him?”

“I promised, yes.”

“Does Bruce know?”

“Hell no...”

“What do you plan to do once you see him?”

“Have a drink, chit chat and go home. I owe him but I’m not going to do whatever he wants me to do.”

Victoria looked at Jennifer from under her long eyelashes, a skeptical look in her eyes.

“What? You don’t believe me?” Jennifer said.

“You don’t believe it either, honey. Listen to yourself.”

Jennifer threw her hands in the air. “Arg! I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m obsessed with him but I love Bruce. I don’t want to lose them both.”

“Can you trust Bruce?”

“When he’s not partying all night with Fancelli, yes. But since those two hang out together, I’m not sure anymore.”

“You have to test him. Enzo. You must figure whether he’s serious about you or if he’s fooling around. How much do you know about him?”

“Not much,” Jennifer admitted. “You’re right; it’s time to put him to the test.”

“Yes. Don’t decide anything yet. Maybe he’s not worth your time... and your love, of course.”

Victoria yawned, stretched her arms and looked at her watch. “Jesus, already midnight? Jennifer, that was delicious and I mean it, but it’s getting late,” she said, standing.

“It was a pleasure, Vicky. We should hang out more often. It was really fun!”

They hugged each other and Jennifer walked Victoria to the door.

“Take care, Jennifer. And good luck with Enzo.”

“Good luck with Enzo too!”

T
he next day, Jennifer went to Bruce’s mansion to spend time with him. It was still early morning and Enzo hadn’t contacted her to set an appointment yet. She secretly hoped that he couldn’t make it; indeed, she didn’t have the guts to see him again. She wasn’t sure she would be able to stay in control and keep her distance with him. If Enzo could simply cancel and go back to Thailand, things would be much easier for her. She wouldn’t forget him that easily but at least, Enzo wasn’t harmful when he was in her fantasies.

She kept thinking about her dinner with Victoria. Vicky was a very nice and friendly person despite her bossy attitude. They hadn’t talked about work at all but Jennifer knew that there was a lot she could learn from her. She seemed to be very mature and reliable. She was definitely a role model for her.

There was another subject that bothered her, though: Enzo Fancelli. Jennifer could tell that Vicky was in love with him, even though she had someone else. However, she had been the first one to admit that he was a playboy. No, not just a playboy - a
bad
boy. If a woman like Victoria couldn’t resist him, Jennifer couldn’t imagine the kind of aura and influence he had over women in general. She didn’t care about that, though; she was worried about his influence on Bruce.

Bruce was also very good-looking and had been a playboy himself. He had the looks and the money. Now, he had a buddy to party and show off seven nights per week. Jennifer knew that she couldn’t stop him from doing whatever he wanted to do - or “needed to do” as he liked to say. Whether Bruce actually needed to go out that much for his business or not, Jennifer couldn’t really tell but there was one thing for sure; his behavior was seriously compromising their future marriage.