What They Don't Know (Won't Hurt Them Trilogy #1) (29 page)

“Yeah, I won't have
sex the first night.” He stares at me with a smirk on his face.

“Okay,” I say with
a serious stare back at him.

His lips curl up. “I'm
joking, B. If that's what the woman wants, I'll oblige.”

“So are you
bi-sexual? Would you watch? Would you want to be watched?”

“No, yes, yes.” He
fires back his answers.

“Ménage? With men?
Women?”

“Yes, yes, and yes.”

Okay,
Mr. Stone
. I'm such a perv with the thoughts going through
my head right now. “Any fetishes? Any deal-breakers?” I keep the
questions coming.

“I have fetishes, but
those can wait. Deal-breakers are no pregnant women, no older
ladies—you know, the wrinkly ones.”

I laugh.

“No one over the age
of sixty at all. Absolutely no men, unless it's ménage. No
one-on-ones.”

I raise an eyebrow.

He shakes his head.
“No, none.”

“Let's just say, if a
man of your class, as handsome as you wants—”

He cuts me off
mid-sentence. “No.”

“Listen,” I say.
“Suppose he wants to watch you jerk off for a substantial amount of
money...”

Stone now raises his
eyebrows at me. “I'd say you know somebody.” We both laugh.

“It could happen,”
I assure him.

“Well, if it does,
make sure I'm your man,” he says, lowering his voice and making
direct eye contact.

“You'll be the
first.”

“So, Ms. B. Why are
you into this?”

“Money, success, and
power,” I say simply.

“Can I ask you a
personal question?”

“Sure, Stone, go
ahead, but be careful with what you ask.”

“Note taken. Are you
willing to reconsider testing your products before you put them on
the market?” he says as he places a toothpick in his mouth. A hot
burst comes over me.

“Whew!” I say as I
fan myself. I lean forward. “As handsome as you are, your
personality spills over pure sex. I would very much like to test the
merchandise.” I shake my head. “I just can't. I'll have far more
to offer you than sex. I respect you and I hope you respect me. I
need for the both of us to be mindful that this is a business deal.
Besides, our arrangement will work better if no sex is involved.”

“You sure about
that?”

“Yes, I'm sure; why
do you ask?”

“You’re not even a
little curious about what I bring to the table?”

I smile. “I can
imagine what you bring to the table, and I’ve seen the way you
walk. Don't forget how you pressed against my ass when you danced
with me.” Stone sits back in the booth with his arms spread across
the back of it.

“You are right. I
respect you. You're not someone just to fuck whenever you want. You,
B, you are a keeper.”

“And how would you
know that, Stone?”

“I watched you last
night, the way you carry yourself. If I wasn't doing this”—he
circles his finger in the air—“I'd want a relationship with a
woman like you.”

I laugh. “Well,
Stone, let me share a secret. I don't do relationships,” I say as I
scrunch my nose.

“Why?”

I shrug. “I just
don't... too messy. They complicate things.”

“So your business
colleagues are...”

I look at Stone.
“They're just that.”

“Hmm,” he hums.
“Can I ask you another question?”

“Sure, just
remember.”

“Right,” he says.
“What's your real name?”

I shake my head. “It's
best you don't know it.”

“Wow,” he says. We
are staring at each other. I feel like Stone is trying to read into
my soul with his stare.

I'm broken out of my
stare when I hear a voice.

“Fucking seriously,
man.” Cruz and Bryant are standing at our booth. Bryant looks at
me, then at Stone, and back to Cruz. His head looks like a pinball.
Bryant walks away. He leaves Cruz standing there with his hands in
his pockets. He's fumbling with something in them. He pulls keys from
his pocket and separates a key from his key ring. He places it on the
table. He says nothing but his stare at Stone is deadly, and at me,
something else I don't recognize. Cruz walks away still silent. I
peek out of the booth to see where they are being seated. Stone
laughs.

“Don't. Don't laugh,”
I tell him.

“So, you're telling
me you're not involved with that guy?”

“No, I'm not,” I
whisper.

“Then why are you
whispering?”

“Listen, I'll tell
you this. The guy with the dirty blonde hair is my best friend for
over ten years. They are business colleagues. I'm the financial
analyst on their project.” The one who just left the table,
he's...” I pause. “I'm not sure what he is.”

Stone leans forward, to
look out of the booth in the direction of Bryant and Cruz.

“Well, right now he's
pissed,” he laughs. “I'm pretty sure he just murdered me in his
mind,” Stone comments. “So which one did you have something
with?” he asks.

“Well, neither
really. My best friend and I were intimate, but it wasn't emotional
until recently. I had to step away from it.”

“So where does the
business partner fit in?”

I sigh. “Stone you
are full questions.” I signal for the waitress. “He pretty much
took over my life for the past few weeks. Maybe he thought there was
something. There's nothing.” I inform Stone. The waitress comes to
our table. “Can you prepare our check, please?”

“Yes, I’ll be right
back with it.”

“So if you two
weren't intimate, why the hell did he shoot me daggers?” I just
stare at Stone. “Oh, wait, you never said you two weren't intimate.
You do have a dirty side.”

I hold up my index
finger. “No, no, no... I do not.”

He shakes his head.
“Yeah, you've got a bad girl side. What other reason to pursue this
type of business?”

“Hey! I provide
service and services.” We both laugh.

“B banged friends,”
he laughs.

“No, no, no.” I
wave my finger again. “I didn't bang the angry guy and technically,
they are not friends.”

“Why won't you say
either of their names?” Stone asks.

“I won't expose them
to this. This is my private business.”

“So they know nothing
about this,” he asks.

I shake my head. “No,
they don't,” I answer.

“Okay, this won't
leave this booth.”

“Thank you, I
appreciate that,” I say to Stone.

“I understand the
cold look now. He thinks you're on a date.”

“Exactly, I'll deal
with him later.”

“So they won't know
my name?” He shrugs. “I couldn’t care less if they do. I don't
know their names. If that's the way you want it.”

“Maybe later but they
can’t find out about this business.”

“So, if you didn't
bang the angry one...” He pauses and laughs. “Maybe that's why
he's angry.” I can see both indents in his cheeks fully. We both
laugh again, and then I break the laugh.

“He, um, has been
overly pleasurable to me.”

“Ohh... ahh, okay.”
He wickedly smiles at me. “Fucking lucky bastard, he is,” Stone
says shaking his head in disbelief. “Just for the record, so I
don't make you uncomfortable, I'm warning you now, B, I will ask you
every now and then hoping I'll get lucky.” I just shake my head and
slide out of the booth.

“Just for the record
Stone, I'm going to say no... every now and then.” I wink at him.
He smiles and drops his head.

“Okay,” he sighs.
The waitress comes back with our bill. I just glance at it before I
notice Bryant a few booths over; Cruz's back is to me. I drop a bill
with enough for an excellent tip in the portfolio.

“Stone, let’s get
out of here. I need you away from these two.”

“B, I'm not worried
about those clowns,” he laughs.

“Neither am I, but
I'd rather be safe than sorry.”

He nods and we leave
the Vodka bar in separate cars.

* * *

Stone texts me a few
minutes later to let me know he made it home. I send one back while
at a stop light to let him know I'll have something for him as early
as this week. I have a few more strings to tie up.

I'm home; it feels
empty without my houseguest. A small part of me feels a bit lonely,
but it has to be this way. I need to check the classified
advertisement site for a few more prospects. I also need to contact
Ford earlier than Monday. I text him and he hasn't answered me back
yet. It's only been five minutes, but I've never admitted to being
patient.

“Let's search for
Club Aqua.” I'm talking to myself. The very reason why I need a
pet. I find the number on the web. “Let's see if Mr. Ford is
working tonight.” Again, talking to myself. “Yep, I'm getting a
turtle and I'm naming him Crush.”

I call the number and
it rings once before a younger sounding woman answers the phone.

“Club Aqua, can I
help you?” I can hear music in the background.

“Hello, how are you?”
I pause so she can respond properly.

“Hi, I'm good. How
can I help you?”

“I'm wondering if
Ford is working tonight.”

“Umm, yeah, he's
here. May I ask who's speaking?”

“Yes, let him know
this is B.”

“All right, just a
second,” she says.

“Hello?” he says
deep toned and questioningly.

“Hi, Ford. This is B.
I know I asked you to contact me tomorrow and I’ve been a pain.
This couldn't wait.”

“Okay, what can I
help you with?”

“First, I want to
thank you for last night and for delivering my car this morning.”

“No problem, you’re
welcome.”

“You are the type of
man I need on my team, somewhat of a bodyguard. More of a right hand
man. You follow?”

“I follow,” he says
into the phone.

“Are you interested?”

He pauses. “I could
be.”

“What would make you
be fully interested? Well, let me ask you this, Ford, have you
handled a firearm?”

“Yes, I have to. I
used to be a trainer for the Army National Guard... marksmanship,”
he says. “But I think you already know that, B.” I did but I
don’t let him know that.

“No, you just look
like you are a military man, so I had to ask. Listen, meet me at the
gun range on Broadway... say 1:00 p.m. tomorrow.”

“Are there any other
questions?” he says.

“Well, there are, but
never mind,” I say.

“Okay, B, see you
there.”

“Tomorrow it is.”

I shower to relax my
body. The assault my clit took from Cruz's tongue-lashing has me
still a bit horny. The only way I can shake this feeling is to
relieve myself. The water feels great on my body. I had double shower
heads installed, one removable. I remove it from the stand. I place
it right at my lower lips, the powerful force of the spray feels like
little fingers rubbing away at my body.

“Mmm,” I moan. It
feels blissful, but I need more. I massage my breast just enough to
arouse me. I slide my hand over my stomach down to the folds of my
pussy. I part them slightly to expose the high-powered spray to my
clit. It feels so damn good. I rub my clit just enough for ‘that’
feeling. That feeling right before I climax. That feeling like an
itch, you know as long as you scratch, it feels great. I'm massaging
myself to the point where I feel my orgasm building. I fall against
the shower wall. The spray is bringing me to my melting point. “Mmm.”
I can’t take it anymore. I circle my clit with my middle finger a
few times and that does it. I'm so undone under the power of the
spray I let out a muffle gasp while regaining my sated state. Not
Bryant level, definitely not Cruz level, but it did what I needed.

I get out of the shower
and I hear my phone making noise. I must have missed a call. I hurry
to dry off and put on my night attire. I grab my phone from my bed,
my huge-ass bed courtesy of Bryant and Cruz. There are a few texts
from Bryant.

I don't feel like
talking to Bryant tonight, so I send him a quick text back.

No, I erase that, he'll
assume something perverted.

He sends one back.

I look up at my
ceiling. God, I don't want to get into this. I know how to end this.

* * *

Monday comes and goes.
Lisa and I catch up on our weekend events. I finally spill the beans
about Cruz and she spills the beans about her knowledge of Bryant and
me. I am shocked that she was aware and didn't say anything. She says
it was a dead giveaway when they kissed some months back. She states
I was distant, jealous, and shady. Whatever that means.

I meet Ford at the gun
range. He’s impressed with my marksmanship. He also accepts my
offer. It’s too good to turn down. I’ve exceeded his pay at the
club. Of course, his time will be a bit more compromised. I will need
him with my guys or me when we travel. He's a great choice, very
observant. It helps that he's toned and easy on the eyes. I also
apply for LLC license to make this legal. I have to remember to email
both Stone and Ford offer letters just to make them officially
employees of mine. I even set Frank up with an awesome modeling
agency. He's still young; he just needs a little guidance.