Tempt Me (Temptation Series Book 1) Page 2
Gigi looked up to see they were on their street. She and Jen shared a two bedroom apartment near the university. Jen’s parents had organized everything, ensuring they had the lease for all four years and had subsidized rent. They climbed the stairs instead of taking the elevator, and Jen opened the front door. Shoving Gigi’s back, Jen directed her into the bathroom.
“Get showered. Shave everything then meet me out here in fifteen minutes.”
Shave everything? Shaking her head, Gigi walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She started up the water, hearing the pipes knocking together in the walls. After stripping out of her clothes, she got under the spray and tilted her head back, soaking her hair.
A shampoo and condition later, her thick red hair was stuck to her head and trailing down to the middle of her back. Luckily, she’d been blessed with straight hair, which made the fact that it was red not seem like such a big deal. Picking up the razor, Gigi shaved her legs and under her arms, then paused as she looked down at her bikini area.
“Not happening,” she whispered to herself then cut the water. Wrapping one towel around her head and another around her body, she stepped from the bathroom and went into her room. Laid out on her bed were five different outfits, all with varying degrees of fabric. Jen was rummaging through Gigi’s underwear drawer.
“Can I help you?” she asked, irritated.
Jen looked up, a pair of Gigi’s underwear hanging from her finger. “Don’t you have anything slightly more interesting than black and cotton?”
Marching over, she snatched the offending garment from Jen’s finger. “No.”
“I need to get you some new underwear, Gigi. You need to feel a bit of lace and silk against your skin.” Jen ran her hands over her stomach, hips and thighs, wiggling her ass a little. “Trust me when I say that once you get a taste for it, you will not want to go back to cotton.”
“There’s nothing wrong with cotton.” She sighed and looked at the outfits on the bed. “Which one of these god-awful dresses am I supposed to wear tonight?”
Jen smiled, casually dropping into Gigi’s desk chair. “Whichever one you want. Look over them all then I’ll tell you what one I want you to wear, but the final decision is yours.”
Groaning, Gigi picked up the first dress, which was nothing but sheer lace except for two panels in the bust and hip area. “Pass,” she said, dropping the dress back to the bed. The next three were just as bad. If they weren’t see-through, they had very low necklines, were backless or were simply too short to sufficiently cover Gigi’s ass.
The last dress, however, was perfect. It was an emerald green strapless dress that fell to just above her knees. She turned to Jen with a smile. “This one.”
“Perfect. I was going to have you wear that one anyway. I was just having some fun with you by showing you the others.”
Gigi wasn’t sure that was true. The fact that Jen even had those other dresses in her wardrobe was a scary reminder of what her roommate liked to wear.
“Get dressed, then I’ll do your hair and make-up.”
Gigi shook her head. “No way. You never said anything about that. I’ll wear the dress, but that’s it.”
Jen pouted for a moment then laughed. “It was worth a try, I guess.” Getting up out of the chair,
she sauntered over to the bedroom door. “We’re leaving in twenty.”
Gigi stared after Jen, then back down at the dress in her hands. What had she gotten herself into?
*
Three quarters of an hour later, she was standing outside the wine bar, Jen’s arms hooked through hers. Jen had decided on an outfit that was a lot less scandalous than the ones she had shown Gigi. Her blonde hair was flowing down her back in soft waves, softening her face and the strong, bold eye make-up she was wearing. Gigi, on the other hand, had her hair in a high ponytail with very little make-up on except for some mascara to help her green eyes pop.
“Are you ready?” Jen asked.
“I’ve already come this far,” she replied, letting her roommate lead her inside.
The lighting was moody, the walls blood-red. All the furniture was leather and rich, and her immediate thoughts were that this was not a place she would ever come without Jen’s coercion.
Jen dragged her in the direction of the bar and picked up a wine list. Gigi looked over it, not recognizing one winery or variety.
“What bottle do you want to try?”
Gigi’s eyes bulged when she saw the price per bottle. “Let’s just stick to drinks by the glass.”
Jen grinned. “Good thinking. We can try more wine that way.”
The bartender couldn’t take his eyes off Jen as he poured two glasses of a red wine. Her roommate then slid her credit card across the polished bar top.
“This round’s on me,” the bartender said, handing back her card without swiping it through the machine.
“Thanks. When’s your break?” Jen asked, smiling at him and pushing her card back into her bra.
“At ten.”
Her smile widened. “I’m Jen.”
“Ben.”
They shook hands.
“I’ll come find you at ten,” she replied, giving him a wink as she took both glasses, handing one to Gigi.
“You were speaking to him for all of five minutes,” Gigi said, taking her first sip of wine.
“That’s all it takes, Borello. Men take one look at me then fall all over themselves to speak to me.”
Gigi rolled her eyes at her roommate then sat down at one of the tables. “So, when do you start work?”
Jen had been working at a popular nightclub in town up until a week ago. Thanks to her boss being a douchebag, Jen had applied at a new club that was opening up, called Temptation.
“The club opens in two days,” Jen replied. “It’s going to be so nice not having to worry whether my boss is going to try something every night after closing up…unless my new boss happens to be smoking hot,” she added with a devious smile. “Then I’d consider it.”
“You’re unbelievable,” Gigi muttered, taking another sip from her glass. She looked out at the young professionals mingling and enjoying a drink together. They were all dressed so well, and she wondered what kind of work they were in. She couldn’t wait to actually have a job. Once she finished studying, she hoped to have one in the field of anthropology, although she was more than prepared to work in any other job until an opportunity came up.
“Gigi, that guy at the bar is staring at you,” Jen said, jerking her head in the direction of a man who was dressed immaculately. She let her eyes peruse his body, and she had to admit that she liked what she saw—not that she was going to do anything about it; she was tragically shy around men.
“You should go and talk to him.”
She shook her head. “No. I shouldn’t. I’m not like you, Jen.”
“What do you mean, you’re not like me?” her friend said in response, her words clipped.
“I mean I can’t just flirt and talk to a guy and get his number within the same time it takes someone to tie their shoelace.”
Jen grinned. “I am pretty good, huh?”
“So, I’m not going to go and speak to him. I’m going to sit here and drink my glass of wine and mind my own business.” She studied her hands, looking at the short, unmanicured tips.
Jen shoved her elbow into her side suddenly. “Look who’s heading our way,” she hissed.
Gigi looked up and swallowed.
“Hi, I’m Declan,” the man said.
“Hi,” Jen purred. “I’m Jen and this is Gigi.”
Gigi could feel his blue eyes studying her face. “Hi,” she said, her voice small and almost inaudible over the noise in the bar.
“Do you mind if I—” Declan motioned at the third chair at their table.
“Of course, sit down,” Jen said. Gigi kicked her under the table, but she didn’t seem to notice.
“Gigi is an unusual name. Is it short for anything
?”
“Gianna,” she replied, her voice a little louder than previously.
“So, what do you do, Declan?” Jen asked, drawing the guy’s attention from Gigi. With his eyes off her, she felt as if she could breathe again. She wasn’t keeping up with the conversation at all. All she knew was that Jen was flirting like she always did, and Declan was eating up the attention. He’d obviously decided that Gigi was a lost cause.
Thirty seconds has to be a new record.
“I’m going to the restroom,” she announced, but she really didn’t need to bother. Declan and Jen were too engrossed in each other. Standing up, Gigi tugged her purse onto her shoulder and started in the direction of the restrooms.
Inside, she looked at herself in the mirror. Beside her were other women, all far more beautiful than her, and looking like they all had a lot more confidence than she did when it came to men and flirting. She sighed and fiddled with her ponytail, prolonging having to go back to the table.
“I love that dress.”
Gigi turned to look at the woman beside her. The petite blonde smiled at her. “Thank you. I borrowed it from a friend.”
“It goes great with your hair and your curves. I wouldn’t be able to get away with wearing that color.” And with that, the woman walked away. Gigi stared after her then left the restroom herself. She found Jen sitting in Declan’s lap when she got back to the table.
Ben the bartender had clearly been forgotten.
“Oh, there you are,” Jen said. “I was wondering where you’d gotten to.”
Gigi gave her a tight smile, avoiding Declan’s gaze. “Restroom,” she announced. “Look, Jen, I’m just going to go home.”
“What? No.” Jen’s protest was weak, and Gigi had heard that response enough times to know that Jen wasn’t particularly upset that she was leaving.
“I’ll see you later,” she said, giving her roommate a small wave before leaving the bar.
Back at her apartment, she undressed and took off her make-up. She changed into her pajamas then got into bed. With any luck she would already be asleep when Jen got home with whichever man she’d decided on for the night.
Chapter 3
Max was in the middle of pouring a drink when his boss, and the owner of the club, caught his attention.
“I need to have a word with you,” Evangeline said.
He nodded at her, slid the beer he was pouring across the counter and snatched up the money that had been left on the bar.
A ten buck tip. Happy fucking days.
As he walked to the end of the bar, he slid the bill into the jar by the register and followed his boss to her office. Their head barman, Jeremy, was already there.
“What’s up, boss?”
Evangeline was a woman with model good looks and the attitude of a viper. She was a ball-busting bitch of a woman, but she was a damn good boss. She’d also personally seen that he got all the training and mentoring he’d needed to work his way up in the business. Max respected her and her work ethic a lot.
“I’ve got a favor to ask of you both. I’d completely understand if either of you said no, but I thought I’d ask in any case.”
Max and Jeremy looked at each other. “What’s the favor?” Jeremy asked.
“As you know, Temptation has been going well. So well, in fact, that we’ve expanded and we’re opening up a club in New York. We had a head bartender and manager lined up and ready to go for the opening, but something has happened and now neither can do the job.” Evangeline looked both of them in the eye. “I want to know whether you’d both be willing to head over to New York to get the club up and running until I can find replacements. Max, I understand you might want to stay here since your wife and daughter are here, but it’ll only be for a couple of months—four at the most.”
“No, I’d like to go,” he said, clearing his throat. Getting out of LA would actually be a fucking good idea. Maybe his mom would help out with Erin until he could find a babysitter who would work every night.
“Really?” Evangeline asked, her brows rising. “That’s great.” Turning to Jeremy, she asked, “What about you? Are you interested? I can set you both up in great apartments in the same building. One of my business partners owns real estate in the city.”
“Yeah, I’m interested,” Jeremy said. “I’ve never been to New York.”
“Great. It’s settled then. The club opens in three days so I’ll get you on flights leaving tomorrow night. Will that be enough time to finalize things here?”
“Fine by me,” Max said.
“Me, too,” Jeremy replied.
Evangeline gave them a rare smile. “You boys have just made my night. I’ll book some flights tonight and let you know the details before you finish up.”
Out in the hall, Max called his mother.
“How is she?” he asked in lieu of a ‘hello’.
“She’s been sleeping soundly since I put her to bed a few hours ago.” He could practically hear the smile in her voice.
“She hasn’t been any trouble at all?”
“No, Max. She’s been great. How’s work going?”
He ran a hand through his hair. He wasn’t sure how his mother was going to take the news. She’d probably tell him he was being thoughtless to uproot Erin and move across the country, but dammit, he couldn’t stand the thought of staying in LA for another week, or month, and being reminded of what Chelsea had done to them.
“My boss is sending me to New York,” he said. “I’m moving.”
Suddenly there was nothing but the sound of the TV playing in the background. “Say something, Mom.”
“When are you leaving?”
“Tomorrow night.”
“What about your daughter?”
“Erin is coming with me.”
“And who is going to look after her while you’re at work?”
He sucked in a breath. “I was kind of hoping you’d come with me and stay for a couple of weeks until I found a sitter.”
“This is very irresponsible of you, Max,” she replied, her disapproval giving her words so much more weight. “You’re unprepared. You may have a job, but you don’t have a place to stay and—”
He cut her off. “I can’t stay here, Mom. It reminds me too much of Chelsea. Besides, Evangeline has an apartment already set up. It’s big enough for Erin and me.” He actually had no idea whether that was true or not. For all he knew, it was a shoebox. “Look, if you don’t want to come, I’ll manage, but I thought I’d ask you. Think about it and we’ll discuss it when I pick Erin up in the morning.”
He hung up and got back to work. The prospect of not having to deal with the same pretentious plastic people anymore was like a drug to Max; the mere idea of it had him hooked.
*
The next morning, Max turned up on his mother’s doorstep with a bag of pastries in one hand and a bunch of flowers in the other. Some might have said he was trying to sweeten up the old lady…and they would have been right. He was going to go to New York regardless, but if he knew his mom would be there looking after Erin, it would reduce the stress of the whole thing.
His mom opened the door in her dressing gown. For a woman in her fifties, she still looked great. His parents had been divorced for a few years, but they still stayed in touch. They probably had a better relationship now than when they were married, and often went out to dinner when the other was in town.
He stepped into the house, pressing the pastries and a bouquet of flowers into her hands. He kissed her cheek and immediately made his way down the hall. She knew he wouldn’t talk to her until he saw his main girl. Nudging open the door of his old bedroom, Max finally laid eyes on Erin. She was lying on her back, her tiny fingers wrapped around the ear of her favorite toy bunny. When he approached the cot, Erin’s eyes opened and she smiled up at him.
Scooping her into his arms, he held her as close to his chest for as long as he could before she started squirming free.
“How are you, baby
girl?” he murmured, placing a small kiss on her forehead.
“I didn’t hear a peep out of her all night,” his mom said from the doorway. He turned to find her with two cups of coffee in her hand and a smile on her face. “Come into the kitchen and I’ll rustle up some breakfast.”
With Erin trying to wriggle free from his arms, he took her into the kitchen and sat her on his knee. His mom put one of the coffee cups down in front of him and then took a sip from hers.
“So,” he started, “have you thought about it?”
“I have,” she replied. “I do understand where you’re coming from, Max. But this is a huge change.” He nodded, knowing she wasn’t done yet. “If you think it’s what’s best for you right now, I won’t stop you from going.”
“But you won’t be coming with me,” he surmised from what she’d said so far.
“Oh, no, Max. I’m definitely coming with you. I need to be with my darling Erin for as long as I
can, and if that means tagging along with you then that’s what I’ll do.”
He stood up and moved to the other side of the kitchen bench. He wrapped his free arm around his mother’s shoulders and kissed her on the head. “Thank you.” His words were choked as they came out, but it did mean a lot to him that she’d agreed.
She patted his arm. “You’re welcome.” Pushing him away, she busied herself by getting a plate from the cupboard and putting the pastries onto it. Max repositioned Erin on his hip and sat back down again.
“Last night you said you were getting a flight out this evening. Is that still the plan?”
“Yeah. Evangeline got Erin and me on the eleven o’clock red-eye; we get in a little before six in the morning.”
“Have you packed already?” She picked up a Danish and bit into it.
“I started last night, but I’m nowhere near finished.”
“I’ll have a look at flights this morning. I’ll fly in tomorrow so you’ll have time to get settled before I arrive.”
After they ate breakfast together and fed Erin, Max stood up. “We should get back. We’ve got a busy day.”
“Of course.” His mom smiled at him. “I’ll call you later and let you know the details of when I’ll be getting in.”