Page 16 of Total Abandon

“Because if you had slept with him, it might make what I’m about to ask you a whole lot less believable to the people that matter.”

Chapter 9

Tilly:Cocktails tonight?

Chloe:I’ve only just gotten over my hangover.

Tilly:So, you're ready to go again, yes?

Chloe:No. Some of us have to work tomorrow.

Tilly:All work and no play makes Chloe a grouchy girl.

Chloe:The answer is still no.

Tilly:Sounds like you need a cocktail—hold the tail. How long has it been?

Chloe:Too long.

Tilly:Please don’t say Sweeney was the last guy you had sex with.

Tilly:Oh god it was, wasn’t it?

Tilly:That's it. I’m sending you a gigolo. What’s your work address?

Chloe:Send a hooker to my work and I will never speak to you again.

CHLOE

I’m beginning to think maybe Tilly is right, and ithasbeen too long since I’ve had a man’s hands on me. Because right now, my heart is thundering in my rib cage so hard I might pass out and my chin still burns from Zeke’s rough, calloused fingers. I don’t know what is so broken in me that the sight of six feet and five inches—thank you, Google—of glowering man brings my body to life with an electromagnetic hum. But here we are.

I’m also reeling because I’ve just joined the dots between laid-back Chase Walker beingtheChase Walker that owns Dev Tech Inc. And his brother, Mace—Mr. Ice-blue Eyes who rode up on his sleek black horse to pick up his wife—beingtheMason Walker, CEO and head of the board for Jefferson Lee Investment Bank. Only one of the biggest banks in the world. I was drinking ina dingy Irish bar with part of the city's most elite family and had no idea. It almost makes me want to laugh.

Zeke is looking at me like he’s waiting for something, so I clear my throat. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The corner of his lips twitch, as though he’s fighting back a smirk. “I have a problem that I’d like your help with.” I don’t reply, my brain whirring with whiplash from his enigmatic moods. “Did your online research extend to my family?”

I blink, gathering my control. “Not extensively. I know your father owns Guerra Industries Group, but that’s it.”

He nods, closing his laptop and leaning back in his chair with his large hands laced in his lap. “My father is retiring. He intends to hand the business over to me, and as part of that process, he is insisting I be married.”

I don’t move, because I can’t possibly have heard that right.

“Actually, he presented a girl to me with a pretty little bow and all but demanded I make an honest woman of her.” His voice is like boots dragged over wet gravel.

I huff out an incredulous laugh. “What is this, the eighteenth century?”

His full lips curl up over his white teeth in a predatory smile, stretching the scar tight. “Funny, that’s exactly what I said.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I tilt my head, trying to get a feel for whatever this is. Did he bring me up here solely to tell me he’s getting married?

“I plan to find an alternative for a while. Someone who is older than twenty and can hold her own would be a good start.” He dips his head to straighten his silver tie pin in a matter-of-fact way.

A jolt of something hot and corrosive streaks through me at the thought of him standing at an altar next to a pretty woman in a white silk dress.

“So…you’re what? Asking if I have any eligible single friends?” I snort out a laugh. “I’m not sure how closely you read my resume, but dating agent isn’t part of my skill set.”

“No, Chloe. I’m asking you.” He levels with me, lifting his cool mahogany gaze back to mine.