"Chen has always been a good partner with us. He's done impeccable work and along with helping us, I know that we've helped him as well. It's hard to imagine he would do something to jeopardize that," Carter said.
"That may be, but there's something about him that I don't like." I left out the part where Chen had touched Andi, and she looked a little bit interested at his proposal.
"I'll go ahead and take a look at some things on my side, but of course since you’re there in Hong Kong, you’ll likely do better in finding out what’s going on."
As I sat there, I realized that this project might take a little bit longer than I anticipated, which meant I'd be stuck with Andi a little bit longer and continue to be tempted by her. "I should have never let grandma railroad me into this assignment." I grumbled.
"Poor Noah. We are so sorry for having to give you responsibilities to live up to. No more running around like a horn dog. You've got to grow up like the rest of us.
I hung up the phone, not wanting a lecture on how I lived my life. In fact, there was no reason why I couldn't live my life while I was here in Hong Kong.
I paid for my drink and left the bar, hunting down the concierge.
“Are there any good clubs around here?" I asked.
He gave me a list of clubs within walking distance. As I headed out into the night, I pushed away any sense of guilt about what I was doing. This was my life, and I was going to gain some control over it again.
10
Andi
We hadn't discussed how long we’d need to be in Hong Kong, but now a week into our trip, I was beginning to worry that this assignment was going to take much longer than I'd be able to bear. It wasn't that the work was slow and tedious, and we were still having trouble finding a solid lead to who was sabotaging Strong Incorporated that had me struggling. The challenge for me was Noah.
I swear to God I could still taste him on my lips, even a week later. Even as my anger and frustration had me scrubbing my lips every time I was in the shower.
The kiss was amazing, although considering Noah's reputation, not surprising. What had been surprising was that not only had I allowed it, but as the tension had increased in the car, and he was telling me that he could be nice, I was desperate for him to kiss me. I'd gotten my wish, but as the saying suggests about being careful what you wish for, the aftermath was horrible.
I hated that had he pushed things, I would've gone as far as he’d want to take it that night, even if it ended up in bed. But he hadn't pushed it. In fact, it appeared that he regretted it. He had abandoned me at the elevator to go get a drink, and he hadn't arrived back that night until the wee hours of the morning. Because I'd been a glutton for punishment, I'd stayed up and done some work as I waited for him to come back. He'd come staggering in, smelling of smoke and perfume. I went to bed that night, deciding that perhaps it was a good thing because sleeping with Noah was a bad idea for all sorts of reasons. Maybe now that he had been able to go out and live his normal life, we would be able to go back to how we were when we were in San Diego.
But the next day and from then on, he’d been distant. In fact, I think he tried to avoid me. I was pretty sure I could walk out in a towel, now. Heck, I could probably walk out naked, and he wouldn't notice.
His absence was something I was getting used to. Noah worked late at the office or perhaps he was out on the town. He always told me he was off running down leads, but I was pretty sure that was code for going to a club and hooking up.
Being the dutiful assistant, I continued to do my research. I’d determined that the staff at the office wasn't behind what was going on here in Hong Kong. So now I turned all my attention to all the various vendors the company worked with, as well as its competitors.
I took a small break stretching when my phone rang.
“Ms. Walker, it's Marcus Chen,"
I checked my watch, noting that it seemed a little late for him to be calling since it was after business hours. "Mr. Chen, how are you. What can I help you with?"
"I'm in the area of your hotel, and I wanted to know if you would be interested in meeting for drinks."
I hesitated for a moment biting my lip as I tried to decide if this was a good idea or not. "I have a lot of work still to do."
"I understand. But surely you could use a little break. I'm downstairs in the bar if you'd like to join me."
I looked around the empty suite and figured if Noah could go out to carouse on the town, I could have a drink with Marcus. "I'll be down in a few minutes."
"Excellent."
For a moment I wondered if maybe I should change my clothes. Since I was working in the suite, I wore black jeans and a red blouse. But this was just drinks in the bar so I decided it was nice enough.
I headed down and found him waiting for me. In many ways, he was like the Strong brothers. There was a sense of power and authority, along with money, around him.
He greeted me warmly, kissing me on the cheek. "I was concerned that Noah wouldn't let you come have a drink with me," he said.
"Noah isn’t the boss of me."