His deep voice broke the silence. “I want you to end your lease at your apartment. Just end it now. We’ll figure out what to do later.”
When I woke up the next morning, Slate was already in the shower.
I was up earlier than usual because the sound of the running water disturbed me. I had such a great night of sleep last night, probably because of the strong man who was beside me all night, so I didn’t want to get out of bed. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes before I ventured into the living room and tracked down the coffee.
Laid out across the table was women’s clothing, high-end fashion pieces I could never afford. There were jeans and tops, along with cute coats, scarfs, boots, and my dream dresses. There were five outfits altogether, one for every day of the week. Slate never had women at his apartment, so I knew they had to be for me.
He came up behind me, the towel wrapped around his waist. “I had my maid pick those up for you.”
Since I worked in fashion, I recognized every single brand that was lying on the table. All high-end stuff I could never afford—even without my loans haunting me. I’d always been a bargain shopper, and now I would walk into my office with more money on my body than I had in my bank account. “This is for me?” I asked incredulously, looking at the plastic sheath that protected the clothes.
“You can’t wear the same outfit until you get paid.”
“But you didn’t need to get me Louis Vuitton and Chanel…”
He shrugged. “I don’t know much about fashion. I just wear what my girl gets me.”
“Your girl?” I asked, unable to keep the jealousy out of my voice.
“My personal shopper. I described your body to her, and this is what she came up with.” He walked into the kitchen in the towel and made himself a pot of coffee. “Do I look like a man who goes shopping when he gets off work?” He came back to me, holding two mugs of steaming coffee.
I took the mug and smelled the freshly ground coffee that was so luxurious, I didn’t even know such nice things existed. I used Folgers, the big red can with pounds of ground coffee. And most of the time, I brewed the same batch twice just to save some money. This was high-quality stuff, freshly roasted beans that had just been ground. As if the sexy man weren’t enough to get me to crash here for a while, the coffee could definitely get me to stay. “I appreciate the gesture, but I don’t need expensive clothes. I never wear stuff like this.”
“Well, now you do.” He sipped his coffee as he watched me with eyes that matched the brew in his hand. He’d just shaved his jawline, so his beautiful complexion was more visible. He had the most masculine features, prominent cheekbones, full lips, and constant hostility in his gaze.
“But I don’t want you to spend this kind of money on me.”
“It’s really of no consequence.”
“But I don’t want your money. When I shop, I’m a bargain hunter. I wait until things go on sale a million times before I buy anything.”
“Well, we don’t have time for that. So shut that pretty mouth and get ready for work.”
“Shut that pretty mouth?” I asked, my hands moving to my hips.
He took another drink before he set the mug on the table. “I’m not in the mood today, Cherry. Get dressed and go to work.”
3
Slate
I spoke to my PI over the speakerphone. “It happened a few nights ago. They cleaned her out completely. I want to know who was responsible. I want names and addresses. Then I’m going to kill every single one of them. You understand?”
“Got it.” James hung up.
I listened to the line go dead as I stared out of the glass walls that surrounded my office. My assistants had a barrier behind them, so they couldn’t look into my personal space while they were on the clock. It gave me some privacy, to sit there and mull over my thoughts when I wasn’t working.
I was too pissed off to focus right now.
I’d told her to move—more than once. She lived in a sketchy area, and of course, a beautiful woman like that had eyes on her no matter where she lived. In her universe, that was all she could afford, so it was justifiable. She didn’t have a lot of options, so she wasn’t concerned about her safety.
But I was concerned.
I missed the way my life used to be, when I fucked women in one of my hotels then never saw them again. I never asked why they needed to sell their virginity. I never allowed myself any reason to care. I fucked them roughly like an asshole, then walked out the door, forgetting their name the second I finished my shower. It was heartless and cold, but it made my life easier.