Betting on Both Page 8

  The elderly man frowned. “She said something about shopping.”

  Julien grinned, unable to control his eagerness. “I love a good hunt.”

  The air-conditioning was on high and it was a good thing, given the outfits Kat insisted on trying on.

  Cole had gone along with the boyfriend charade to keep her in line. There was no other way this was going to work under her demands, and he didn’t want to entrust her care to any of the other men while off-site.

  Be honest. You want her all to yourself.

  He couldn’t deny it was fun to walk into the high-priced stores on Royal Street with her on his arm, enjoying her oohs and ahhs at the displays. The salespeople had scampered up and immediately zeroed in on her, giving him a degree of polite attention but realizing she was the one who would be spending the money.

  Cole ended up being escorted to a chair and doted on, handed bottled spring water while Kat wandered the store pointing at various items, and the young women scurried to meet her demands.

  It was like any number of shopping trips he’d been on with previous clients, escorting them from store to store.

  But it was unlike any assignment he’d ever been on before.

  He was used to standing in the corner, ignored, and working around the client to do what he needed to do to keep them safe.

  Now he could sit and study the exits and entrances, mentally prepare to get Kat out if something happened in relative comfort.

  And he got to watch her.

  Lord, he loved to watch her.

  Cole squirmed in the leather chair as Kat stood behind the dressing room curtains, trying on yet another outfit.

  They’d already hit three stores and his job description now included pack mule, the five bags dragging his reaction time down. Shoes, jewelry, and purses, all of which he knew she didn’t need.

  It was still entertaining to watch.

  Kat was like a kid in a candy shop, and the salespeople were keen to accommodate her urge to spend.

  He patted his torso, feeling the tight muscles under the white dress shirt. Here he was worried about having to put in extra time at the hotel gym to work off the sandwich. Odds were he’d already lost it plus a few pounds more between the walking and the sweating.

  “What do you think of this?” The door to the dressing room swung open. “Give me your honest opinion.”

  Cole brought his head up as she strode out, posing in front of the bank of mirrors.

  It took a concentrated effort to not let his jaw drop.

  The white dress, speckled with black dots, clung to her form so tightly he could have sworn he could make out every panty line, every . . .

  He couldn’t stop looking at her breasts, mentally slapping himself around. Her nipples were visible through the sleek fabric.

  He couldn’t help licking his lips, unable to not imagine drawing them into his mouth and swirling his tongue over and over and—

  Cole ground his teeth together in a vain attempt to hide his obvious approval of her wardrobe change.

  Kat laughed and twirled in the dress, the hemline dangerously close to making it illegal. “I guess you like it.”

  “I like it.” A familiar voice chimed in.

  Cole swung around to see Julien standing in the doorway, hands raised to deliver a clap of approval.

  “It shows off your assets splendidly.” He advanced on them.

  Cole stood, torn between wanting to punch him for interrupting them and yet grateful for said appearance. “What are you doing here? And how did you find us?”

  Julien held up his briefcase. He wore a light blue dress shirt and jeans, his long hair pulled into a tight ponytail. “First, I need her approval on some documents. Second, I knew she’d only come to the finest shops.” He winked at the salesgirl standing nearby, earning himself a giggle.

  Cole grunted as Kat motioned Julien closer.

  “So you like it?” She gave another twirl, one that went straight to Cole’s groin as the edges of the dress flew up, giving him a peek at heaven.

  At least she’d kept her underwear on.

  “Of course.” Julien gave her a kiss on the cheek before settling into the chair across from Cole. “Anything you wear would look perfect.”

  Kat stopped still and scowled at him. “Don’t suck up to the boss. It doesn’t suit you.”

  Julien lifted both eyebrows. “If I wanted to suck up I’d be on my knees.” He dragged his eyes over her body, devouring her inch by inch.

  Cole fought to keep his hands by his sides. Instead he jammed them in his pockets, trying to ignore the curious looks coming from the sales staff. “Get out what you need her to sign so she can get back to spending money.”

  Julien sighed. “You people are always rushing here, rushing there. It’s not good for your heart.” He tapped his bare chest, the dark hair sticking out. “Sometimes slowing down will get you there just as fast.” He unlocked the briefcase and pulled out a folder. “New estimates on the carpet replacement. Need you to sign off so I can have them start first thing tomorrow. Faster we get it done—”

  “Faster we reopen.” Kat took the folder and opened it. She sat on the padded bench, focused on the papers.

  Cole saw the shift in her posture in the way she flipped through the pages. Her gaze darted down the page, taking in the numbers and figures.

  The salesgirl shuffled her feet as the seconds ticked by turning to moments as Kat studied the file.

  She pressed her lips into a tight line, showing her displeasure without speaking. Finally she shook her head.

  “No.” Kat closed the folder and stood. “Too much. I thought you were a good negotiator. Tell them to cut it in half or no deal, and you find someone else. If they refuse, get another company.”

  “That’s what I thought.” Julien nodded. “But I wanted to make sure we agreed on the course of action. And, of course, with the time restrictions you can understand I didn’t want to leave this on your desk until you came back.”

  “Thank you. You were right to come find me.” She handed the file back to him. “We’re not in Vegas or New York; there’s no reason for it to be this high. My family might be rich, but we’re not stupid.” She locked eyes with him. “I know you can get it done at a lower cost. Make it happen.”

  Cole chewed on his bottom lip, forcing himself to stay quiet. If Julien thought he’d get everything he wanted with a wink and a sexy smile, he was mistaken.

  Kat McMaster was still very much in control of the site and of her life.

  “I’ll call them right away. If they’re good they’ll get another contract to us this evening. If not we’ll get other bidders in a day or two.” Julien took the folder and put it back in his briefcase. He arched one eyebrow. “I do like the dress.”

  Kat rose and smiled. “Then I’ll have to buy it.” She looked at Cole. “I think we’re done for the day. If you’ll call for the car I’ll get changed.”

  She went into the dressing room without waiting for his reply.

  “Asshole,” he said under his breath as he tapped on his phone.

  “Excuse me?” Julien advanced on him. “Did you say something to me?”

  “Yeah.” Cole tucked the phone back into his pocket and glared at Julien. “You knew she came out here to relax, to take a break. Did you have to come find her and screw this up? Couldn’t this have waited until we got back to her office?”

  “This.” Julien drew a horizontal circle in the air. “This wasn’t my idea. It was hers. And she’s no newcomer to the game; she knows how running a business works. She’s on call every minute, every hour of the day. And that includes phone calls in the middle of the night or when she’s having dinner or when she’s shopping for new shoes.” He showed Cole the briefcase. “Kat’s a very smart woman. If she thought this could have waited until she got back, she’d have called me on it.”

  “Maybe,” Cole growled. “Or maybe she’s enjoying your attempts to get into her pants.”

  “
Ah.” Julien grinned. “That’s what you’re worried about. That maybe I’ll seduce her right out from under you.” He leaned in. “The woman knows what she wants. Do you?”

  Julien locked eyes with Cole, the challenging stare holding them both in place.

  Neither man moved or flinched until a few seconds later when the curtain drew back and Kat emerged, the dress in her arms.

  “I’ll take it.” She passed the dress to a waiting attendant. “Is the car here yet?”

  Cole broke away, annoyed he was the one who had to submit first. He looked outside and saw the familiar black sedan. “Yes.”

  “Good.” Kat looked at both men before picking up her purse and walking past them. “I’m ready to go.”

  Mentally Cole smacked himself in the back of the head, wondering how much she’d overheard.

  And what she’d do about it.

  Kat sat behind her desk. She’d gone back to her office right after dumping all of her purchases on the unlucky hotel employee who had met their car with instructions to take them to her suite.

  Cole had kept quiet, resuming his position in the corner of her office. He’d given in and allowed her to put a chair there along with a small table, letting him work on his tablet in some semblance of comfort.

  She felt good; odd, given her outing had been interrupted with Julien’s arrival and the subsequent crash from her relaxing shopping trip back into the Majestic’s business.

  But he’d been right to find her. If he’d signed off on the new carpet without her permission, or worse, let it sit until she came back and they lost a day’s work because she’d skipped out for the afternoon . . .

  She had found an awesome dress.

  It’d gotten a response from Cole, which was what she’d been hoping for when she picked it out from the window display.

  She’d seen the effect on him when she had walked out of the dressing room, the catch in his breath, and the obvious tightening in his pants.

  The man had liked the dress.

  He had loved seeing her in it.

  And would love seeing her out of it, if she had her way.

  Kat wasn’t worried about the implications of bedding her security chief. As he’d said many times before, he didn’t work for her.

  But there was Julien . . .

  The man had a style about him, an aura of cheerfulness and positivity that was contagious, and in its own way, dangerous.

  She’d overheard the conversation between the two men and knew, knew the next move had to be hers. They were waiting for her to make a decision, and if she didn’t make one soon it’d start to detract from the hard work they were all doing, would possibly destroy the rapport among them. The problem was she wasn’t sure what to do.

  Kat mentally corrected herself. She did know what to do but wasn’t sure how to approach it. The Majestic was on schedule and she had a firm grip on the renovations.

  Time to deal with her personal issues.

  Her cheeks burned as she dipped her head, not wanting Cole to see her reaction.

  Damned man.

  Damned men.

  Kat had thought about her options at night, let her mind wander while coming down from a hard day at work. She’d created a plan of attack, not unlike what she’d been doing for most of her adult life.

  Maybe she could have the best of both worlds.

  Julien smirked as he walked past the security guard at the end of the hallway, heading for Kat’s office.

  The bastards had caved like a house of cards when he’d presented the counterproposal, as he’d known they would. It’d only taken an hour to rewrite the papers and send the courier back, and now he was ready to present the revised deal to Kat.

  It was a win-win for all involved. The carpet installers got their money and the privilege of working on the Majestic, and he got to prove himself not only as a manager but also as a valuable negotiator to both the company and Kat.

  The latter being the only one he cared about.

  He rapped at the closed door and waited.

  “Come in.”

  Julien saw Cole in the corner, standing at ease in the fashion he’d become used to. The man was interesting, he’d give him that. Obvious military background and sworn to his task of protecting Kat.

  On that point they both agreed.

  Cole nodded at him and tilted his head at Kat, seated behind her desk.

  She was on the phone and waved him in, pointing at her chair.

  “I don’t care what you think. That’s not what I pay you for. And if you don’t get those new sheets on the bed by the time I get to my room tonight I’m going to fire you. Is that clear?” She hung up before receiving an answer.

  Kat gave a sigh before leaning back in her chair. She pulled the elastic holding her hair in a ponytail and let it fly free, falling over her peach-colored blouse.

  It took a concentrated effort to keep his breathing steady and calm, seeing the dark brown curls rest on her shoulders, begging for him to run his hands through them on the way to stripping her naked.

  “All I’m asking for is an upgrade to Egyptian cotton sheets on all the beds, and housekeeping is making it sound like I’m demanding the moon.” She rolled her head around and Julien heard the tiny bones pop. “The crappy sheets we were using before didn’t make you want to lie down for any length of time. It was like cardboard scraping against your skin. Why would anyone want that?”

  “Isn’t that the point?” Cole murmured from his position in the corner. “Get them out of bed and down to the casino?”

  “True.” Kat smiled. “But you don’t want to drive them out of the bedroom too quickly. Otherwise they’re going to have bad memories of the room, and they’ll remember that more than if they won or lost money. Bad sheets, bad mattresses, bad hotel stay.” She eyed Julien, her eyebrows rising. “That was fast.”

  He placed the folder on the desk and sat back. “They were quite reasonable once I explained the advantages of meeting your needs.”

  It was hard to settle in the chair, seeing a hint of her black bra peeking out on her left shoulder. All he could imagine was how delicious she looked, how beautiful . . .

  Kat flipped it open. She gave it a cursory look and closed the folder before pushing it aside.

  Julien frowned, a sudden burst of panic quelling his naughty thoughts. “Something wrong?”

  “No.” She looked at him, then at Cole. Then back at him again, her lips pressed into a tight line.

  Julien swallowed hard, unsure what she was up to.

  Kat locked eyes with him for a second before moving her eyes downward.

  He couldn’t move. He wouldn’t move, caught in her hypnotizing gaze.

  She stared at his khakis before dragging over the white dress shirt, pausing just long enough at his groin to set his blood racing.

  Finally she settled on his face, a wisp of a smile on her lips.

  He felt like she’d stripped him bare. Julien returned the smirk with one of his own, giving her the same inspection.

  The silence continued as Kat turned her attention to Cole, delivering the same deep gaze.

  Julien felt a sense of relief even as he wondered what was going on.

  Out of the corner of his eye he saw the bodyguard stiffen and suppressed a laugh at Cole’s discomfort.

  After a long minute she stood, prompting Julien to do the same. Cole, already standing, rose up on the balls of his feet before settling again.

  Kat licked her lips before strolling out from behind the desk, moving to stand between the men.

  She put up her hands. “Please. Don’t say anything until I have my say. Please.” She drew a deep breath. “I have an issue I need to deal with. It’s been building now for a few weeks.”

  Kat pointed at Julien. “I’d like to date you.” She swiveled and pointed at Cole. “But I’d like to date you as well.”

  Cole stayed silent.

  Julien let the breath he’d been holding out slowly.

  Now his
stomach twisted into knots in anticipation of what was coming.

  He’d suspected this was going to happen at some point. It was hard not to turn and look at Cole, weigh his chances against the tall bodyguard.

  Kat perched herself on the edge of the desk. “But that presents a problem. If I date you,” she looked at Julien, “I’m possibly endangering our relationship as owner/employee. And I don’t want that. I don’t want it to seem like I’m sexually harassing you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

  Julien couldn’t hold back a sharp laugh. “Anyone who knows me would know that’s not true. I lived here through Katrina. I do not take orders well, nor do I play the fool gladly.” He narrowed his eyes, seeing her through small slits. “Let me present my case, if you haven’t decided yet.” He saw her catch herself, lock her arms in place to keep from moving away. “If you go out with me, it’s not only going to be visits to the clubs and cafés. I’m going to kiss you in the shadows, see you blush with anticipation, with desire before we make love.”

  Julien stepped inside her personal space, very aware of Cole’s attention. “I’ll see you to the peaks and beyond, hold you while you tremble with aftershocks and cry with delight, while you collapse in my arms and fall asleep, sated and exhausted.” He arched one eyebrow, seeing the redness creep across her fair skin. “And that’d only be the first night.”

  He retreated to his chair and grinned, enjoying the reaction he’d created.

  Kat drew a long, deep breath before looking to Cole.

  Julien turned in his chair as well, curious as to what the bodyguard was going to say and do.

  He was prepared to fight Cole for her hand.

  She was worth it.

  “As we’ve discussed before, I don’t work for you,” Cole said. “Therefore, our relationship wouldn’t be the same as with Julien.”

  There was no mocking in his voice, no insult directed.

  “I can’t tell you I’ll romance the panties off of you. I’m not much past giving flowers and bringing home dinner when I know you’ve had a bad day. It’s the way I am.” He nodded at Julien. “That’s more his department. But what I can promise you is faithfulness and security. You’ll feel safe in my arms and you’ll never know a moment of fear with me around. You won’t have to worry about me finding another woman until you let me go.” He lowered his voice to a sexy whisper. “But you won’t let me go.”