Society Playboys: Playboy Assistant Part 12

"I'm probably fired." He chuckled half-heartedly. Davina dropped her hand from her hip.

"You're probably fired?" Toni's voice sounded from behind him. His stomach rippled. G.o.d, he wanted to see her. He missed her. He wanted to stare in her eyes, but he didn't. Instead, he watched Davina scurry to her chair.

"Am I?" Feeling the weight of her glower on his back, Fabian turned slowly until she came into full view, ready to face her. Black t-strap Louboutins. Slicked back ponytail. Eyes lined into striking almonds. Is it possible that this woman could be more beautiful than he last remembered? His plan to confront her right away might be shattered.

Her perfectly arched eyebrow lifted. "You've been gone two days without so much as a call or an email." Her eyes remained hard, and he wondered if she was truly mad he didn't contact her.

His gaze zeroed in on her lips. Soft. Plump. He couldn't stop thinking about kissing her again, even though he wanted to be indignant about what she emailed his father. But those lips ... he could probably overlook everything just to feel those lips on his. To part them with his tongue.

"Well..." Fabian trailed off just as Stephan Bradley entered the lobby and quickly moved next to Toni, placing his hand on her waist.

His stomach flopped. Even though Toni backed away from Stephan, she didn't soften toward Fabian. Fabian didn't like how close Stephan was to her. What the h.e.l.l was going on?

"Well?" she demanded.

Walk away. Forget it all. Fabian didn't want to listen to the voice in his head. No way could he walk away or forget it. Not after spending two days thinking about nothing else. His gaze dropped to his Prada shoes, taking in the perfecting st.i.tching, thinking of what he would say next. He met Toni's eyes. "We need to talk."

"Yes, we do," she agreed curtly.

"We can meet in the conference room," Stephan interjected.

"This doesn't concern you, Bradley," Fabian barked, the rush of anger heating him exponentially. Stephan shouldn't affect him that much. In actuality, he was irrelevant to Fabian. But if Toni was with him again... No, he couldn't think of that.

Stephan stepped toward him only to be stopped by Toni's hand. "I'll handle this." To Fabian, she said, "Go to the small conference room. I'll be there in a few minutes."

In the conference room, he paced the length of the table, at times glancing out of the picturesque window displaying downtown. His hand still around Toni's coffee, he sipped the cooling liquid, grimacing at the sweetness. G.o.d, that's awful. He really hated her taste in coffee. And ex-fiances. Promptly, he tossed it in the trash near the door. Five minutes might have pa.s.sed, or five hours. He couldn't tell which. Whichever it was, it seemed like an eternity before Toni stood on the other side of the gla.s.s door. Their eyes met.

The air changed the moment she stepped into the room. Her sweet perfume scented the s.p.a.ce, and he breathed in, finding his defenses had already been dismantled. Clenching his jaw, he met her half way. His heart skipped a beat once he wasn't quite a foot from her.

Her mouth quirked. "Looks like you've been vacationing in the Caribbean."

"Just the Gulf, but I wouldn't call it vacationing."

Her eyes lowered to his mouth, quickly snapping back up. Still, she didn't step away from him. "You can't just leave a job, Fabian."

"And you can't lie."

Her eyes widened, before quickly narrowing to slits. "I don't."

"Don't you?" Then she stepped back.

In response, he stepped forward. No way was she walking away from him. Not after everything that had happened between them. "I'm a misogynist?"

She gripped the back of the nearest chair tucked under the gargantuan table.

His resolve to let her have it grew again. He would have to overlook how much he wanted to lay her on the table and put her ankles on his shoulders. "I know what you told my father." She looked away. "Look at me, Antonia. Is that what you really think?"

She smoothed down the front of her white fitted dress as if only to distract herself from the truth he needed her to say. "I-I only meant-"

"After everything that's happened between us, how could you say that to my father, of all people?"

Toni avoided his stare. "I know you helped me, and I am grateful. Please don't think I'm not."

"And what about what happened in your office? Your lips on mine, my hand in your panties. It seems to me you wouldn't let a misogynist do that to you. Or am I wrong?" He'd thought of Stephan then, and it made him sick.

"Stop it, please."

"I can't stop it. Not with you." His body swayed, searching for stability. For the first time he felt the angst of desperation and knew he would forgive her in a heartbeat.

She spun toward him, determination set in her eyes. "You have to stop it." When Fabian didn't-couldn't-respond, she continued, "Misogynist was wrong. I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry. I will email your father immediately."

"You're not going to tell me why you lied? You won't at least give me that?" Her eyes darkened with the emotions inside her. He could see them as clear as he felt his own emotions welling up inside him.

"I know you want to get out of here as fast as I want you gone."

Her words stabbed him, leaving him winded.

Fine. He straightened and backed away from her, not ignoring the inflection in her eyes. "Fire me then."

"You can quit." Please don't.

He grunted. "Do you want me to?"

She worried her lips together. "Well, it's not the agreement your father made with my mother."

"What isn't?"

"That you quit." Toni looked at her hands, which she had clasped together against her stomach. "You can't prove to your father you're capable if you quit."

"Oh, you care about that?"

"Fabian." All her lies came back to bite her in the a.s.s. She wanted to tell him the truth. Her truth. But the longer she looked into his tormented eyes, the more she realized she could never tell him why. Clearing her throat, she took a step closer to him, feeling how powerful his body was. What pull he had on her. "I want to honor their agreement. And I want you to be a partner at your dad's company."

He rubbed his forehead, the confusion in his eyes mirroring what she felt inside. "I don't understand you, Toni. At all. None of this makes sense." None of it made sense to her.

"I'm sorry." She didn't know what else to say.

He glowered. "Why do you keep telling me nothing except 'I'm sorry'?"

"Because I am." Out of shame, she looked away. She didn't deserve to look at him. "About everything."

"About us?"

She nodded her head. "Especially that." She met his gaze again, knowing her words hurt him.

"Is that why Stephan is here?" In a few wide strides, he was close to her again. So close. Her pulse thumped at her throat. Each one bordered on painful. She wanted him so desperately ... yet, she was scared. He asked again in her silence, "Is it?"

She nodded.

His eyes emptied, as did her heart. It was so silent, a pin drop could fall and make a crashing sound. They stared at each other as if it were the last time. Maybe it would be the last time. Everything they had up until that point was gone. The shared deep secrets. The kisses she couldn't forget. All gone.

Toni moved away from him, opening the gla.s.s door. She needed to leave. "So business as usual then?"

"Whatever you say, boss."

At the end of the day, Toni grew increasingly anxious. She'd left Fabian in the conference room and hadn't spoken to him since. At least a dozen times she went to his door, lifting her fist to knock. She wanted to tell him the truth about everything. Her feelings for him. Why Stephan was really in the office. Her dying mother. She didn't. In the midst of her thoughts, the man she loathed more than her lies stood in her office doorway. He beamed at her as if all was well with the world. As if the world was his oyster. She grunted at the sight, because it was, always was.

"What do you want, Stephan?"

He strolled over to the chair across her desk. "I wanted to talk about the gala tomorrow. I spoke to Helene and we've agreed that you and I will arrive as a couple. It's time Houston society knew we are back together and soon to be engaged."

In quick reaction, she crossed her arms over her chest. "You will not speak to my mother about anything anymore. You need something, you ask me. Got it?" Her strength exhilarated her.

Stephan narrowed his gaze, also surprised it would seem. "Once we're married, I won't tolerate this att.i.tude. It's your mother's wish and you, of all people, should respect it. She's dying, for G.o.d's sake."

Toni bit her tongue. She wanted to scream. Stephan knew exactly how to get his way. Involve her dying mother? That was too cruel. Toni couldn't fathom why people like that lived in the world. She'd been too sheltered her whole life.

The words were like acid on her tongue. "You know I'm doing this for my mother."

Something sinister tainted his wide smile. "I know."

"You also know I don't want you. Not even a little bit." She pressed her lips together. Hating him more would be impossible. But every second that went by proved it was possible.

"Oh, because you want that loser Pallis?" He smirked. "I'm really doing you a favor. He'll just f.u.c.k you and leave like he's known to do."

"You don't know him," she barked, immediately averting her gaze to papers on her desk.

A few beats of silence pa.s.sed before Stephan responded. "I'll pick you up at six. We'll attend the sponsor dinner as well."

When she looked up again, he was gone.

After two hours of hardcore yoga, she waited for Miles in the front of the studio. It had been a rough cla.s.s, with the remnants of her conversation with Stephan still playing on a loop in her mind. How was she going to get out of this engagement? Family duty wasn't for the faint of heart she quickly realized, and began to hate her family status like she never had. Wealth had been something she'd thought she would always need. A trust fund to spend on whatever her heart desired. But what if what she desired didn't cost anything ... except her mother's acceptance? She stilled with the sobering thought.

A breeze kissed her faced as she looked up again. The loud roaring engine caught her full attention as a matte black convertible Ferrari raced into the parking lot. Toni was even more distracted by the long black hair whipping from the pa.s.senger's seat. The driver turned down the front of the yoga studio. When she saw the driver's face, her whole body froze. Fabian.

He stopped in front of her. "Hey, boss," he called from the driver's seat, facing her. "Fancy seeing you here."

Toni glanced to the brunette sitting pretty in the bucket seat with a smirk on her lips. Camille. Her stomach flopped again and all the balance she tried to find in yoga cla.s.s collapsed. "You really are flashy, aren't you, Fabian?" She could barely get the words out.

"You don't like flashy?" Fabian asked, brooding.

"No, I don't," she said, fighting through the largest lump in her throat she'd ever had. From afar, she spotted Miles turning the corner. Oh, G.o.d, please hurry. She willed Miles to rescue her. Though she didn't want to, she glanced at Camille-perfect Camille-again, her heart dropping. On the approach, she rushed to the curb, grabbed the handle to the limo door and pulled it open before Miles had fully stopped. She dove into the back with her yoga mat tight under her arm. "Home, Miles. Now!"

Anger and jealousy were the first emotions to bubble up. To see Fabian with another woman made her sick. She shut her eyes, hoping to forget what she saw. Then the disappointment followed. She thought she'd been wrong about him. How could he say he wanted her and then so quickly have someone else? Irrational as it might seem, because she'd rejected him, he should not be with another woman. But he was a playboy, after all. Playboys always had another woman.

"Are you all right, Miss Robuchon?" Miles asked, gazing at her through the rearview mirror.

Toni lifted her fingers to her cheeks, touching fallen tears. Once the limo moved pa.s.sed the stop sign, she said, "No, Miles. I'm not all right. But I'll pretend that I am."

Chapter Sixteen.

Fabian decided something, half-heartedly. Because he didn't have a choice. He'd decided to take Camille to the gala on Sat.u.r.day. Nothing else. Not a date. Not a s.e.x-filled night afterward. Nothing. He couldn't even Netflix-and-chill with her the night before as he set out to, which was his move. At any rate, he'd told her the deal right up front, which she seemed more than happy to oblige.

Fabian gazed in the mirror as he tied the checkered bow tie at his throat. It wasn't quite right. With a grunt, he unraveled the bow. Nothing was quite right. He'd been too hyper-focused on Toni to concentrate. He was still mad as h.e.l.l with her. Her lies and her obvious backtracking. What the h.e.l.l was going on? Really, he was more mad at himself for not forcing it out of her-a.s.suming he could. Maybe it didn't matter anymore. Stephan was in the picture again. The thought made Fabian want to explode. How could Toni let him in her life again? He couldn't bring himself to believe she would fall for Stephan again.

"Here, let me try." Camille came up behind him. His eyes met hers. Such admiration in them-misplaced admiration. He wished she didn't see the world in him.

"Thanks." He grazed the lush material of his suit as he dropped his hands. All his suits were tailor made. Nothing feigned confidence like a well-fitted suit. Though he usually had confidence out nose, he needed a bit of help that day. Camille worked quickly. She was so close to him-unnecessarily close. He could do anything he wanted to her. Touch her. Kiss her. Bend her over. But all his desires for Camille were gone. Someone else had them. And he would see her at the gala with her ex.

"You look distant, Fabian."

True, he couldn't be farther from her. Fabian shook his head, glancing back to the full-length mirror just as she finished tying the bow tie. She stepped away so he could take in her handy work. "Good job." She lifted on her toes to kiss him, annoyed when he only kissed her cheek. Just like the night before when they streamed movies in his condo, he couldn't as much as put his arm around her. How could he do anything when he'd just seen Toni in her yoga outfit? Looking beautiful. And so unavailable.

"Thank you." She turned in her white nothing of a c.o.c.ktail dress.

Fabian looked at himself again. Ready to face the Pallis Engineering Gala Sponsors dinner. That meant seeing his father. Fabian frowned. They hadn't left their last phone conversation on great terms, but when did they ever? "G.o.d, the old man will surely be unbearable tonight. I hope the b.a.s.t.a.r.d doesn't embarra.s.s the family." Ironically, his father always accused him of embarra.s.sing the family.

"We should go."

In his Bentley, he blasted Arvo Part. It always calmed him just before a big event, especially one that included his father. His senses were heightened, though, with all the uncertainly he would soon walk into. He had to mentally prepare to see Toni and Stephan. Fabian tapped a finger against the steering wheel as he drove down to the Halman Hotel, owned by his friend Dallas's family. They'd generously donated the ballroom for the gala every year for as long as Fabian could remember.

"You're really nervous to see your dad, aren't you?" Camille rubbed his thigh.

And Toni. "I just need a drink. I'll be fine."

Inside the Halman Hotel, Fabian stopped Camille just before the entrance to the smaller ballroom. "Remember I told you we're not here together as a couple."

A ripple of emotion pa.s.sed over her face. "I know you need time."

"Right..." He sighed, scanning the area and recognizing many faces. Dallas, Ty, and Konrad had taken up the area near the bar. Before he could complete his sentence, he saw her. Toni. She stood at the far end of the dining area, dressed like a mermaid in a fitted sea foam green dress that kissed the floor with its length. The neck plunged far, but not indecently far, down her chest, hinting at her small perky b.r.e.a.s.t.s. He gulped hard. Long dark hair curled over one shoulder and the rest was pinned up on the opposite side. Every time she turned her head to greet someone, sparkling diamond earrings caught the light as they dangled, nearly touching her shoulders.

"Is that your boss?" Camille stepped in front of him, a scowl on her face.

He swallowed. "That's Antonia Robuchon, all right." They both stared at her. What would Toni think about seeing him with Camille again? He hoped she didn't get the wrong idea about her.

"How much longer are you going to be working for her?"

He ignored her question because Toni had his full attention. She mesmerized him. Stephan hadn't been pinned at her side like Fabian would expect him to be. Is she alone? Before he could make a move or say something else, Toni met his gaze from across the room. She froze. It was like a scene in a movie. But, they weren't lovers, and she didn't want anything to do with him. Toni narrowed her eyes when as she shifted her gaze to Camille. His heart thumped. She didn't like what she saw. Camille next to him. But she didn't give him a chance to indicate that he and Camille weren't together. Instead, Toni turned away without acknowledging him.