Tell Me Something (The "Something" Series Book 1) (27 page)

“Holy shit, I think I’m in love,” Colby declared, looking at Josh, who was now shaking his head at his younger brother and eyeing me warily.

“Your brother needs therapy,” I quipped.

“Clearly he does,” Josh replied dryly.

Rolling my eyes, I walked over to where my laptop was sitting, thankful I had put away my clothes and toiletries so he couldn’t see that I had spent the night.

Colby crossed over to the ice bucket, and I felt a sliver of sympathy as he pulled out some cubes and put them into a wash cloth. His face sported a bright red spot.

He walked towards me and handed over the washcloth. “Here, take this for your hand.”

“I think you may need it for your face,” I remarked.

He gave me a grin, showing off dimples that I’m sure had all of the girls clamoring. “Oh, it hurts, but I deserved it. Your hand did not.”

I took the ice pack gratefully.

“Well, aside from hitting horribly misbehaved younger brothers, what do you do for my older brother? I mean, he has Nigel.”

I willed myself not to look at Josh and was glad when he didn’t intervene. “Nigel is going through some personal things and isn’t able to travel. I’m helping Mr. Singer in the short term.”

He looked towards Josh and then back at me. “So seriously, this is professional?”

Josh held up his hands, evidently exasperated with his younger sibling. “Colby, I’m about to kick you out. Could you please act like a grown, mature man? Haylee is my assistant. Coincidently she was in town for the Cassius Rum party last night and is staying at Caesars. I flew in this morning and she and I were attending to the Gibson acquisition before you accosted her.”

“Wait a second. You’re the girl who did the modeling for Katrina Tross?”

“I am.”

“And the cover for Cosmo?”

“Yes.”

“So you’ll be in town tonight?”

I nodded, wondering where he was going with this.

“Fantastic. You can come to my birthday party.”

Before I could object, Josh was doing it for me. “Colby, your party isn’t something Haylee would want to come to. She’s got other plans.”

Colby focused his attention on me. “It’s my birthday today, and I really, truly want you to stop by. I mean, come on, you and I could have a connection, and someday it will all come back to how you slapped me when I mistook you for a hooker and then invited you to my thirtieth birthday party in Vegas.”

I shook my head and laughed.

“Come on, I like you, Haylee. Please come tonight, just for a short time. You don’t have to stay and I’m the one inviting you, not my brother.”

That fact wasn’t lost on me and although I knew Josh might be irritated I agreed anyhow. “All right, I’ll stop by for a few minutes. And I’m sorry for slapping you on your birthday, but you did deserve it. I brought extra cinnamon rolls if you’d like one.”

He smiled and opened the box.

Josh gave me an annoyed look as I sat down to log into my laptop with my tea and breakfast on a side table nearby.

Colby took a seat eating his cinnamon roll on a nearby chair. “So, Haylee, tell me about my brother. Is he still a stick in the mud?”

I arched a brow. “Considering you thought he got you a hooker first thing on Saturday morning for your birthday, I’m hard pressed to believe you actually think that.”

“Well, Vegas is a different story.” He winked. “But back in New York, what’s he like?”

“Professional, hardworking.”

“See? Boring,” he teased, looking bored himself.

“Haylee, can you email me the Gibson spreadsheet?” Josh interjected.

What the hell was that? Oh right, the Gibson acquisition. “Yes, of course.” I emailed a fake document.

“Great, thanks. I think I’m going to make my notes and send them back to you if you don’t mind making the changes later today?”

Was I being dismissed? “Uh, no, of course not.”

“How long are you going to make her work on a Saturday in Vegas?” Colby inquired.

Josh looked a little uncomfortable but glared at his brother. “It won’t take long.”

“So, Haylee, what are you up to today after you finish your work? I could show you around Vegas.”

“I appreciate it, Colby, but I already have some plans.”

“Great. Maybe I could tag along. What are you doing?”

“Well, I’m doing M&M World and then Coke World. Then I want to see the inside of the Paris and ride the gondola at the Venetian. After that maybe I’ll go up in the Stratosphere.” I purposefully chose the touristiest things available, but he was obviously onto me.

“I feel like you may be trying to dissuade me from coming,” he chuckled.

“Actually, those are the types of cheesy things I’d like to do. We’ll see if I have time or not for all of it.” I finished up the rest of my breakfast and looked towards Josh. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“I’ll walk you out,” he offered as I grabbed my computer bag.

We walked to the front door. “Sorry. He came in much earlier than expected. I tried texting you,” Josh whispered.

I smiled tightly. “My phone was in my bag. It’s all right. I’ll see you tonight I guess. Although I don’t know where I’m going.”

“I’ll make sure you get an invitation.”

“Is it going to make you uncomfortable if I go tonight?” I already knew the honest answer to that question. After Josh hadn’t invited me home for Christmas I’d convinced myself it was for the best. The thought of being accepted into a family and being part of their lives only to have it torn away in a few months was worth avoiding.

“No, it’s fine.” His voice was unconvincing at best.

“It’s all right. I won’t stay long. See ya later.”

***

I spent the day exploring the Strip and did end up in M&M World. There I requested Josh to send me an embarrassing photo of Colby and a short time later left with my birthday gift in hand. Silly, but appropriate. I was about to go back to my room when I got a text from Josh.

“Moved you to a room in my hotel. See the front desk and they will give you your key. Henry is waiting outside your hotel when you’re ready.”

After gathering up my stuff, I checked out and then found Henry curbside. Once I arrived at Josh’s hotel, I was treated like a VIP and given a lovely junior suite.

When I entered my room, I immediately noticed the large box on the bed with a bow. My interest piqued, I opened the gift and smiled at the glitzy silver, shimmery dress. Wow, Josh had gone all out, I thought, when I noticed that underneath there were Jimmy Choo strappy shoes to match. At the bottom was an invitation to the party. The dress was hot, and I couldn’t wait for his reaction. Maybe he was looking forward to seeing me at the party after all.

***

I purposefully went late to the party as my intention was to drop in and then leave. Josh didn’t need me honing in on his plans, and I didn’t need Colby observing me with his brother, either. I took a deep breath and gave my invite to the large man at the door. The dress fit me beautifully, and with my outrageously overpriced, gorgeous shoes, I felt sexy.

When I entered I was immediately offered a glass of champagne and noticed the club was already filled with beautiful people. It was a good thing I had the dress as it was all glitz and glamour. My eyes scanned the crowd while I sipped. I smiled when Brian came up to me.

“Haylee, I didn’t know you’d be here.” He kissed both cheeks as I smiled awkwardly.

“I was here last night for the Cassius Rum event and then met Colby this morning. He pretty much insisted I stop by.”

“Ha, so you met the little brother. What did you think?”

“I think he makes you look like a wallflower. He is a lot to take in.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “That is a very fair assessment, but I will tell you he’s a pretty decent guy down deep.”

As if on cue, Colby found us. “Haylee, God damn girl, you look hot.”

“Way down deep,” Brian quipped, completely amused.

I saw Josh approaching, his expression carefully masked.

“So, Haylee, how was your touring of Vegas and the kitschy places?” Colby inquired as Josh came up to hear the conversation.

“Good. Here, this is for you. Happy Birthday.” I handed him the small gift bag, and he looked intrigued.

“Hi, Haylee,” Josh said, taking in my dress as I gave my best
you’re only my boss
smile.

“Hi, Josh.”

We all three watched as Colby opened the box.

“M&Ms?” he asked as I hid a smile.

“Open them and take a look. I can’t take all the credit, your brother helped.”

He did so and then howled with laughter. “Holy shit, personalized embarrassing childhood photo M&Ms. These are classic. You really went to M&M World?” he questioned, eating a few and grinning like a teenager.

His face was adorable, and I found myself laughing. “I did, and it was pretty cool. So was Coca-Cola World, for the record.”

“The dress looks even better on you than it did in the store,” Colby declared, and I about spit out my drink.

“This dress is from you?”

He looked amused, and I realized my mistake.

“Who else would it be from?”

Holy crap.

“Well, obviously the idea was from you as the invitation was from you, but I thought you waved your pinky and had some girl do the shopping for you.”

Colby and Brian both raised a brow but thankfully stayed quiet. Josh didn’t say a word at all.

***

After thirty minutes, I realized I’d probably imposed enough on Josh’s sensitivity since he kept stealing looks my way.

I walked over to Colby to say goodbye. He was flanked by two beautiful women who looked as though they might have been a birthday gift from his big brother. I wasn’t going to ask. Brian was also standing nearby talking with Josh.

“Colby, I have to go, but thank you for inviting me.”

“Stay. You haven’t been here that long.”

“Thank you, but I’ve got other plans. Happy Birthday.”

“Thanks, and I’m glad you could come.” He kissed me on the cheek.

“Good night Josh.” I murmured.

He kissed my cheek as well and I tried very hard not to let myself look weird when he did so. “Good night Haylee, be safe,” he replied as I swallowed hard.

“I’ll walk you out,” Brian offered, surprising me, not to mention Josh.

“Um, okay.”

He took my arm and led me through the crowd until we were outside of the club.

“You still think your boss might not be into you? You should have seen him watching you all night,” he confided once we could finally hear one another without having to yell.

“So why did you insist on escorting me out? Are you trying to make him jealous?” I returned.

He chuckled, and his eyes lit up with mischief. “Merely helping things along. Have a good night.” He took off in the direction of the casino while I moved towards the elevator and went up to my room.

I was absolutely ravenous. Looking at myself in the mirror after making my way back to my room, I decided to change. This was a gorgeous dress for a Hollywood party, but not so much for the midnight buffet. I had just taken my shoes off when I heard the card slide in and the door open.

“Hi.” I smiled at Josh as he crossed the room in two strides while looking around. It dawned on me what, or rather whom, he was looking for. “You think I left with Brian?”

“You left together.”

“So obviously you had to see for yourself.”

“Obviously, I did. Seems you had an eventful day with my brother buying you clothes and then Brian needing to see you out.”

My temper rose. “I’m not even sure how to respond to that, Josh. I thought the dress was from you, and Brian simply walked me out.” I watched his jaw throb and knew he was angry. I didn’t think it would be a good time to mention that Brian had probably done it to get a reaction from him.

“And if Brian had asked to come up to your room, what would you have said?” Lifting me up onto the dresser, he pushed my dress up around my hips and stepped between my legs.

“I would have said I was hot for only one man and he’s not it,” I whispered, stroking his face. Then his mouth was on mine, fierce, hot and demanding. I could feel a hum of anticipation between us as his hands moved up my thighs. Soon my panties were ripped in two.

“Those were my new ones,” I muttered as his mouth left mine and then was on my very center. “Jesus, Josh…” I came within seconds and felt his lips skim the insides of my thighs. “Are you still annoyed with me?”

He pulled back and met my eyes. “No, and I should have never been. I’m sorry.”

Holy shit, did he just apologize? My eyes must have conveyed my shock.

He sighed. “Yeah, an apology. I’m trying to get better with them.”

“God, that is unbelievably hot,” I admitted, kissing him with gusto.

He chuckled. “If only I had known, now I will say I’m sorry all the time.”