Sweet Affection (Truth Book 3) (3 page)

I’ve driven halfway between Stamford and London to discuss our pitch for what could be the biggest project I’ve worked on so far, if it all goes to plan. A five star hotel chain from the U.S are looking for a British company to design their first hotel here in the UK.

“Well, if it isn’t Breakthrough Talent of the Year! Please Sir, can I have your autograph?”

Seb raises his voice, looking at me with excited eyes and holding out a pen and napkin. I’ve just walked through the lobby bar of the posh hotel he’s staying at and I cringe inside as people turn their heads to try and work out if I’m really someone worth having an autograph from. I cringe even more when they turn back round, deciding I’m not that interesting.

“Ha. Ha. Very funny, you fucker. Sit down.”

He chuckles and slumps back into the club chair. I loosen my tie, and then pull it off and open the top button on my shirt so I can breathe easier. I’ve just come from a meeting with the owner of a restaurant I’m refurbishing. I feel like my life has been one long meeting lately. Hopefully if we get this deal, I can be much more hands on. I’ll have to be. Because I wouldn’t let anything get in the way of making it a success; it could skyrocket my company.

I set up my laptop on the table and the young waiter comes over in a hurry, looking out of breath and flustered. I look around and notice that the bar is actually quite busy considering it’s the middle of the day.

“Welcome sir, what can I get for you?”

“I’ll just have a Coke thanks.”

He nods and turns to Seb, “Another, sir?” I glance down to his glass and see the remnants of the amber coloured liquid. The sly motherfucker is on the whisky already. At three in the afternoon. Some life. But he’s on holiday, so I can’t blame him. He’s brought his wife Tiffany here too. My guess is, she’s in the hotel spa right about now.

Seb nods and the waiter disappears to the table next to us who have been huffing and snapping their fingers rudely trying to get his attention.

“Busy here.”

“Yep.” He grins smugly.

“What the fuck are you not saying?” I open up PowerPoint and get out a pad and pen.

“It’s busy because a U.S hotel chain are holding their management recruitment day here. They’re a big chain. Five star.” His grin only gets wider as I realise what he’s saying.

“You’re shitting me.” I stare at him in shock.

“I shit you not. You really think I’d bring Tiff to a poncey place like this, if there wasn’t some reason for it? You don’t know me very well then, Dawson. Frankly, I’m a little hurt. I thought we had something special.” He sniffs, and clutches at his chest just as the waiter comes back over and, having heard Seb, starts to splutter an apology for interrupting.

“Don’t worry. I need a drink. Maybe it will get me over this heartbreak.” He sips his drink, and I see the curl of his lips as his mouth meets the glass.

“That’s better. I feel like I’m getting over you already.” He lowers the glass as the waiter looks between us both, awkwardly still standing at our table.

“This is great, thanks.” He winks at the waiter, who widens his eyes and half-smiles clumsily as he backs away.

“You’re a dick.”

Seb unzips his leather bag and reaches in for his laptop.

“A clever dick, if you must.”

I can’t argue with that. He’s turned a getaway with his wife into a business opportunity. If that isn’t massacring two birds with one stone, I don’t know what is.

“So what’s the plan?” I tilt my head and watch the cogs turning in his. He sucks on the end of his Bic and narrows his eyes.

“Well, I met the CEO Riker Garrison last month at an event in New York. I played the game, charmed the pants off him. Not literally, before you even start.”

I smile. He knows me too well.

“I’m confident he’ll remember me. So we just need to schmooze him today. The pitch is next week so we have time. But we need him to bond with us. It’ll give us one up on Sarah Cooper. Seeing as we can’t compete with her long legs, and ample cleavage, we need something.”

I glance at his chest and smirk. “Don’t know about that, Burrows. Looks like you’re sporting some serious moob action there.”

“Fuck off, prick.” He straightens and looks down at his chest. “It’s called muscle. You should try working out sometime. Might help you get rid of those love handles.”

I chuckle loudly. Seb’s older than me, in his early thirties, but you wouldn’t guess it. He works out most days and keeps in shape, just like I do.

“Whatever. How do you know Garrison is here?”

“Oh he’ll be here. For fuck’s sake, the vain tosser is naming his hotel here after himself. You think he wouldn’t come and make sure people know who he is? Plus, if he’s already in the UK for our pitch anyway, why wouldn’t he?”

The brief we’ve been given by his team, was just that. Brief. He’s looking for something unique for The Garrison, his first hotel in London. Something no-one’s done before. If you ask me, the name alone screams
done several million times
: The Ritz, The Langham, The Dorchester, The Bloomsbury, the list goes on, but what someone like him wants, he gets.

“I guess. How are we going to get our chance? What’s going to draw him out of whatever meeting he’s in now?”

Another grin transforms his face. He’s like the Cheshire cat today.

“Let’s just say, I have back up with me. Nothing better than a hot, sexy, well-educated, elegant wife who’s every man’s fucking fantasy.”

I nearly spit out my Coke, and look over at him.
Did he really just say that?

“Yes I really did just say that. Tiff is stroking his ego as we speak.”

“You’re whoring out your wife to a billionaire?”

He looks at me like I just said something really stupid.

“Oh, please.” He scoffs. “He’s not a
billionaire
. That’s for oil tycoons and Sheikhs. Multi-millionaire, maybe.”

Ha, and he’s not even denying whoring out his wife.

“Tiffany Burrows, my amazing wife, may be extremely successful in her own right, but she knows who brings home the serious dough.” He leans forward, “That’s me. So what’s good for me is, by default, good for her. Us winning this contract is good for her.”

He shrugs and leans back in the chair. “She’s only doing a little light flirting anyway. I’m not
whoring
her out, as you so elegantly put it. You know Tiff doesn’t do anything she doesn’t want to do.”

“I’m glad you know that, honey.” Tiff’s smiling voice fills the silence and I look over as she gets closer to the table. She’s wearing a stunning pale pink dress to her knees, and her dark hair is pulled back, curls spinning down her back. She oozes confidence and glamour. Definitely someone a famous hotel chain owner, not to mention total player, like Garrison would want to be seen with.

“James, you just get better looking every time I see you.” Seb’s eyes narrow, and he picks up his glass, sipping slowly on his whisky.

“I’ve always liked you.” I say kissing her cheek and slinging my arm over her shoulders. When she hugs my waist and puts her hand on my chest I grin smugly at him and raise both my eyebrows.

“So what have you been doing gorgeous, and where’s Garrison?” I let go of my friend’s wife and sit back down when she perches on the arm of the chair next to us.

“Oh I’ve just been laughing at his crappy jokes and chatting about the U.S stock market. Nothing exciting.”

I choke on my drink again and look at her to see if she’s serious. She is.

“What do you know about the U.S stock market?”

She smiles and points her finger at me. “Now, I know you’re not a misogynist, so what’s with the attitude?”

I hold my hands up defensively in front of me and shake my head, trying to come up with words that will make me sound less like an ass. “Hey, it’s not a woman thing. It’s a Tiffany Burrows, fashionista extraordinaire thing. Weren’t you the one, correct me if I’m wrong, that asked the chairman of Nasdaq when the next car race was?”

She howls with laughter nearly falling back in the chair. “I was drunk, and they sound similar! Okay. I agree, I’m no stocks and shares expert but I can handle my own. Especially with one of these…” She leans forward, piercing green eyes gazing into mine, placing her hand on my arm, fluttering her eyelashes, and giggles softly. It’s not an annoying, loud, obvious giggle. It’s a beautiful, soft, girly, mesmerising sound that takes Seb slamming his glass on the table for me to snap out of my gaping.

“Wow.” I say in admiration. “That fucking works like a charm.”

“I know.” She sings, grinning her ass off. “Now, I have to get back to Riker. He’s just
washing up in the restroom.”
She puts on her best American accent and Seb and I both chuckle.

“Be a dear and get me a vodka and Coke. I’m sick of Champagne now. It’s all he drinks. What kinda man just drinks champagne?” Her rhetorical question has us both nodding along.

“Oh, and I’ll call you in soon. I’ve just hit him with the
I’m married and my husband’s a super successful architect
bomb and he’s trying to digest it.” She leans forward and raises her hand to her mouth, hiding her words from Seb. “I think I broke his heart. He was just about to confess his undying love for me.” She whispers quietly.

Seb rises from the chair and stalks over to her. He drags her hands away from her face and pulls her body flush against him by her hips. Then he dips her low and kisses the fuck out of her in front of everyone in the lobby. There’s a few disapproving mutters but it doesn’t stop him from not letting her up. I eventually clear my throat when I see a guy that looks like he may be management, whispering to a colleague and moving towards us.

Seb detaches himself from her body and they both stand and stare at each other, breathlessly panting. Tiff’s the first to look away, she smooths her hands over her dress and fidgets with her clutch.

“Yes… well, um, you make a very good point Sebastian. I’ll remember that.” She coughs and looks over to me, her cheeks rosy and flushed. “I’ll see you in a minute.” 

She walks away and Seb bursts out laughing as he falls back into the seat. “Still got it.”

Between mine and Seb’s obvious charm and good wit, and Tiffany’s subtle yet sexy and alluring flirty manner, we have Garrison eating out of the palm of our hand, and by the time the clients he’s hosting for dinner arrive in the restaurant, he’s laughing with us like we’ve been friends for years.

“I tell ya, you guys bat a thousand… I can’t wait to hear what ya’ll come up with next week. And Tiffany, babydoll, if you ever get tired of this guy, you look me up, okay?”

He motions to the bartender, who makes quick work of the drink he’s making for another customer and practically runs over to our end of the bar.

“Put whatever drinks these guys have for the rest of the night on my account.”

His blatant show of ostentation causes us to all to exchange a look. I thought he was going to be a show-off and he is, but he also seems like a good guy, and the bonding tonight wasn’t completely forced. Tiff was right, he has crappy jokes, but he’s been decent enough.

“That’s very generous of you, Riker. Thank you. We’ll just have one, then I’ve got to get back home.”

“Okay. But if you wanna change your mind and go crazy, you know you can. Anyway, I better go, my guests are here.” He gets off his stool and straightens his suit as one of his entourage starts walking towards us. He points between Seb and I as he backs away, “Make it amazing, guys. I want something that’s going to blow the minds of the British people.”

We nod and smile until he’s out of earshot, then I blow out a huge breath and fall back against the stool.

“You were amazing, Tiff, my love.” Seb kisses her cheek and I do the exact same.

“I second that.”

“I’m glad you boys think so. You better get this deal, because I just used my best on him.”

“We will.” I say confidently. “I’ve already got a few ideas, I’ll email them to you.” I direct to Seb.

“You’re leaving?” He asks.

“Of course he’s leaving. He’s got a beautiful woman to go home to.” Tiff reaches over and hugs me and I shake Seb’s hand.

“She is beautiful and I’ve got something special planned for her this evening so gotta go.”

Tiffany squeals and claps her hands together. “Oh my gosh, James you really are serious about this one. I have to meet her!”

“Soon.” I promise. “See you later.

It’s five in the evening. It’s going to be another hour before I get back home, and I desperately hope I get back to Stamford before Laurel otherwise my plan is going to be an epic fail.

Laurel

I yawn as I get out the car and grab my bag from the boot. I haven’t slept much the past few days, planning the setup of the new store has been so tiring but I’ve decided on a great company to do the shop-fitting so it’s finally starting to come together. Blake came up and met me for a couple of hours yesterday, on his way to another project he’s working on even further north, and gave them a good grilling. The project manager Brian, actually squirmed. It was very amusing, but he stood up well to the barrage of questions on timings, and methods, and the team’s experience so at least I know I’ve got second best. I have no doubt that Blake’s company is number one. They’re all booked up for the next six months though on various projects around the country. If I could wait, they’d do it for me but I can’t. This location is perfect and I don’t want to lose it.

I sling my bag over my shoulder, lock the car and walk up the steps to the front door feeling like I need a little nap to wake myself up. I splay my keys to find the right one, then frown when I can’t see it. I drop my bag with a thud, then search through all of them slowly to make sure I haven’t missed any. Shit, I’ve lost it. I look down at the ground around me, shake my clothes like an idiot and still don’t see it anywhere. I sigh heavily, this is just what I need after a long day. My mum won’t be back from work for another couple of hours so I either stand around waiting, or go somewhere.

I pick my bag up and walk back down to the car. After ten minutes of turning the car upside down I finally give in and see if James is home. He answers straight away.