Love Drunk (Complete Series), page 4
“It’s not stopping. Do you have a towel or a shirt or something? It’s getting worse.”
He held his head and swayed backward. “Ohhh.”
“What’s the matter?”
“I can’t handle the sight of blood.”
“Even your own?”
“Especially my own.” He moaned and clutched his stomach, unsteady on his feet. “I think I’m gonna—”
“Oh!” His body went limp, and she caught him right before he hit the ground. Having his body plastered against hers had been a lot hotter in her fantasies. “Chris!” She tapped his cheeks. “Come on, wake up!”
His hazel eyes fluttered open a second later, and she let out an exasperated sigh. “Seriously?”
“Look, I’m not perfect. Sorry to disappoint you.” He touched his nose and grimaced. “It’s still bleeding, isn’t it?”
“Yes, badly. Just don’t look, okay? I can’t drag your dead weight to the EMS station.” She pulled off her hoodie. “Take this.”
“Pink, huh? Are sweats the only things you buy from Victoria’s Secret?”
“You’re making me want to leave you here so when your friends show up they see what a big baby you are.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll keep quiet. Will you give me a hand?”
She grunted as she hoisted him. “Can’t you help at all?”
He looked down at the sweatshirt, and his eyes widened. “Uhhhh…”
“Oh no. Not again. You better hold it together.” She snaked an arm around his waist. “Let’s go. The EMS station isn’t that far.”
He clutched the sweatshirt to his face. “I’m keeping my eyes closed.”
“Great. I’ll just do all the work.”
“I’ll reserve my comment so you don’t drop me.”
His innuendos made her insides tingle. Her mind knew she was playing with fire, but her body was about ready to explode.
The EMS office was empty and stark. An overwhelming antiseptic scent filled her nostrils. At least it was clean. “Hello? Is anyone here?”
A young guy walked into the waiting room. “Whoa, what happened?”
“My friend crashed into a pole, and his nose won’t stop bleeding. He needs some ice before it swells.”
“Please make it stop.” Chris wobbled a little and collapsed onto the couch.
The EMT smiled. “Why don’t you stay there for a few minutes? I’ll get an ice pack.”
Mia dropped next to him, a playful smile on her lips. “You’re going to be fine. But you might reconsider playing basketball today. Wouldn’t want to have a relapse in front of the crowds.”
“Let’s see how that nose looks.” The EMT pulled the sweatshirt away. “Great, the bleeding has slowed. Just relax here for a little bit, and we’ll see how you feel.”
Chris looked up at Mia. “Am I a disaster?”
“Yes, but you look halfway decent, all things considered. After you get cleaned up, you’ll be as good as new.”
“Thanks for not leaving me unconscious on the court.”
“You’re welcome.”
Their eyes locked, and the sound of a ringing cell phone broke the spell.
He yanked it from his pocket, but it slipped from his fingers and launched across the floor. The image on the screen made her throat constrict. Holy shit. Kate. Ridiculously hot body. Insanely huge boobs. Was that his girlfriend?
She lifted an eyebrow and handed him the phone between two fingers. “One of your cheerleaders?”
He glanced at the screen, a flicker of annoyance crossing his face. “Nah.”
That was it? Ugh, what did it matter anyway?
“How’s the bleeding?” She toyed with the end of her ponytail, trying to rid her mind of Kate’s pornographic selfie.
He pulled the ice pack away. “Looks like it finally stopped.”
“Are you okay? I should probably get going.”
“Oh, yeah, sure.” He stood, clutching the arm of the couch.
“Do you want a ride home?”
“Nope, I can drive, but thanks.” He flashed a sheepish smile as they walked outside. “I feel bad about ruining your sweatshirt.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just sorry you were too busy showing off when you should have been paying closer attention to that pole.”
“That was really cold.”
She giggled. “You’re a good sport. A lot of guys would have been mortified about fainting in front of a girl.”
“Mia!” Jana struggled up the hill, a look of alarm on her face. “What the hell happened to you? I went back to the court to find you and there was nobody around. And I saw blood all over the place.”
“I’m fine.” She pointed to Chris. “He, on the other hand, had a little um, accident. But he’s good now.”
“Jesus, that’s a lot of blood.”
He laughed. “Yeah, well, when I do something, I really go all the way.”
“Uh-huh.” Jana looked at Mia, a wicked gleam in her eye. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
Mia felt a hot flush color her cheeks. How utterly convenient. “This is Chris Camden. We work together.”
“I’m Mia’s sister-in-law, Jana. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise. I’ll let you ladies get back to your afternoon. I think I’m going to take off before I smash into anything else.” He held up the sweatshirt. “I owe you a new one.”
“It’s really fine.” Mia shifted under Jana’s curious stare. “I’ll, um, see you soon.”
“Definitely. Thanks again. Nice meeting you, Jana.” With one final panty-melting grin, he walked toward the parking lot.
Jana folded her arms. “So.”
“Yeah?”
“Alex doesn’t stand a chance against this guy, does he?”
“What? You’re crazy. I mean, yes, he’s gorgeous, but believe me, there’s nothing underneath it all.” Nope, not with good old Kate and who knows how many others warming his bed at night?
“Maybe not, but who the hell cares? I’m not saying you have to marry him.”
“We’re colleagues. That’s it. I helped him out. And I don’t need to remind you that I have—”
“Alex. Yes, vanilla-flavored, simple syrupy Alex. I hear you. Too bad, though. You need someone like Chris to shake things up.”
“Thanks, but I’m just fine.” Mia pointed to the teams assembling on the basketball court. She wiped the beads of perspiration from her forehead. Funny, it wasn’t warm at all where they were standing. “Can we please drop this? It’s almost tip-off.”
Chapter 4
Chris grabbed his buzzing iPhone, jolted from thoughts of Mia in those just-tight-enough basketball shorts. “What’s up, Jay?”
“Hey, Alison just called with details for the kickoff in San Francisco.”
“What the hell does that guy have against conference rooms?”
“Emerson marches to the beat of his own drummer. Have you forgotten about our pitch meeting already?”
What a day that had been. Stanford Golf Course. Ugh. Not exactly his favorite pastime. “Where is he dragging us this time?”
“He’s the keynote speaker at LaunchFest, so I guess he wants to kill two birds with one stone. We’re meeting at the wharf.”
“Can’t wait to see what he’s got in store for us.” His mind wandered back to Mia’s legs, certain he could come up with a variety of options, none of which involved work, James, Paul, or San Francisco.
“Paul’s full of surprises, so who knows? What did you do last night? Or should I say whom?”
“Don’t be so judgmental. I don’t critique your choices.”
“My choices? Like wanting to settle down with a great girl who makes me happier than I’ve ever been?”
“Exactly. We’ve got different objectives.” Since when did said objectives include making a complete ass of himself? Maybe the crash had done more damage than he’d thought. Those not-so-subtle comments didn’t just slip out on their own. And the half-naked selfie of...whatever the hell her name was certainly didn’t help his cause.
“Fine. Do whatever makes you happy.”
“Trust me, it makes me extremely happy. Anyway, I can’t get tied down now. I’m too busy trying to make LazerShark a household name.” It sounded good in theory.
“Great, why don’t you get your ass to the office so we can figure out how to make that happen? There’s a lot to do before we meet tonight.”
Chris rolled his eyes and hung up the phone. The thought of seeing Mia made his lower region spring to life. Only a few short hours until they met again. He’d replaced the bloody sweatshirt, although there were plenty of other things in Victoria’s Secret he’d rather see her wearing, if only for a short time. Salacious thoughts swarmed his mind much more frequently than he’d like to admit. The fullness of those breasts, the curve of her slim hips, the roundness of that—
He smacked his hand against his forehead. Why did she have to be so fucking perfect?
Mia hurried after Paul later that evening, phone in hand. “Alison, can you let them know Paul’s presentation ran late? We’ll be at the wharf in twenty.”
She struggled to keep up with his gait, cursing her heels with every scorching step, wishing for her beloved Nikes. “The car’s waiting for us right over there.”
Paul pulled out his iPhone and slid into the back seat of the blacked out Escalade. Mia flashed an apologetic smile at the driver as she climbed in next to him. “You have the address, right?”
The driver nodded. “It’ll be a quick trip.”
“I called Alison to let her know we’re running behind.” She dropped her bag on the seat and let out a deep sigh.
“Relax. They’re not going anywhere without us.” Paul focused his penetrating blue-eyed gaze on her. “Here’s the deal on LazerShark. These guys have done a tremendous job building their business model. Investors are clamoring for a piece of the pie, but we need to make sure their strategy is tight as a drum to attract the highest bidders. James Callahan is brilliant. He graduated top of his class at MIT. This is the third company he’s built. His first one was a project for NASA. He also built a killer video game app while he was at school and sold it for a hefty sum, which he used to fund a portion of LazerShark. He knows the gaming industry inside and out. Selling the company isn’t his objective.”
“Got it. Not selling.”
“Chris Camden is the business end, the sales guy. He built FanFollow, one of the biggest collegiate travel agencies in the country, while he was at USC. He sold it to PriceMatch a couple of years ago for an undisclosed amount. He understands the benefit of a buyout and the idea of building the next big thing.” A sly smile appeared. “Camden’s done a fantastic job of promoting LazerShark and establishing partnership agreements with a lot of different gaming companies. Celebrity athlete fantasy leagues have taken LazerShark to a whole new level. Their advertising revenue last year was upward of five million.”
Mia jotted a couple of notes on her phone. “I think LazerShark has a lot of potential to expand. These guys have an extremely profitable venture on their hands. They just need our guidance to put their ideas in front of the right people. I’ve worked out a strategy to highlight areas of their model that we need to pitch to new investors, but we need to act fast. The competition will quickly catch up.”
“That’s exactly what I want to hear. I have complete faith in your abilities, which is why you’re in charge of this relationship.”
Sharp pains shot up her calves. Unfortunately, the compliment didn’t eliminate the stinging sensation caused by her five-inch heels.
The car pulled up to the wharf a short while later. Mia winced as she stepped onto the pavement, wishing for a longer recovery. A couple of martinis might relieve the scorching agony induced by her too-tight stilettos.
“I have to make a quick call. I’ll meet you on the boat in a few.” Paul walked away from the car, speaking in hushed tones.
She hurried over the gangway and onto the boat. A smile tugged at her lips. Paul was such a complex guy — ultra-cocky, condescending, shrewd, and always armed with an ulterior motive. There was a hidden agenda for this meeting, but Paul wasn’t the type to share. It was just one more thing she’d recently learned. A loud ringtone interrupted her reverie. “Where the hell are you, Paul?” she muttered, poking a finger into her free ear to mute the din from a nearby cocktail lounge.
“Mia Bradshaw.”
“Hey, Mom! Where are you?”
Mia’s face relaxed into a smile. Chloe had that effect. “Hi, baby. I’m headed to a meeting. How was your day?”
“Great! I just got home from basketball. We had an awesome practice.”
“That’s fantastic. I can’t wait to see your new moves!”
Chloe giggled. “You’re gonna love them.”
“Did you eat dinner yet?” Mia scanned the people milling around the crowded bar, immediately spotting Chris. At 6’4” he was hard to miss. An involuntary gasp escaped her lips. Three young blondes surrounded him, each more stunning than the other. Was it really so surprising? Adonis was a certifiable charmer with more lines than a supermarket before a snowstorm.
“Yes, we just finished. Grandpa and I are going to play cards now. Oh, and guess what? Lizzie invited me over for a playdate. She wants me to meet her dog, Jake. Can we get a dog?”
Tearing her eyes away from Chris was no easy feat. Let him have fun with his harem. Stupid girls. They really should play a little harder to get. “Um, no, Chloe. It’s too much for me right now. Dogs are a lot of work, sweetie.”
“I know. I was just hoping…”
A dog. That’s all she’d ever asked for — a furry friend to play with, to cuddle with, and to love. It was bad enough she was growing up without a dad. Lamenting about being the overworked parent who didn’t have time to take care of another living thing suddenly seemed selfish. But who was she kidding? A dog would propel her straight toward the brink of insanity. The shedding, barking, and bathing...argh! No way, not in this lifetime.
“I’m sorry, love. I just can’t handle a dog right now.” Chloe’s defeated sigh made her cringe. “But maybe there’s something else you’d like just as much. Think about it, and we’ll talk in the morning.”
“Thanks, Mom!”
A quick look at her watch confirmed the boat was about to set sail. Shit. There was still no sign of Paul. ”I love you so much. Be good for Grandma and Grandpa.”
“I will. Do you want to talk to Grandma?”
Hell, no. She didn’t need to deal with another one of her mother’s famous guilt trips right then. “Um, tell her I’ll call back later. I need to get to my meeting.”
“Okay. Have fun.”
“You too, baby. Sweet dreams.”
Mia tossed the phone into her Chanel bag. The bleached blonde brigade was still hanging on Chris’s every word, completely enamored and vying for his attention.
Much as she wanted to admire the view from her vantage point, an empty barstool shouted her name. Perfect timing. Now for the vodka...
It was still a bit early, and under no circumstances did she want to crash Chris’s party. Any impure thoughts needed to be fully eradicated. Tonight was the official beginning of their working relationship, and no matter what kind of fantasies she may have harbored, it all ended here. Mia Bradshaw always played it safe. It was easier to control situations if they weren’t fraught with risk.
The bartender caught her eye and walked over with an appraising glance. “What can I get for you?”
“The lady looks like she’s had a rough day. Maybe a martini?”
Mia’s head snapped in the direction of the intruding voice, but not before she noticed the bartender’s crestfallen look. She returned the smile of her newest business partner, feeling her skin tingle deliciously under his gaze. “A martini was exactly what I had in mind.”
“I could tell you needed something stronger than a Gatorade. Did that boss of yours rake you over the coals today?”
“No, but speaking of coals, my feet are burning as if I’ve been running over them for hours.” She pointed to her feet. “These shoes aren’t exactly made for walking.”
“So that’s why you practically steamrolled everyone in your path to grab this barstool.”
“Basically. I’m not really a fan of this type of self-torture, but it’s a necessary evil in my line of work.”
“Other types of torture are preferable?” Chris raised his glass with a playful wink.
Mia clinked her glass with his. Oh, sweet Jesus, she was as bad as those dippy blondes. His suggestive gaze stirred every last nerve ending. “Of course, the more painful the better. By the way, how’s your nose?”
“Good as new. It wasn’t one of my finer moments.” He held up a Victoria’s Secret bag. “Here’s your new sweatshirt.”
“Thanks, but you really didn’t have to—”
“Yes, I did. It’s the least I could do. I hope you like it.”
Mia nodded toward the girls at the end of the bar. “I think your fan club is disappointed you ended the party so early. If looks could kill, I’d be six feet under by now, in a very wet grave.”
“Oh, those are our new intern candidates. We were just having an informal interview before you barreled into the bar. They probably think you’re the competition.”
“Do you share cocktails with all your prospective employees? Or just the pretty ones?”
“I’m not sure I like that implication. It makes me sound seedy.”
Another gulp of the martini left her feeling bolder, and the clear liquid burned a determined path to her stomach. She never could control her tongue when vodka was involved, but he didn’t look too bothered. Amused? Definitely. Offended? Hardly. Maybe that was because her observation was completely on target. “No need to get defensive. It was an honest question. If we’re going to work together, I need to get a feel for how you operate.”
The corners of his mouth curled into a mischievous smile. “And vice versa.”
All control was lost. The fluttering sensation in the pit of her belly erupted again, and she hadn’t even drained the glass. Something about Chris broke through her well-constructed barriers. Seductive charm oozed from his pores. Any more alcohol and she just might evaporate under his hazel-eyed stare.
