Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 65939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
* * *
A week later, Kendall asks me to come over a half hour early, and when I do, she’s wearing an orange jumpsuit that puts all her curves on display—and makes my dick instantly hard.
“Is this the prototype?” I ask.
She only recently received the fabrics to play around with, so I didn’t expect her to have something wearable so soon.
“This is more of a mock-up,” she says. “I’ll have the actual prototype done in a couple of weeks.”
“Still,” I say with a smile. “We should celebrate.”
“Sure.” She grins. “But help me get out of this thing.”
As I do, I marvel how she got into it in the first place. Most of the mock-up is held together by enough pins to make a girlfriend for a porcupine.
Once she is out and therefore almost naked, I can’t help but carry her to the bedroom, barbarian style, where we start the celebrations with a couple of orgasms.
Afterward, we head over to the nearest high-end sushi place because Kendall has a craving. Predictably, the place is packed, so I bring out my wallet and sneak the hostess a couple of hundreds.
“I’ll give you the next table,” she says.
“Thanks.”
I lead Kendall outside to wait and ask, “Did you ever have a roommate?”
It’s a roundabout way to test the “move in” waters, but I’ve got to start somewhere.
“Sure, for a minute in college,” she says. “I hated it.”
Fucking hell. How do I pivot this so that—
“Kendall?” says an attractive older woman passing by.
Kendall turns, and her eyes widen. “Catherine. Hi. How are things going?”
Catherine smiles. “If that’s an awkward way to ask if Tierre regrets firing you, the answer is a resounding yes.”
Ah. So this is someone from Kendall’s old job. Given the fashionable way the lady is dressed, it tracks.
“I suspected so,” Kendall says. “But of course, we both know he’d never admit that.”
“Oh, yeah. But hey, in his defense, when the rumors began about you putting together your own line, he claimed he let you go so you could ‘spread your wings.’”
“Rumors?” Kendall asks.
Catherine shrugs. “A bunch of celebs that he knows told him they’re awaiting your VersaWear with bated breath.”
Kendall narrows her eyes at me. “Have you been plugging VersaWear more?”
I nod. “And I’m not sorry. When I believe in something, it’s hard for me not to tell people.”
Catherine turns my way, clearly just registering my presence. “Are you Kendall’s agent?”
Kendall frowns. “You know perfectly well who he is.”
“I do?” Catherine arches a bushy eyebrow. “And who is he?”
“Is this a joke?” Kendall looks at me. “You know her.” She turns to Catherine. “You know him.”
“I’m sorry, fashionista,” I say. “I’ve never met Catherine before.”
“It’s true.” Catherine gives me a thorough once-over. “He’s the kind of man I’d remember.”
“This isn’t funny.” A muscle in Kendall’s jaw ticks. “You told me to see him.”
“I did?” Despite copious Botox standing in the way, Catherine’s forehead crinkles.
“Yes. Three years ago. You said to see him to rid myself of mopiness, remember?”
Catherine shakes her head. “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”
“He was working at Essence,” Kendall says insistently.
Catherine shrugs, looking confused.
“You called him Ash at the time?”
Wait a second. I completely forgot that she came to see Asher the day we first met. So this was the woman who referred her?
Catherine waves a manicured hand toward me. “This man isn’t Ash. I just saw the real Ash the other day, and he couldn’t look like this even if he got all the plastic surgery in the world.”
Kendall turns my way, her eyes wide. “So… you’ve never fucked this woman?”
My mouth goes slack. “What the hell?” We were just talking personal trainers, so how did this escalate so quickly? Unless… “Catherine, do you sleep with your trainer? Ash?”
“Who doesn’t?” Catherine says with a shrug.
I turn to Kendall. “I’m not that Ash. Actually, I never even go by Ash.”
Kendall staggers back, eyes even wider. “I guess… I’ve never heard anyone call you Ash.”
“Because they don’t.” I face Catherine. “Am I correct in thinking the Ash in question is Asher Diggle?”
Catherine takes a step back. “Yes, but I don’t want to get him into trouble.”
I turn to Kendall. “So… when you said you had a friend who told you that I sleep around, was it Catherine?”
Catherine snorts. “Ash doesn’t just sleep around. He fucks everyone. How else do you think a trainer that inept could have such a big roster of repeat clients?”
Something on my face must scare Catherine because she mutters a couple of excuses and rushes away.
I turn my fury to Kendall. “You actually believed such a thing about me? That I slept with every training client?”
Kendall’s face is pale, but she stubbornly says, “That’s what it sounded like.”
“And you believed it until this moment? Even after getting to know me?”
She jams her hands under her armpits. “When I brought it up, you didn’t deny it.”