Pretty Boy (Perfect Boys #1) - K.M. Neuhold Page 0,7
the meeting with Wilson Laboratories?”
“No, everything went great at the meeting. I’ll email you the figures, and you can draw up the investment paperwork to send their way.” The two of us grew up together, went to the same boarding schools, summered in the same ritzy places, and came to the same conclusion that the entire thing was bullshit. Which is why after I got my degree in business and Kiernan finished his degree at Harvard Law, we decided to open an investment firm together focused largely on philanthropic endeavors as well as small businesses that aimed to improve quality of life for people. Between the two of us, and Alden, our stock market expert who makes sure our funds stay well in the black, we’ve managed to build a solid force for good in the world.
“Great. So, what caught you up?”
I kick off my shoes and get comfortable on the bed, trying to decide how much to tell him. Unfortunately, he knows me well enough that my silence speaks for itself.
“Who is he?” he asks, his voice dripping with amusement. “Let me guess, some pretty little twink who batted his eyes at you and pressed all your Daddy buttons? He didn’t pickpocket you while you swooned over him like that boy in New York, did he?”
“It’s a little more complicated than that.” Although, granted not by much. I can’t imagine Sterling batting his eyelashes and pulling the whole help me, Daddy bit that most boys do as soon as they catch sight of my black card. No, Sterling is guileless, which makes him all the more intriguing.
“It’s sex; how complicated can it be?” he asks, and I chuckle.
“I haven’t fucked him.” Not that I didn’t spend my time in Dallas fantasizing about getting back here and bending Sterling over the bar. But after today, I have a new goal: getting him the hell out of Billow.
Kiernan is quiet for a few seconds on the other end of the line. “Be careful, okay?”
“He’s a tiny little thing, couldn’t hurt me if he tried.” I absently smooth the wrinkles on the comforter.
“You know what I’m talking about.” His voice is stern, and I almost laugh again at his attempt to use his Daddy voice on me.
“I’ll be fine,” I assure him. “And, hopefully, I’ll be home within a week.” If I can convince Sterling to come with me.
“All right, well, have fun and let me know when you’re back in the city.”
“Will do. Talk to you later, man.”
We hang up, and I decide a shower is in order. Stripping out of my clothes, I head for the bathroom, trying my best not to wonder how often this place gets a thorough cleaning, because I’m certain I wouldn’t like the answer. Instead, I focus on Sterling. More specifically, how I can prove to him that I’m not trying to give him charity. It’s an interesting problem, because all of my instincts are screaming at me to shower him with fancy dinners and whatever else his heart might desire. Hell, I’m not even sure he’s interested in men. I need to get to know him before I get myself all twisted up trying to woo him.
But, how am I supposed to get to know him when he so stubbornly seems to want nothing to do with me? The bar he works at is probably a good place to start. He can’t run away while he’s working a shift, which means I’m about to become a new regular.
I grin, stepping under the hot shower spray, pleased with my plan of action. I’m going to find out as much as I can about the sweet, insecure boy who refuses to take anything from me, and then I’m going to find a way to give him the things he deserves, even if it turns out he’s not interested in me.
I think back to the heat in his eyes when I told him to be a good boy, and my whole body buzzes at the memory. I’d bet my vast fortune that he’s not only interested, but that some part of him is dying to be a good boy for the right Daddy; he just doesn’t know it yet.
Chapter 3
Sterling
I’m ashamed to say that I think about Barrett while I make myself a sandwich and get ready for work. I think about the dangerous look in his eyes when he grabbed Bryson by the throat, starkly contrasted by the softness in them when he looked at me.