Only One Touch (Only One #4) - Natasha Madison Page 0,7
He was genuine and down to earth, and then his whole life turned upside down.
“Becca,” Candace says, coming over to me, “I got your bracelet.” She shows me the Cartier one I bought her. “It’s stunning and so thoughtful.”
“It was my pleasure,” I say, and I show her the same one on my wrist next to my gold Rolex. “I saw you looking at it the last time we were together.”
“Yeah, thanks for that,” Ralph says. “Made the bracelet I got her look lame.”
I laugh. “Oh, please.” I walk to Ralph and kiss his cheek and then do the same to Miller and Layla. Miller is another one of my clients. He’s the it boy on the ice, Mr. GQ they call him, and was the most eligible bachelor before Layla got her hooks into him. Now they could parade a whole harem of women in front of him, and he wouldn’t even bat an eyelash. “Where is Manning?” I ask of the third person in their trio.
“His son had a hockey game or something,” Miller says. “I think it was an excuse not to hang around with Murielle.” We all laugh. He’s kept it a huge secret that he’s been trying to get divorced for the past four years, and she refuses to grant him one. She actually took their son and ran away when he served her with papers the first time.
“Anyone care for some champagne?” the server asks us, and I smile, grabbing a glass.
“To Candace,” I say. Holding up my glass, I add, “And to the two guys who do what they're told.”
“Cheers,” everyone says, and I take a sip of the champagne.
“Let’s grab our seats,” Layla says to us, and we walk to sit down at the table.
When I sit next to one of the rookies, who smiles at me, I groan inwardly and think here we go.
Chapter 4
Nico
I park my BMW SUV in an empty parking spot, then get out and walk to the restaurant. I’ve been on the go since five this morning. I spent three hours working out all the frustration I had from yesterday.
The meeting lasted five hours yesterday. We picked it up again today for another four hours, but I think we finally found a way to get the expiring contracts signed without going over my cap. I pull open the door to the restaurant and look around. The restaurant is closed just for us, which is something we always have to do to enjoy our time.
I stop as soon as I walk in, shaking one of the guy's hands. I look around then to see if I can spot Ralph, who is right beside Candace. “Happy Birthday,” I say, handing her the gift Lizzie bought.
“Great,” Ralph says. “You walk in looking all GQ.” I look down at my outfit. After being in a suit last night and knowing that I have to wear one tomorrow, I opted to wear blue jeans with a white button-down shirt and a blue cashmere sweater over it.
“We’re dressed the same,” I say, looking at his outfit.
“Whatever,” he says and then points at the gift. “I already know you spent too much on this.” He shakes his head.
“To be honest,” I say, “Lizzie is the one who bought the gift, and she bought herself one also.”
“Ohh,” Candace says, “maybe it’s diamond earrings.” She tries to look in the bag. “Lizzie always has the best taste in everything.”
“If that contains diamond earrings, you are giving it back,” Ralph says, and I just laugh. “I’m not kidding.”
“Okay, I’m going to leave you two to handle whatever it is you are handling,” I tell them and walk away. The two of them are perfect for each other. When I found out they were together, I wasn’t at all shocked because they really are a perfect couple. Whenever I see them, it makes me wonder if I will ever find that person who completes me. Is true love really a thing? But I don’t really have time for love. I don’t have time to wine and dine someone. Do I date? I mean, generally, I slip my dates between my business meetings. But no woman wants to come second to my job. And my job is always going to be my priority.
I stop to talk to a couple of people before I make my way over to Becca. I can hear chatter all around me, but as I get closer to her table, I hear her voice now.