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Opening the Door
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Opening the Door
A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance
AMY SANDERLIN
Copyright © 2018
In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.
Description
Liza Sanderson is in her thirties, successful and independent. Her position as a state Senator’s aide has earned her power and respect. Elections are coming up and she’d do anything she could to get the Senator re-elected. Everything is going great for her until the day, a mysterious guy in a leather jacket and tight jeans walks into the office.
Even though her first impression of him is that of a sexist and an arrogant person, she is still drawn to him. There is a dangerous energy about him. She wants to dislike him but at the same time, she wants him to ravage her body. Things get complicated when she learns that this man is very close to the Senator. She has to keep her head in the game. This is not the time for romance or anything else. The more she tries to stay away from this bad boy, the more she ends up coming into close contact with him.
Table of Content
Copyright © 2018
Description
Opening the Door
About The Author
Second Chance
The Investor
A Night with the Wolves
Second Chance Book Blurb
Opening the Door
The phone had rung for the longest time before she let out a sigh, got up and walked to the front reception area.
“Where the hell was Candace?” she thought to herself as she looked around and finally picked up the phone.
It was a stretch not to sound aggravated as she talked. Hearing the door open, she hoped against all hope that it was Candace. She really didn’t get a good look at the person. Rather, she just held up one finger to signal whoever it was that she’d be right with him or her. When Liza finally looked up, she saw a large man dressed in leather holding a motorcycle helmet. He ran a hand quickly through his dark wavy hair.
“Oh you must be here for the packages,” she said to him. “I don’t know where the receptionist ran off to but I’m sure they are here somewhere.”
Turning her back to look around, she heard him clear his throat. In a deep, smooth voice he said, “Sorry, I’ve not heard of any packages but I do see something I wouldn’t mind taking home.”
Liza was about to tell this guy off and kick him out of the office when the Senator came through the door.
“Good morning,” he said before stopping and looking at the man for a moment then embracing him in what she liked to call a ‘man hug’ --- one arm around each other and a quick slap on the back.
“Anthony, it’s so good to see you. I didn’t expect you until Monday.”
“I was out for a ride, so I thought that I would come on in and check the place out,” Anthony replied.
“You should have come later; I could have taken you to lunch,” Senator Washington said as Liza cleared her throat.
“I’m sorry to interrupt this....um... Well, this… Candace seems to be missing in action…”
“Liza, this is Anthony, my godson,” the Senator said ignoring her inquiry about the missing office assistant.
“Nice to meet you,” Anthony said with a smirk on his face.
As he stretched out his hand, his leather jacket moved a bit, revealing a black T-shirt that was stretched tight over a well-defined chest and some rock hard abs. Liza shook her head to regain focus. She took his hand and gave it a firm handshake.
“Nice to meet you too.”
“Anthony, come on down to my office and let’s chat a bit. Would you like a cup of coffee?” the Senator asked.
“Sure, that would be great,” Anthony replied.
“Liza get Candace to bring us some coffee,“ the Senator instructed.
“Senator, Candace isn’t here at the moment and I’m not sure where she is.”
“Oh well, you can bring in the coffee, right?”
What was she going to say? She couldn’t tell him how she really felt about fetching coffee for him and his ‘godson’. Instead, she just said, “Yes Sir,” and went into the kitchen.
Flipping on the light, she said several unladylike words under her breath about Candace. The coffee was brewing as Liza looked for the cups and serving platter. The hunt for things had begun. The cups were easy to find, however, finding the platter was a little more difficult. The rest of the items were all hidden in a cabinet under the sink, the least likely place you would keep sugar and creamer. Liza shook her head and filled the two cups with coffee and made sure that the tray was balanced.
She could hear laughter from the office as she made her way to the Senator’s door. Turning the knob, she gave the door a little push with her hip. Taking a step in, the smoke hit her in the face. She put a cup down in front of each man. As Anthony reached for the cup, she noticed part of a tattoo on his left arm though she couldn’t make out what it was. She reckoned a guy like Anthony would have something like that. She thought to herself that he probably got it in prison, looking from the Senator to Anthony and back again as they both puffed on cigars. Her brows were knit together as she placed the tray on the corner of the desk.
“Senator, you know that there is no smoking in the building.”
The Senator let out a laugh and said, “Oh it will be alright. Who can blame me for lighting up a good Cuban cigar?”
She gave Anthony the ‘Are you for real?’ look. He just grinned then puffed on the cigar, blowing smoke in her direction. A sigh came from her and she turned to leave. This guy better not be sticking around for long. The Senator was up for a re-election and someone like Anthony could really hurt his chances.
Walking back to her own office, she could see Candace coming through the front door. Her skirt was too short and her shirt was too low cut. She wore dark sunglasses and almost stumbled as she moved around the desk to take a seat in the chair. Liza watched the woman put her purse up and then turn on her computer. Liza glanced down at her phone, only an hour and thirty minutes late.
“Glad of you to make it into work, Candace,” her tone was harsh.
“Shhh, you’re speaking too loud,” she said as she popped some kind of pill in her mouth.
“Are you hung over?”
“Maybe. What if I am? What are you doing to do about it? You can’t fire me. The Senator won’t let you.”
The woman was right. There was no way the Senator was going to let his favorite eye candy go. Liza didn’t think that they were sleeping together but she showed him enough cleavage and leg to keep him overlooking all the things she did wrong. She was the one that was left cleaning up Candace’s messes. It was really starting to get old.
Liza turned to go to the kitchen, which was right next to the reception area. She needed coffee badly. Actually, it wouldn’t be bad if she could sneak some alcohol into her cup. This seemed to be one of those days. As she started to pour, she saw the Senator walking Anthony to the door. The feeling that someone was watching her overcame her but she refused to turn around.
“Nice to meet you, Liza. I must say the back looks just as good as the front,” said Anthony.
Liza turned to face him. Her eyes bore into him, and her hands balled into fists. How dare he talk to her like that? The words just wouldn’t come to her as she stared him down. His face had on it this satisfied smirk. He knew he got to her and he was loving it. Finally, Liza managed to say, “Nice to meet you too,” in a cold tone. He turned to leave and she hoped that she would never come into contact with hi
m again.
Liza grabbed her cup of coffee and walked out. She looked back even though she didn’t want to. Anthony was sitting on the edge of Candace’s desk.
“So Candy, you look way too good to be just an office assistant,” he flirted.
What an arrogant asshole!’ Liza thought even though she couldn’t seem to take her eyes off him. There was something about this guy in his tight jeans and leather jacket. There was a mischievousness to his eyes and the mustache and goatee seemed to make him look devilish. This was not the type of guys she was usually attracted to. She liked guys in suits with shorter hair and an at least one college degree to their name, not some tattooed biker.
Candace continued to flirt with him leaning on her desk so he could get a better look at her assets, the same ones she was more than likely hired for. Liza was about to go when Anthony caught her looking at him. He gave her a wink before she turned away and walked down the hall and into her office, shutting the door behind her.
The rest of the day, she was fuming. How dare a man treat her like that? If he thought that he could act that way towards her just because he was in with the Senator, then he was sadly mistaken. She was an independent, bright, modern woman. She was respected by many of her colleagues. Her position as Senator’s aide was an important one and she had fought to get it. Sure he could have picked a number of others over her but the Senator didn’t. He had chosen her and she had done well so far.
It was quitting time on a Friday. Normally, Liza would just go home. However, she desperately needed a drink that particular Friday. There was a little bar that wasn’t far from the office, which was kind of cozy but busy enough where she could disappear and be left alone. She decided to walk a couple of blocks to get to it. One or two glasses of wine would take the edge off the day without getting her intoxicated to the level of having to call a cab.
The bar had a bit more of a crowd due to it being the start of the weekend. Liza looked at all the people in business attire sipping on various concoctions and laughing about everything that had happened during the week. There was actually a vacant stool at the bar and she made her way over to it. The bartender placed one of those small drink napkins in front of her and asked her what she would like. She ordered a Riesling because she liked her wine on the sweet side.
All sorts of thoughts were running through her head, drowning out the music and talking in the bar. First, it was all about the stuff she had to do for the Senator now that his campaign was kicking into high gear, then she started thinking about the day and how much Anthony had infuriated her. He was arrogant and thought he was God’s gift to women. Just the kind of guy that really got on her nerves. She didn’t even want to think about Candace and her behavior towards him. She had that look as if she wanted to throw him down on her desk and taken him right there and then.
Liza’s mind drifted and an image of what Anthony might have looked like without his clothing entered it. She then started to imagine taking her hands and running them over his hard muscular chest and then running down to just above...
“You look like you’re really concentrating on something,” a familiar voice said.
Liza turned and her eyes looked into the deep blue pools that belonged to Anthony. She tried to get herself together by taking a swig of wine before asking him what he was doing there.
“Checking out the places in the neighborhood.”
Liza raised an eyebrow, “I didn’t think you’d be in a bar like this one. So you are looking for a place to live around here?”
She wanted to follow that with, “I didn’t think you could afford anything in this neighborhood,” but thought it was best if she didn’t.
“Actually I have a job nearby and was looking around. I came across this bar, so I dropped in and to my amazement, look who I see sitting here.”
“Oh lucky you,” Liza said as she reached into her purse and pulled out a cigarette. Before she could get her lighter there was a flame ready and waiting. She leaned in to get a light. “Thanks,” she said, trying not to sound overly friendly.
The top of the Zippo lighter flipped back down and Anthony put it in his pocket. She looked at his hands; there wasn’t a scratch on them. They looked not at all what she would have expected. Should they be more rugged, dry, cracked and full of calluses instead of being soft and smooth?
“Is wine your drink of choice?”
“You can say that,” she said
“Try this,” he said as he slid over a shot glass to her.
“I don’t take drinks from strangers.”
He threw his head back and laughed, “Alright then.” He signaled the bartender and pointed to the shot glass. “You don’t want to risk me having slipped pointed something in there, do you?”
The bartender came back and placed it on the bar in front of them. “There you go a fresh drink.”
Liza found herself actually rolling her eyes. Looking down at the clear liquid in the small glass, she asked, “What is this?”
“Only the best tequila around, Patron Silver.”
“Oh no, I’m not doing a shot of tequila. I had that stuff once in college and it was just nasty-tasting.”
“That’s because you had some cheap shit that college guys can afford in order to get the girls at a party drunk, in order to get laid. Patron is good. It’s smooth, and it slides down your throat. Kind of like other things do.”
She ignored his comment and went back to drinking her wine. He kept looking over at her as if he was waiting for her to change her mind. “Alright. It’s special but that doesn’t entice me to want to drink it.”
“How about this, you do one shot with me and I’ll leave you alone for the rest of the night? Deal?”
“Deal,” she said. Anything to get rid of this guy, she thought to herself.
“Are you ready?” he asked in almost a seductive tone.
They both licked the salt off their hands before slamming back the tequila. Liza grabbed her piece of lime and sucked on it, while Anthony had to make a comment about her tongue. She hated to admit that he was right. The tequila was definitely better than the stuff she had taken in college. The first and only shot she had up until now burned down her throat and her body shuddered as it made its way to her stomach. This was different. It slid down, slow and easy. He was right; it was definitely smooth. She looked at him standing there, smiling.
“Was I wrong?” He asked with a smug look on his face.
“I can’t lie. That was pretty good.”
“Do you want another?” He asked her and before she could answer, he signaled the bartender and held up two fingers.
Two more shots were placed in front of them. They took them and both tipped their glasses back at the same time. Liza was starting to feel warm and pushed up the sleeves of her blouse. She was also starting to relax and forget about all the stress of the day. Another round of shots appeared in front of them.
Liza held her glass in her hand, “So what job do you have around here?” she asked him, trying to keep from sounding tipsy.
She had just done her shot when he told her that he would be working for his godfather, the Senator. The tequila almost shot out of her mouth, but she managed to keep swallowing it down before she started coughing.
“Are you alright?” He asked her, seeming really concerned.
“I’m fine,” she said in a raspy voice.
He handed her a glass of water, his hand brushing against hers for a moment. She started to think of what that hand might feel like caressing other parts of her body. This was the tequila, she normally wasn’t like this.
“What will you be doing for the Senator?” she asked, looking into his eyes, her body swaying just a bit.
“A little protection duty.”
“That’s a fitting job for a guy like you.”
He didn’t say anything but just gave her a killer smile. How had she not seen it before? Her eyes wandered over his body. His muscles were straining against the tight T-shirt and s
he wondered what his tattoo on his left arm looked like. That made her brain start to wonder if he had other tattoos in other places like his chest or maybe on his thigh.
I’ll be right back, excuse me,” she said as she got up. That’s when it hit her. Her knees became wobbly and she stumbled a bit getting off the barstool and fell into him. Their lips were almost touching as they gazed into each other’s eyes. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled.
Standing up straight she smoothed out her skirt and headed to the ladies room. Liza grabbed on to the back of a chair as she felt like she was going to fall. The man in it turned and looked at her and she just smiled at him. Taking a few more steps before needing to grab on to another chair. She moved towards the restroom, grabbing on to several more chairs, each time saying excuse me to the occupants in them.
She just needed to splash some cold water on her face, maybe order some coffee and get sobered up to head home. She managed to make it out of the ladies room only stumbling a few times. It took her a bit but finally, she made it back to Anthony, grabbing on to his arm for balance before trying to sit down again.
“You aren’t looking so good,” he said to her.
“What a way to compliment a woman,” she said, giggling.
“I think we need to get you home.”
“I’m good. I’ll just call a cab.”
“I don’t know if I trust you taking a cab in your state. I’ll call one then ride with you to make sure you get to your place safe.”
“Whatever you say, Prince Charming.” Her words came out slurred as he took out his cell phone.
The bartender handed him a card for a local cab company. He made the call and was told that it would be about a 20-minute wait. He helped Liza to her feet and they moved to an empty table near a window so he could see the cab when it got there.
It came sooner than expected and Anthony was grateful for that. He held on to Liza as they walked out the door. He opened the back door and poured her into the seat. When they were settled in, the cab driver asked them where they were going.