Fighting For Her Page 4

  I tried to get control of our conversation, “Addison, focus, what building and what floor?”

  “Oh yea, right, sorry. She is in the beer can building, twenty third floor.”

  I thanked Addison and then rushed into downtown Tampa, pulling into the first available meter I could find. Reagan abruptly left dinner with my parents, giving no real explanation at all and I wanted to know why.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  I rushed into the front door of the building and was met at the front desk by the elderly night guard.

  “Good evening young man, how may I help you?” He asked; trying to sound like he could take me out on his own if I was up to no good.

  I approached his large granite desk, setting my hands down on top of it, “I’m here for an appointment with Ms. Reagan Larson, she is on the twenty third floor.”

  He forced his bushy eyebrows together and scanned the computer screen, “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I can’t let you up there without her permission, do you mind if I call?”

  I shook my head, “Not at all.”

  He picked up the phone with his feeble hand and dialed the number while I stood there, able to hear ring through the receiver as it continued to go unanswered. “I’m sorry lad, but it looks like the office is empty. You’ll have to try again tomorrow.”

  I reached into my pocket and pulled out my cell phone, pulling up Reagan’s last text. Sliding it across the granite desk I pointed to the screen, “See this text? She just sent this to me about twenty minutes ago. Can you please try again?”

  The old man pushed my phone back toward me, “Those things don’t mean a hill of beans to me, I suppose I’ll have to go up there and check for myself.” I followed behind the guard as he made his way toward the elevator, pressing the twenty third floor once we stepped in.

  The lobby lights were on, but the rest of the office was dark and the guard gave me a funny look as he jiggled the key into the front door, “You stay right here, you understand?”

  I smiled and nodded my head as he made his way into the office.

  My feet were wearing a hole in the floor next to the elevator bank while I waited for him to let me in, but it was taking forever. I picked up my phone and tried to call Reagan one last time, but the phone went straight to her voicemail. Frustrated I hung up, continuing to pace back and forth until I saw the guard appear from the hallway. He pulled the door opened and motioned for me to enter, “It appears that Ms. Larson will see you now.”

  “Thank you for your help,” I replied as I passed him and made my way down the hallway glancing into each dark room as I looked for Reagan’s office. Finally spotting her I stepped into her office, looking for an explanation of why she’d run out on dinner with me and my parents.

  An hour later she had explained why she left my parents, given me a lesson in contracts, agreed to be my girlfriend and almost worked me up to the point of no return. As I pulled out of her driveway I made my way back to The Bellevue and into bed with just enough energy left to doze off into a deep sleep, where I dreamed all night about what would have happened in her office had I been smart enough to have a condom in my wallet.

  ****

  Work was dragging on that week and I’d only seen Reagan once since she was so busy with her hearing. We’d emailed back and forth and when she told me that there was a possibility she would be able to sneak away for lunch this afternoon I jumped at the opportunity to spend more time with her. I demanded that she meet me at Malio’s, on the bottom floor of her building, for a quick lunch date.

  I yelled out to Heather from my office, “Heather, can you make reservations for Malio’s today at 12:30?” There was no response, but the sound of her high heels clomping against the marble floors alerted me that she was heading my way.

  Heather walked into my office with her iPad in hand, “Absolutely, I’d love to make reservations, how many?” she asked.

  “Two, myself and Ms. Larson.”

  Instantly I noticed Heather’s mood shift as her brow lifted, “Reagan Larson, from the other day?”

  I nodded at her, “That’s the one.”

  A deep inhale filled her lungs and Heather tapped loudly onto the screen of her iPad with the tip of her finger, “Sure, I’ll be sure you get the best seat in the house, 12:30 it is.” Turning she began to stomp out of my office before I stopped her.

  “I’m sorry, is there a problem?” I asked, irritated with her sudden attitude.

  A fake smile took over her face and she perked up, bringing her iPad down to her side, “I’m sorry about that Mr. Conrad, no problem at all. But may I remind you of your conference call at 1:30 this afternoon, please be sure to make it a quick lunch as we wouldn’t want to keep a potential development partner waiting.” She spun around before making her way back to her desk.

  What has gotten into her lately? I thought as I shot a quick response back to Reagan, via email.

  We’ve got reservations for 12:30pm. See you there. –CC

  As I approached the hostess at Malio’s she greeted me, “Mr. Conrad, it’s a pleasure seeing you this afternoon. Your table will be ready in just a moment.” I thanked her and stood right outside the entryway, just in time to see the elevator doors open. Reagan stepped out of the elevator and greeted me with a smile that nearly brought me to my knees.

  I pulled her tiny body against mine and placed a hard kiss on her lips. When I released her from my tight grip she smiled up at me.

  “I’ve certainly missed you too.” She whispered as I lead her into the restaurant.

  Our meal was fantastic and I knew Reagan would have to head back upstairs shortly so I tried my best to keep her around for dessert. “I hear there is a new dessert item and I really think you’d love a piece.”

  Reagan’s eyebrow lifted, “Oh yea, what is it?” She asked innocently.

  I couldn’t help but smirk as I leaned in closer to her and whispered, “It’s called Colton Cake, it comes with its own special layer of icing on top.”

  Reagan let a belly laugh escape her lips that filled the room, drawing all of the attention onto the two of us, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” She said, trying to catch her breath.

  I leaned back and crossed my arms over my chest, pretending to be hurt by her reaction, “I take it you won’t be trying it today?”

  She laughed again and shook her head, “I don’t think so, but it does sound delicious. Once this hearing is over I’d love to try a piece.”

  She rose from her chair and reached for my hand, “Let’s go before someone else orders off the dessert menu and you get tied up.”

  I stood and followed her out of the restaurant, whispering in her ear as we made our way toward the door, “The only tying up that’s going to happen is in my bedroom, with you.”

  Reagan pressed the elevator call button and waited for a set of doors to open.

  Not caring that people were filtering in and out of the restaurant I placed my hands on her hips and pushed her up against the wall. Leaning in to her I nipped at her lower lip before sucking it into my mouth.

  Her hands grasped at the sides of my arms and her nails dug into me, pulling me closer against her body as I devoured her mouth for everyone to see.

  After a brief moment of electrifying pleasure I pulled away to see her eyes full of passion and cheeks flushed crimson. I lifted my arm to the open elevator to keep the doors from closing while Reagan stepped in; a seductive grin widening over her face, “I should’ve ordered dessert.” She whispered, winking in my direction as the door closed, leaving me alone and more than ready to please her in every way possible.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  I was rendered utterly useless after the kiss between Reagan and I, so I decided against going back to the office, instead I made my way toward one of my favorite pubs. I needed to talk to someone and Case was still honeymooning in Fiji with Addison, so I called my cousin Cade instead. He wasn’t Case, but he’d give better advice than his other brother Connor, who was an even b
igger bachelor than I was, or used to be.

  The bar was empty as the lunch crowd had filtered out by the time I got there. Taking a seat in one of the corner booth’s I flagged down a waitress, “How can I help ya’ handsome?” An enormous smile flashed across her face as she flipped her long blonde hair.

  “I’ll take a Yuengling, please.” I ordered.

  Then she leaned down and rested one hand on the table and the other on the back of the booth giving me full view down her shirt at her hot pink lace bra, “You sure that’s all you’ll be needing?”

  Before I could answer a deep laugh echoed not far from behind her, “Make that two and this one’s already spoken for honey.”

  She stood and turned around, coming face to face with my little cousin, “Well, what about you?” She begged, sliding her hand down his arm.

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card handing it over to her, “I’m up for a test drive, give me a call later on.”

  The waitress lit up like the Fourth of July and seductively strolled away, twisting her hips every which way possible as she took off in the direction of the bar to get our drinks.

  Cade plopped down into the booth while I shook my head at his response, “I called you for advice and the first thing you do is plan to screw the waitress, I can tell this is pointless.”

  He laughed again while winking at the blonde as she set our beers down, the entire time pushing her breasts together and in the direction of Cade’s face.

  My cousin finally brought his attention back to the table and took a drag of his beer before setting it down with a loud thud, “Alright, why are we here, some girl got your dick falling limp for everyone except her?”

  I reached for my beer bottle and lifted it up to toast, “I couldn’t have said it better myself. I don’t know what’s different about this one, but I’ll be damned if I can’t think of anything but her. I asked her to be my girlfriend, on a piece of paper, like a fucking teenager, and she said yes. I can’t even remember a time in my life when I wanted to have a girlfriend and all of the sudden out of nowhere I find myself wanting to stake my claim on this woman, so no other man can have her. I want her ruined for every other guy out there. I want her so caught up in me that she never even thinks twice about any other man. I sound like a goddamn psycho.”

  Cade had a shit eating grin on his face, “Well I better round up the boys and get our tuxedos ready because it sounds like you are going to be making your way down the aisle faster than Case did.”

  Nearly choking on my beer I pounded on my chest to begin breathing again, “Shit, I don’t know about that, I know I like her but wedding bells are a bit far off.”

  Cade chuckled and finally changed the subject, “There’s a party this weekend down at the beach, I know you’ve got your girlfriend issues, but it can’t hurt for you to get away and take your mind off things. You should come with us, there are going to be a ton of women willing to be entered by a Conrad man.”

  I couldn’t help but continue to laugh at my cousin before I stood from the booth, “I’m sure you’ll be more than willing to handle them all, I think I’ll pass.” I tossed a twenty dollar bill down onto the table and slapped Cade’s shoulder, “Have fun with your harem.”

  I turned to exit and heard him yell out to me, “Oh you know I will.”

  ****

  Friday night rolled around and I did my best to convince Reagan that she needed a break from her hearing preparations. She answered on the fourth ring, “Hello handsome. How was your day?”

  “It’ll be better once you’re in it, can I pick you up for dinner?” I was secretly praying that she didn’t turn me down, again.

  She breathed a heavy sigh through the phone, “I’m so sorry, but I just can’t. This is my last weekend before the hearing and I've got to get everything in order. Besides, one of the associates just ordered pizza, so I’ve got a healthy meal covered for this evening.” A light giggle sounded through the phone causing my desire for her to heighten.

  I did my best to suppress my disappointment, knowing how dedicated to her job she was, “Alright, I’ll let you get back to work. Call me when you are headed home.”

  “It’s going to be late, I’m sure. I don’t want to wake you.”

  “Don’t worry about that, just call.” I demanded.

  More laughter escaped her, “Yes sir. Now leave me alone.”

  I tried my best to distract myself by going down to the hotel bar. It was full of attractive single women, as it was every Friday and Saturday night.

  “Mr. Conrad, will you be having the usual?” Thomas, the head bartender asked in his thick Spanish accent.

  I nodded as I took a seat and awaited my drink, “Yes, please.”

  I took a sip of my beer and assessed the room before looking back to him, “How’s it going tonight, it looks busy, do you have enough help?”

  “Yes sir. We are doing just fine. What about you, you don’t look so good?”

  I couldn’t help but laugh, I knew this woman was turning my life upside down but I didn’t think it was obvious to others, “Women, you know how that goes.”

  “Oh do I ever, my Maria has been busting my balls for the past thirty years. Is it multiple women or just one in particular?”

  “Just one.” I watched as his eyebrow rose as if appalled that I was only referring to one person. If anyone knew how many women I’d been through it was certainly the staff at my hotel. They were there every day and night and saw how much use I made of the spare rooms.

  “That’s all it takes.” He said, a slight grin on his face.

  “Tell me about it. She’s all I can think about. What’s happening to me?” I asked the question, but wasn’t really looking for an answer, but of course, I got one anyway.

  “Maybe you’re in love.” He blurted out and I was suddenly hit with the fact that he was the second person in one week to bring that up.

  “It’s too soon...I can’t be. I barely know her.”

  Thomas interrupted me by thrusting three fingers toward me, “Three days, that’s all it took for me to realize that I was in love with my Maria. She knew the very first day, but you know how men are” Thomas reached up and knocked on his head as if signifying it was empty, “we take longer to figure things out. How does she make you feel?”

  I sat there, truly thinking about his question before I answered, “She’s different from anyone I’ve ever met. She’s smart, strong, stubborn and sexy, so damn sexy but there is just something else about her, something that makes me want to be with her every second of everyday. She’s been dealing with this hearing and I haven’t been able to see her and its killing me.”

  Thomas stopped me again, “Say no more, Señor, I can tell by the look on your face that this woman is the one. Don’t you be crazy and let her get away, you go to her and confess your love. Tell her that you want to spend the rest of your life with her and have lots of babies.”

  I burst into laughter, I knew he was a wise man, but he may have just jumped off the edge of a cliff with that one. I finished my beer and tossed it in the can behind the bar, “Thank you for the pep talk, Thomas. Don’t work too hard tonight.”

  I collapsed into bed and couldn’t help but think of what Thomas had said downstairs, I knew Reagan was different from all of the other women I’d been with, but was I really in love with her. How could you love someone you’ve only known for such a short period of time, the idea just seemed crazy? I did my best to push the thought out of my mind, but it wouldn't stop bouncing around in my head as I laid there watching the clock count from minute to minute awaiting her phone call. Finally at two in the morning my phone began to ring and I jumped out of bed, crossing the room to take it off of the charger.

  When I saw her name flashing on the screen I felt my heart clench, “Hello.” I answered.

  “Hey, did I wake you?” She asked quietly.

  “No, I’m still up. Are you on your way home?” I hoped that she wasn’t that way I
could invite her over.

  “I just walked in, I just wanted to call you and say goodnight before I get ready for bed.”

  I let out a groan, “I was hoping you’d be able to stop by on your way home, but seeing that you are already home I don’t think you’ll be venturing back out?” I turned my statement into a question in the hopes that she’d change her mind.

  “Not tonight, I’m exhausted. I promise once this hearing is over I’m all yours.”

  “Sounds good. I’m glad you made it home safely; get some rest and call me tomorrow when you can.” I did my best not to let the disappointment in my voice slip through the phone.

  “Will do. Goodnight, Cole.”

  “Goodnight, Reagan.”

  We both hung up and all I could do was lie there, lie there and imagine what it would be like to have her right beside me.

  CHAPTER NINE

  It had almost been a week and my anticipation was getting the best of me. Reagan’s hearing was today and all I could imagine was locking her up and keeping her all to myself this weekend. I had twenty four hours left to go and she would be all mine. I decided against calling her and shot her a quick good luck email instead.

  Best of luck today, you are going to knock it out of the park. Tomorrow you are all mine for the entire weekend. Pack your bags, I’m picking you up from work at four, don’t make me wait a second longer, unless you want me to die from deprivation. –CC

  The minute I hit send I shook my head, “You’ve officially turned into a pussy.” I said out loud to myself, thankful I was the only one in the office. I’d come in early to get everything taken care of before my weekend with Reagan. I knew she’d want to be back to work on Monday, but my hopes were to convince her that we needed a few extra days at the beach to ourselves.