Seven (B)

Present Day

Hayden

“I could’ve sworn that I told you we had a deposition prep session today.” Lawrence glared at me the moment I stepped inside my condo.

“Breaking and entering is a crime, Lawrence.”

“I had to sit there and make small talk with two of the biggest assholes in this city for an entire hour. Not only that, but they blinded-sided me with tons of things that are going to hit the papers tomorrow. We couldn’t get in front of that if we tried, but I’ve called some staff to work the next seventy-two hours straight, so we can clean up as much as we can.”

I sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“What?” He looked surprised that I’d uttered those words. “Okay, well uh, speaking of ‘sorry’ how many apology letters have you finished?”

“One.”

“To who?”

“You.” I picked it up from my coffee table and handed it to him, but he didn’t make a move to read it.

Instead, he tucked it into his pocket. “The best apology is changed behavior, Hayden. That’s all I’ll ever want from you. Plus my paycheck and yearly bonus, of course.”

“Of course.”

“What were you doing instead?”

Realizing how fucking sexy Penelope is. “I stopped by Pier sixty-two to clear my mind.”

“In that case, your apology letter is officially worthless.”

“It’s true.” I smiled. “I needed to make sure I enjoyed my last day of freedom before I get into what looks like a never-ending apology tour.”

He didn’t look like he believed me in the slightest. He pulled out his phone and tapped the screen, then he hit the speaker button as rings filled the room.

“This is Sarah, how can I—” She paused. “Oh, it’s you, Lawrence. What do you need?”

“Can you tell me where Mr. Hunter spent his afternoon?”

“He was clearing his mind.”

“Don’t make me ask you again.”

“He was at a yacht party.” She betrayed me in seconds. “It was for Penelope and some guy she’s dating, but he made me promise not to say anything or bring up any meetings because he didn’t want to deal with that and was more worried about Penelope messing things up.” She finally took a breath. “You’re not going to tell him I told you this, are you?”

“I would never.” He ended the call and narrowed his eyes at me. “I want fifty letters in my inbox by the end of this weekend, and I want thirty Monday morning, and every morning after that. We can’t have an entire team working to repair your image if you’re only halfway in. Are we clear, son?”

“Crystal.”

“Good.” He headed toward the door, but then he looked over his shoulder. “Did Penelope mess things up?”

“Not at all.”

He left my condo, and I walked into the kitchen. I needed a stiff drink.

I hadn’t meant to show up to the yacht party at all, but I’d remembered a time in the past when she avoided the guy she wanted all night by overthinking too much in the bathroom. When she didn’t respond to any of my text messages about making her move, I felt like I had no choice but to show up.

And I fucking regretted it.

The moment I saw her in that red dress, I envisioned her legs wrapped around my waist. My hands grabbing fistfuls of her chestnut colored hair as she took me deeper and deeper.

It wasn’t until I silently chided myself with, “Stop. She’s your best friend and Travis’s little sister,” that I snapped back into reality.

Curious, I pulled out my phone to see if she’d texted me back about enjoying the party.

Still nothing.

My “Are you having fun yet?” and “Do you need a ride home?” messages weren’t even read yet.

Just as I was about to call her, there was a loud knock on my door.

Confused as to why security didn’t call me with an alert first, I walked over and stared through the peephole. Penelope was in some guy’s arms looking like a dead fish. Her tell-tale drunk face.

What the hell?

I opened it and the suit came better into view.

The Simon guy from the party.

“Um, hey,” he said. “Mind if I uh, put her down in your place? She said—”

“I told him to bring me here.” Penelope smiled. “There was too much traffic and Tati isn’t answering her phone.”

I held the door open. “White sofa by the window.”

He carried her over and gently laid her down. Then he turned around and extended his hand to me.

“Simon Gaines.”

“Hayden Hunter.”

“I’m a big fan of yours,” he said. “I truly admire your hustle.”

“Noted.” I nodded. I wasn’t used to being friendly—let alone meeting any guy of Penelope’s this early in the game; I didn’t want to encourage him to stay in my place too long either.

“Why do you keep your condo so cold?” Penelope groaned. “Can you bring me a blanket?”

I ignored her question like she ignored my instructions.

“How much did she drink tonight?” I asked Simon.

“We shared three bottles of champagne.”

Of course. “For future reference, stick to wine. She can’t handle champagne.”

“I’ll remember that.”

She let out a soft sigh and tried, then failed to roll over. “I think I need some water. Can you get me that with the blanket?”

“I can get it from your kitchen,” Simon said.

“I’ll handle it,” I said. “You can go now.”

“Are you sure? I mean—”

I raised my eyebrow. “You mean, what?”

“I feel kind of responsible for this, so I can stay.”

“Or, you can go.”

He looked tempted to fight me on this, but he simply cleared his throat.

“I never noticed how stunning all of the details in your ceiling are, Hayden.” Penelope said. “What color is that? Taupe? Butterscotch beige?”

Simon smiled and moved closer to her. He took off his jacket and placed it over her chest. Then he whispered, “Call me when you’re sober. If I don’t call you first.”

He leaned in as if he was about to kiss her, but I cleared my throat.

“Nice to meet you, Hayden.” He stepped back. “Hopefully next time it’ll be under sober circumstances.”

“Hopefully.”

He walked to the door and I waited until I heard the ping of the elevators before looking at Penelope.

Even drunk, she was stunning as hell.

“Didn’t I tell you not to get drunk?” I asked.

“Stop yelling at me.”

“The only one yelling is you.”

“I can see you judging me.”

“Trust me, I haven’t begun to judge you,” I said. “I’ll do that when you’re sober, though. Once again, did you miss the part where I specifically told you not to drink too much?”

“The yacht was so beautiful.” She sat up and smiled. “Simon took me on a private tour of it and showed me all these hidden rooms.”