INTENTIONS
Isaac wasn't right since he stayed the night with Winn Tuesday night. In all honesty, he didn't know how Taylor did it. He didn't know how he could sit there, face-to-face with her like that in her warm home under the lamp light and NOT just lay it all out on the line for her. HOW had he not done it yet?
Then again, Taylor also wasn't holding her close and kissing her lips and breathing in the scent of her skin, either. THAT made it ten times worse.
It dawned on Isaac that he hadn't gone out in--well, since last Friday night. And here it was Thursday. He'd spent more time at home lately than he had in quite some time. And in all honesty, he didn't mind it.
The whole thing was weird and it was freaking him out. He hadn't been out, he hadn't had the desire to cruise for women--it was like, since he'd had sex with Winn Sunday night, he didn't want anything else but her. Nothing compared. And then he thought about it--he hadn't even so much as kissed her since then. And that was four days ago!
He just wasn't ready. He wasn't ready to feel the familiar feelings that had been creeping up inside him. He wasn't ready to let his guard down just yet. Not like it mattered, because it seemed like Winn was single-handedly just tearing it down all by herself, regardless of how he felt about it.
But he just couldn't. He couldn't do it. He couldn't let himself feel anything for her. Not like that. Which was why he'd completely left her alone on Wednesday so that he could regroup. But now here it was Thursday and he missed the hell out of her.
He and his brothers had been doing some recording that had run over a little bit that night. He and Taylor were barely speaking, but they were civil enough to get the job done. Once he stepped out of the studio and saw Winn's car gone from across the street, like he knew it would be, he texted her. "Are you at home?"
"No," she texted back.
"Really?" He texted, surprised. "Where are you?"
"Chasing."
"Chasing what?"
"An account."
Oh! It dawned on him that she was talking about work. He made a mental note to learn some of her work lingo. Then he got worried about her being in a strange area after dark, alone. "Where are you? Are you okay? You need me to follow you?"
"It's okay, I'm not in my car. Thanks, though."
"I'll call you."
"Don't bother. I won't be able to hear you."
His eyes widened, suddenly. "Where are you chasing that you wouldn't be able to hear me?"
"Not important. Customer's job. He'll be here soon and then I'm heading home."
"I'll meet you there."
"Not necessary, I'm working."
Isaac was now getting increasingly frustrated. "Winn WHERE ARE YOU?"
He had gotten in his car and started it up, realizing that nearly five minutes had passed since he'd texted her and she hadn't replied. So he texted her again. "I'm in my car right now. If you don't tell me where you are, I will come find you."
"You won't find me, trust me."
"WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?"
"I'm at the Diamond Club," she finally texted. "Okay? Jesus. My customer is a bouncer here and his shift is about to start. I've been trying to reach him about his account since I transferred. Get off my back."
Isaac's eyes widened at his phone. Get off her back? On the contrary. He tossed his phone in the passenger seat and drove straight there.
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Winn wished she hadn't told Isaac where she was. She was so embarrassed. It was bad enough that she was there anyway. But it was a nine hundred dollar account that needed to move and she didn't feel right sending her staff out to that particular establishment. This was actually a job she probably shouldn't have been chasing, herself, but she desperately needed to move the account and she wasn't above much. This account was one step away from court and court was a hassle.
And so she sat at the bar and waited. She sipped her water and found herself critiquing the women on the stage. Some of them were good on the poles, but she was better and she knew it. She missed pole fitness and made a mental note to see about finding a class after Christmas.
Watching the stage had been entertaining until Isaac started texting her. Dodging him had been futile. Not that she wanted to dodge him. But her present hangout wasn't exactly something she wanted anyone to know, either. So when he started seeming anxious over it, she had to tell him. He hadn't responded since. She betted that he didn't believe her. Or worse, that it freaked him out.
Getting the bartender's attention across the bar, she turned around in her seat. "Excuse me," she said. "Isn't Chad running a little late?"
The raven-haired beauty winked at her as she wiped out a glass. "I texted him and told him a hot redhead was sitting here waiting on him. But then, look where we are, he probably didn't believe me. But it's his shift, he'll be here, don't worry." Then she looked over Winn's shoulder and nodded. "What'll you have?"
"Whatever she's having," a familiar voice said behind her.
Winn whipped around in her chair and the blood drained from her face when her eyes landed on Isaac. He winked at her. "What are you having?" He asked her.
"Water."
"That's no fun."
"I'm working."
"So you've said."
"I am. My guy's running late."
He narrowed his eyes and smiled, closing in on her a little more. "I thought I was your guy?"
"Not tonight."
"That'll change," he said, taking her by the hand and leading her from the bar stool. "Come on." Then he said behind Winn, across the bar, "Have someone bring those to the back, will you?"
Winn wanted to object as he led her through the club, but with as loud as the music was, it was impossible. He stopped them at a small room near the back with an open doorway and an open, glassless window. He handed the bouncer that stood there a wad of cash. "Close the curtains and turn off the cameras. Don't question me, Rick owes me a favor. Don't let anyone else in here, either."
"She doesn't work here, I can't let you just take up one of my couches like that."
"I'm actually taking the entire room. I'll call Rick myself," he said, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. "What's your name?"
"No," the bouncer said suddenly. "It's cool, it's cool..."
"Good. There's more where that came from."
"Name's Ronnie," the bouncer replied.
Isaac patted the guy's shoulder and the guy started closing the curtains to the doorway and the window. Winn stood there and looked around at the black walls and the black leather couches under the black lights.
Isaac made himself comfortable on one of the couches and looked up at her. "You know I'm not gonna bite you."
She carefully sat her tote bag with her customer's account information in it on the floor next to the couch and looked around nervously. "Um, I don't know about this..."
"It's okay," he said. "It's just me. Just sit with me. I haven't seen you in two days."
She looked down at him on the couch. He did look unbelievably sexy right now with his suit jacket hanging open and those buttons on his white shirt unbuttoned like they were at the top. He wore this type of thing often, but he always looked so good in it.
Hesitantly, she tucked a leg underneath her body and lowered herself next to him. He raised an arm and laid it across the back of the couch behind her. "See? This isn't bad, now is it?" Then he leaned forward and managed to hook his arm around both of her legs and lay them across his lap, her entire body turned into him. "That's better. Now I can see you."
"Uh, my guy is gonna be here any minute--"
"Stop saying that. He is not your guy, he is your customer. Client. Whatever you call them over there. But he is not your guy."
"You know what I meant--"
"I know. I don't like it."
Admittedly, Winn was a little nervous. Isaac was...seemingly reverting back to old Isaac. The way he was when she first met him. Which was undeniably sexy, otherwise she wouldn't have been attracted to him in the first place. But now she didn't know if she should just go with it or be concerned.
Concerned with what, exactly, she didn't know.
"You're nervous. I can tell," he said, interrupting her thoughts. "The truth is, I kinda have to hide back here. You know? It's nothing personal--well, I mean, it's kinda personal, but--you know what I mean..."
She nodded. Miraculously, she got it. Didn't help but keep her from being nervous, though. She wasn't used to this. She didn't frequent these places, much less find herself in the private room of one. If you wanted to call it that.
"Winn," he said, lifting his head toward her and narrowing his eyes. "It's okay. Seriously, it's just me. Am I making you uncomfortable?"
She found herself searching his eyes. "I just--I'm confused. I don't--I don't really know who you are right now. I don't know what to think."
"I just want to be with you," he said softly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Okay? And this just so happens to be the way I'm spending time with you at the moment. We can leave. We can go to my place. You haven't even seen my new sheets yet--"
She shook her head. "I can't. I can't leave. I NEED to see this guy about this account, you don't understand--"
"What's his name?" Isaac asked.
"What?"
"His name. Who's the guy you're looking for?"
"Uh, Chad..."
"Ronnie," Isaac called across the room suddenly.
The bouncer stuck his head in the curtain. "Yeah?"
"Chad here yet?"
"Just pulled in the parking lot, he should be in here any second now. You want me to send him in for you?"
Winn shook her head rapidly. No way. No way could her customer even know she was sitting in the VIP room. She should have stayed at the bar. How she was going to save face with this one, she had no idea.
"Hop up," Isaac said, patting her shins. "I'm gonna run to the restroom and see where are our drinks are. Stay right here, okay?"
She nodded and watched him walk out of the curtain. She sat back and looked around. Good lord, what was she doing here?
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"Make sure she doesn't come out of there," Isaac said to Ronnie as he headed towards the front of the club.
First, he made a stop at the ATM machine and made a withdrawal. Then he shoved the wad in his pocket and walked out the front door, the winter chill hitting him the moment he stepped outside. He didn't even notice it.
The burly guy in the white polo and jeans was coming across the parking lot, shoving his keys in his pocket as Isaac met him halfway. "Are you Chad?" He said to him.
"Yeah..." Chad said, looking him up and down warily.
"You've got someone waiting for you in that club in there," he said to him. "A redhead. A hot one--"
Chad scoffed and looked at his phone. "Yeah, I got that text but I thought Trish was yanking my chain..."
"Well, the hot redhead is MY girl and you screwed her over. And that's why she's here."
"I'm not following..."
"You have an account at First Class Finance that you just happened to forget about?"
"Dude, I know who you are. And if one of the Hanson brothers knows about MY personal financial issues, somebody's getting sued--"
"Nobody's getting sued. I'm about to hand you the money give to her to pay your account off. And you're not going to say a damn word about it. To anyone."
Chad's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"
Isaac pulled the cash he'd just gotten from the ATM out of his pocket. "I'm dead serious. I don't know how much your account is, but I'm pretty sure there's enough there to cover it. Keep the change. Think of it as a bonus for your trouble."
"MY trouble? Dude, you just saved my ass--"
"I'm not saving you shit. I'm saving HER ass. This is for her, it's not for you. Believe me. But you can consider this your Christmas blessing this year. Good will toward men and shit."
"Man, I don't know what to say--"
"Pay your account off, apologize to her, and be sincere about it. It's punks like you that stress her out day after day. Just give her this one."
"Yeah, yeah, sure. Definitely. So what do I do now?"
"She'll meet you at the DJ booth. Wait for her."
"Definitely. Sure thing. Thanks again."
"Mmhmm," Isaac murmured as he went back into the club.
His heart pounded as he approached Ronnie at the VIP door. Would she be able to see right through him when he walked in? Would it be written across his forehead? He struggled to keep it together. He prayed that Chad didn't take his money and run. "Hey," he said quietly to Ronnie. "Give me, like, ten seconds to get in there and then poke your head in and tell us that Chad's in the DJ booth."
"Do what?"
"Just do it, don't ask."
****************
Watching Winn's attitude change the moment Chad's arrival was announced turned Isaac on. He'd never seen her in complete business mode and he wished he could watch the entire exchange go down. She picked up her tote bag, held her chin high, and hardened her expression. She intended to eat the poor guy alive. He couldn't help but undress her with his eyes as she walked out of the room in her black, pinstriped pants that made her already-long legs go for days and the burgundy sweater she wore on top that hugged her in all the right places.
He didn't sit alone for quite as long as he thought he would. His mind was mid-fantasy when she walked back through the curtain. He took a moment to read her face. If Chad blabbed, Isaac was a goner for sure.
He watched her as she sat her tote bag down closer to the couch and then she lowered herself back down next to him, taking up her previous location. This time, however, she sat closer and draped her own legs over his lap. He could feel the relief in her body, a huge difference from the tension he felt coming off of her earlier.
Mindlessly, her fingers began to play with the collar of his shirt. It was the simple things like this, how she always seemed to be attracted to his collar, that got him. "He paid off his account," she said. Her face, her voice, everything, just screamed relief.
"Good," Isaac smiled.
"I wasn't even expecting a payment. I just--I've been after this guy for two months now. Hearing nothing. And then all of a sudden he can just come up with seven hundred bucks right out of his ass like that? It pisses me off."
Isaac swallowed hard.
"I mean, to know all this time he could have just PAID it. You know?"
"Well. It's paid now. Right?"
She smiled and nodded. "It is. Do you know what's just happened?"
"Tell me," he said quietly, letting his fingers brush through her long hair.
"When I post that payoff tomorrow morning, I'll have my standard increase for the month. And that'll be the first time that's happened since I transferred. It's like a Christmas miracle or something. Well, I mean, I'll have standard after my supervisor writes off some of the accounts at the end of the month. But this still practically means I have it." A grin spread across her face. "I know you don't know what any of that means, but it's a pretty huge deal for our office."
"So how do you feel?"
"I feel...better. Happy--for now. Invincible. Weightless."
Isaac was getting uncomfortable. All her feelings weren't real and she didn't even know it. He'd paid a guy off in order to make Winn happy. She thought she'd accomplished her mission for the night on her own. He felt like a complete failure.
So he let out a breath and tried to continue their conversation. "No worries, then?"
"Oh, I still have plenty of those. Just one less now."
"Are you relaxed?"
"Oh, yes. I'm very relaxed," she smiled. She ran her hand along the lapel of his jacket. "So, we're pretty safe in here, right? We're alone?"
"Oh yeah," he nodded. "Definitely."
"So why don't you take your jacket off and make yourself a little more comfortable?"
"Why should I?" He teased.
"Because I find those white shirts incredibly sexy."
He obeyed her, sitting up to remove his jacket, and draped it over the arm of the couch. He sat back and rolled his cuffs up off of his wrists. "Gotta say, I'm not used to being the one to strip in here."
"How often do you come here?"
"I used to be a regular. Truth is, I haven't been in here in several months. It, uh, it lost its appeal there for awhile."
"How's the appeal now?" She asked, her hand caressing the other side of his neck.
Chills ran down his spine at the gentle touch of her hand against his skin. "Irresistible."
He sucked in a breath when she pulled his collar down and peppered light kisses on his neck. He closed his eyes and let the breath back out.
"You know what else I'm feeling?" She teased in his ear.
"I could come up with an idea or two..."
"Adventurous. Are you feeling adventurous, Isaac?"
"I'll go on any adventure you're willing to take me on," he breathed helplessly.
She turned his head toward her and kissed him, his eagerness for her getting the best of him. As he wrapped his arms around her to deepen their kiss, she shifted her body and swung her leg over his lap, straddling him. On top of him, her body started to move to the slow rhythm of the song that played, her hips rocking and teasing him in ways that made him want to die.
"I think you can do much better than me
After all the lies that I made you believe"
She straightened her spine and pulled her shirt over her head, surprising even Isaac. She'd said adventurous but, for some reason, he wasn't actually expecting her to disrobe. His heart palpitated at the hot pink push-up bra she wore and the naughty way it glowed against the black light. Jesus, how many pieces of jaw-dropping underwear did she own?
"I told myself I won't miss you
But I remember what it feels like beside you"
He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned himself forward, his mouth closing in on her neck as she let her head fall back. He tried not to listen to the lyrics of the song. It was a song he was familiar with, but not something he listened to on a regular basis. But every time he tried to focus on her, they seemed to scream louder and louder in his ear.
"I really miss your hair in my face
And the way your innocence tastes
And I think you should know this
You deserve much better than me"
He was holding her tight against him as she leaned back and graciously let his lips and his tongue explore her chest. She leaned forward and sat up, her hands going straight to the button on her pants while the song still assaulted his ears and he couldn't get away from it. Suddenly, he found his hands catching her wrists and she looked at him, wide-eyed in shock.
"We have to stop," he said to her.
She blinked at him for a moment. Then she offered a light peck on his lips. "Why?" Her kisses trailed across his cheek and to his ear. "Don't you want me?"
He moved his head looked at her face. Her beautiful, flawless face with the sparkling green eyes and the soft pout on her lips... "I want you SO bad--"
She started to unbutton his shirt. "Then what's the problem? There's never a problem. This is okay with me--"
"And I think you should know this
You deserve much better than me"
"Winn, I can't," he said firmly. "I'm sorry. I just--I can't do this."
She sat back a little bit and she stared at him, wide-eyed, her mouth hanging open just slightly in disbelief. "You--you don't like me anymore, do you? Why did you even bring me back here?"
The lump that jumped up into his throat at the devastated look on her face was almost more than he could bear. "No, no, I do. I lo--I mean, I like--that has nothing to do with anything, Winn, I can't get enough of you. That's the truth. I swear to you."
"What's the problem?"
"You don't deserve this." He picked up her sweater and handed it back to her. "You don't deserve to be--here--with me, like this. This isn't you. This is--this is sleazy and cheap and--and I respect you too much to let you give in to your impulses in here like this."
"We can go back to your place," she suggested hopefully. "You said something about new sheets--"
He shook his head. "No," he said softly. "I can't do this tonight. I'm sorry."
"Ike," she said. He could have sworn he saw her eyes tearing up. He hoped he saw wrong. "But--but I want you--"
"No. You don't want me. You really don't want me..."
"Yes, I do," she said, her lip quivering. "What's going on here? Why are you saying these things?"
He searched her eyes and his heart sank. He knew he had to say it. He had to tell her. He shook his head and rubbed his forehead. "You--you make me want to be a better man and I still can't manage to stop lying to you."
Slowly, she pulled her sweater back over her head and she dismounted him, one foot slowly at a time until she stood in front of him. "You're still lying to me?"
He looked up at her, helpless. "I did it with the best of intentions, I swear--"
"Ike..."
"Winn, I paid off that guy's account. He didn't come up with the money, I gave it to him. Out there in the parking lot."
Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened and she backed up a step as if hit with the blow of his words. "What? How--how could you...?"
He started to button his shirt back up and he sat up straighter on the couch. "I just wanted to see you happy. You were so miserable and so nervous--"
"I was NOT miserable. I'm never miserable, don't EVER use that word when referring to me!"
"I just wanted to help you. I wanted you to smile--"
"Help me?" She breathed. Her voice started to crack amidst her rising anger. "That entire transaction I just went through was completely dishonest. It was--it was FRAUD--"
"Come on, Winn, it was not fraud--"
"You frauded my FEELINGS. You frauded my--my trust, my--all of this! Everything! All of this is a fraud. It always has been."
"Winn, please--" He felt his own voice start to crack. He had to get out of there.
"The only reason I'm not throwing your money back at you right now is because that guy is already under the impression that he's paid off his account. And I will NOT lose my job because of YOU. I come first here. Not YOU!"
He could see the tears streaming down her face as she yanked up her tote bag and stormed through the curtain.
He sat there and rested his elbow on his knee, collapsing his face into his hand. He hadn't felt a pain quite like this in years. He wasn't so sure he could come back from this one.
(song below)
Isaac wasn't right since he stayed the night with Winn Tuesday night. In all honesty, he didn't know how Taylor did it. He didn't know how he could sit there, face-to-face with her like that in her warm home under the lamp light and NOT just lay it all out on the line for her. HOW had he not done it yet?
Then again, Taylor also wasn't holding her close and kissing her lips and breathing in the scent of her skin, either. THAT made it ten times worse.
It dawned on Isaac that he hadn't gone out in--well, since last Friday night. And here it was Thursday. He'd spent more time at home lately than he had in quite some time. And in all honesty, he didn't mind it.
The whole thing was weird and it was freaking him out. He hadn't been out, he hadn't had the desire to cruise for women--it was like, since he'd had sex with Winn Sunday night, he didn't want anything else but her. Nothing compared. And then he thought about it--he hadn't even so much as kissed her since then. And that was four days ago!
He just wasn't ready. He wasn't ready to feel the familiar feelings that had been creeping up inside him. He wasn't ready to let his guard down just yet. Not like it mattered, because it seemed like Winn was single-handedly just tearing it down all by herself, regardless of how he felt about it.
But he just couldn't. He couldn't do it. He couldn't let himself feel anything for her. Not like that. Which was why he'd completely left her alone on Wednesday so that he could regroup. But now here it was Thursday and he missed the hell out of her.
He and his brothers had been doing some recording that had run over a little bit that night. He and Taylor were barely speaking, but they were civil enough to get the job done. Once he stepped out of the studio and saw Winn's car gone from across the street, like he knew it would be, he texted her. "Are you at home?"
"No," she texted back.
"Really?" He texted, surprised. "Where are you?"
"Chasing."
"Chasing what?"
"An account."
Oh! It dawned on him that she was talking about work. He made a mental note to learn some of her work lingo. Then he got worried about her being in a strange area after dark, alone. "Where are you? Are you okay? You need me to follow you?"
"It's okay, I'm not in my car. Thanks, though."
"I'll call you."
"Don't bother. I won't be able to hear you."
His eyes widened, suddenly. "Where are you chasing that you wouldn't be able to hear me?"
"Not important. Customer's job. He'll be here soon and then I'm heading home."
"I'll meet you there."
"Not necessary, I'm working."
Isaac was now getting increasingly frustrated. "Winn WHERE ARE YOU?"
He had gotten in his car and started it up, realizing that nearly five minutes had passed since he'd texted her and she hadn't replied. So he texted her again. "I'm in my car right now. If you don't tell me where you are, I will come find you."
"You won't find me, trust me."
"WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?"
"I'm at the Diamond Club," she finally texted. "Okay? Jesus. My customer is a bouncer here and his shift is about to start. I've been trying to reach him about his account since I transferred. Get off my back."
Isaac's eyes widened at his phone. Get off her back? On the contrary. He tossed his phone in the passenger seat and drove straight there.
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Winn wished she hadn't told Isaac where she was. She was so embarrassed. It was bad enough that she was there anyway. But it was a nine hundred dollar account that needed to move and she didn't feel right sending her staff out to that particular establishment. This was actually a job she probably shouldn't have been chasing, herself, but she desperately needed to move the account and she wasn't above much. This account was one step away from court and court was a hassle.
And so she sat at the bar and waited. She sipped her water and found herself critiquing the women on the stage. Some of them were good on the poles, but she was better and she knew it. She missed pole fitness and made a mental note to see about finding a class after Christmas.
Watching the stage had been entertaining until Isaac started texting her. Dodging him had been futile. Not that she wanted to dodge him. But her present hangout wasn't exactly something she wanted anyone to know, either. So when he started seeming anxious over it, she had to tell him. He hadn't responded since. She betted that he didn't believe her. Or worse, that it freaked him out.
Getting the bartender's attention across the bar, she turned around in her seat. "Excuse me," she said. "Isn't Chad running a little late?"
The raven-haired beauty winked at her as she wiped out a glass. "I texted him and told him a hot redhead was sitting here waiting on him. But then, look where we are, he probably didn't believe me. But it's his shift, he'll be here, don't worry." Then she looked over Winn's shoulder and nodded. "What'll you have?"
"Whatever she's having," a familiar voice said behind her.
Winn whipped around in her chair and the blood drained from her face when her eyes landed on Isaac. He winked at her. "What are you having?" He asked her.
"Water."
"That's no fun."
"I'm working."
"So you've said."
"I am. My guy's running late."
He narrowed his eyes and smiled, closing in on her a little more. "I thought I was your guy?"
"Not tonight."
"That'll change," he said, taking her by the hand and leading her from the bar stool. "Come on." Then he said behind Winn, across the bar, "Have someone bring those to the back, will you?"
Winn wanted to object as he led her through the club, but with as loud as the music was, it was impossible. He stopped them at a small room near the back with an open doorway and an open, glassless window. He handed the bouncer that stood there a wad of cash. "Close the curtains and turn off the cameras. Don't question me, Rick owes me a favor. Don't let anyone else in here, either."
"She doesn't work here, I can't let you just take up one of my couches like that."
"I'm actually taking the entire room. I'll call Rick myself," he said, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. "What's your name?"
"No," the bouncer said suddenly. "It's cool, it's cool..."
"Good. There's more where that came from."
"Name's Ronnie," the bouncer replied.
Isaac patted the guy's shoulder and the guy started closing the curtains to the doorway and the window. Winn stood there and looked around at the black walls and the black leather couches under the black lights.
Isaac made himself comfortable on one of the couches and looked up at her. "You know I'm not gonna bite you."
She carefully sat her tote bag with her customer's account information in it on the floor next to the couch and looked around nervously. "Um, I don't know about this..."
"It's okay," he said. "It's just me. Just sit with me. I haven't seen you in two days."
She looked down at him on the couch. He did look unbelievably sexy right now with his suit jacket hanging open and those buttons on his white shirt unbuttoned like they were at the top. He wore this type of thing often, but he always looked so good in it.
Hesitantly, she tucked a leg underneath her body and lowered herself next to him. He raised an arm and laid it across the back of the couch behind her. "See? This isn't bad, now is it?" Then he leaned forward and managed to hook his arm around both of her legs and lay them across his lap, her entire body turned into him. "That's better. Now I can see you."
"Uh, my guy is gonna be here any minute--"
"Stop saying that. He is not your guy, he is your customer. Client. Whatever you call them over there. But he is not your guy."
"You know what I meant--"
"I know. I don't like it."
Admittedly, Winn was a little nervous. Isaac was...seemingly reverting back to old Isaac. The way he was when she first met him. Which was undeniably sexy, otherwise she wouldn't have been attracted to him in the first place. But now she didn't know if she should just go with it or be concerned.
Concerned with what, exactly, she didn't know.
"You're nervous. I can tell," he said, interrupting her thoughts. "The truth is, I kinda have to hide back here. You know? It's nothing personal--well, I mean, it's kinda personal, but--you know what I mean..."
She nodded. Miraculously, she got it. Didn't help but keep her from being nervous, though. She wasn't used to this. She didn't frequent these places, much less find herself in the private room of one. If you wanted to call it that.
"Winn," he said, lifting his head toward her and narrowing his eyes. "It's okay. Seriously, it's just me. Am I making you uncomfortable?"
She found herself searching his eyes. "I just--I'm confused. I don't--I don't really know who you are right now. I don't know what to think."
"I just want to be with you," he said softly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Okay? And this just so happens to be the way I'm spending time with you at the moment. We can leave. We can go to my place. You haven't even seen my new sheets yet--"
She shook her head. "I can't. I can't leave. I NEED to see this guy about this account, you don't understand--"
"What's his name?" Isaac asked.
"What?"
"His name. Who's the guy you're looking for?"
"Uh, Chad..."
"Ronnie," Isaac called across the room suddenly.
The bouncer stuck his head in the curtain. "Yeah?"
"Chad here yet?"
"Just pulled in the parking lot, he should be in here any second now. You want me to send him in for you?"
Winn shook her head rapidly. No way. No way could her customer even know she was sitting in the VIP room. She should have stayed at the bar. How she was going to save face with this one, she had no idea.
"Hop up," Isaac said, patting her shins. "I'm gonna run to the restroom and see where are our drinks are. Stay right here, okay?"
She nodded and watched him walk out of the curtain. She sat back and looked around. Good lord, what was she doing here?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Make sure she doesn't come out of there," Isaac said to Ronnie as he headed towards the front of the club.
First, he made a stop at the ATM machine and made a withdrawal. Then he shoved the wad in his pocket and walked out the front door, the winter chill hitting him the moment he stepped outside. He didn't even notice it.
The burly guy in the white polo and jeans was coming across the parking lot, shoving his keys in his pocket as Isaac met him halfway. "Are you Chad?" He said to him.
"Yeah..." Chad said, looking him up and down warily.
"You've got someone waiting for you in that club in there," he said to him. "A redhead. A hot one--"
Chad scoffed and looked at his phone. "Yeah, I got that text but I thought Trish was yanking my chain..."
"Well, the hot redhead is MY girl and you screwed her over. And that's why she's here."
"I'm not following..."
"You have an account at First Class Finance that you just happened to forget about?"
"Dude, I know who you are. And if one of the Hanson brothers knows about MY personal financial issues, somebody's getting sued--"
"Nobody's getting sued. I'm about to hand you the money give to her to pay your account off. And you're not going to say a damn word about it. To anyone."
Chad's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"
Isaac pulled the cash he'd just gotten from the ATM out of his pocket. "I'm dead serious. I don't know how much your account is, but I'm pretty sure there's enough there to cover it. Keep the change. Think of it as a bonus for your trouble."
"MY trouble? Dude, you just saved my ass--"
"I'm not saving you shit. I'm saving HER ass. This is for her, it's not for you. Believe me. But you can consider this your Christmas blessing this year. Good will toward men and shit."
"Man, I don't know what to say--"
"Pay your account off, apologize to her, and be sincere about it. It's punks like you that stress her out day after day. Just give her this one."
"Yeah, yeah, sure. Definitely. So what do I do now?"
"She'll meet you at the DJ booth. Wait for her."
"Definitely. Sure thing. Thanks again."
"Mmhmm," Isaac murmured as he went back into the club.
His heart pounded as he approached Ronnie at the VIP door. Would she be able to see right through him when he walked in? Would it be written across his forehead? He struggled to keep it together. He prayed that Chad didn't take his money and run. "Hey," he said quietly to Ronnie. "Give me, like, ten seconds to get in there and then poke your head in and tell us that Chad's in the DJ booth."
"Do what?"
"Just do it, don't ask."
****************
Watching Winn's attitude change the moment Chad's arrival was announced turned Isaac on. He'd never seen her in complete business mode and he wished he could watch the entire exchange go down. She picked up her tote bag, held her chin high, and hardened her expression. She intended to eat the poor guy alive. He couldn't help but undress her with his eyes as she walked out of the room in her black, pinstriped pants that made her already-long legs go for days and the burgundy sweater she wore on top that hugged her in all the right places.
He didn't sit alone for quite as long as he thought he would. His mind was mid-fantasy when she walked back through the curtain. He took a moment to read her face. If Chad blabbed, Isaac was a goner for sure.
He watched her as she sat her tote bag down closer to the couch and then she lowered herself back down next to him, taking up her previous location. This time, however, she sat closer and draped her own legs over his lap. He could feel the relief in her body, a huge difference from the tension he felt coming off of her earlier.
Mindlessly, her fingers began to play with the collar of his shirt. It was the simple things like this, how she always seemed to be attracted to his collar, that got him. "He paid off his account," she said. Her face, her voice, everything, just screamed relief.
"Good," Isaac smiled.
"I wasn't even expecting a payment. I just--I've been after this guy for two months now. Hearing nothing. And then all of a sudden he can just come up with seven hundred bucks right out of his ass like that? It pisses me off."
Isaac swallowed hard.
"I mean, to know all this time he could have just PAID it. You know?"
"Well. It's paid now. Right?"
She smiled and nodded. "It is. Do you know what's just happened?"
"Tell me," he said quietly, letting his fingers brush through her long hair.
"When I post that payoff tomorrow morning, I'll have my standard increase for the month. And that'll be the first time that's happened since I transferred. It's like a Christmas miracle or something. Well, I mean, I'll have standard after my supervisor writes off some of the accounts at the end of the month. But this still practically means I have it." A grin spread across her face. "I know you don't know what any of that means, but it's a pretty huge deal for our office."
"So how do you feel?"
"I feel...better. Happy--for now. Invincible. Weightless."
Isaac was getting uncomfortable. All her feelings weren't real and she didn't even know it. He'd paid a guy off in order to make Winn happy. She thought she'd accomplished her mission for the night on her own. He felt like a complete failure.
So he let out a breath and tried to continue their conversation. "No worries, then?"
"Oh, I still have plenty of those. Just one less now."
"Are you relaxed?"
"Oh, yes. I'm very relaxed," she smiled. She ran her hand along the lapel of his jacket. "So, we're pretty safe in here, right? We're alone?"
"Oh yeah," he nodded. "Definitely."
"So why don't you take your jacket off and make yourself a little more comfortable?"
"Why should I?" He teased.
"Because I find those white shirts incredibly sexy."
He obeyed her, sitting up to remove his jacket, and draped it over the arm of the couch. He sat back and rolled his cuffs up off of his wrists. "Gotta say, I'm not used to being the one to strip in here."
"How often do you come here?"
"I used to be a regular. Truth is, I haven't been in here in several months. It, uh, it lost its appeal there for awhile."
"How's the appeal now?" She asked, her hand caressing the other side of his neck.
Chills ran down his spine at the gentle touch of her hand against his skin. "Irresistible."
He sucked in a breath when she pulled his collar down and peppered light kisses on his neck. He closed his eyes and let the breath back out.
"You know what else I'm feeling?" She teased in his ear.
"I could come up with an idea or two..."
"Adventurous. Are you feeling adventurous, Isaac?"
"I'll go on any adventure you're willing to take me on," he breathed helplessly.
She turned his head toward her and kissed him, his eagerness for her getting the best of him. As he wrapped his arms around her to deepen their kiss, she shifted her body and swung her leg over his lap, straddling him. On top of him, her body started to move to the slow rhythm of the song that played, her hips rocking and teasing him in ways that made him want to die.
"I think you can do much better than me
After all the lies that I made you believe"
She straightened her spine and pulled her shirt over her head, surprising even Isaac. She'd said adventurous but, for some reason, he wasn't actually expecting her to disrobe. His heart palpitated at the hot pink push-up bra she wore and the naughty way it glowed against the black light. Jesus, how many pieces of jaw-dropping underwear did she own?
"I told myself I won't miss you
But I remember what it feels like beside you"
He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned himself forward, his mouth closing in on her neck as she let her head fall back. He tried not to listen to the lyrics of the song. It was a song he was familiar with, but not something he listened to on a regular basis. But every time he tried to focus on her, they seemed to scream louder and louder in his ear.
"I really miss your hair in my face
And the way your innocence tastes
And I think you should know this
You deserve much better than me"
He was holding her tight against him as she leaned back and graciously let his lips and his tongue explore her chest. She leaned forward and sat up, her hands going straight to the button on her pants while the song still assaulted his ears and he couldn't get away from it. Suddenly, he found his hands catching her wrists and she looked at him, wide-eyed in shock.
"We have to stop," he said to her.
She blinked at him for a moment. Then she offered a light peck on his lips. "Why?" Her kisses trailed across his cheek and to his ear. "Don't you want me?"
He moved his head looked at her face. Her beautiful, flawless face with the sparkling green eyes and the soft pout on her lips... "I want you SO bad--"
She started to unbutton his shirt. "Then what's the problem? There's never a problem. This is okay with me--"
"And I think you should know this
You deserve much better than me"
"Winn, I can't," he said firmly. "I'm sorry. I just--I can't do this."
She sat back a little bit and she stared at him, wide-eyed, her mouth hanging open just slightly in disbelief. "You--you don't like me anymore, do you? Why did you even bring me back here?"
The lump that jumped up into his throat at the devastated look on her face was almost more than he could bear. "No, no, I do. I lo--I mean, I like--that has nothing to do with anything, Winn, I can't get enough of you. That's the truth. I swear to you."
"What's the problem?"
"You don't deserve this." He picked up her sweater and handed it back to her. "You don't deserve to be--here--with me, like this. This isn't you. This is--this is sleazy and cheap and--and I respect you too much to let you give in to your impulses in here like this."
"We can go back to your place," she suggested hopefully. "You said something about new sheets--"
He shook his head. "No," he said softly. "I can't do this tonight. I'm sorry."
"Ike," she said. He could have sworn he saw her eyes tearing up. He hoped he saw wrong. "But--but I want you--"
"No. You don't want me. You really don't want me..."
"Yes, I do," she said, her lip quivering. "What's going on here? Why are you saying these things?"
He searched her eyes and his heart sank. He knew he had to say it. He had to tell her. He shook his head and rubbed his forehead. "You--you make me want to be a better man and I still can't manage to stop lying to you."
Slowly, she pulled her sweater back over her head and she dismounted him, one foot slowly at a time until she stood in front of him. "You're still lying to me?"
He looked up at her, helpless. "I did it with the best of intentions, I swear--"
"Ike..."
"Winn, I paid off that guy's account. He didn't come up with the money, I gave it to him. Out there in the parking lot."
Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened and she backed up a step as if hit with the blow of his words. "What? How--how could you...?"
He started to button his shirt back up and he sat up straighter on the couch. "I just wanted to see you happy. You were so miserable and so nervous--"
"I was NOT miserable. I'm never miserable, don't EVER use that word when referring to me!"
"I just wanted to help you. I wanted you to smile--"
"Help me?" She breathed. Her voice started to crack amidst her rising anger. "That entire transaction I just went through was completely dishonest. It was--it was FRAUD--"
"Come on, Winn, it was not fraud--"
"You frauded my FEELINGS. You frauded my--my trust, my--all of this! Everything! All of this is a fraud. It always has been."
"Winn, please--" He felt his own voice start to crack. He had to get out of there.
"The only reason I'm not throwing your money back at you right now is because that guy is already under the impression that he's paid off his account. And I will NOT lose my job because of YOU. I come first here. Not YOU!"
He could see the tears streaming down her face as she yanked up her tote bag and stormed through the curtain.
He sat there and rested his elbow on his knee, collapsing his face into his hand. He hadn't felt a pain quite like this in years. He wasn't so sure he could come back from this one.
(song below)