Of course, I’d seen Justin with his male friends. He never took my brothers for granted and had managed to stay in touch despite all the miles between them. Justin wasn’t the kind of person to easily let go of the people he cared about.
After drinks, the four of us caught a cabaret show at a swanky hotel two blocks away. Justin and I topped the evening off with more mind-blowing sex.
Wednesday, I took Justin to a seedy bar a few blocks away from his hotel. I wanted him to see more than just the glamorous side of Vegas. With his restriction on not driving, that included using the driver he had while he was in Vegas, my options were limited. Still, the little hole in the wall bar was a good distraction. We weren’t so buzzed that I’d suffer a hangover in the morning. Just enough to encourage us to do body shots off one another. The man’s tongue never got anywhere near my lady parts and yet by the end of the night I was revved up and ready for him.
It was good to see his fun side. Despite all that seriousness, Justin could let loose when he needed to. Now that I saw his fun side, I wanted to see his serious business side in action. Thanks to a friend who works the reception desk at the hotel, I manage to sneak into the panel he’s leading.
He’s wearing navy slacks and a white button-down shirt, no tie. Nothing special, and yet oh so sexy. His colleagues respect him, and he commands the room because he’s earned it. It isn’t just that he’s confident. He knows his shit, and understands the concerns others have.
“So, the idea is that while we’re going through phase one, which we anticipate being in the region of twelve to eighteen months, we will not be looking for new tenants.” Justin answers a question from someone in the audience. “If our tenants choose not to renew a lease, we won’t fill it until we’ve completed the renovations on that apartment.”
“Will that mean that phase two will start while phase one is still ongoing?” another person in the audience asks.
“Absolutely.” His eyes drift to the entrance and he spots me. The corners of his mouth lift a little. “And because of that, there is no definite timeline for when phase two will be completed. But we have contingencies in place in the event that we need to speed things up.”
“Care to share those with us?” the man counters.
Justin smiles at him. “I’m not going to give you my entire business plan.”
Watching him talk business with his peers is a huge turn-on. It’s strange really. I’d seen Carl work, in court even, and it never did anything except make me yawn. I’m so engrossed watching Justin, I don’t notice Lia slide up beside me.
“This is not exactly part of a typical Vegas week.” She gestures to the panel. “Watching him work.”
“I suppose. But how does he make business gobbledy-gook sound so sexy?”
“Yeah, I don’t know.” Lia smiles at me. “I mean, I think my husband is sexy all the time but there is just something about watching him when he’s in his element. But it’s different for me, I’m in love with Wyatt.”
I roll my eyes and gesture to the panel. “I don’t need to be in love to find that sexy.”
“True, but I bet if you asked him, he’d tell you that most girls found his work pretty boring.”
Maybe before, when he was designing apps. He wasn’t passionate about that. I could easily see that translating. But he’s so taken up with his current project that it’s hard not to be caught up with him.
“Most girls are idiots, then.”
We continue to listen, until Wyatt shows up, standing next to his wife. “How’s my boy doing?”
“More than holding his own,” Lia answers. “Where have you been?”
He smiles down at his wife. “Preparing for tonight.”
Lia turns to me. “We decided to make the most of our last two nights here. Wyatt is in charge of tonight. And tomorrow is my turn to woo him.”
I ignore the niggle at the mention of there being only two more nights left. “That’s so sweet. I love that you’ve been married a while and you still put in so much effort.”
“Marriage is work,” Wyatt says. “Any relationship is, really.”
He’s right. It’s one of the things I’m looking forward to with moving back to Seattle. Having dinner with my parents and girls’ nights with my sister, hanging out with my brothers a little more. Of course, hanging out with my older brothers will inevitably mean hanging out with Justin. But I don’t want to think about that. Yet.
There’s applause sounding through the room as Justin wraps up. People start filing out of the conference room. I stay standing with Lia and Wyatt and check my watch. I still have an hour before I need to be at the arena. I’m already dressed, and my hair and makeup’s done.
Once the room is nearly empty, Justin walks up to us. He holds the back of my head and kisses me square on the lips. I love that he figured out a way to do that without messing up my makeup too much. Though judging by the redness on his lips, I may need to touch up my lipstick.
“Dude,” Wyatt snickers. “I don't think that shade suits you.”
Justin shows him the middle finger. “How much time do we have?”
“I have about an hour. Why?”
Justin wiggles his eyebrows at me and smiles.
I read his mind immediately and hold up one hand. “No. That can wait.” I frame my face with my thumbs and forefingers. “This does not happen
