“This way,” Brett says, walking alongside the bushes.
Shrugging, I run a few steps to catch up with him and fall into step beside him. “So, do you come here often?” I joke.
“Oh, I’m a regular hiker,” Brett jokes back.
I shake my head. He’s clearly not going to tell me why we’re out here, and I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of keeping asking him. Right now, I’m just pleased we seem to have slipped back into a bit more of a friendly relationship.
Brett pauses and looks both ways along the road, so I think we’re about to cross the road, but instead, he takes hold of my hand and pulls me towards the bushes. “Through here.” He squeezes through a tiny gap in the bushes and pulls me through behind him before I can protest or ask him any questions.
“What the …” I start as I stumble out of the bushes. I trail off when I see where we are. A golf course is spread out before us, the green expanse of neat lawn and sand bunkers seeming to go on forever.
“Not too shabby, right?” Brett is still holding my hand in his and he starts to walk onto the course pulling me along behind him. “I hope you don’t mind sand,” he winks at me, looking back over his shoulder.
The wink and the feel of my hand in his leaves me speechless and I just shake my head. In that moment, I would have followed him into a field freshly spread with manure. Sand is nothing.
He leads me to one of the larger bunkers and we slip and slide down the edge and into the center where it’s flatter. He sits down and pulls me down beside him.
“Are we allowed to be out here?” I ask, looking around nervously, waiting for a security guard to appear over the edge of the bunker and chase us away.
“Sure we are,” Brett replies.
I’m not entirely convinced that’s true. “So why did we sneak in through a gap in the bushes?” I challenge him.
Brett grins and lays back, folding his hands beneath his head and looking up at the sky. “Relax Opal,” he smiles as I peer down at him. “I own the club. I sneaked us in the back way because I couldn’t be bothered with making nice with everyone on the way through the club that’s all.”
I peer at him for a moment longer, waiting for him to laugh or something, but he doesn’t. Something tells me he’s telling the truth. I decide to believe him. I lay back beside him on the sand. It’s warm on my back and I have to admit it feels nice lying here. I can almost imagine we’re at the beach somewhere. It’s just a shame I’m in a work’s dress rather than a swim suit.
“Remember I told Mr. Simmons at the party that I’d been in France for a year expanding my business?” Brett says.
“Mmhmm,” I say.
“My father tried to block the deal, but he failed. I was opening another club in the South of France. This one was my first one and it will always be my baby, but the real money is where the rich tourists are,” he says.
His revelation surprises me a little and I push myself up onto my elbows, “I thought your business was asset management, the same as your father’s?”
“Oh, fuck no,” Brett says with a visible shudder. “My parents wanted me to take over the company, and as such, they primed me all of my life with the knowledge of how the business works. That’s how I was able to step in for my father. But it’s never been anything I would choose to get involved with. There’s plenty of ways to make money, and I’d rather make mine by giving people something they can enjoy, rather than investing money and managing assets.”
“I know what you mean,” I say, laying back down beside him. “But for me, I kind of enjoy the assets side of things. You know, the thrill of the chase, finding a perfect investment opportunity for a client and then playing the game until they get it.”
“You like the thrill of the chase huh?” Brett says a smile in his voice. “And then playing the game?”
“Yeah, I always though asset management sounded pretty boring, but when I first started working for your father, it was a case of a job is a job. But then I started to see how the business worked and I guess I was hooked.”
“It sounds more like a plan to catch a guy. Chase them, play them, and toss them away,” Brett says.
He’s still smiling, but I’m worried suddenly that he’s making this about us. I open my eyes and jump slightly.
Brett has pushed himself up on his elbows and rolled onto his side so he’s looming right over me. He doesn’t look in the least bit pissed off.
Now, I see he’s just teasing me. “I don’t chase guys. They’re the ones who chase me.” I grin.
Brett laughs softly. He reaches out and rubs his hand lightly over my stomach.
My body responds instantly to his touch, my skin puckering beneath my dress and my heartbeat speeding up.
“That sounds more likely to be the case.” He gets to his knees and in one smooth movement, he’s kneeling between my legs, his hands on my sides. “Ok, so pretend I was chasing you. Now I’ve caught you. What happens next?” he asks, looking down at me with a lust filled grin.
I know where this is going to go, and I know we’re treading on dangerous ground. Can I risk this happening again? I know I shouldn’t, but we got past it last time and still managed to work together effectively. So this time, I think we’ll both handle it a whole lot better. “That depends on what you want to happen,” I say, pushing myself back up onto my elbows.
I
