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Chapter Nine
Cold air burned my lungs when I took a deep breath as I stepped out of the airport terminal and into the crisp February morning air in Denver. My brain felt loose in my head for a moment as my body adjusted to thinner oxygen supply, an effect of the mile-high altitude on the ground.
The flight from New York to Denver had taken just over four hours and we’d arrived in downtown Denver after 9:00 a.m. Rhea had been great company during the flight and by the time we landed, I learned we had more in common than I knew. Nothing had surprised me more than to learn her second favorite thing in the world after numbers was kickboxing.
Apart from our work, I found that Rhea and I shared a similar sense of humor, had the same tastes in music, and liked many of the same bands. When she told me flat outright she valued her job more than she wanted to acquaint herself with my dick, I knew for sure she was the ideal travel companion for that trip.
Leaving Rhea to find her room, the bellhop took me to the penthouse, placing my gear on a cart ahead of him and pushed it smoothly into the elevator. When we entered the suite, he headed for the master bedroom and I followed. After depositing my suitcase on the luggage stand, he hung my garment bag in the closet.
As he came out, he flashed me a smile and picked up a small black pager off the nightstand by the bed.
“Press this to summon the valet, he’ll explain everything else to you when he gets here.”
I smiled, handing him a hundred dollar bill. With a small salute, he stepped back into the elevator with his luggage cart and left.
Relieved my travels were over; I inhaled a deep breath and blew it out slowly. I felt all of the tension leave my body. I wandered through the bright, airy communal living area, exploring where everything was and stopped for a moment to appreciate the vast Denver mountain range. Row on row of perfect snow-covered peaks, contrasting against the slate and silver gray rugged Rocky Mountains. Above them the sky was a flawless cornflower blue canvas. I’d seen many incredible original pieces of artwork, which had emulated this scene, but nothing gave me a real feeling of wonder as actually being there. Colorado was my all-time favorite place.
Loosening my tie, I turned and headed for the shower, but I had barely shaken the shirt from my back when I had a call from Rhea.
“This suite is awesome, remind me to thank your assistant, Gena, but I’m starving. I just wanted to check with you before I went ahead and ordered room service. Are we eating alone, or do you want to meet up? We could talk over some of the stats again, just have some company, or am I flying solo for the rest of the day?”
“Company for lunch would be great, I’m starving. Shall we say …” I pulled my phone from my ear to look at the time, “twenty minutes in the lobby downstairs?”
“Perfect, I’ll see you there,” she chirped and hung up. A little voice in my head reminded me she was a work colleague, and we were there to work—nothing else.
Twenty minutes later we stepped out of our respective elevators at the same time, “Wow, how punctual,” Rhea noted, a sweet smile on her face. “You look very dapper,” she offered, eyeing me from head to toe. “Damn, you may need a bodyguard this week, there are a lot of male-hungry female financial advisors and senior executives attending this event.”
“And the males? Are they all hungry?” I quipped, throwing her opinion back at her, my eyebrow raised in amusement.
“I’d say so, rock stars have nothing on some of the parties I’ve been to in the past.”
“I’m intrigued, Ms. Ellison, do tell me more,” I mumbled playfully, scratching my chin. She chuckled and out of habit from escorting women, I placed my hand on the small of her back and guided her toward the restaurant.
After a small exchange with the host we were led to a table by the window with a slightly different view of the awesome mountain range, and I glanced at Rhea’s pretty face as her bright brown eyes scanned over the landscape.
“Isn’t this incredible?” she asked, her head turning slowly as she appreciated the beautiful wintery scene outside.
“Indeed. I’m in awe, it humbles me, nothing man could ever construct could compete with what nature has provided for us to look at.”
“This is so true, I never tire of this view, no matter how many times I’ve been here. I’d forgotten how light-headed I feel when I’m here.”
“Denver’s a mile above sea level it affects a lot of people like that.”
“Thank goodness, I thought it was being here with you that was making me dizzy.”
I chuckled at her dramatic remark. “Nope, I think you’re fine, it’s just the thin air.”
“Are you sure it’s not the company? You must know how handsome you are,” she said, flirting totally unabashedly. “I’ve been here many times and although the air does affect me it’s never usually quite like this,” she replied with a wink.
I chuckled again. “Are you flirting with me?” I asked jovially. “Looks are only skin deep, Rhea, it’s what’s inside that counts. And believe me there’s a whole lot of ugly in here,” I replied, tapping my chest.
Gazing at me through narrowed eyes, she shook her head. “I doubt that, Mr. Wild,” she replied, chuckling. As her remark was bordering close to the line, I figured I had to tone it down. It had been my fault for leading her toward my personal life.
“Strictly business,” I said, but I winked and managed to sound rueful in my tone so as not to offend her. “So tell me your story,” I asked, changing the subject, because although I had been with many man-eating women, I wanted to make it clear nothing was going to happen between us.
Rhea appeared unfazed. “Not much to tell, really. Originally from Portland, Oregon. Graduated, Berkley. I came to New York seeking my fortune, but because I arrived in the city shortly after the property crash not many firms were hiring. Luckily, because of my numbers I found gainful employment.” She winked with her reference to numbers and I chuckled. “It wasn’t a sexy job, just working in the mortgage brokerage section of a bank. With the experience I gained from there, I was offered employment managing accounts for your father’s property rental company’s head office. Oscar Peterson headhunted me from there, and—ta-da, here I am.”
The man she spoke of was my father’s company’s executive finance director: smart, shrewd, and ruthless, not a man who was impressed easily.
