Heart Eyes Activated

As promised, my car was sitting in my driveway bright and early the next morning. Right where he said it would be. His guard dogs were still there too, camping out not far away.

It felt strange to be guarded so closely by two men I had never met. It was because they were so fiercely loyal to Bentley that they stood watch.

My chastity belt loosened a notch that morning. Thinking about how powerful of a man he was seemed to be the key. At the order of a finger or a simple command, he was a ruler. A man everyone feared and steered clear of. But not me. The more I saw of him, the more my feelings changed.

“Good morning.” He sounded cheery when he called.

“Morning.” I blushed so hard my voice drifted away.

“Did your car get there in one piece?”

“It did. Thank you.”

I was so bashful it made me gag. He didn’t have to try hard either. Bentley had a way of making me smile even when I didn’t want to.

“What are your plans for the day?” he asked. “I’ll be stuck in a business meeting with some grumpy old men who think they’re my equals just because my father bowed down to them.”

That was news to my ears. Everyone in Westlake saw Mr. Thomas as a man of many masks, but never a man who would bow down to anyone.

“I’ll be doing some cold calling,” I said. “I’ve been putting it off, but it’s time to get the ball rolling and find out what people know.”

“Do people really talk? Like, they actually answer the phone and start spilling everything?”

“Surprising, huh?” I said sarcastically. “I know you’re a man who hates a snitch or a rat, but they come in handy when it counts.”

I was fond of teasing him, though I didn’t necessarily consider it teasing. He was a gangster. And gangsters do hate rats and snitches. I thought that if I poked the bear long enough, he would finally show his teeth. But Bentley was as gentle as ever. Even if I offended him.

“We may come from two different worlds, but we have a lot of the same views, Justine. I had to learn that the hard way while I was in prison. I learned a lot of things during that time. Most importantly, you can’t trust anyone. Not even your own family.”

I had never lived the life of a billionaire kingpin, but I knew he was right. My mother broke the trust in our family a few years before I met Bentley. She was the reason I jolted into my career as hard as I did. Trusting anyone was hard, but when you couldn’t trust your own mother, the person who gave you life, the world looked completely different.

“I know the feeling,” I said. “But I don’t wanna start my day off talking about trust issues and prison. Maybe when you get back we can have that dinner you’ve been hounding me for, so we can finish this conversation.”

“Hounding you?” he laughed. “Alright, I’ll run with that. I have been hounding you a little bit. But it’s only because I see something in you that I’ve never seen in anyone else. I don’t know what it is, but when I figure it out, I’ll let you know. I’m a person who goes off feelings, so it’s kind of hard for me to express myself at times.”

That was another thing we had in common. My struggles with expression stemmed from overworking myself to keep away from dating and to block out the reality of my everyday life. And his stemmed from whatever burdens and skeletons he hid in his closet.

I wanted to know who and what those skeletons and burdens were. So much so, I thought about letting someone else cover Ivy’s story and focusing on the Thomas Family Empire instead. However, I felt obligated to see it through the minute I found out it was her.

I talked to Bentley while I got ready for work and even on my drive to the office. It was hard to hang up with him. We said we’d talk about our trust issues and family drama over dinner when he got back, but somehow, our conversation ran in that direction anyway.

“Ok, Mr. Thomas, I made it to work. So I’m gonna get off the phone now.”

“Oh no, I’m so heartbroken,” he teased. “How will I get through the day without hearing your voice?”

“I’m sure you have plenty of other voices to keep you company,” I giggled. “Besides, I’m sure you’ll text me at some point. You’ve been texting me ever since I gave you my number.”

I sensed that he liked it when I called him out. I think it was the challenge and the way I pushed back instead of giving in. Most women who sat in the presence of a billionaire were silent doormats, but not me. I remained true to myself and relentless when it came to getting answers.

“My meeting’s getting ready to start here,” he said. “Hopefully this goes smoothly, and we’ll settle our strife quickly. I’m really not in the mood for anything but a nice dinner and conversation with a beautiful woman.”

There he was again, making me blush with his irresistible charm. In the beginning, dinner with Bentley was the last thing I wanted to partake in. But after being introduced to his softer side, I became eager to dine with him.

“Un huh,” I playfully taunted. “We’ll see how beautiful you think I am when I start asking the hard questions. Just because I might be taking it easy on you now doesn’t mean I will when the truth starts to unravel. You won’t be able to charm or buy me into silence. So if you think that you’ll be able to, then I have bad news for you.”