The Decent Proposal (Trust In Me) (9 page)

Ana cocked her head at him. “You do know that
this is how couples act, right? They hug and kiss each other. If you want all
of your business associates to think we’re dating, I’m going to give them a
reason to believe it,” Ana stated, matter of fact.

“Okay, but can we at least keep it G-rated at
the dinners?” Rob asked.

“G-rated at the dinners. Got it. What about
after?”

There was that throaty laugh again. Was he
getting turned on without wanting to admit it?

“Look, it’s just that… you’re making it a little
hard,” Rob replied softly.

“Only a little hard? Damn, I must be doing
something wrong.”

Ana’s wanton behavior seemed to be a little more
than Rob expected. “Alright, let’s get you some coffee, what do you say?” he
said, reaching for the drink in her hand.

“Oh, don’t be such a party pooper.” Ana swiped
her hand to the side before Rob could grab her glass. “Oh snap, did I just say
that out loud?”

“Did you just say ‘snap?’” Rob asked.

“No. Not me. But you just did.” Ana giggled
uncontrollably.

“I think it’s time to get out of here.” Rob’s
concern that she could get out of hand was probably not unwarranted. He threw
some cash on the bar.

“No! I’ll be good, I promise. I can straighten
up.”

She turned to set her purse on a vacant stool
and got slapped with Stephanie’s chilling gaze. “Oh, just the person I wanted
to speak with,” Ana said. “I’m wondering, how did you know my name is
Anabelle?” Stephanie glared at her, seemingly caught off guard, and Rob placed
a hand on Ana’s shoulder in what she presumed was an attempt to subdue her.

“Oh, well, I suppose I guessed. I mean, isn’t
Ana usually short for Anabelle?”

“Yes, but it’s also short for Anastasia, or
Annalise, Joanna, Julianna, I could keep going?” Ana argued.

“I guess I just got lucky.” Stephanie smiled her
phony smile and looked at Rob. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be heading home now.
Did you get that assignment I just sent you?”

“Yes, I did. We’ll need to talk about this on
Monday.” Rob said.

“Is… there a problem?”

“Like I said, we’ll have to discuss it next
week.”

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out
there was some serious tension between the two of them. Stephanie’s eyes
narrowed into tiny slits, and Ana thought she saw steam coming from her ears.
She bit her lip to stifle a giggle.

“Fine, I’ll see you then, dear.” Stephanie said.

Dear? Look, bitch, don’t
make me come across this bar…

Ana definitely had too much to drink. She had
crossed a line she normally didn’t come close to approaching. Her mood was
erratic and her behavior uninhibited, a little aggressive even. She felt uneasy
about Stephanie and realized that she didn’t trust her, not just because she
was Rob’s ex, but for some other reason she couldn’t quite pinpoint.

Upon Rob’s insistence, they left the
restaurant—so quickly, in fact, that Ana could detect faint traces of
Stephanie’s perfume at the exit. The scent was acuminous, stabbing her in the
nostrils with its sharp aroma. As the fresh air hit her in the face, she sucked
in a large gulp of air, relieved to be outside.

She followed Rob to the car, trailing three
paces behind, angry with herself for being so confrontational with Stephanie.
She recognized that she needed to wind it down a little, grudgingly aware that
Rob didn’t belong to her, and she didn’t belong to him. Maybe she could do something
to change that.

* * * * *

Once they were in the back of the limo, she couldn’t
take her eyes off of Rob. God, she needed him—needed to feel him, taste
him, be close to him. In a matter of seconds, she made a decision that,
depending on how Rob would react, would either make or break the evening. Despite
the amount of alcohol she had consumed, she was still sober enough to know that
there were consequences she might not be happy about in the morning but still drunk
enough that she didn’t care.

At the peak of her intoxication, she wasn’t
really sure why she didn’t have the guts to tell him how she felt before now.
Usually she had no trouble discussing those things with other men. But there
was something about Rob that was different. It was almost like he had some sort
of power over her. Maybe it was the age difference. It could have been the fact
that she looked up to him as some sort of authority figure, and she wanted desperately
to maintain a sense of professionalism. Then again, maybe she was scared
because what she felt for him was more real than anything she had ever felt
before. Either way, tonight she would push those reasons aside. She was horny as
hell, and the only man she wanted was sitting in the seat right next to her. And
let’s get real—what man in his right mind would turn her away? She
quietly slipped off her shoes and let her toes sneak up the side of his leg.

“Hey, what’cha doing all the way over there?”
she asked seductively.

Rob glanced down at her foot and chuckled. He
grasped her foot and began tickling it but must have realized that Ana wasn’t
ticklish as he quickly switched to rubbing. Ana let out some soft moans, and
Rob turned his head to look out the window.

“God, that feels really nice,” she muttered,
breathless.

“Hmm, you’ve been wearing three-inch heels all
night. I’m sure your feet are sore,” Rob said as he continued to look through
the glass. He seemed to be in a trance, captivated by the city lights far off
in the distance. She wondered what he was thinking. After a failed opportunity
to let his hands wander a little higher, she pushed a little further.

“Are you taking me home, or are we going back to
your place?”

Rob looked at Ana, and they briefly locked eyes.
His unyielding gaze burned through her—scared her even—as she
thought that he had finally succumbed to the sexual pull between them.

“I think I should probably take you home. You’re
going to feel like shit in the morning, and the last thing you’ll want to see
is my ugly mug.” Rob’s answer was not what she wanted to hear.

“Mmm… disagreed. That mug is not ugly,” Ana
replied.

A few minutes later the limo pulled into her
driveway, and Ana sank into her seat in disappointment. Rob got out and helped
her to the door, and she purposely took the initiative to hang on his shoulders
with extra dramatic flair. She really wasn’t as drunk as she appeared, but she
liked the illusion she was giving to Rob. It was risky, playing this part, but
she rationalized it by thinking that if he completely rejected her, she could
blame it on the alcohol.

“Ana? Do you have your keys?” Rob asked as they
stood by the front door.

“Oops.” She smiled demurely. “I must have left
them at your house.” She honestly had not thought about them until that very
moment.

“I guess we’re going back to my place then,” he
muttered.

“I’m sorry, I forgot them. I wasn’t thinking.”
           
“It’s
okay… not a problem,” he reassured.

They got back in the limo and started down the
road. Ana’s attempt at winning Rob over so far? Epic fail.

“I really am sorry, Rob. Are you mad at me? You
have my permission to turn me over your knee and give me a good spanking. I
deserve it.”

Rob turned his head quickly and looked out at
the streetlights whipping past them in the dark, then wiped the palms of his
hands down his pants. “Well, I just might have to do that but let’s get you to
bed first. A good night’s sleep is what you need more than a spanking right
now.”

“No, I’m pretty sure I need a spanking,” Ana
said, twirling her hair between her fingers. “I’ve been really bad.” She scooted
closer in the seat, turned to face him, and reached up to stroke his hair,
letting her fingers gently trace a path behind his ear. He was visibly fighting
the grin pushing across his face, and as he shifted in his seat, Ana couldn’t
help but notice his erection. He took her hand and softly pulled it down, placing
it in her lap.

“Okay, let’s not get carried away,” Rob said.
           
“I
think getting carried away is exactly what we need,” Ana whispered.

“Ana, you’re drunk. Don’t do something you’ll
regret in the morning.”

Ana reeled. His comment stung. Why would she
regret it? Would he regret it? Why the hell didn’t he want her? She was so
turned on that she had lost all control over her behavior, and it embarrassed
and angered her that he was rejecting her. Ana pushed herself over to the other
side of the limo and rolled the partition down.

“Drop me off at The Guard,” Ana snapped.

“Um, no. Ignore that, Walter.” Rob rolled the
window back up.

The Guard was a local nightclub in her part of
town that was known for being a total meat market. It was where chicks went
with their girlfriends, and guys could show up with a solid guarantee they
wouldn’t be going home alone. Ana never could quite figure out why they called
it The Guard. Nothing there was guarded. If anything, the guests had a blatant
disregard for their bodies, practically giving it away to total strangers.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Rob replied,
“Ana, don’t be ridiculous. You don’t want to go to that place.”
           
“Why
not?” she barked. “Sounds like you’ve paid them a visit. Besides, at least
someone there will want me.” She could see Rob shaking his head out of the
corner of her eye.

Dammit! Why is he being
so mature? Why can’t he just lean over, rip my panties off, and fuck the
‘belle’ out of me?
“Fine,
I give up.” Ana was confused and hurt. And to make matters worse, her head was
starting to throb. She remained quiet, sulking in her corner of the limousine
the rest of the ride.

Once they arrived at Rob’s, he motioned her to
the guest room and quickly walked down the long hallway. She wasn’t sure where
he was going, but she didn’t feel like getting under the covers at the moment,
and she sure as hell wasn’t going to chase him down. When he came back with
some aspirin and water, she was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the
floor. She quickly sucked down the pills then handed him the empty glass before
he turned to leave.

“Rob, wait… I’m sorry. I… I was obnoxious
tonight. I’m not usually like this… don’t even really drink that much.” She
looked up at him with pleading eyes. “Forgive me?”

“Don’t sweat it. We’ve all had our moments. And
you weren’t obnoxious.”

Ana smiled at him. “Do you have something I
could sleep in?”

“Oh… sure. I’ll be right back.” He brought her
one of his long sleeved shirts and told her there were extra blankets in the
closet.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” Rob replied.

“What in the world did you ever see in her?”

Rob seemed unmoved by her question. “You’re
talking about Stephanie?”

“Um, yeah, unless there’s someone else I don’t
know about?”

He studied her for a moment then sat next to her
on the bed. “Ana, I don’t know. She was a very different person several years
ago. Carefree, full of life, easy to please, we had a lot in common. About six
or seven months ago, I noticed a change in her. It was subtle at first but
ultimately became impossible to ignore. She was intensely focused on work,
which initially wasn’t a problem. I mean, I admire a strong, career-focused
woman, but she took it too far. She started working really late hours,
cancelling our plans at the last minute, even trips we had scheduled. She
became temperamental, difficult to get along with, disrespectful even to some
of our staff. Right about the time I began suspecting that she was having an
affair, she ended things. I wasn’t that surprised, but it hurt. A lot.”

“I’m sorry. I guess that was a pretty shitty thing
for me to ask. How long were you together?” She knew it was none of her
business, but she needed to know.

“A while. And it’s not shitty. I used to ask
those same questions. She’s become the kind of person most people don’t want to
be around.”

“Was she cheating on you?” Ana asked.

“I don’t believe so. In retrospect, she just
wasn’t happy. It doesn’t really matter anyway. I’ve finally reached the point
where I don’t think about her.”
           
“But
you have to work with her. How do you handle that? She hasn’t tried to get you
back?”
           
Rob
laughed. “No. I see her every day, but honestly our paths don’t cross that
much. She does her thing, and she leaves me alone to do mine. And if she ever
did want to get back together, it’s not happening. By the way, how did you know
I dated her?”

“You remember Dan told me about her? I asked
Beth, and she said you two used to date. But she assumed I knew, so don’t get
mad at her for telling me.”

“Jesus, I’m not mad,” Rob retorted. “Why would I
be mad? It’s no secret or anything.”

“I know it’s not a secret, but you didn’t tell
me about her. I wasn’t sure if there was a reason for that. I understand if you
don’t want to talk about it. It’s not like it’s any of my business anyway.”