The Teacher's Billionaire (18 page)

He knew from their phone calls that she'd been busy all week. The students' last day had been Wednesday and her final day of school had been Thursday. Then she'd immediately started her summer job earlier that morning. They'd spoken almost everyday that week. He never spoke with anyone that much unless it related to business. Still it hadn't been enough. Every night he found himself thinking about her. Wanting her by his side and in his bed. When he'd seen her step of the train his first instinct was to pull her into his arms, and kiss her, then lock them both in his apartment for the entire weekend.

So far he'd only done two of the three. The jury was still out on the last one. Would anyone really notice if they didn't emerge from his apartment this weekend? These political fundraisers were hectic. Perhaps Warren would think he'd just hadn't seen her there among everyone else.

Fat chance of that Talbot.
Accept it. You're just going to have to share her this weekend. At least for a little while. Tomorrow night he had every intention of getting them as much alone time as possible. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to make it up to Massachusetts at all next week. This weekend might have to hold him over for awhile. Maybe he could convince her to come back to the city next Friday after work. They might not get a lot of time together during the day on Saturday. He had a business lunch he couldn't get out of that day. They'd have the nights together though and most of Sunday. If he could convince her to take his private plane instead of the ridiculous train, they would have even more time together.

It was a definite possibility. Something he really liked the idea of.
For someone who doesn't do emotional relationships you're getting yourself pretty damn entangled.

“I've got everything under control.” Dylan spoke the words aloud as if it it would help convince himself it was true. In the deep recesses of his mind and heart though, he knew it was the furthest thing from the truth. Somewhere along the line he'd entered uncharted waters despite his best intentions.

Dylan took another sip of wine his thoughts turning to what his family might be thinking. They knew Callie was staying with him that weekend. They also knew that he was escorting her to the fundraiser tomorrow night. His mom already knew about his agreement with Phillips. She'd been all for it. He got the feeling she also knew their relationship had crossed into intimate territory too. She hadn't come right out and said it, but she dropped several hints. Warren though seemed oblivious to the possibility.

Is that because he's so distracted by the campaign? Or does he trust me so implicitly that he assumes I would never fool around with his daughter?
Dylan just didn't know.

Warren wasn't one to lose his cool. Perhaps that was why he made such a good politician. He could hide his true emotions whenever he wanted. Dylan could only recall a handful of times when his stepfather had become visibly irate.

“How's he going to react if he finds out?” Warren knew exactly how Dylan approached relationships these days. Most likely he would not be pleased. “You're not going to do anything differently so why worry about it,” he muttered before taking another sip of wine.

Dylan was still staring out the window twenty minutes later when he heard Callie enter the room. Turning to watch her, an unfamiliar feeling of contentment settled over him. Having her here in his apartment just felt natural. Reaching for her hand he tugged her close. “Have a nice nap?”

Callie nodded. “You should have woken me,” she replied just before yawning.

“Obviously you needed the rest.” He pointed out laughing. “Besides I plan on keeping you up tonight so I figured letting you sleep now was in my best interest.”

She blushed at his comment, and he couldn't resist the urge to kiss her. Dylan forced himself to pull away before they ended up in his bedroom again.

Damn.
He'd only intended a quick kiss. Yet once again he got carried away. It happened so easily with her. It wasn't something he was used too. He always remained in control, no matter who he was with. Yet with Callie all his control went not only out the window but down the street to the next block, and Dylan kept forcing himself to not think about why.

“Dinner is on its way.” He moved further away putting a little more space between them. “I opened some wine. Would you like some?”

“Sure.” Callie walked closer to the windows, which stretched from the ceiling to the floor.

With her back towards him, Dylan couldn't tell what was on her mind. Was she thinking about him? Her surroundings? Her father? The fundraiser? Whatever it was he wanted to know.

“You have a spectacular view from here.”

Dylan thought he had the best view, and it had nothing to do with the view outside. “I sure do,” he agreed his tone letting her know he wasn't talking about the city below.

Handing her a glass of wine he asked, “Are you looking forward to tomorrow night?”

Callie sighed very softly. In fact if he hadn't been so focused on her, he probably would've missed it.

“Yes... I guess so.” She nibbled slightly on her bottom lip which Dylan knew either meant she was deep in thought or nervous.

“Honestly, I'm nervous about it.” She paused and took a long sip of wine. “If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have come,” she admitted looking him squarely in the eye.

Her honesty and sincerity touched him. Dropping a feather light kiss on her mouth he replied, “I'm glad you did.” A knock at the door interrupted him before he could say anything else. “That must be our food. Why don't you have a seat at the table.”

Dylan spread the containers of food on the table and grabbed some plates from the cabinet. “You know I can't remember the last time I sat here to eat dinner. Most of the time I just grab something at the office or on my way home.”

“That can't be good for you.” Callie accepted the first container he offered her. She didn't know what it was, but she could smell the basil in it. “Everything looks and smells great. I haven't had Thai food in months.”

It sure does
. However, Dylan wasn't thinking about the food. He was thinking about how she looked sitting in his penthouse. It was definitely a sight he could get used to every night.

Careful there. You're treading on thin ice.

Dylan spooned some rice onto his plate. “The fundraiser isn't until seven tomorrow. I thought we could spend the day exploring the city. We can go anywhere you want. Shopping, museums. You name it.”

Callie's smile was warm, and his chest tightened with emotion. Instinctively, Dylan rubbed his chest as if he could get the feeling to leave. Emotions like the ones he felt for Callie were taboo to him. He didn't allow them into his life. That was why he now had relationships only with women he knew wouldn't evoke them. Not that some didn't try. With the exception of Francesca, none ever succeeded. Until now.

But Callie wasn't even trying. She was simply being herself. Perhaps that explained why he couldn't resist her.

Dylan poured himself more wine. “I have a surprise for you.”

She eyed him suspiciously. “What kind of surprise?” Callie didn't wait for him to answer. “The last time I got a
surprise
I found out Warren Sherbrooke was my father.”

“It's not life changing I promise.” He took her free hand and squeezed it. “Was the surprise about your father good or bad?” He hadn't intended to ask the question. It just slipped out. Now that he had, Dylan found that he really wanted to know.

“Now that's a loaded question.” Callie groaned pushing the food around on her plate. “Good and bad I guess. I know that makes no sense. I'm glad I know the truth. And Warren has been very nice.”

“Sounds all good to me.”

“My mom and I were really close. Believe it or not she was one of my best friends, or at least I thought she was.” He could hear the bitterness in Callie's voice.

“I'm sure she had her reasons for not telling you.”

Shrugging she tried to smile. “Lets talk about something else, okay.”

Without saying another word Dylan stood. “Stay right here. Don't move.”

Dylan disappeared into his room to retrieve the gown his executive assistant picked up for him that afternoon. He hoped she liked.

“I told you my surprise wasn't life changing.” He held up the gown and waited for her response.

Speechless she stared at it, then at him.

“You said you were going to borrow something to wear.” When she still remained silent he wondered if maybe she didn't like it. “If it doesn't fit or if you don't like it we can get something else tomorrow.”

“It's... I love it.” Callie replied her voice full of emotion. “But I can't... you shouldn't have.”

Dylan moved closer. “I wanted to.”

Chapter 12

Dylan flipped through the television channels not really looking for anything particular. They needed to leave in less than half an hour, so there wasn't really time to watch anything. He just wanted to kill time while he waited for Callie to finish getting ready.

Finally he settled on the Yankees pregame report. As the announcer droned on about the night's starting line up, Dylan wished he and Callie were getting ready for the game instead of the fundraiser. He'd definitely be a lot more comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt instead of the tux he wore.

He didn't enjoy these society events. Most people thought he did, but the truth was that he went because it was important to the family, not to him. If he never went to another one of these black tie affairs, it'd be fine with him.

And he
really
didn't want to go tonight. Dylan kept trying to tell himself it was because he didn't want to share Callie. Tomorrow afternoon she would head home. Yet if he was honest there was something else. He senses that something was going to happen tonight. Exactly what he didn't know. Just that it wasn't anything good. He couldn't shake it either. Dylan didn't put any stock in premonitions. Still he couldn't shake the feeling that tonight wasn't going to end well for them.

“All set,” Callie announced standing in the doorway.

Dylan stared at the vision before him. She simply took his breath away. The sapphire gown clung to her every curve, and the color made her eyes even more memorizing. All he could picture was pulling every pin from her hair, slowly peeling the gown from her body, and carrying her back to his bedroom.

“Lord I wish we had more time.” Without a thought of how wrinkled her gown might become, he pulled her into his arms. “You look incredible,” he murmured against the side of her neck inhaling the light scent of the vanilla shampoo she favored. Slowly he kissed his way up till his mouth settled on hers.

He'd just reached to slide the zipper of her gown down when his cell phone went off. The offending sound cut through his haze of desire, and he pulled back enough to pull the device from his pocket. “The car is waiting for us.” Dylan dropped a kiss on her forehead. “You might want to fix your makeup before we go?” Their little make out session smudged her lipstick.

Callie glared at him before turning and leaving. Dylan watched her retreating form with pure male appreciation. It was going to be a very long evening. He wondered how early of an exit they might be able to make.

She'd been in a limo before. But never one like this. While it resembled the others everything in this one was new and top of the line.

“What's tonight going to be like? Are there going to be a lot of people. Have I told you how much I hate large gatherings when I don't know anyone?” Callie took a sip of her sparkling water. Her mouth felt as if it was covered in cotton, yet her palms were ridiculously sweaty.

“Speeches, dinner and a whole lot of ass kissing. Nothing to exciting.”

The limo stopped in front of the Waldorf Astoria.

This is it. You can handle it.

“Just relax. I'll be with you all night. If you need to leave just tell me.”

Callie gave him a small, weak smile. “Thanks.”

At every table sat elegantly dressed men and women. Some she recognized from television or magazines. The whole thing felt surreal to her, like she'd stepped into another reality. She had to fight the urge to ask Dylan to leave the minute they walked in the ballroom. While he had offered to go whenever she needed to, Callie wasn't sure how he really felt about doing that. This type of event was not new to him. Besides Warren probably expected him to be there along with the rest of the family.

“I can't believe some of the people who are here tonight. Was that Mia Troy we passed when we first came in?” Callie asked referring to a popular film star.

Dylan placed his hand on the small of her back and lead her towards the bar. “Yes. She's a big supporter of Warren's. Has been since he first announced his plan to run.”

“Really? For some reason I thought most Hollywood celebrities tended to support Richardson.” Callie accepted the glass of white wine the bar tender handed her and surveyed the ballroom in awe. She couldn't believe she was in the same room as these people.