Hendrix
Your attendance is requested.
We’re honoring your commitment to the greater city of Miami Development, Architecture, and Construction Association.
Don’t forget to R.S.V.P!
My finger hovered over the delete button.
It’d be so easy. Just check off one little box highlighting them all, and it’d all go the fuck away.
“Leeches,” I hissed through my teeth before slamming my laptop closed and staring off into the warm waters of the Atlantic. None of these people were my friends—people I might even consider a colleague.
Most had never been on a job site, much less gotten their hands dirty in their life.
Just your average snob with money to spare and who loved to make themselves feel important. This wasn’t for charity or to raise funds for the city.
It was to rub elbows, kiss ass, and show off: three things I didn’t give a flying one about. Thousand-dollar plates and an open bar were not my idea of a good time.
As if you remember what that is.
Ignoring my own self-deprecating thoughts, I looked toward the shore a few feet away. The waves crashed with a bit of violence. As if the water felt my mounting ire.
Picking my bottle up from the table, I brought it to my lips and took in a long pull. Savored the hoppy flavor while surveying the shore a few steps from my back deck.
Nothing brought me peace like being home, and the Florida Keys was just that—my getaway from it all.
I’d built this place with my bare hands.
A side project between large jobs to help me decompress. Three years of blood, sweat, and calloused fingers created what would’ve been our retirement home. Our golden years retreat. Ophelia wanted to enjoy the salt life to its maximum while the grandkids we’d someday have played on the same shore in my line of sight.
But things change. Emotional connections change.
My phone vibrated on the small patio table, bringing me back from my thoughts. Four shakes and it stopped, only to go off again. Jax, the persistent fucker that he was, kept hounding me.
For a week, I managed to avoid him. Had my secretary thwart any attempt at an impromptu visit.
He was dead set on reminding me of the small but ever tightening noose around my neck.
“Asshole,” I muttered before taking another sip from my beer. I knew what he wanted. “I’m not desperate enough yet.”
A ping alerted me to an incoming text, and I tapped the screen.
Pick up, fucker. ~Jax
Busy. Stop calling. ~Hendrix
Rubbing a hand down my face, I scratched my chin. My beard was longer than I’d ever worn it before. Something else I needed to take care of.
If you aren’t jerking off or plowing into something tight...ANSWER ME! ~Jax
The last one caused me to laugh aloud. Fucking was a necessary release every few months. A quick smile, buy a drink, and then bend them over the nearest available surface.
No caresses or sweet words. Quick and dirty.
Contrary to what Jax believed, I never took a celibacy vow.
And since we both know you aren’t...stop being an ass and check out your account. You have several ladies ranging from twenty-one through thirty trying to connect. ~Jax
I’d begun to type in my reply when another came...
Keep ignoring this and I will set you up with my P.A. Lisa. Coke bottle glasses my friend. ~Jax
I’ll drive her down to the Keys myself! ~Jax
A shudder rushed through me. That woman had been trying to ride my dick since the day I met her. Didn’t care one bit that I was attached at that moment and found her repulsive.
Maybe I was a superficial asshole, but I liked what I liked, and she was not it. Frizzy, over-dyed hair, clothes too tight—short, and most of the time in spandex. Her hideous glasses finished off her look, but it was the nasty attitude attached to her that was my largest turn off.
Grabbing my keys... ~Jax
And I’ll shoot you...claim it was self-defense. One look at her, and they will understand I felt threatened. ~Hendrix
Again, my phone rang and this time I answered and pressed the speaker button. “What?”
“Did you look?” Like I said before, he was like a dog with a bone.
“Ask me that again, and I’ll hang up.” And because I was a masochistic man, I booted my laptop once more and read through the emails I’d been avoiding. Why? No clue, when I knew what each one would say.
One stood out amongst the pile:
WE’D LOVE TO INVEST IN YOU...
The fuck? That title alone screamed scam, but I opened it up anyway and then proceeded to crack the fuck up. People in the real estate business had balls; investors more than anyone.
“You okay there, Parker? Is the world ending?” Ignoring his snide remark, I kept on reading. Jax hated to be ignored. “Hello...did you die? Was the laughter the end of it for you?”
“First off, fuck you.” Again, I re-read what was supposed to be a short, vibrant email and laughed. “Came across something funny.”
“Share with the class.” Impatient ass.
I cleared my throat. “The Lexington Co. wants to invest in me and my newly opened—exclusive—golf course in Cocoplum. Same golf course which is finished, open to the public, and has all the surrounding properties, which I also built, purchased.”
“Are you serious? Again, with that shit,” he snickered while I shook my head. “They are trying to find a way in and buy you out.”
“Noted, but they won’t succeed. I’m a developer, not a real estate agent or investor who wants to buy and mass produce flips. They want to buy? It’s going to cost them more than an eye to get an in.”
At the very least, the fuckers in that office were good for a laugh.
Deleting the message, I scrolled through a few more that I’d yet to open. They all held the same tone...
You must attend. No choice. Tough shit.
A few minutes later, Jax let out a long and winded sigh. “Listen, man. I’m not trying to be a pain, but trust me for once. You need this. It’ll help you get through the next few months at least.” I stayed quiet and let him talk. It was more than obvious that if I didn’t, I’d get no peace tonight. “...look at it as if it were a summer hire. An intern of sorts...just that she’d be taking care of you and not the phones in the office.”
Couldn’t hold in the bark of laughter that escaped then. “You mean taking care of my cock.”
“Not at all.” The seriousness in his tone caught me off guard, and the humor I’d found in this ridiculous conversation waned. “That’s not how any of this works, Parker. Have some respect.”
“Hey, man,” I hissed out, “you called me. You’ve been riding my ass to talk about a subject I have no interest in. Don’t give me shit for what you brought on.”
“Then act like the mature thirty-eight-year-old you are and take this serious.” The sound of clinking ice in a glass carried through the line then, and I looked down at my own now lukewarm beer. Nasty. Standing from my chair, I walked into the house from the deck and straight toward the kitchen. Phone placed between my shoulder and ear, I tried to pay attention to what Jax said while opening the fridge. “...those girls just like men with a certain position in life. Men who can afford a nice meal and are career oriented. Hold a position of power in their communities. They want to be taken care of, security, just like any other girlfriend would—”
“Let me stop you there.” From inside, I pulled out another beer and uncapped it. Took a deep pull from the ice-cold bottle. “Most women don’t sign up to date older rich men and take their money in exchange for the use of their bodies. That has a name, Jax. Stop trying to sell me a lie.”
“They won’t sleep with you unless they’ve initiated the act. Is that prostitution?”
“Come again?” Walking back outside, I grabbed my open laptop and made myself comfortable on a lounger. The night was a bit chilly, but welcomed after the over one-hundred-degree day we’d just had. Felt good to be outside.
“I’m going to put this in a simple/vulgar way for you, Hendrix. That way you understand once and for all.” He took a sip from his drink, the sound of him swallowing loud in my ear. “She—the girl you choose—will not suck your dick unless she wants to. Her choice to let you fuck her or not.”
I choked on the sip of beer I’d just taken. “What the hell, man!”
“The contract is very specific,” he continued as if I hadn’t just yelled. “Once you’ve chosen the one that catches your eye, a meeting will be held. All of this with her safety in mind, she will decide the where and when. Not you. Never you.”
“You are very protective.” And that was putting it mildly. Fucker sounded about to have a coronary.
“I love Crystal and won’t have you offending her. Best friend or not.”
“You’re right, and I apologize for my lack of tact. But please keep in mind that I’m not versed in this field like you.” That was the best he’d get from me. “Don’t know the protocol.”
“Shut up,” he grunted and then mumbled something I couldn’t quite make out under his breath.
“What was that?”
“I called you a hard-headed punk,” Jax grunted. “You are the most exhausting man I’ve ever met, so listen carefully.”
“Okay.”
“Boot up that laptop and login to the website using the paperwork I gave you. Check it out, go through some profiles, and keep an open mind, Hendrix. Give this a chance.”
Taking in a deep breath, I let it out slowly. Raked my fingers through my black hair and pulled a bit. “Fine.” At that moment, I’d agree to gift him my soul if the man backed off. “How does this shit work?”
“Easy.” He laughed. “Input your desired features: everything from eye color to if she’s open to a sexual relationship. Possible matches will be made, and you go through them. Think of it as a resume. Find one you like and make contact. Be honest with her, and if she likes what you offer, she will ask to meet in person. From there, if you are both on the same page, a contract will be discussed.”
“That’s it?” My tone came out more sarcastic than I had intended it to.
“Go find a woman, ass.” With that he hung up, and I let my head drop back. A star shot across the night’s sky, and I took that as a sign of the apocalypse coming.
This had bad idea written all over it.
“Let’s get this shit over with.” At least you’ll be safe from the idea of love.
No attachment other than mutual benefits. You get laid, and she, paid.
Opening my browser, I typed in the website I’d memorized from the paperwork he’d left me. Not that I would ever tell him, but I read everything inside of that plain manila folder.
Immediately the bold font on the website’s home page met my eyes. Craving Sugar, the world’s largest sugar daddy dating site, bombarded my senses with pictures of happy couples. Success stories.
Beautiful women on the arms of what looked to be your average CEO.
All smiling and flaunting their wealth.
There was no doubt I had the money. I’d become a millionaire by the age of twenty-four and my net worth had vastly multiplied over the years.
Scrolling down, I read through a few of the rules for the site and then logged in. Jax was an asshole and used @needpussynow for my password.
The questionnaire, once in, was quite simple as my profile had already been made.
“At least he chose a good picture for it,” I muttered while reading the short bio. Nothing outlandish, just some bullshit he concocted. Made me sound as if I were looking for more than someone on my arm for a short-term agreement.
Since when did you agree to this? I hadn’t. Not yet. Was just looking.
“Doing this just to get Jax off my back.” Sounded like bull even to my own ears.
Picking up my beer from the floor beside my lounger, I sipped while clicking on the “likes” and “dislikes” section.
Hair, eyes, ethnicity...I didn’t care. All that mattered were two things; she had to be intelligent, and not on any kind of drugs. Nothing that would impair her judgement.
The moment I approved of the final setup for my account and information, the messages began.
Ping after ping. My inbox flooded.
I didn’t read a single one of those messages. Those candidates reeked of desperation. If, and that was a big if, I followed through with this sham, it would be on my terms.
I’d find her.
Opening the currently available babies page, I scrolled through the pictures. Blondes, brunettes...a few red heads. All between the ages of twenty and thirty-five. Some were moms, and others were students.
Those with children were an automatic no. I wasn’t looking to be anyone’s father figure.
This is a waste of time. Sure, they were beautiful women with the bodies to match, but none caught my attention or made me pause.
Not until I saw her.
All the way at the bottom—her profile only a few hours old. Beau Carter, age twenty-three and in school, had a lot of potential.
She was an alluring creature.
Short, at only five feet and two inches, she’d fit perfectly against my harsh planes. A delicate doll with long, light brown hair and striking green eyes. And fuck me, those pouty lips of hers were heaven.
She was the first woman in years that made my cock twitch with a simple smile.
Her picture was effortless.
Gorgeous, in nothing more than a white string bikini while sitting cross-legged on a sandy beach. Eyes wide and happy, she had a serene smile on her face while soft waves crashed behind her.
She was stunning.
She would be mine.