Mr. Imperfect

chapter 57



It had been so tempting to accept Jean’s offer of a first-class plane ticket home the night before, but Mike Cannon was a man of his word. He told Rori he would make a video of her art show, and that’s what he planned to do. Besides, he’d already put three days’ work in. Might as well get the pay off of the actual event.

It was rather obvious that Rori hadn’t expected to see him when she arrived at the gallery. She visibly flinched when their eyes met after she walked through the door. She’d been very careful, he noticed, not to look his way again.

Two could play at that game. Besides, not looking at her made it a little easier not to remember how perfectly smooth her skin was under those clothes and how willing she had been in his arms just the day before.

It still floored him that she could go through the motions of love so well and yet not mean a moment of it. To be so cold, so calculating was so beyond Mike that it hadn’t occurred to him for a moment that Rori could switch beds so easily. That was what he had to keep in mind in order to keep his distance from her on their last day together. Tonight she would go to bed with Anton.

Well, good riddance.

Just then, a teasing hand slipped onto Mike’s shoulder and gave a playful squeeze. “Ooh. Are mommy and daddy fighting?” Chloe teased.

Mike forced a playful smile on his face before turning and playing dumb. “Depends, I guess. Who’s mommy and daddy?”

“You and the celebrity of the moment, of course. Did you two have a fight? Or bad sex?” Her nose crinkled. “Bad sex is the worst.”

Mike forced out a laugh. “No bad sex.”

Her head tilted quizzically. “No sex?”

“I told you,” Mike said easily. “We’re friends. That’s it.”

“Uh-huh,” she drawled. “And how does that explain how no one has reported sleeping with you the past three nights?”

Mike couldn’t lie. It felt good to have Chloe be so forward with him after Rori’s harsh rejection last night.

“Work,” Mike said, patting his camera. “I’ve been editing as I go for a quick turnaround time.”

Her lips pursed out in amusement as she regarded him. “Wow. Quite possibly the lamest excuse for not getting laid that I’ve ever heard.”

Now that Chloe said back to him, Mike had to agree. It sounded pretty lame.

“Admit it, Mike,” she said, nestling in against him. “You’re whipped on your little artist friend. It’s okay. You can tell me. I already know.”

He gave Chloe a little squeeze. “I can admit it all day long. It doesn’t matter, though. She’s made her choice. You’ll meet him tonight. He’s quite the stud, I hear.”

“Interesting,” Chloe said, not sounding remotely surprised. “Is it one of those deals where her publicist and his publicist have some master plan for cross promotion that requires them to date for like six months or a year?”

“No. More like a millionaire matchmaker thing where their pedigrees line up and they’re put together to breed.”

Chloe’s sudden burst of laughter caught him by surprise.

“You think that’s funny?”

Chloe’s laughter turned into a smirk. “Of course it is. Poor rich people. Sometimes I wish someone would tell them what century it is and that their shit stinks just like everyone else’s. It would make life easier for all of us.”

“No joke,” Mike breathed.

“They drive me crazy,” Chloe said, her gaze a little too adoring as she looked up to him. “So I’ll take my pleasure where I can by driving one of them crazy now.” Before the meaning of her words registered, Chloe had already dropped a quick kiss on Mike’s lips and stepped away, grinning. “And just so you know, she totally saw that.”

Chloe reached up to brush her thumb again his lips, allegedly wiping away remnants of her lipstick, although Mike doubted there was any to wipe away. “Keep playing it cool with her, Mike—even when her man shows up. It’ll piss her off. I promise.”

Mike gripped her hand as she started away, and based on the sly smile that appeared on her face, she approved of the move, unintentional as it was.

“Why the advice?” he asked. “Why do you care?”

The smile that slid across her face was sensual, and if Rori saw it, Mike had no doubt as to how it would be interpreted. “I think I just found the employee bet for the night. Besides, it’s been a while since I’ve seen the cool veneer of a rich girl peeled back. And trust me, that girl over there is just begging for an excuse to snap.” She leaned in, pressing her lips to his ear suggestively. “So go wind her up a bit more, will you? It will make for good people watching and maybe win me a pot of cash.”

Chloe disappeared before Mike could respond, but that was probably for the best. It didn’t matter how things had ended between him and Rori, it was still not professional to have one of the employees pawing him during the event. He was on duty. He needed to keep things cool for just a few more hours. Then all bets were off.