“That bad,” she agreed.
“A girl as beautiful as you shouldn’t ever feel like just a statistic,” he said. He was actually quite handsome, although he didn’t have that instant sex appeal that Cullen Sharpe naturally possessed. The stranger had an open, rounded face, and he had short blond hair and green eyes. He was fit, but clearly not in the same league as Cullen in that department either.
So what, you have to compare every man to Cullen now? She reprimanded herself, feeling annoyed at the way her obsession with the CEO knew no bounds.
“Thanks, that’s sweet of you to say,” she told the stranger.
He flicked the end of his cigar into the gutter and blew a plume of smoke out of his mouth, but away from her as he offered his hand. “Xavier Montrose,” he said.
“Ivy Spellman,” she replied, feeling like she should curtsey or something. Instead, she just gave him her hand.
He smiled and inclined his head slightly. His green eyes were very humorous, as if he saw the world as one big joke. “Ivy,” he said, nodding. “Are you meeting your boyfriend for lunch?”
She felt her cheeks flush. “No, I’m here for an…event…” she finished. “I’m actually running late, so although I’d love to chat—“
“Such a shame,” Xavier said, as he watched her hand slip out of his grasp. “I feel like I was only just getting started with you.”
Ivy looked down, feeling heat rise to her cheeks. The man certainly had confidence and a way with words.
“Just getting started with what exactly?” came the voice of Cullen Sharpe, from just a few feet away.
She froze in place, feeling absurdly guilty, even though she’d done nothing wrong.
Xavier made eye contact with Cullen and grinned. “I had no idea you two knew one another,” he said, his grin spreading.
Cullen continued approaching. As he got to Ivy, his hand went to her lower back, possessively claiming her in some way. “She works with me. And she’s late,” he said, his cool tone belying his disappointment.
“She’s probably like ten seconds late, knowing you, Cullen.” Xavier flashed his humorous eyes at Ivy and she wanted to smile in return.
“Have another cigar,” Cullen told Xavier. “Blowing smoke is what you’re best at.”
“Some people blow smoke and some are just full of hot air,” the blond man retorted easily. He seemed ready to break into laughter.
Meanwhile, Cullen’s hand stayed firmly on Ivy’s back.
Ivy bit her lip to keep from laughing with him, as Cullen glanced over to read her expression before looking back at Xavier. “I’d really love to stand here all day and listen to your amazingly profound views about human nature, but I have a luncheon to attend,” Cullen said.
“And I have a lunch to eat,” Xavier said. “But unlike yourself, my guest is a friend, not someone I pay to spend time with me.”
“I have a hard time believing anyone dines with you because they actually enjoy it,” Cullen said.
“You’d be surprised,” Xavier quipped, but his eyes were focused entirely on Ivy.
“I would indeed,” Cullen said, guiding Ivy away from Xavier Montrose and towards The Observatory.
They crossed the sidewalk as a doorman nodded and opened the door for them. Once they were inside the restaurant, Ivy pulled away from him, and his hand drifted off her lower back.
He turned towards her. “I need to speak with you,” he said, his jaw hardly moving. His eyes were piercing.
“We’re late,” she replied.
“The luncheon won’t start without me,” he said. He crossed his arms. “I don’t like what I just saw out there.”
“And I don’t have time for the third degree.” She started walking down the long, ornate hallway towards what she assumed must be the luncheon. In the distance, she could hear the noise of people talking and restaurant sounds of plates and glasses, silverware clinking.
“Ivy,” he said, and his voice was so commanding that she stopped in her tracks.
“What?” she asked, refusing to look at him. He was like a vampire—if she met his gaze, she wasn’t sure she could resist his charm.
“I need you to promise me you’ll stay away from Xavier Montrose.”
“I don’t even know the guy.”
“But he’s taken an interest to you. He’s interested in anything that I’m interested in.”
“Cullen, I hate to say this—but not everything’s about you.” She finally turned and locked eyes with him. “He started talking to me before you ever showed up.”
The CEO’s expression hardened. “You don’t know the man, Ivy, but I do. And I’m trying to warn you—“
“I can take care of myself. I’m a big girl—despite what you seem to think.” She turned her head again quickly, flipping her hair as she walked away from him once more.