Tailor Made (69th St. Bad Boys Book 7) Read online

  It wasn’t very often that a woman had intrigued me the way she did, and I wanted to get to know her better. I wanted to actually hear about her life, something she started to talk about before her phone rang. She had hooked me, and I was pretty disappointed that she hadn’t come back. Hopefully, it wasn’t that asshole from the night before calling. She seemed to be a bit younger than me, maybe in her late twenties, while I was thirty-seven, dragging my feet toward forty. From the way that she talked, though, I could tell that she was extremely intelligent and not flighty like most of the billion-dollar twentysomething babies that walked around the place.

  Age was just a number, especially in the world of the rich, where everyone manufactured themselves to look as young as possible, and no one wanted to actually admit their real age. If she was in her twenties it was fine with me, I really didn’t think it made much of a difference. As long as she had a brain in her head, I was interested.

  I had dated quite a few women who were considerably younger than me. Usually it wasn’t on purpose, but at thirty-seven most of the women my age were married and having babies. I had tried that when I was twenty, but I was divorced by the time I was twenty-one. She had been a gold digger like the rest of them. To say I was bitter would be a slight understatement; it was more like completely turned off at the idea of trusting a woman beyond the third-floor escapades of the Expose Club. Regardless, none of the younger women I dated cared about the age difference one little bit. I was charming, took care of myself, and my appearance didn’t really scream “close to forty.” Not to mention I was filthy rich. That went a long way.

  I looked down at my coffee and realized I had pretty much drank it all while I waited, so I got a refill and walked back across the lobby to the elevators. I looked around the room one last time, but I didn’t see Penny anywhere. I couldn’t help but notice the twinge of disappointment in my chest but shook it off, figuring it was just the leftover emotion of the drama from the night before. Girls didn’t make me feel that way, or I didn’t allow myself to.

  I jumped in the half-full elevator and told the operator what floor. He nodded his head and I glanced out the lobby as the doors closed. I didn’t have time to wait around all day for some girl. Maybe it was for the best; I didn’t need the drama she clearly brought to the table. I may not have been able to snag her, but I really hoped she hadn’t run off to be with that asshole. He was dangerous, and even though I was pretty sure she knew it, I wasn’t really sure she was thinking straight yet. Just as the elevator reached my floor, my phone began to ring. I looked down and smiled at Jay’s face on the screen. Jay was my best friend, but he was also my financial advisor, so our conversations were always a mixture of business and pleasure. We had met at Harvard, and he’d been one of the key people in my life when my real estate investment firm was taking off. He was also my voice of reason.

  “Bro,” I said laughing, “Are you just waking up?”

  “Nah,” he chuckled. “I took a swim and then figured I’d find out what the hell happened last night.”

  “It was crazy,” I said. “I ran into this guy abusing his girl. I told him to stop, we rumbled, and I kicked his ass.”

  “You are like a freaking saint, brother,” Jay said, slightly mockingly.

  “Yeah right,” I scoffed. “I just walked up on it and couldn’t let her stay there getting choked out. I’d like to think that anyone would have done the same thing.”

  “I don’t know, man,” he said. “Have you met the people who go there?”

  “True,” I said, shaking my head. “But the weirdest thing happened afterward, I was down in the lobby grabbing a coffee from the café this morning, and there she was, standing behind me. She tapped me on the shoulder and apologized for not thanking me. I was kind of taken off guard.”

  “Dude, that’s crazy,” he said.

  I sat there for a second as he covered the phone and talked to someone heatedly. It was probably his maid, who he had a hard time communicating with since she spoke only Spanish, and he did not. He ended up screaming at her, not out of anger, but because he was an idiot. She had no idea what he was saying but now was terrified of him.

  “Sorry, dude,” he said, coming back. “I swear, every time I talk to this woman, she looks like I’m going to kill her and her family. I don’t get why she is so afraid of me.”

  “You are hopeless,” I laughed.

  “So, wait. Back to your story,” he replied. “The girl from last night lives at the Avalon?”

  “It would seem that way,” I said, laughing.

  “Dude,” he said, in his creepy voice. “You gonna tap that?”

  “I don’t know,” I sighed. “She seemed kind of flaky.”

  “Flaky is good bro,” he said. “She won’t be clinging to you afterward. I mean, you were her knight in shining armor, use that angle.”

  “That would be a recipe for disaster,” I replied. “You know women. You do something nice for them, and all of a sudden they are picking out wedding venues, and you’re forced into buying a ring.”

  “Dude,” Jay said, raising his voice now. “You divorced your ex-wife like sixteen years ago. When are you going to let that shit go?”

  “When women stop being so evil and manipulative,” I grumped. “Their minds work in crazy ways, and I know the minute I give into a little emotion, I’ll be done for, engaged and having babies before I can even get back to work on Monday.”

  “You are insane, you know that?”

  “Besides,” I said, walking into my apartment. “I have never seen that girl in this complex, so the likelihood of me ever seeing her again is pretty much slim to none.”

  We talked about Penny for a few more minutes before changing the subject to our agenda on Monday at work. We had a meeting set to go over the third quarter earnings, and he was going to help me set up sales goals for the next part of the year. I never finished college, only going one year to Harvard, the year I met Jay, and then dropping out and starting the company at nineteen years old. Jay was the man who made it all possible with his financial knowledge and seriously keen business sense.

  Now, years later, my company was on a roll, and all I had to do was keep it going. In the meantime, I hoped that Penny, the blue-eyed beauty, would make her way back around. I’d really love to see her naked.

  Chapter Four

  Penny

  What a damn mess of a weekend. It hadn’t turned out how I wanted it to at all. Saturday, I was mauled by my ex-boyfriend, and then Sunday I missed out on getting to know the gorgeous guy who had saved me from him. By Monday I was so exhausted from everything, I pretty much stayed in bed all day. I had meetings today, though, so I had to get up and get moving. I went down to the café to grab some coffee when I spotted Gabriel putting his together on the side. I went through the line, making sure I didn’t miss him, and then I got my coffee and walked up beside him.

  “Hey you,” I said. “Miss me?”

  “Hey,” he said smiling. “The amazing disappearing girl.”

  “I know,” I sighed. “I’m really sorry for just bolting on Sunday. My best friend called me freaking out because Troy had shown up at her apartment and was causing a scene looking for me.”

  “Troy is the ex, right?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “The guy you gloriously beat up in the hallway of the club.”

  I put the lid on my coffee and walked beside him, noticing that he was looking very businesslike in his perfectly pressed suit and shiny silver tie. I had no idea what he did for a living, but I could only assume it was something big since to live at the Avalon you had to have a lot of money. He fiddled with the lid on his cup and sighed, looking up at me.

  “Did you get back together with him?”

  “What?” I shook my head feverishly. “Oh my God, no. I am so done with him it’s not even funny. I took the cops with me and they let him know that if he did it again they would arrest him. He wanted revenge, but not if it meant ending up in jail.”

&
nbsp; I liked how Gabriel listened to everything I said, and I could tell that he thought about every word before responding to me. He wasn’t like all the other douchebag billionaires in the Avalon; he seemed like he had somewhat of a grasp on reality. At the same time, though, he could totally have been thinking about something else and just looking like he cared. He stopped and turned toward me, a smile creeping over his face.

  “Good,” he said. “You don’t deserve that. Guys like that shouldn’t be allowed to be around women. Hopefully he doesn’t do that to the next girl; he could have killed you.”

  “He could have,” I said quietly. “But he didn’t and that was because of you. You were my hero.”

  “I’ve never been someone’s hero before,” he said, chuckling.

  “Well, you are mine,” I replied proudly.

  “Then go out with me,” he said. “It’s got to be a sign that we had never seen each other before that night and now we keep running into each other.”

  I stood there looking at his beautiful face, wondering what decision I should make. On one hand, this guy definitely made me feel some kind of way, but on the other hand, I had literally just ended a very traumatizing relationship with a man who had somehow managed to mess with my head. I didn’t know if I was ready for that, but I also knew there was no way I could turn him down, not with those dark eyes staring intensely at me. I shuffled slightly and nodded my head with a smile.

  “Sure,” I said, “I’d love to go on a date with you.”

  He watched my facial expressions and I could tell he was trying to read me. I was pretty much an open book and wore my heart on my sleeve most of the time, so it shouldn’t be too hard for him. He took a sip of his coffee and smiled, looking down at his watch, signaling that he had to get to work, but I wasn’t ready to end the conversation yet, not with the heat I was feeling in my chest from standing so close to him in the lobby. “Now, if we go out, are you going to run away on me again?” he smiled coyly as he looked up from his coffee cup.

  I tilted my head back slightly and laughed, happy to see he had a sense of humor. A man with a sense of humor was a must for me, especially if I was going to go on a date with him. There was nothing worse than being stuck on a date with someone who had no idea how to have fun. Sure, I had grown up in the same world he had with money and power floating all around me, but that wasn’t the person I was.

  “No,” I said, laughing now. “I promise those were just freak accidents. Besides, no one wanted to hang out with the abused girl at the club. I know better than that.”

  “I wanted to hang out with you,” he said, staring at me with intensity.

  At that moment, I was at a loss for words and all I could do was look down and blush. Normally someone with that much confidence was not someone I would trust to go on a date with, but there was something about him that I couldn’t get past. Though he was definitely interested, he also had a cool air about him. I was intrigued. “I have to get going to work,” he said. “Let’s exchange numbers.”

  I handed him my phone, and he handed me his. I put my number and my name in with a heart emoji next to it. I smiled and handed it back to him, watching him slide his phone into the breast pocket of his suit. He was so damn sexy. “I’ll call you later today,” he said. “Be ready to go by seven?”

  For a moment I just shook my head, entranced by how handsome he was. I would have done anything he said at that moment, but as the fog cleared the words had come together and started to make sense to me. I wasn’t expecting for him to set a date and time at that exact moment, and for that night, nonetheless.

  “Seven? Like in seven this evening?”

  “Yes,” he laughed. “Like the little hand on the seven and the big hand on the twelve.”

  “Okay, smart ass,” I said, slapping him on the arm. “I just wasn’t expecting to see you tonight.”

  “Well, with your history, I’m worried you might run off on me if I wait too long,” he said smiling broadly. “Better safe than sorry.”

  “Ha-ha,” I said rolling my eyes. “Okay, I’ll be ready at seven, but make sure to call me and let me know the details so I know how to dress.”

  “Of course,” he said, reaching out and grabbing my hand. His skin was smooth, and he lifted the back of my hand up to his mouth, kissing it softly. I almost swooned right there.

  I watched as he flashed his signature charming smile and headed toward the door, carrying a briefcase and walking with a purpose. I strolled over to the doors and looked out as he climbed into a town car parked out front and took off into the city. I still didn’t know who this man was or what he did for a living, but it didn’t really matter. I was going on a date with Mr. Smiles tonight, and I would make sure to learn all about him then.

  My morning had turned out better than I thought it would and that put some pep in my step. I went back upstairs and sat down at the computer, feeling like a million bucks. I normally stayed away from rich boys like Gabriel, but there was something about him that drew me in. There was a magnetism between us, and I was more than ready to find out more about him.

  Maybe my luck was changing.

  Chapter Five

  Gabriel

  When I got to the office, I had my secretary set up our date since she was much better at that kind of thing than I was. When she was done she brought me the information and set it down on the desk. At lunch, I sent Penny a text with the details. I was taking her to the Lovehouse, an upscale American restaurant and bar smack-dab in the center of Central Park. It was one of those restaurants that was loved by locals and tourists, so it was hard to get a reservation. It was perched on the edge of the lake, and all the seating was prime. I was pretty sure she had probably been there before, growing up in that kind of family, but I thought it would be a nice break from the bustle of downtown.

  She texted me back, confirming she would be ready by seven. I tried to ignore the electricity burst in my chest when I saw her name on the screen. I didn’t know why she did that to me, but it had to be because I saved her, not because I was getting weak in my resolve against women. She was beautiful and charming, but I had to remember that women were after one thing, just like my ex-wife had been. Jay constantly told me to get over it, but I knew I couldn’t trust any woman, not with my company name resting on my shoulders.

  I went through the rest of my day, trying to keep tonight off my mind, reminding myself it was just a date like all the others. I ended up working late, so I was glad I wore a nice suit since we were going to be meeting in the lobby and I wasn’t going to have time to go up to my apartment and change. When I finally got there I walked straight in, spying Penny standing sweetly to the side as people rushed past. She looked absolutely beautiful in a pair of wide-legged black pants, a satin white blouse, opened just enough to see some cleavage, and a pair of black heels with white tips. “You look beautiful,” I said, leaning in and kissing her on the cheek. “You ready?”

  “Thank you,” she said, blushing pink right away. “And yes, I’m starving.”

  We took the town car into the park and when we arrived we were ushered right to the private area I was always given. The restaurant was lively for a Tuesday, but it was getting to be that time of year where tourists flocked into the city to see the holiday decorations. She looked impressed, and that made me feel good. Devon, the chef, was a very good friend of mine and I never had to make a reservation. As soon as I walked in they would show me to the best seating in the restaurant and recommend the best food on the menu. It was a very rich boy thing to do, but I never said I didn’t take advantage of those kinds of things whenever possible. Especially when I had brought a date I wanted to impress.

  As the food began to arrive and the wine started to flow, I leaned back in the chair and smiled at Penny. She looked amazing under the flickering candlelight. I wanted to know more about her, and no doubt she wanted to know more of me as well.

  “Tell me about yourself,” I said, smiling.

  “Well,�
� she said, with a deep breath. “I grew up in the city, I graduated from Yale with a software engineering degree, and now I live in my father’s apartment.”

  “Okay,” I laughed. “Where do you work?”

  “Hmm, technically nowhere, I guess,” she said. “I developed a new software program for digital artists that will blow away anything that is on the market today. I’ve been pitching it to different companies and am waiting on their responses. I’m thinking if it goes well and gets picked up, I’ll use that money to start my own software company.”

  “Nice,” I said, impressed.

  “How about you?” she asked.

  “Me,” I said, chuckling. “Well, I grew up with company owning parents, went to Harvard for a year, dropped out, and started my real estate investment company at nineteen. Now it’s a huge conglomerate, and I run the company out of the different offices, but mostly from here in New York.”

  “Wow, only nineteen, that’s impressive,” she said, sipping her wine.