Arrogant Playboy (The Art of Love Series Book 2), page 4
“Ah, now I understand. You don’t have time to devote to a relationship, so you don’t.”
“And you think that’s bad?” he questions me.
I shake my head. “The number of times exes of mine have complained because I’m at the office till later or on the phone with an overseas client at all times of the day. I drag them into design stores and look at furniture they weren’t interested. I’ve given up on dating because the hassle isn’t worth it.” Daniel is staring at me in surprise. “What?” I ask, wiping my face thinking there is something on it.
“Not many people feel the same way, and they think I’m the playboy,” he says as if accusing me of being like him. I don’t think so.
“You don’t date models?” I tease. Daniel rolls his eyes at me. “Ha, see, I knew it. You’re totally a playboy, dating models is on the playboy list.”
“It’s a job, Rosie, just like being a doctor or something like that.”
“Yes, very much like being a doctor.”
“You’re judgmental,” he says, pointing the wooden spatula at me.
“I am.”
“Glad you’re aware of your flaws,” he teases as he starts to plate up the sandwiches. I flip him off which makes him burst out laughing. “Voila,” he says proudly, sliding the plate across the counter to me.
“Oh, it’s a fancy ham and cheese toastie.”
Daniel glares at me. “It is not a toastie.” He clearly looks irritated which makes me smile. “Come, let’s see what’s on TV.” He heads into the living room, and we take a seat on his charcoal couch. I take a seat beside him, and he starts flipping through the channels while I bite into one of the most delicious sandwiches I’ve ever eaten.
5
ROSIE
“Rosie, there’s a delivery for you and it’s big. Can I tell them they can come right in?” Adina asks, popping her head into my office.
“Sure,” I answer, I wasn’t expecting any deliveries today.
A man rolls in a large wooden box and asks me to sign and then leaves. What the?
“What is it?” Adina asks.
“I don’t know.”
The rest of my team come over to see what is happening. “What did you order?” Josie asks.
“Nothing that I know of.” I lay the box down flat and open it. An audible gasp falls from my lips, no, no, no. Why? I …. this must be a mistake as I stare down at the artwork that was hanging in the front window at the DuPont Gallery.
“There’s a card,” Helena says, handing it to me.
My hands are shaking as I open the card.
Rose,
Thought this would look better in your office than mine.
Look forward to doing business with you soon.
Daniel DuPont
What in the hell?
This must have cost a fortune. I can’t keep it. It’s too extravagant. Even though I do love it. It’s too much. No one has ever given me something so expensive before.
“I have to send it back,” I tell the girls.
“What? No, it’s stunning,” Adina says.
“I love it,” Beth gushes.
“It’s mesmerizing,” Helena adds.
“Someone went to some effort to send it to you,” Josie says.
“You have a secret admirer,” Adina adds.
“No. It’s a thank-you gift from the gallery owner, I helped him with a problem on Friday,” I explain vaguely.
“Must have been some help,” Beth says.
“Don’t send it back, it seems like a great way to advertise the gallery to our clients when they are in your office,” Josie advises.
She’s right. I’m letting my personal emotions cloud my judgment. Still, I don’t feel right accepting something this big, he must have something smaller and much less expensive than this art piece.
“Wrap it back up again. I’ll think about it,” I tell the girls, who look slightly disappointed in me. “I’ve got to pop out for a sec. I can leave this with you all?” I tell them, turning and grabbing my bag and my coat.
I have a gallery owner to speak to.
6
DANIEL
Delphine knocks at my door. “Heads up, Rosie Hunt is outside, and she doesn’t look happy. Good luck, I’m sending her in.” With that, she leaves.
What did she say?
Rosie is here.
Why?
And she doesn’t look happy.
Oh, she must have gotten the painting I sent her. Did she not like it? I thought she said at lunch that she liked it. She can exchange it for something else if she wishes.
Rosie barrels into my office and shuts the door behind her with a slam. She makes me pause as I take her in, she is giving every man naughty schoolgirl vibes with her black and white pleated mini skirt, white blouse with a black pussy bow and matching blazer, black stockings, and knee-high boots. Her copper-red hair cascades around her shoulders like a waterfall of fire and it’s pinned back with a black headband. I wouldn’t mind bending her over my desk and spanking her ass.
“What the hell were you thinking sending that artwork to my office?” she yells at me.
“It was a gift,” I argue.
Those bright green eyes blink rapidly. Her anger starts to manifest across her skin as I watch her pale skin flush. “Are you trying to buy me off?”
Wait, what? “No. Why the hell would I do that?” I ask, offended by her line of questioning.
The wind slowly deflates from her sails at my question. “That painting is worth a lot. It’s an expensive gift,” she says as she continues to pace the room.
A smirk falls across my lips. “Yes, it was expensive.”
Her mouth falls open to argue, but she stutters and splutters unable to articulate what she wants to say. “I’m not worth it.”
Those words have me up and out of my chair before I realize what I’m doing, as I round my desk and place my hands on her shoulders.
“Who told you that you’re not enough?”
She shakes her head and pulls herself out of my embrace. “I’m not talking about my relationship trauma with you. You must take the painting back, I will not accept it.”
“It’s a gift, Rosie, I’m not taking it back,” I say, folding my arms in front of me.
“You have to.”
I shake my head. “No, I don’t.”
She throws up her hands in frustration. “You can’t do this to me. It’s already caused a buzz around the office. I’m sure by the time Ivy gets in she is going to see the painting and be curious as to why I now have it in my office. And then I’m going to have to tell her … um … you know …” she says, stumbling over her words.
“That we fucked.”
She glares at me. “It’s something I don’t want Ivy to know about.”
“I’m your dirty little secret.”
Her brows pull together at my dig. Fuck, she’s cute. I don’t normally do cute—seductive, kinky, those are the kind of women I usually meet, but with her, I like the innocent feistiness that she is portraying, like a little kitten. My mind wonders how she would act if I took her to The Paradise Club, her innocence in seeing it for the first time. Would her cheeks burn bright as she watched people fucking in the cube? Would she moan and put on a show as I fuck her in front of a crowd? My dick tightens in my pants, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it, so I move away from where she is and head back to my desk and take a seat, rearranging myself as I do so it doesn’t hurt as much.
“I can’t accept the painting as a gift, but I can as a loan for my office, advertising for your gallery,” she states.
“If that is what you need to accept it, then so be it, it’s a loan. You can grab some flyers for the gallery from Delphine and display them in your office.”
She huffs, annoyed that I’ve given in to her demands. “Glad, that’s settled. Like I said, it’s too much.”
“Yes, I got that the first hundred times you told me,” I snip, my dick aching as my balls throb with need.
“Good,” Rosie says, crossing her arms in front of her.
“Unless you’re about to drop to your knees and wrap that mouth around my cock. I have work to do.”
Rosie gasps as her mouth falls open at my harshness, but I need her to leave before my dick hulks out and pops the zip to my pants. She then walks toward my desk and places her hands on the wooden frame. “What would you do if I did drop to my knees?” It takes me a couple of moments to realize what she said.
“You have my dick so fucking hard right now, Rosie, I suggest you either put your mouth where it needs to be or get out of my office.”
Rosie bites her bottom lip as those green eyes narrow on me. “Have a good day, Daniel. Hope someone can help with your little problem.” She smirks.
“You know it’s not fucking little,” I call out to her.
Rosie stills for a second before opening the door, “Do I? It was hard to tell in the dark.” With that barb, she walks out of my office and slams the door behind her.
Fuck that woman is making me crazy.
I need an emergency Paradise Club session so I grab my jacket and phone.
Delphine opens the door to my office and walks in. “What was that all about?”
“Nothing, just a misunderstanding,” I tell her.
“Over the art piece you sent to her?” Delphine questions me.
“Yes. Something’s come up, I’ll be gone a couple of hours,” I tell her.
She frowns. “Are you sure everything is okay?”
“I’m fine. Just personal stuff, it has nothing to do with Miss Hunt,” I tell her as I head out of my office, giving her a wave as I do.
7
DANIEL
I’ve headed to Alex and Ivy’s Kensington apartment for dinner tonight. Apparently, Ivy still has her Chelsea home as it’s walking distance to her office, but Alex’s penthouse apartment is bigger for these dinners, so we have them here. It will be the first time I’ve seen the crew in a while.
“You made it,” Alex greets me warmly as I arrive with a bottle of red in my hand. He hugs me tightly and ushers me in. The smells of the chef’s cooking assault my senses and I suddenly feel ravenous. “How have you been, mate?” he asks, taking the bottle of wine from me.
“Busy, you know how it is,” I tell him.
“Well, it’s good that you’ve been able to fit us in, the gang is all here,” he says warmly.
“Danny boy,” Alistair calls out as he raises his red wine glass in the air. His beautiful girlfriend, Eloise, does the same.
“We thought you were dead,” Jasper adds dramatically as he slaps me on the back, and Lauren greets me with a kiss.
“Come on, it hasn’t been that long,” I moan as I take a seat in the living room with everyone.
“It’s been months,” Alex says, placing a glass of red wine in front of me. I give him a nod of thanks.
“How’s your brother?” Alistair asks.
“He’s going well, think we are coming out the other side. He’s painting again, everything seems to be on track for New York?” I tell him.
“That’s good. What about that asshole Yves and the shit that happened in Monaco?”
I shake my head. “Nothing, no security cameras of the event, they only captured before and after.”
“Slippery little fucker,” Alistair adds.
“He is,” I agree as I take a sip of my wine.
“How’s everything else going? Work? Life?” Alex asks.
“All good,” I answer, taking a large gulp of red wine.
“I heard you sent one of my designers an expensive art piece,” Ivy says, walking into the dining room after checking in the kitchen. The room falls silent at her remark.
“Yeah, Rosie said she loved the piece so I thought it would be a great way to advertise the gallery if she hung it up in her office,” I answer, taking another large gulp of wine.
“Awfully generous of you,” Ivy adds, those eyes narrowing on me.
“That piece had been there for a while and wasn’t moving, so thought we would try that,” I lie.
“Like I said, Rosie is a hard worker when it comes to her career. She has been working her ass off in my company, and a rumor about the two of you could have an adverse effect on her career,” Ivy explains.
“She seems like a nice girl, but way too young for me.”
“Rosie is a beautiful woman, and she is someone that I would set you up with if we all didn’t work together. You’re Daniel DuPont, and she’s a rising star designer, you hooking up with her won’t hurt your reputation, but for her, people might think she is sleeping her way to the top,” Ivy tells me.
“No one would think that.”
“A competitor might and use it to their advantage. Look what happened with one of mine. She dated my ex to try to beat me, and she did, she won the award. I’m just saying this industry can be cutthroat.”
I had no idea.
“I was worried because I left the two of you alone for lunch, and I noticed the flirtation, and then you sent her an expensive piece of art.” Her eyes narrow on me. “I’m just looking out for my staff,” Ivy explains.
“I can assure you nothing is going on. Do I think she is hot? Yes. But that’s all,” I explain to Ivy.
“Good. Honestly, Rosie is amazing and I’m being selfish because I can see you two together. I have a lot of plans regarding my business, and Rosie features predominately in them. If you broke her heart …. She’s irreplaceable.”
Wow. Okay. I had no idea Ivy felt that way about her.
“What happens if Daniel does like Rosie?” Jasper asks.
“I’m not going to stand in the way of your happiness, Daniel. If Rosie wants to date you, then that’s her choice, but please don’t pursue her if it’s just a bit of fun,” Ivy says softly.
“I’m glad I’m not single anymore, that shit sounds exhausting.” Jasper moans as he pulls Lauren to his side and kisses her on the temple.
“Am I that bad?” I ask my friends.
“We were all like you once,” Alex says diplomatically.
“Some worse than others,” Alistair adds, looking over at Jasper.
“Hey, my hooks-up were at The Paradise Club, where I didn’t have to worry about drama,” Jasper adds.
“I’m sorry, Daniel. I didn’t mean for it to sound bad,” Ivy says.
I wave off her apology. “I get it.”
“You deserve happiness, like what we have all found,” Ivy says, looking up at me.
“Look, Rosie is a cool girl, and I do actually like her because she’s funny and intelligent, and she’s also hot, but she has made it clear there will only ever be a working relationship between us,” I tell Ivy, easing her worries.
“Thanks for a nice night,” I say, giving Ivy a kiss on the cheek.
“I appreciate you coming, and I promise next time no third degrees on your love life.” Ivy smiles.
“That would be great,” I tell her.
“Same time next week?” Alex asks hopefully.
“Might be more a once-a-month thing for this single guy.” I love my friends, but being around them talking about weddings and shit over the dinner table is a lot.
“Fine, we will catch up again soon, then,” he says.
I head downstairs and out onto the road where my Uber is waiting for me. I get in, sit, and start scrolling mindlessly on my phone. My socials suggest someone I might know called RedheadedRose, and there staring back at me are Rosie Hunt’s socials, all open for me to snoop around. Thank you, algorithm. I start scrolling through her photos and it’s a lot of pictures of her drinking cocktails all over London. Then I stumble upon photos of work that she’s completed with Starr Designs as I see Ivy’s business has been tagged in them. Her work is good. If this is truly what she has been creating, then she might be the right person for my house in Kent. I bought this estate in Kent as a country escape. Instead of hopping on a plane and heading to one of my places, I can get in my car and be out of the city within an hour. It’s laid empty for months, I bought it just before Louis’ life imploded. The only thing I’ve done is the art.
I have an idea.
8
ROSIE
Did Daniel just follow me? I stare down at my new follower DanielDuPontArt. Then my phone buzzes, and it’s a message from him. What is going on?
Daniel: Promise I wasn’t creeping. You’ve popped up as a suggestion and I was curious.
Daniel: You sure do like your cocktails, there are so many photos of you and cocktails.
Rosie: Is there a point to these messages?
Daniel: Yes, to make sure you know I’m not creeping.
Rosie: Okay, noted.
Daniel: And to say that I saw photos of some of your projects and I really liked them. Especially the Sussex cottage project.
Rosie: Thank you, I think.
Daniel: I’m being serious. I loved it. I like the dark moody vibes.
Rosie: It was a great project and I’m proud of it.
Daniel: You should be. I didn’t realize how talented you were.
Rosie: Think that’s a compliment.
Daniel: It is. You know English isn’t my first language?
Rosie: Sorry.
Daniel: I’m only joking. Went to an English boarding school.
Daniel: Probably the red wine talking for me instead. I’m in an Uber on my way home.
Rosie: Red wine will do that.
