The Allure Of Julian Lefray Part 21

"Grab a drink and then meet me in the living room. It's just down the hall," Holly said, smiling and s.h.i.+mmying her shoulders with excitement.

Barney stepped into the doorway behind her and wrapped his arms around Holly's waist, then pinched her. She squealed and pretended to fight him off, all the while allowing him to pull her from the room.

"C'mon. Gerald wants to play," Barney said, with a hint of something more in his voice.

What the h.e.l.l does that mean?

I glanced over at Jo to see if she was getting the same weird vibe that I was.

"This is definitely not what I was expecting," I said, stepping toward the alcohol.

Jo shrugged. "It's a little different, but they're nice people, I'm sure."

No, she didn't get it. There was definitely something off about this party.

"I think we should head out," I said. My gut was screaming at me to get out while I still could.

Josephine frowned. "What? Seriously? We just got here, and I don't want to offend Holly."

I nodded and tried to tell my instincts to shut up. Sure, Barney and Holly were a little off, but maybe they were just weird old people. New York City is full of those.

"Okay, yeah. We'll stay for a little bit," I relented.

Josephine held up a bottle of Jack Daniels. "Look! They even have your favorite alcohol. It can't be all that bad."

We filled our cups with Jack and c.o.kes and then clinked them together.

"Cheers," Jo said, smiling up at me.

"Cheers."

"Come on you two! We're about to get started," Holly called from the other room.

I reluctantly followed Josephine down the hall, bracing myself for a night of awkward Monopoly games. If I had to sit by sweaty Barney, I wasn't going to last five minutes.

"What do you think they're playing in there?" Josephine asked just as we stepped into the doorway of the living room and were met by a sight that was so un-seeable, all the therapy in the world wouldn't be able to erase it.

Holy s.h.i.+t.

Holy f.u.c.king s.h.i.+t.

The scene we stepped into was straight out of 50 Shades of Grey - Geriatric Edition.

"JESUS!" Jo cried, letting her cup slip from her hand.

I reached out for it just before it hit the floor, but Jack and c.o.ke still spilled out onto my s.h.i.+rt and jeans. I glanced up and blinked to confirm that my eyes hadn't betrayed me. Nope. It was real and it was too late to leave unnoticed. We were already in the doorway and half a dozen people were staring up at us...

Half a dozen naked, old people. So very naked, and so very, very old.

Candles were lit around the room. Hard rock music played in the background. A woman dressed as a dominatrix cracked a cheap whip in the corner and I flinched as if it were about to hit me. Two old people were going at it on the couch while others stood around and watched. I saw old, flat b.u.t.t cheeks, and scores of b.o.o.bs that had been around for the terms of over a dozen different presidents.

"Julian," Josephine whispered. "Am I dreaming?"

I reached out for her hand. "No. We are definitely in the middle of an old person swinger's party right now."

"Josephine," Holly called from across the room. "Come on in, we don't bite!"

Of course you don't bite, most of you don't even have teeth.

"I...um, I think I'm. Have to go. Yeah, actually."

Her words came out as a jumbled mess as her brain short-circuited.

I gripped her hand, ready to drag her out of the apartment, and then Barney held up her tray of cupcakes. He was sitting on the couch with the tray on his lap.

"These are great!" he said, holding one up before he shoved half of it into his mouth.

The fact that he was completely naked as he stuffed Josephine's vanilla cupcakes into his mouth only made the spectacle that much harder to stomach. I was seconds away from laughing until I either p.i.s.sed my pants or blacked out from shock.

"I'm so glad you..." Josephine murmured with a shaky voice. "I'm just going to um..."

She let her sentence fade out as she stared up at the ceiling, pretending to study the popcorn paint as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

"We need to back up slowly..."

"Slow and steady," Josephine whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

All eyes were on us. We were expected to join in. Holy h.e.l.l. Josephine's landlady had invited her to a swaps party. What the h.e.l.l has this world come to?

I saw the dominatrix wind up her whip out of the corner of my eye and I knew she'd provide a welcome distraction in a matter of seconds.

"On the count of three, we're going to make a run for it," I whispered.

"Holly! Come lick this vanilla icing off me!" Barney said, rubbing Josephine's cupcakes all over his naked chest. Josephine whimpered under her breath and I lost it. I couldn't hold in my laughter any more.

The dominatrix cracked her whip and I pulled Josephine back through the hallway, losing myself to a fit of laughter. We broke into a run and Josephine cried out after me.

"You didn't count down!" she yelled.

"It doesn't matter. Just run!"

We ran out of her landlady's apartment and bolted down the stairs. I held onto the banister with one hand and gripped Josephine's hand with the other. We made it back to her apartment in record time. She unlocked the door, I shoved it open, and we both pushed through at the same time.

She flipped the lock and we leaned against the door with a heavy thud. We stood there catching our breath and she slid her gaze to me. I turned to find her smiling from ear to ear as her chest rose and fell. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were wide with wonder. I'd never seen her look as beautiful as she did right then.

"So that's why she wanted to know if you would be having male visitors," I said.

I laughed and squeezed her hand. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.

Chapter Thirty.

Josephine I'd been given one night off in the middle of my NYFW job, and I'd spent it hanging out with naked old people. Not only that, I'd dragged Julian along with me. There wasn't enough eye bleach in the world to clear the memories of that night from my brain, and I knew I had to make it up to Julian somehow.

"I need you to read through that contract the realtor sent over last night," Julian instructed from his perch at his hotel room's dining table on Monday morning. Papers were scattered out around him and we were knee deep into our work for the day. We'd yet to discuss Sat.u.r.day night and I had no clue how to bring up the subject.

Maybe I could apologize with a tasteful ice cream cake. "Sorry for subjecting you to old lady b.o.o.bs. Your best friend, Jo."

"Jo?" he asked.

I glanced up and racked my brain for the task he'd just asked me to do. Oh yes, the contract.

"I read it this morning and highlighted the sections I think you should take a look at," I answered.

"Good." He nodded, typing away. "And we have a meeting with the general contractor for Lorena's store tomorrow."

I nodded. I may have subjected him to a terrible party, but I was a kicka.s.s personal a.s.sistant.

"I've scheduled a car to pick us up at 9:00 AM. We'll be meeting the contractor at a coffee shop in Soho."

"And the email Lorena sent over last night?" he asked, peering at me over the top of his laptop.

I smiled. "I replied first thing this morning."

"Looks like you're on top of your game, Keller," he said with a seductive smile.

I stared at him for a moment before averting my gaze and staring back down at my keyboard. Hey v.a.g.i.n.a, let's focus on other things right now. Like, oh I don't know, WORK. It was his fault though. Perhaps I should have added one more rule the other night: no smiling with dimples. Frowning and flat smiles were allowed. Anything more and I couldn't be held accountable for my hands or my lady bits.

"Did you see anyone interesting leaving your landlady's apartment yesterday morning?" Julian asked, barely masking his amus.e.m.e.nt at my ridiculous life.

I closed my eyes and answered. "No, but Holly left my cupcake platter outside my door with a note that said 'Thanks for the special treat'. She had washed the dish, but I don't think it will ever be truly clean."

He choked on his coffee.

"Never," he agreed.

He stood up to grab a napkin and I plucked my mug from the coffee table for him to refill while he was up. (We'd established this system early on: if one of us got up, that person was responsible for coffee refill duties. No ifs, ands, or buts.) I used the moment to study him while he was preoccupied; those moments were part of my routine. While he was typing an email or making a phone call, I always took a moment to covertly watch him. He always had a warm complexion, but his tan had deepened from his early morning runs. He'd rolled his sleeves up to his elbows and the subtle veins on his forearm were enough to make me swoon. There was something about a guy with strong, defined arms. Or maybe it was just Julian.

"You have to move," he said, turning back to flash a dimpled smile at me.

For a second, I didn't understand what he meant. Like move from his couch? Dammit, this is why I shouldn't be checking him out at work.

"Out of your apartment," he clarified when I didn't immediately reply.

Ah, duh.

"Believe me, I wish I could. Unfortunately, I can't find a place that's cheaper than my current lease unless I move to New Jersey or something."

Julian frowned over the coffee cup, and I wondered what he was thinking.

"Don't I pay you enough here?"

I swallowed and thought of how best to reply. Julian knew nothing about the debt I was swimming in. Sure, this job was decent, but between New York City rent, groceries, college loans, and the d.a.m.n credit cards I'd used to purchase books and stuff in college, I'd need a lot more than an executive a.s.sistant salary to pay it all off. I didn't want Julian to know about my money struggles. It wasn't his concern, and I doubted he'd be able to understand. He came from old money and had made plenty on his own. I didn't want him to look at me any differently.

"More than I'd make breakdancing on subway platforms," I quipped with a fake smile.

Julian laughed and handed me back my mug full of coffee.

"You could always move in here," Julian said, motioning to the master bedroom just off the suite's living room.

I rolled my eyes. "That's the one line you get today. Shock. Collar."

He rubbed his neck with a feigned grimace. "Yeah, yeah. It's just an offer. I'm a n.o.ble guy like that."

"Sure you are."

"Like when I rescued you from a swinger's party."

I laughed and covered my eyes, willing away the images that flashed through my mind.

"Let's make a blood pact to never speak about it ever again."

"Okay, but only after we tell Dean about it tonight."

I glanced up and met his eye. "Tonight?"

"Yeah." He frowned. "Didn't I mention that we're supposed to get drinks with him tonight? I cancelled on him for that party we agreed to never discuss again."

I ran through my mind, trying to recall any mention of it. The only thing on my schedule for the day was work, work, and more work. From 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM I was with Julian, and then I had to run across town to Lincoln Center for a NYFW s.h.i.+ft from 5:30 to 9:00 PM.

"I don't think you ever told me about it."

He shrugged. "Well, we're heading over to The Merchant at nine o'clock. Are you interested in joining?"

I should have said no. G.o.d knew I'd be exhausted after my s.h.i.+ft at Lincoln Center, but the idea of Julian and Dean alone in a bar together was enough to convince me. The two of them would attract women like moths to a flame, and even though he and I couldn't date, it didn't mean I wanted women flirting with him at the bar. No, with me there as a buffer, he'd have a harder time picking up women. I'd make sure of it.

Chapter Thirty-One.