The Dumb Fuck Page 4

  She spoke confidently but quietly, her chin raised, eyes locked with his.

  His head kicked back a slight bit, eyes widening in surprise at her reproach, giving her the courage to continue.

  “And one more thing, Mr. Rike, I don’t just work here, my partner and I own the place. Now if you’ll excuse me.”

  Turning, she walked out of the conference room before he had a chance to respond, then sucked in a deep breath, holding it in until she was safe in her office again. Scribbling on her notepad, she tried to look busy, but after a few minutes, she caved, looking up and peeking out of her office into the conference room. Walker was just standing there, hands shoved deep into his suit pants pockets, staring at her.

  Waverly was intrigued. And, worried.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Walker sat at his impressive desk, in his impressive office, a Guy Denning painting on the wall, a pair of Eames chairs rested in front of his desk, first edition books lined his bookshelves. He noticed none of it. He was staring down at the presentation folder brought back from the meeting with WestMat, running his finger absently over the ‘who we are’ page. Waverly Matthew’s smiling photo stared back up at him.

  Over the years, he’d thought about her occasionally, embarrassed by his poor behavior, he hadn’t asked around about her, just done what he could to right his wrongs.

  The sex with her had been mind blowing. A young, twenty-two year old at the time, he had just been coming to terms with the kind of man he was; he’d been dating for years, all kinds of girls and women had been throwing themselves at him since he was fourteen. They tended to see his good looks and fat bank account, but had very little interest in the man behind ‘the family money’.

  At the time that he met Waverly, he was just months away from taking almost full control of his family’s company, his father, Walter Rike had suffered a mild stroke and was forced to take a lengthy sabbatical to recuperate. Walker was informed during a company meeting, that he would be taking over. Until then, he had been busy enjoying the overconfidence of a potent combination of youth, good looks and too much power. Taking stock, he realized how much of an asshole he had been, overly impressed with himself, his life and everything that his family’s wealth laid at his feet.

  He had always been a hard worker, as the only son and only child at that, he had always felt the need to prove himself. At a fairly young age, he realized that his parents had simply needed an heir to take over the family business, unable to have children and blessed with a tremendous amount of money, they went out and bought themselves one, – him. So early on and for a number of years, hard work was the way he used to prove himself worthy of his parentage. Excelling at sports, straight A’s, everything he did for a while, was to buy their love, get them to show up at his football games, attend a teachers conference, hold his hand. They approved of him outwardly, his actions, the way he looked and performed, but, there was never a smile, a hug or a book read to him as a child. His parents didn’t believe in emotions of any kind, he wasn’t even sure that they had them.

  About the time he met Waverly, he was beginning to realize that the asshole behavior just wasn’t working for him. He knew that he needed to change something in his life, he just hadn’t figured out what it was, or how to go about doing it.

  Then he walked into that office and saw her – Waverly Matthews. Leggy and tall, with big gray eyes and a sexy body, the full-blown sex kitten of his dreams. He’d taken one look at her and wanted her, knew that she was too young and too naive; not to mention what he hadn’t known at the time, she worked for his best friend.

  He was honest enough to admit now, that standing there at the printer with her back on that night, even knowing that she worked for Adam wouldn’t have had stopped him.

  One look at her and he wanted to talk to her. One brief conversation with her and he wanted to touch her – a lot. Once he had touched her, he didn’t want to take his hands off of her. Looking at her with that wild, long, golden hippie hair, her never ending legs, legs that he could still remember, tits that were perfect, not the fake plastic ones, real tits, soft but firm. When she stared up at him with those frightened gray eyes and started coming alive under his hands, he was enthralled.

  It was obvious that she didn’t have a lot of experience and he knew that he should have stopped, but she had let him keep going further and further and he just couldn’t find a way to stop himself. His urge for her was overpowering. The filthy thoughts he had, came spilling out of his mouth and it seemed to melt her resistance for him. It was fucking amazing. If Adam hadn’t shown up when he had, he was pretty sure he would have dragged her home with him.

  Sometimes Walker wondered if things could have turned out differently if he had gotten her number, if Adam hadn’t walked in, or if she hadn’t been fired.

  His health issues forced his father to retire completely not long after, and Walker was forced to fill his role in the company. Stocks and bonds. Acquisitions. Silent partnerships in a lot of businesses. On top of that, he inherited his trust. He was then responsible for a tremendous amount of money - but that didn’t mean he slacked off. He just worked harder and made himself more money, became known worldwide for his calm manner and ruthless decision making.

  He had every single thing he had ever wanted, homes, cars, models – his life was perfect. He wanted for nothing. Right?

  Spinning his chair around to look out his dramatic office windows, he could admit it to himself, he had met her at a pretty tumultuous time in his life.

  Walking into that office yesterday and seeing Waverly had cast him back in time. Back to Adam’s office touching her, her soft golden brown skin, hearing her moan for him, watching her try not to cry.

  She looked different of course. Her curves were curvier but in the same athletic, graceful, bendable way. He would kill to be able to touch that ass now. The wild golden hippie hair he remembered, was tamed and twisted up on the back of her head, making him itch to pull it all down and messing it up – the way it looked that night. Her confident business smile and smart sarcastic answers were new and a complete contrast to the sweet, young shy girl who flushed and stammered when he spoke to her. She looked the same but not. Would sex with her be the same? He found her as intriguing now as he did then.

  In the downtown Loop neighborhood just steps from the River-Walk, in a two bedroom condo, only four stories up, Waverly sat on the edge of her bed, staring into her closet. She should have been heading out for dinner and drinks with Benn and Kate. Already showered she was trying to motivate herself to get dressed, but the afternoon had drained her, she didn’t feel up to getting all sexy-ed up for a night of drinks. Benn knew something was up but for once he hadn’t pushed.

  Get over it, she told herself. Walker Rike was a dumbfuck, asshole then, and, a dumbfuck, asshole now. She needed a distraction, not a drink.

  Changing into her running clothes, her mind wandered back to the conference room, the meeting...and Walker Rike. Waverly had grown stronger over the years, confident in herself and her sexuality, that one encounter had shown her that girls who weren’t afraid of sex, had some great sex. So like any over achiever who decided to learn something new, she went out and over achieved. She had sex a lot for a while, good sex, bad sex, and hot sex.

  How was it possible, she mused, that just being in a room with this guy, six years later, still muddled her up, why did he have that kind of power over her? One time. They had been together only one time, it wasn’t fair. Did his dick have some kind of magnetic pull over her? And, why was he so interested in her today? After their encounter all of those years ago, after she had been fired, he hadn’t been interested. She had been just another girl to him, so eager for him, letting him do whatever he had wanted. Shaking her head back and forth, she tried to clear her thoughts.

  Never again. I am never going to think of Walker Rike again, never...

  Her security in
tercom buzzed. She adored Johnthedoorman, but she wanted to get out there and run, just run away from...her thoughts. Whatever Johnthedoorman wanted, it was could wait.

  Way headed out, shutting both her door and thoughts of Walker out of her mind, making her way down to the lobby was not a long trip, as Way was afraid of heights, happy living on the noncoveted third floor.

  Hurrying through the lobby, she popped in her ear buds, gave Johnthedoorman a quick wave and slipped out the automatic doors, tripping lightly down the stairs, focused on her phone and starting her running play list. Rounding the stairs, she began stretching out, one leg thrown up on the building wall, singing along to Daft Punk’s, One More Time. She shrieked when a heavy hand landed on her shoulder, jumping out from underneath it and whirling around.

  “You scared the life out of me,“ she shrieked, her heart pounding.

  His lips moved, but no voice.

  “What are you doing here!?”

  Again, his lips moved, but no sound. Dumbfuck, was he pretending to be some kind of mime?

  “What. Are. You. Saying?”

  She asked again, but slower this time, over enunciating her words

  When both of his hands reached toward her, she shrank back – his eyes narrowed slightly, but his hands kept moving up to her face. Oh God, no, Waverly thought, he’s going to kiss me, her lips parted, her eyes looked up and met his. She felt warm all over and a little tingle had started in her belly too. He pulled on her ear bud wires popping them out.

  “You were shouting,” he replied calmly, in that velvety, deep rumble. She looked up, frowning at him, his blue eyes such a deep blue, she noticed, and there were slight lines that were crinkled up slightly right now. Was he laughing at her?

  “Why are you here, in front of my apartment,” she snapped, grabbing her ear buds out of his hand.

  He raised an eyebrow.

  “Seriously. What the hell do you want?”

  Dumbfuck Asshole. She was getting angry.

  “I haven’t seen you for six years, and I was good with that. Now, what, twice in one day. It’s too much. Go away.”

  “I like the attitude Hippie Girl,” he stated, taking a step closer to her. She started to step back away from him, then stopped, holding her ground.

  “I don’t care what you like, or don’t like. Go away!”

  “I want to talk to you. We haven’t seen each other in a long time. I wanted to apologize, I had no idea, that night, that you worked for Adam, I had no idea he would fire you,” he explained.

  “You want to apologize?”

  “Yes.”

  “Now? Six years later, you want to apologize?”

  “Yes. And, I want to know more about you,” he added.

  Frustrated, she rubbed her hands over her face.

  “Look asshole, you don’t just get to decide…”

  “Did you just call me, asshole,” he interrupted her, chuckling.

  She blinked at him.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Walker. My name is Walker. Call me by my name,” he instructed her.

  “Okay, we’re finished here. Go away Walker. I’m thrilled that you’re man enough, to come and apologize to me, six years, after you did something incredibly horrible. So, thank you, Walker for the apology, but you know what, I don’t want anything to do with you. You are nothing to me. So goodbye, Walker,” she stated, making shooing gestures at him.

  Walker watched her rant with fascination, and then stepped closer, slowly and deliberately. She refused to back away, so they wound up almost chest to chest. Not quite touching, but close enough, he was such a big man, that he seemed to suck all the oxygen away from her space. She felt breathless. In her flat running shoes, she had to tip her head back to look up at him. Waverly Rubbed her lips together so she wouldn’t blurt out any more of the thoughts in her head.

  “I notice that you haven’t actually accepted my apology, that’s very rude. I’m being very sincere,” he calmly explained to her.

  She burst out laughing.

  “Listen, you dumbfuck, asshole! We had sex, then you got me fired. That does not mean -,”

  “I agree that the firing was bad, but, the sex was amazing.”

  “Amazing? It was nothing. It was nothing then, and it’s nothing now. It was years ago!”

  Waverly was shrieking, her hands waving angrily, people walking by were looking and laughing at them, at her.

  “Six years ago! Why do you even care now!? I’ve been with a lot of people since then! I’m sure you have, too, well, I don’t know if you’ve gotten them fired too. Just, let it go!”

  He stood still, it didn’t rattle him, he just stood there, eyebrows raised, continuing to tranquilly smirk at her. She wondered if he would be so calm if she slapped him. Or, if she kicked him in the balls.

  “It wasn’t nothing. Stop shouting, and let me take you to dinner. We can talk.” Walker offered.

  Her mind was spinning. It wasn’t nothing? What? No. All of these years, she had assumed that he had never given her another thought, just happily moved on to his next conquest. He’d barely even looked at her after Adam walked in, and he sure as hell hadn’t come to her defense in any way. She had stood there humiliated, naked and devastated. She knew his reputation, for a few years immediately after their encounter, his picture was in the paper often, always with a skinny model or the current Chicago ‘it’ girl. This guy had everything, the influential name, the money, the family. He was simply not the kind of guy who cared that a naive young girl was hurt by his actions.

  That’s why she was so stunned.

  “You... We… What?” She asked.

  He locked eyes with her, the corners of his eyes crinkling slightly again.

  “You’re stuttering, Hippie Girl.”

  “Listen, you Dumbfuck Asshole, I’m not going to dinner with you. We’re not going to talk. You and I, we, will never do anything together. Anything, ever...”

  Interrupting her, Walker reached out and tucked a strand of hair that had fallen out of her sloppy ponytail behind her ear.

  “Goodnight, Waverly.”

  Waverly stood shocked, her face flushing, her mouth opening and closing like a fish.

  He turned and started to walk away, stopping, he turned back toward her and stepped forward again.

  “Oh, and Waverly, I look forward to having you work on my account.”

  Reaching into his suit pocket, he pulled the WestMat contract out and placed it into her hand, then folded her fingers around it.

  “Please tell Benn we accept, and the contract has been signed.”

  Oh. Shit.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Walker waited, congratulating himself on the successful use of his client status to gain access to her. Although she wasn’t there yet, her assistant graciously seated him in Waverly’s office – they couldn’t very well leave a client like him sitting in the lobby. Under the guise of checking emails on his phone, he was happy to have some time to surreptitiously check out her office.

  He was familiar with these creative types - their quirky little toys and the framed prints with esoteric hipster sayings on them. Waverly’s office was an unusual mix of designer, personal, and, well, sloppy. Her desk was an unorganized train wreck, piles and stacks cluttered the entire surface, making him itch to step in and sweep it all in the trash. The credenza behind her desk held a few design books along with a copy of The Art of Strategy, Gone With the Wind and The Princess Bride.

  Strong evidence of her remaining standing as a sweet good girl he thought amused by her choices. An ornate silver frame held a photo of her with Benn, two other guys and two other girls on a beach. Her hair longer then, and wind blown, Wayfarer sunglasses pushed up on top of her head, smoking hot body in a simple black bikini. Sunburned cheeks made her eyes look even more gray, her smile wide and laugh
ing. One of the guys had an arm wrapped around her, shit, the guy looked like an arrogant prick.

  The sound of heels clicking across the floor drew closer, checking his watch, he was pleasantly surprised that she had only kept him waiting for fifteen minutes. She had been furious with him when he surprised her in front of her apartment, even more so when he forced the signed contract on her.

  Legs stretched out in front of him, one arm resting casually on the back of the chair, he leaned back to watch her entrance. Eying him warily, she paused, the glare that appeared on her pretty face made it obvious she wanted to tell him off again. After another slight pause, she rearranged her demeanor, something made her rethink her approach. He assumed she must be weighing whether he would pull the account – he wouldn’t, but she didn’t need to know that just yet.

  Her long, toned legs, in another pair of sexy heels, slipped past him and he watched appreciatively as she settled gracefully into the matching chair in front of her desk. Her skirt shifted up to mid thigh, he looked, and she noticed him looking, recrossing her legs, he groaned inwardly, as the skirt rose even higher. One long leg began to gently kick back and forth. Back and forth. Reluctantly, he tore his eyes away and looked up at her.

  Wide gray eyes met his, her brows raised questioningly, she sighed heavily, “What do you want Walker?”

  Her voice was deeper, than he remembered it from years ago, sexier, more womanly. She had been completely unaware of how sexy she was as a clueless, naive, young woman. Now, as a confident, successful, twenty-five year old dynamo, aware of her appeal and how to use it, she was scrambling his brain. It made him hard, it made it hard to think about anything but getting his hands on her again.

  The business suit she wore was feminine, close-fitting and soft looking. It was sexy and sophisticated on her, but he missed that crazy, long skirt she wore when he met her that first time. This look was conservative, but in a naughty secretary kind of way – he was pretty certain that wasn’t the look she was going for and also pretty certain she would slap him if he mentioned it. Her wide mouth with full lips was a shiny pink, damn, now if only he could stop wondering what her mouth on his dick would feel like.