The older woman was a gossip, but a sweet-natured one, unlike Amanda who was a raging… something Piper knew she shouldn’t even think because her mom would turn over in her grave. “I was talking to my sister and ran smack into Amanda.”
Gina waved that off. “Oh, hon, that’s inevitable. And I bet you bounced right off those fake tits of hers. I’ve often thought that she should rent those boobs out as a bouncy house for bored babies.”
Piper looked down at her own chest. They were probably as big as Amanda’s, but hers were real so they sagged a little. Even at twenty-five. And her clothes wouldn’t fit right. She sighed. It didn’t matter. She wasn’t here looking for love. She was done with that. Johnny Tyler, affectionately known to his friends as Cooder, had proven that men were just dogs with a bone. If she couldn’t keep someone like Johnny happy, she probably never would find a decent man. And that was fine. She was going to have a career. See the world. Her female parts had been put into hibernation long ago.
Except they had hummed back to life the minute Hottie Number One had laid a hand on her. Her heart rate had tripled and her skin had sizzled with life. Too bad her mouth hadn’t stopped working. She talked way too much when she was nervous. “Hey, do we have a couple of new guys around? Tall, maybe Middle Eastern but talk with British accents?” Hottie Number Two had been just as beautiful as his brother. She was sure they were related.
Gina’s eyes widened. “Are you talking about Rafe and Kade al Mussad? Yep. You are. Every woman who meets them gets that glazed look in her eyes. They’re here a lot. I’m surprised you haven’t met them before.” Her voice dropped to a gossipy whisper. “They’re filthy rich. They represent all the business interests for Bezakistan. Aren’t you working on their green project?”
Yep. And all the paperwork was in a giant heap that she would have to painstakingly reorganize. She could do it tonight. It wasn’t like she had anything else to do. This job was her gateway to bigger and better things. “Yes. I’m getting all the numbers ready for the guy on the other end. Tal.”
Gina stared at her. “You just sighed when you said his name.”
“I did not.” Except she kind of had. Tal was her counterpart in Bezakistan. Black Oak Oil was working with the government of Bezakistan to start a green energy project, and Piper was in charge of putting together all the research. She’d been e-mailing and talking on the phone to Tal for several months. “He’s just nice.”
“Tal, huh? In Bezakistan? I don’t think I’ve heard of him. What I do know is that the sheikh, Talib, is just as gorgeous as his brothers. Have you met this man you’ve been talking to? You might want to take a look because I’ve heard they grow them hot over there.”
Piper shook her head. Not Tal. Tal was sedate and very polite. His voice was soothing and intelligent. She couldn’t imagine him looking like the two movie-star gorgeous men she’d just met, and she kind of liked it that way. “I seriously doubt it. He’s really…smart.” And organized and creative. And she didn’t even know how old he was. Probably older. And married. With lots of kids. But she could dream a little.
Gina hopped off the desk. “I don’t need a smart man. Give me a dumb hot guy any day of the week. My Matthew couldn’t find his head in his ass, but his chest is a work of art. Are you coming to lunch with us?”
Piper forced a sunny smile on her face. “Can’t. I have so much work.”
Gina shrugged and walked out, the door closing behind her.
Piper’s stomach growled, and she wished she hadn’t left her bagged lunch on the train. It hadn’t been much. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a few baby carrots, but it would have been better than nothing.
She thought about her tiny studio apartment. She’d sent the last of her money to Mindy to pay for her school. There wouldn’t be more for another week when her modest check from Black Oak came in. She took mental stock of her fridge. The next week didn’t look good.
She glanced at the calendar, her stomach taking a dive. Well, at least she wasn’t hungry anymore. Tomorrow was supposed to have been her first wedding anniversary, if she’d managed to get down the aisle. She could still feel the white satin on her skin as she tried on her wedding gown. She’d looked at herself in the mirror and, just for a moment, she’d been a princess.
Tears filled her eyes. Turned out, her prince preferred strippers to nice girls he’d met at church. She’d been left at the altar with a note and the judgmental stares of everyone in her small town. And she’d still had her sister to put through school since Mindy’s scholarship had mysteriously dried up the minute Piper was no longer connected to the mayor’s family.