Free Womanizer (A Standalone Novel) (A Steamy Alpha Billionaire Romance) by Nella Tyler

brain to try and
remember if he had been with her the other day when they rang the opening bell.
But I just had not paid much attention to anyone else except Alicia on that
day.
    She stood up there with a tight pink blouse on that was sheer; I could
tell that she had a camisole underneath. I couldn’t see what else she had on,
but damn I wanted to. Her eyes were timid as she looked over the balcony at the
room full of traders. I urged her to make eye contact with me. I willed her
with my intense stare at her, but I never did get what I wanted.
    When the closing bell had been rung, I followed her group of people and
joined in as they chatted about the upcoming big day.
    “Monday is going to be epic,” one young trader said.
    “Yeah, I think she is going to kill it. A total money maker,” another trader
said.
    I couldn’t help but overhear them and it made me happy for Alicia. She
seemed like a good woman who had worked really hard to get where she was, I
hoped the best for her and her IPO. I also hoped Rebecca could get me the information I needed before Monday so I could
make a decision on whether to buy her stock or not.
    I stood back and watched the chaos around Alicia as people asked her
questions and she talked a little about her company. It was one of the only
times people could get up close and personal with a CEO of a company, but in
reality nothing they had to say was of any help on investment day.
    CEO’s didn’t know how their company was going to do any more than the
rest of the world. They, of course, had much more hopefulness that the IPO would
do well. But in the end, the opinion of the general public was what mattered
most.
    Alicia looked really uncomfortable and like she wanted to leave. At one point, I even saw her turn away but that same
man pulled her back and she continued to answer questions. It was painful to
watch after about thirty minutes. So I did what I thought was best.
    “Miss Warren, can you come with me? Mr. Taylor would like a word with
you.”
    I walked with authority up to Alicia and grabbed her by the arm and led
her away.
    Everyone knew Mr. Taylor was the CEO of Taylor Trading Incorporated and
the biggest trading company on the market. The others quieted down as we walked
away.
    “Mr. Taylor?” Alicia smiled as we walked quickly off the trading floor
and into the hallway. “You better hurry, he’s coming, ”
Alicia said as she looked behind us.
    Sure enough, the man that had been at her side all day
long had just come out the door to the hallway and was about one hundred feet
behind us.
    “Alicia, where are you going?” he hollered down the hallway.
    “I’ll be right back, Bill,” Alicia said as we quickened our steps.
    When we turned the corner, the two of us were into a full on sprint as we
tried to make it out the door and into the street before Bill had seen where we
went.
    It was fun, like when you were young and ran away from the mall security
guard. I laughed as we ran and Alicia did too. By the time we had made it
outside, we were both in a full on giggle.
    “This way,” I said as I brought her up one of the narrow side streets.
    We continued to walk quickly and soon had made it to China town where we
slid into a noodle shop and sat down.
    We were both sweating, but I was very impressed with Alicia’s ability to
run. She surely must run for exercise. She had not had any problems keeping up
with me and I was almost in a full on sprint.
    “So, who is Bill? A boyfriend?” I asked.
    “Oh god, really, Evan. You think I like short bald guys?”
    “ Well, I thought perhaps he was a sugar daddy.”
    As the words left my mouth, I knew
right away I shouldn’t have said them. Of course she didn’t want anyone
insinuating that she had some rich guy who was the only reason she was
successful. I had to do some damage control and quick. The look on her face
said that I was about thirty seconds away from getting slapped.
    “I mean, he looks like the kind of guy who only