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

has money going for him.
Not that you would date a guy like that. Oh god, I’m sorry.”
    I physically took my shoe off and put it into my mouth.
    I sat there with my shoe in my mouth and just looked at Alicia with the
best puppy dog eyes I could muster.
    Finally, she broke down and laughed.
    “Put your shoe back on. That’s disgusting.”
    “Thank you. It did taste a lot like pee. Probably that alley we went
down.”
    I raised my hand for our waiter and ordered us some noodles and some ice
water. I really needed a drink, and fast. Putting my shoe in my mouth was
certainly not something I was used to doing and I didn’t know what had come
over me at that moment. But it seemed to
have gotten me out of the hot water my mouth had put me into, so all was well
that ended well.
    “He’s my VP of finance. Pretty much the only reason we are going public.
He pushed for it at our corporate meeting last year and has been driving it
ever since.”
    “Ah, so he’s the evil one.”
    “Not so much evil as just very money driven. I was happy doing the small
stores and making things by hand. I didn’t need this level to be happy. I know
that sounds petty and exactly what people
shouldn’t say.”
    “It makes sense. The bigger the company, the less you probably get to
actually design. It’s a trade-off .”
    “Yes and not one that I’m liking.”
    “Well after the big business dealings you’re doing, I’m sure you can hire
someone to deal with the paperwork stuff so you can spend more time doing what
you would like to do.”
    “Thanks, I hope so.”
    “Now, let’s get back to talking about me,” I said with a mischievous
smile.
    “Oh, were we talking about you?” Alicia laughed and I was hypnotized.
    Her red hair swung back and her chin lifted into the air. Oh, how I loved to watch her laugh.
    “Um, yes. We were about to discuss you and I going on another date.”
    “Hmm, I don’t remember talking about that.”
    Alicia continued to giggle as our noodles arrived and I chugged my whole
cup of water. She obviously didn’t think me putting my shoe in my mouth was a
good idea either. But at least it had lightened the mood a little.
    “So let’s talk about it now. When can we have our second date.”
    “Right now.”
    “What? No! Noodle can’t be our second date. I have big plans for that
date.”
    “I don’t sleep with a guy until at least the fifth date. If you make it
that far.”
    “ Oh, then this is definitely date
two.”
    She laughed again and I was smitten. The witty banter that went back and
forth between us was a first for me. I had never been with a woman who I felt
so comfortable with. I didn’t have to play my game and I didn’t think she was
playing one either. It was natural between us.
    As much as I loved that, deep down I also really wanted to find out more
about her company to see if I should invest in the IPO or not. It was horrible,
I know it. I wanted her, she was deliciously cute. But I still had a business
to think about and I couldn’t stop thinking about making my clients money just
because the CEO of the company I wanted to buy stock in was fucking sexy as
hell.
    We finished our noodles and walked back toward the stock market.
    “You know, my apartment is right up there,” I said as I pointed at my
building again.
    But she wasn’t interested. I could tell by how quickly she pulled her
phone out; there would be no bringing Alicia up to my condo . It sucked, though; one minute I felt like we had
an amazing connection and the next minute I felt like she was annoyed to have
to spend time with me. I just couldn’t figure her out.
    “I’m going to head home. I promise I’ll call you for date number two,”
Alicia smiled and looked up at me.
    Something bothered her; I could see it in her eyes. It wasn’t something
with me either, there was something deep going on in her life and it obviously
had her distracted. I hoped that after her IPO happened she would be able to
relax. But I