I swallowed hard as I looked at him, completely dazed. I wasn’t sure what had just happened. Minutes ago, he had been apologizing to me and I thought we were finally going to put everything behind us, but yet again he had my head spinning in anger and my body aching for his touch. I didn’t say anything to Brandon as we walked to the restaurant. Instead, I just mentally confirmed my plan for the night. Brandon was right and wrong. He was right about the fact that sometimes a woman just wanted a man to take charge and take her, but he was wrong about the fact that he wasn’t going to be f**king me tonight. If I had anything to do with it, I was going to have him shouting my name and begging me to forgive him for all the shit he had pulled on me. As far as I was concerned, he had gotten away with far too much. I wasn’t a woman he could use and abuse like some pawn in a game of chess. He was about to find out that he wasn’t the only piece of royalty on the board, and I was about to get into the game. And this time, I was playing to win.
Chapter 3
“Konnichiwa.”
“Konnichiwa.”
I stood there and smiled at the wives of the Japanese businessmen that Brandon was meeting for dinner. I felt out of place in my revealing dress, as they were all dressed very conservatively. Their wives looked at me with polite smiles, but I could see the question in their eyes. Was she a prostitute? I was embarrassed for all of two minutes before I realized that ultimately, it was Brandon that would look like the fool.
“They like you.” He smiled at me as we walked to the table. He was back to being nice again, but I couldn’t tell if he was being genuine or putting on a show.
“I feel like maybe I wore the wrong outfit for a business dinner.” I made a face. “Sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?” He squeezed my hand. “You look sexy as hell, yes, but I’m not complaining. I like dining with a beautiful woman at my side.”
“Oh.” I blushed at his words. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me for telling the truth.” He pulled my chair out as we reached the table and then sat next to me. “This is nice.” He looked around the restaurant and smiled. “It’s been a while since we’ve gone out to eat together.”
“Yes, it has.”
“This time you can even order alcohol if you want to.”
“Funny.” I looked away from him and he laughed.
“Don’t tell me I can’t make jokes about your age. Not after all the laughs you had on my behalf.”
“What are you talking about?” I glared at him. “What laughs?”
“All the laughs you and your friends had when you told them what a fool I was for believing all your lies.”
“I never thought you were a fool.”
“I was a fool.” He sighed. “I don’t know how I didn’t figure out you were 18.”
“I guess I was a good actress.”
“That’s the problem, you weren’t.” He chuckled. “When I think back to everything now, it’s all so clear to me. How eager and happy you were all the time to see me, how open you were with your feelings. The fact that you were a virgin and the fact that you were always willing and eager to do whatever I wanted to do sexually.”
“Not everything.” I shook my head.
“That’s true.” He licked his lips as he stared at me. “I never got you to agree to anal.”
“Would you like to see the wine menu?” A waiter appeared at our side and I looked at him with a small smile, while dying of mortification inside.
“Thank you.” Brandon took the menu and opened it so we could both see.
“Mr. Kai, would you like me to order the wine?” Brandon addressed the only person in the business party who appeared to speak English.
“Thank you, Mr. Hastings. We would like that very much.” Mr. Kai nodded and then spoke to the others rapidly in Japanese.
“I don’t think I’m going to be able to help much.” I whispered to Brandon. “I don’t speak much Japanese.”
“Your presence alone is enough.” He squeezed my knee and smiled at me. I tried not to pull away from him, but every time he touched me I felt like I was flying and it was hard for me to come back down to earth.
“I think we’re all going to have a less fatty steak tonight. I’m guessing everyone will have a filet mignon, don’t you think?” Brandon spoke out loud as he studied the wine menu. “So I guess I’ll choose a bottle that has a bit less tannin.”
“How do you know?” I asked, interested.
“I tried to be a sommelier when I was in my twenties.” He looked up at me. “And I worked at a couple of wineries in Napa and Sonoma.”
“I never knew that before.”
“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me, Katie.”
“Have you decided on your wine?” The waiter reappeared, and I sat back while I waited for Brandon to order.
“Let’s see, we’re definitely going to go with a cabernet sauvignon.” He studied the menu and looked up at the waiter. “Will you check and see if you have a 2002 Abreu cabernet sauvignon from the Thorevilos Vineyard Napa Valley in the cellar, please.”
“Wines in the cellar start at $500, sir.”
“That’s fine.” Brandon shrugged. “That’s the wine we want, if you have it. Two bottles would be better than one.”
“I’ll go and check now, sir.” The apathetic-looking waiter’s eyes lit up as he departed the table quickly.
“That’s too much money.” I whispered at him. “You can’t spend $500 on wine.”
“If they have a bottle, it’ll be about $850, actually.” He smiled at me and his eyes crinkled. “I’ve got billions, Katie. There’s no need to be worried. Consider it a catch-up drink for all those nights I took you out to dinner and you only got a water.”
“Yeah, but we’re not dating anymore.”
“Whose fault is that?” His fingers caught mine and he squeezed them until I looked up at him. “Don’t tell me what to do, Katie.”
“I’m not telling you what to do.”
“You made me lose control in my life once, I’m not going to let you do that to me again.”
“What?” I frowned, but then Mr. Kai started talking about business, so I just sat back and smiled at the other women in the group. They smiled at me politely and I smiled back, not knowing what else to do.