Juice: The O'Malleys Book 1, contemporary Adult Romance (9 page)

Rory heard Cassidy roar with laughter and couldn’t help but smile and bite his bottom lip.

“Bitch.”

“Ho.”

Rory cleared his throat.

“I always thought Raspberry Beret was by far his best song if we are talking in sexual terms, then again it may be different for you girls.”

He watched with mounting satisfaction as Cassidy and her accomplice stood still for a moment, and then turned slowly to look at him with embarrassed guilty eyes.

He focused on Cassidy, in that moment she was beautiful. Her back rod straight,  she was packaged tightly into a black straight knee length skirt and she looked radiant. Her cheeks were flushed and the laughter was still captured in her green eyes. Her red hair splayed out down the length of her back ending in a v, the longest few curls lightly skimmed her cute arse. Cassidy Evans. She was unmistakeable, all curves and hair and that laugh! Loud and raunchy like velvet and butterscotch.
Where
the fuck had that come from? Butterscotch and velvet!
He stared at his shoes incredulously.
You need to get your balls back from wherever you left them, O’Malley. And fast!
Rory looked up and was met by two pairs of eyes gaping at him. Cassidy put out her hand and the other woman helped her off the chair. Her companion was an attractive woman, tiny, even smaller in height than Cassidy. She had a friendly open face and had short spiky straight hair that was bleached blonde with bright pink tips. Cute and smiley, Rory warmed to her energy immediately.

“What are you doing here?” Cassidy was gaping at him and knew she sounded a combination of surprised, flustered and downright rude. She dragged her hair back from her face. It bounced back and she repeated the movement, but to no avail. Who was she kidding? Her hair was never going to play ball. Rory’s eyes followed the action and she felt her face turn a deeper shade of red.  Beyond mortified already, her mind flashed immediately back to the shower that morning. He looked even more handsome than he did the first time they had met, if that were even possible.

  Rory put out his hand and walked towards Marie smiling. Cass hadn’t seen that particular smile the last time she had encountered him. She felt her mouth lag slightly at the sight of his face opening up
. How the hell did he just get even sexier? Damn it!

“Hello I’m Rory, very nice to meet you.” He flashed a shit eating-grin at Marie and it had the desired effect and was warmly reciprocated. Cass groaned internally.

“Marie Jennings, Lovely to meet you Rory. Cass told me about your…um…meeting yesterday, she described you very well.”

Cass darted a ‘shut the fuck up’ look at Marie who pretended not to notice. Rory grinned at Cass and then turned back to give Marie his undivided attention. “Really Marie. I’d love to hear Cass’ description. Do tell. Will I be very flattered by it, I wonder? I’m sure Cass was very vivid. Being an artist, she can’t help but have an eye for every minute detail.” He was teasing her. Cass felt her face redden even more
. I am a fucking tomato, that is all
.

Rory winked at Marie and bit his tongue between his teeth. Marie giggled and blushed like a teenager meeting their idol for the first time.

Cass imagined him as a lion playing with his dinner, he was such a charming predator that even the most skittish of prey would walk right into his grasp. Marie smiled coyly.

“Oh Rory, Cass was very complimentary I assure you. You’re so good to come back to check on Duffy. She is doing very well. Eating all round her and she slept through the night.” Cass reminded herself to encourage Marie the liar to bring Duffy home later. Duffy had in fact kept Cass up for three hours straight with her meowing.

“Duffy? Oh yes, the kitten. Good…. ah…good. Delighted to hear that. Did you manage to find her a home?”

“Yes. Yes I did, with me.” Cass raised her chin in a feeble effort to look taller and met his eyes head on. He has brown eyes.
How the hell did I not notice that the last time?  Why did they have to be big and brown? Why couldn’t they be small, or wonky and hard? Instead of chocolaty and soft with crinkly edges, as though he smiles a lot.

“Chocolate.” she said aloud.

“Cassidy?” 

Hmmm. She could hear Marie in the background, faintly in the distance somewhere.

Hmmm chocolate.

“Cassidy!”

Cass squeaked as Marie elbowed her hard in the ribs and realised that they were both staring at her. Rory tilted his head to the side and looked at her as though she were crazy. This was becoming a habit.

“Something you would like to share Cassidy,” he grinned.

Smug bastard!

She shook her head and gave him a tight smile. “Rory, so good of you to drop in and forgive my rudeness, please. But…if that is all, I am expecting a visitor. A very important client actually. I’m sure Marie can show you out. Thank you for checking up on Duffy, it’s very good of you to ask after her,” she nodded in the direction of the door with her most insincere smile pasted across her lips.
If he thinks he can just walk in here and flash those Johnny Depp eyes and I’m going to- Why isn’t he leaving?

Rory sat on the edge of the table and crossed his arms.

“Actually Cassidy, I am here to see you on business. I’m your eleven o’ clock appointment.”

“Huh?” Cassidy crinkled her nose.

He uncrossed his arms and began to drum his fingers against the side of the desk in a slow rhythm.

“I'm Rory O’Malley, newly appointed CEO of O’Malley Resorts.”

Rory smiled a big wide grin in her direction, as he tried to keep the laugh inside. Her face, her sweet beautiful face looked as though she was fighting an internal between professionalism and wanting to smack him silly. Feeling a small bit of guilt at how much he had enjoyed riling her up, he tried to look contrite. He knew that he really shouldn’t tease her but he enjoyed her many facial expressions a bit too much to stop. This woman could hide nothing. Every flicker of her face told a different story, each emotion played out in front of him. It thrilled him.

“Oh…oh…welcome. I didn’t realise it was you. I thought it was Grace I was meeting.” Rory uncrossed his arms. “Grace is my secretary. Let's start over." He offered his hand.

She took his hand and felt the familiar zing of electricity.
Again?…seriously!

Marie cleared her throat. “Mister O’Malley, let me take your coat and please sit into the meeting room. Would you like a coffee? Or some tea, maybe?”

Rory looked at Marie and smiled warmly.

“A coffee would be great Marie, with cream and one sugar please and call me Rory.

I’m not big on formalities.”

Cassidy looked at Marie and gave her wide accusing eyes. Marie was too busy to notice, as she blushed and nodded at Rory.
For heaven sakes
!
Married much!

“This way Rory. Mind your head, the ceilings are quite low in this part of the building.”

Marie led the way and Cass watched as Rory’s tight arse clad in a pair of trousers that probably cost more than her entire wardrobe, walked through into the meeting space up onto the mezzanine of the gallery. Cassidy smiled tightly and secretly wished he would bang his smiley and perfect, ego filled head off the beams. And what the hell was wrong with Marie? She was tip toeing around him all giddy and, “Yes, Mister O’Malley. No, Mister O’Malley. Oh please call you Rory? I forgot. Oh thank you Rory, hee hee hee.”  Grrrr, this was getting ridiculous, was no one immune to this man and his over the top, hotness? Looks like he had both Duffy and Marie eating out of his hands!

“So, Mister O’Malley. I mean Rory. What exactly are you looking for?" 

Cassidy sat at her desk and leaned forward, genuinely interested.

“I am looking to make my life more beautiful Cassidy and my wallet a little lighter.” The way he said her name made her bite the inside of her cheek and Cass dropped her head. Not before she saw his top lip twitch in amusement and was drawn to it like a firefly to the light.

He was mesmerising, such beauty in a man. She had never seen it as pronounced or stark. Oh she had seen good-looking men before, sure. There were men who modelled for the life drawing classes they held in the gallery that would make you stop and gawk at them. But, this was different. Rory O’Malley looked like a statue craved by one of the masters. His eyes were heavily lashed with long thick black lashes and his face was rugged with stubble. And oh Gawd, those lips. Full and lush and perfectly formed. He was so tall and so broad Cass figured that he must stand out wherever he went. And there was something else, something more, he had a presence that commanded respect, a man really shouldn’t be that perfect.

“How much art are we talking about Mister…Rory?" Cassidy hoped he would stretch to a hundred thousand. It would really get them started. A ten percent commission would really set them up for the next six months. The rent was low enough, but the owner of the courtyard was itching to sell and retire. The new owner could put the prices up or worse sell up altogether. The ten grand would cover the rent for the next year.

“My budget is five million.”

Cassidy held her coffee cup in mid-air. She looked at him with her mouth sagging open and dropped the cup nosily onto the saucer, before folding her arms quickly.

“Are you serious?” She cocked her head to the side and examined him. He couldn’t be serious.
Could he?

“Totally serious,” he said. He took a long sip of coffee before laying the cup gently onto his saucer. He laid his hands on the desk in front of him and laced his fingers.

“I never, ever, joke about money. Do you think you can handle it Cassidy? I’m looking for very specific art. I’d also like to buy some of your own paintings. I’ve seen Girl with Violets at the Marlborough Hotel in the foyer. I liked it very much.”

“Thank you,” said Cassidy. Her breath caught in her throat. Five frickin’ million, which was a commission of half a million. She could barely get her head around the figure. She blushed at his compliment of her own work. She was proud of that piece and especially enjoyed working on nudes. There was something freeing about working with a naked subject. She loved the shape and curvature of the human form combined with the challenge of trying to capture the texture and tone of human skin.

“Thank you Rory. It’s a piece that is very special to me; if you like I could create a piece that is similar for you.”

“No need. I bought it yesterday. The owner of the hotel is a good friend. He really didn’t want to part with it, however I can be very persuasive, but thank you for the offer, Cassidy. I would like to commission a complete series of nudes with flowers.” Cassidy stood up from her desk and looked down at him.