Getting the Goods Read online

  And even though I can’t stand this guy, the way that my body reacts to him doesn’t go unnoticed.

  Maybe it’s meant to be. I mean, I could kill two birds with one stone here.

  A night of smoking hot sex, and some stolen sperm which will hopefully result in a baby.

  It just might happen for me.

  As long as Conner keeps his egotistical mouth shut.

  One dance led to another, and then, another, and suddenly…

  Well, somehow, I ended up in Conner’s hotel room.

  I’m not exactly sure how it happened, or even, how I let it happen, since obviously, this man initially drove me nuts.

  But now he’s driving me nuts in an entirely different way, and I have no reason to stop it. So far, he’s checked all of my boxes.

  Gorgeous, smart, and of course, very full of himself, but drunk me seems perfectly capable of overlooking that.

  “What do you do for a living?” I pull back from his lips as he kicks the hotel room door shut.

  “I own a company.”

  Check.

  His lips mash back onto mine, and suddenly, he grips the back of my thighs and lifts me up. I wrap my legs around his middle as he presses me against the door.

  I sigh into his mouth, before another question pops into my mind.

  I pull back again.

  “Any diseases that I should know about?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You know…”

  He smiles slightly. “No, of course not. Clean as a whistle. I get checked every three months.”

  Perfect. Maria was right about that.

  “What about family diseases? Any mental illness in your family?”

  He pauses, before shaking head.

  “You know, I’ve had a lot of random questions before sex, but I have to tell you, this is getting a little bit weird.”

  I blink, before nodding.

  “I get random thoughts and, you know. They just sort of pop out.”

  He chuckles.

  “No mental illness. Can we continue here, or, do you want to ask me something else?”

  I could ask a lot of things here, but, we covered the basics.

  I’m off track, and my body is basically on fire, so, I allow myself to slip back into the dizziness that this man causes in me, and proceed with plans A, B, and C.

  I reach up, grabbing his neck and pulling his mouth back onto mine. Suddenly, we are pulling at each other’s clothing, ragged breaths escaping each of us. My tiny little dress is pulled over my head before I can say anything else, and his shirt is ripped off of him and tossed aside right after.

  My hands trace the firm outlines of the muscles on his chest, before gripping onto his arms as his mouth moves over me.

  I will give it to him.

  This man knows what he’s doing. And in no time, I’m literally putty in his hands, moaning his name and begging him for more.

  Which he gives me.

  Good Lord, he gives it to me.

  His thick erection is pressed into me, and then…

  All hell breaks loose.

  2

  Conner

  I think that I have officially lost my mind.

  I had promised myself no more random hook-ups. No more one night stands.

  Yet, here I am, in bed with the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever laid eyes on.

  And I’m literally spun the fuck out.

  Maybe it was the fact that she immediately turned me down earlier, and walked away, like she could have given two fucks about me.

  That part definitely turned me on because it never happens….

  But the second that I saw her shaking that beautiful ass on the dance floor, I knew that I had to have her.

  To hell with my vow of no more one nighters.

  That shit went right out the window the second that I felt Gabriella’s luscious ass grinding against my cock.

  And as soon as her lips hit mine, I knew that I was going to have her. Several times.

  What I didn’t expect though, was to be awakened after multiple rounds of sex, to see her on her hands and knees, shining her phone’s flashlight on the floor…grabbing the condom.

  What in the actual fuck?

  For a split second, I thought that maybe she was just grabbing it to throw it away. I mean, it is rather gross to toss them onto the floor.

  But I literally had no choice…since I basically pulled one off just to put another on. That’s how crazy this woman makes me.

  The problem with the picture in front of me, is the fact that she is fully clothed and grabbing the condoms. I watch her for just a second, as she wraps something around the two of them before beginning to shove them into her purse.

  “What in the fuck are you doing?” I flick on the light as I jump out of the bed, making her squeal, before jumping to her feet, the condoms flying out of her hand.

  Her hands fly to her mouth as the little package that she was trying to take flies forward, smacking me in the face.

  I cringe, as the slimy package slides from where it landed on my cheek, down my chest, before flopping onto the floor.

  “Oh my god…oh…shit!”

  Anger courses through my body as I take a step towards her, wiping all of the things off of my face.

  “What were you doing with those?”

  “I…” She twists her hands nervously, before biting her lip and taking a step backward. “I can explain.”

  “Oh, really? Please do. Because it looked like…”

  “I collect condoms.” She blurts out, as her face turns bright red. “I, uh. Have a fetish.”

  “A fetish,” I repeat, before crossing my arms.

  “Yes.” She nods. “It’s, um, an embarrassing fetish.”

  “Liar.” I square my stance before shaking my head. “What was your plan here, Gabriella? Are you some money hungry whore? Trying to get knocked up so that you can stick it to me? Is that what this is?”

  “No!” she exclaims, before balling her fists and glaring at me. “I don’t want your money, you stupid ass! I just wanted the condom!”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mutter, shaking my head and trying to take a deep breath.

  “This is why you don’t do this,” I say to myself. “This is why you do not fuck women that you don’t know.”

  I close my eyes and count to ten, trying to calm myself down, when I hear the door open and shut.

  I glance down to make sure that the condoms are still in my possession before shaking my head and locking the damn door.

  I am officially done with one night stands.

  And crazy ass women named Gabriella.

  3

  Gabriella

  Today is a fresh start.

  Page one in the chapter of my new book, aka, the life of Gabriella.

  As of this morning, I have officially turned over a new leaf.

  I’m done with Maria’s plan. I’ve decided that I’m just destined to be the crazy cat lady.

  It’s cool, I’m totally fine with it. I’ll just start adopting cats, one by one, until I’m the crazy old lady, all alone, surrounded by only felines.

  Too bad I don’t really like cats, but, I’m sure that they will grow on me.

  Saturday night was hands down, the most embarrassing moment in my entire life. And this is coming from a girl who fell flat on her face during our high school commencement.

  Our school principal had called out my name, and I had started to move forward, when my heel caught my gown, and, bam.

  Down I went. My gown ripped, and my dress went around my waist. The entire audience saw my bright red polka dot panties.

  I only bought those damn shoes because Maria talked me into them. She had said that they were the bomb diggity, and of course, I listened.

  Seems to be a common mistake.

  That experience doesn’t even come close to getting caught red handed, two dirty condoms in hand. If I’ve learned anything from the experience, it is th
is. I am never trusting Maria’s plans again. That girl has steered me wrong, so many times now. I suppose that’s what makes her such a great best friend. At least we never have dull moments.

  I spent the whole day yesterday curled up on my parent’s couch, binge watching Netflix with my mom. I was hoping that it would make me feel better, and I was right. It totally did. I still cringe from the memory of what happened, but at least I can rest easy knowing that I will never have to see Conner again.

  Or Carter. Whatever the hell his name is.

  See?

  I’m almost totally over it.

  It’s Monday morning, the birds are chirping, and the sun is shining. As I park my car in the parking garage and hop out, making my way towards my office, I realize that today is going to be my day. I’m going to seize the damn world today, and nothing is going to stop me. After that, I will look into getting some cats. Yes, cats.

  It’s a damn good plan.

  I have some pep in my step as I mosey down Main street. I smile to everyone who passes me, because today, I am the new and improved Gabriella Martin.

  Life is good, and I’m ready to make today my bitch.

  I stop into Joe’s Coffee Shop, just like I do every single day, and smile at Joe.

  “Hey, gorgeous!” he calls out, the same as he does every single day. “You want your usual?”

  I nod and move towards the cash register to pay. Joe begins to whip up my Mocha Latte with almond milk, while I make small talk with his daughter, Emily, who, today, is running the cash register.

  “How was your weekend?” Emily asks as she swipes my credit card.

  I cringe inside, but I manage to flash her a smile.

  “It was pretty good. Uneventful.” I shrug, making her smile.

  “I have a hard time imagining you and Maria having an uneventful weekend.”

  Well if that isn’t the truth…

  “This time, we did,” I lie, shrugging my shoulders. “I went to some work thingy with her on Saturday and then spent all day yesterday at my parents’. It was super low key.”

  Yeah, right.

  “Well, today has been anything but low key.” Emily glances over at her father, who is standing just a few feet away. She turns her attention back to me and lowers her voice.

  “This guy came in today, and, I’ve never seen him before. Gabby, you should have been here like, ten minutes ago. He was so hot. So freaking hot, that I almost couldn’t ring him up. I just stood here and stared at him like a total dummy. But I’ve never seen anyone who looked like him. He was breathtaking.”

  “Breathtaking, huh?” I chuckle. “I’m guessing that Mr. Breathtaking was a bit too old for you.”

  She winks at me.

  “Yeah, for me probably, but not for you. If he comes in here again tomorrow, I’m totally getting his digits for you.”

  “I think that you’ve been off of school too long, Emily. You’re losing your grip, girl. And for the record, you just called me old. Party foul.” I wink at her, and she just laughs.

  I love my morning chatter with Emily, although usually, the soon to be high school senior doesn’t make me feel so old.

  “Whatever. Once I set you up with the man of your dreams, you’ll forget all about the old innuendo. Here’s your coffee. Tomorrow, I’ll give you a coffee and your dream guy.”

  She snaps her finger and points at me, and I can’t even help but laugh.

  Oh, to be seventeen again.

  “Thanks for the coffee, Joe!” I call out, and then, head out of the door and back out onto the sidewalk. My office building is just a block down the road, so I sip my coffee quickly as I finish my trek.

  I’ve been working for J.H Enterprises for nearly three years.

  I can’t say that I love my job, but I like it enough to get up every day and come to work.

  When I went to college, I imagined myself being some top dog in the business world by now, but so far, that hasn’t happened.

  I’m the accounts manager, and I suppose that it’s an alright job.

  It pays all of my bills and leaves me with enough spending money to buy whatever I want. Within reason, at least.

  There is no Bugatti in my future, but I have a brand-new Jetta, a closet full of clothes with the tags still on them, and a small bungalow. I suppose that is as good as life can get, right?

  Add in about twenty cats, and I will be living the good life.

  I snort at my own ridiculous thoughts.

  I’m trying to keep my good mood rolling, so it’s best if I focus on all of the things that I have, instead of the things that I don’t.

  Case in point, some good eggs.

  When Maria was doing her residency, she needed patients to run tests on. Since we’ve been best friends since we were five, of course, I was her first guinea pig.

  I figured that I would be the perfect test subject, since at the time, I was in my mid-twenties with a rocking hot body and what I assumed to be good reproductive organs.

  Boy, was I wrong.

  My tests came back as shit. I ended up getting transferred to a specialist, only to find out that if I didn’t conceive in the next five years, my chances of having a baby were about nil.

  At the time, I didn’t panic, because I was still just twenty-five. I had assumed that it would be no issue, and that soon I would find my prince charming, get knocked up, and have the big family that I had always dreamed about.

  Now, here I am, almost thirty, and realizing that my Mr. Right must have suffered a tragedy during his modeling shoot in the swiss alps.

  Because I can’t find him anywhere.

  Perhaps he fell off of a roof during his photo shoot for the sexiest man alive.

  Something had to have happened to him, and now, I’m left all alone, with my rotten eggs.

  I make my way into my office and notice that things appear a bit different than our usual Monday morning.

  Everyone is scurrying around, wearing panicked looks, and shuffling papers into manila folders.

  “What’s going on?” I ask my assistant, Natalie, who looks just as panicked as the rest of the crew.

  “Ah, emergency board meeting in ten minutes. No one knows what’s going on.”

  “Emergency meeting?” I raise my eyebrows. “What in the world for?”

  “Hell, if I know.” She shrugs. “I work for you, remember? You’re supposed to know this stuff.”

  “Har har.” I roll my eyes. “You are the glue that keeps me together, doll face. I have absolutely no idea what the meeting is for, but I wouldn’t panic. I’m sure it’s just to go over next month’s agenda.”

  “Yeah, right.” She frowns. “Everyone is freaking out. Something major must be happening.”

  Ten minutes later, shit hits the fan.

  As I sit down inside of the conference room and watch as Mr. J.H himself enters the room, my stomach drops.

  If the owner is here, it has to be bad.

  I mean, the guy spends all of his time on the golf course. He never sets foot inside of the office with us small folk.

  “Thank you all for coming today,” he announces and then glances around the room.

  I try to hold in my snort, but it’s really no use. I mean, come on. It’s a Monday. We’re all required to be here.

  “I’ve called this meeting, because we have some important things to go over here today.” He clears his throat. “Over the last six months, our company has gone from being in the black, to being severely in the red. We are spending far more than we are making, and I’ve decided that it’s time for me to seek other endeavors.”

  A hush falls over the room.

  “I’ve made a business decision to sell this company while I still can. I’m getting to be an old man, and I need to ensure my retirement. I want to reassure all of you that your retirement packages with J.H Enterprises will still be honored; however, future employment unfortunately cannot be. The new owners will be at liberty to make whatever cuts they see fit. I’m so sorry
everyone. I’ve appreciated all of the hard work that you all have done for me over the years, but sadly, our time together has come to an end.”

  He glances around the room, and I follow his eyes. Everyone is wearing a look of shock. Faces are pale, and eyes are wide.

  We’re all losing our jobs?

  “The new owners are here, and I would like to introduce you to them. Any further questions can be directed their way.”

  He nods towards the door, and as it opens, my head becomes so dizzy that I worry that I might pass out.

  In walks Conner, or Carter, whatever in the hell his name is.

  My eyes adjust to him, in his dark blue suit that fits that hot body of his perfectly. His white shirt is crisp and perfectly pressed. The scruff on his chin is gone, and he mirrors the original picture that Maria had shown me.

  Holy shit.

  As if this can’t get any worse, another man, looking identical, walks into the room behind him, only he sports a black suit with a dark grey shirt.

  Neither one of them smile as they turn their attention to all of us, and even though I want to look away, I can’t.

  My eyes fly between the two of them.

  Oh, dear god.

  They have to be twins.

  The biggest question here, is, which one had their dick inside of me?

  “Carter and Conner Andrews are the new owners,” J.H reiterates as my heart thunders in my chest. “I am going to turn the floor over to them now.”

  I also, am going to turn to the floor.

  Not on purpose, however, but as I stare ahead, and my eyes focus on my new bosses, I become so dizzy that I can’t see straight. I lose my breath, and a sound that I don’t recognize leaves my lips.

  I hit the floor with a thud, and then, everything goes black.

  So much for making today my bitch.

  I’m pretty sure that today has made me its bitch instead.

  4

  Conner

  “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” my twin, Carter mutters, as we hear a scream, right before a loud crash.