Read A Jade's Trick (Lilly Black's Jaded Series Book 1) for Free Online
Authors: Lilly Black
is just noncommittal enough to make my head compromise.
"I'll give it a shot," he says, his dissatisfaction evident as the crème caramel is delivered by our giggly waitress, whose shameless lust only reminds me why I'm so afraid of Cain, and I decide that I would be better off to ride home with Caleb and Nicole. I excuse myself, but when I get to their table, I find that it has already been cleared and reset. In the ladies' room, I try calling her, but she doesn't answer.
Great! Not only has she set me up, she has left me stranded. I'll bet she had Caleb take her home early so she could already be faking sleep by the time I get home.
You'll have to wake up sometime, traitor!
As we leave the restaurant with the illusion that the pressure is off, I ask Cain why he was at Prometheus the night he drove Drunk Girl home, and he tells me that his company, CTB Inc. has been engaged to help Steph establish a chain of nightclubs, though it's more of a favor as acquisitioning night clubs is not what his company generally does. Still, it explains why Cain was with Dave and, more importantly, why he was with an asshole like Steph, but before he explains what his company generally does, we come to the car.
"This is your car?" I ask, looking him up and down in his expensive suit with a raised eyebrow as he opens the door of an older model Toyota parked at the back of the lot.
"Do you like it?" he asks.
"It's fine. It just isn't what I expected of you."
"Well, since I have agreed to be your friend and am no longer overtly trying to seduce you, I may as well be honest. I borrowed it from my administrative assistant."
"And how was this car supposed to seduce me?" I ask as he gets in and starts the engine.
"It's just a prop. After the way you reacted to the limousine, I..."
"So it was yours?"
"What's important is what it makes you think of me. I didn't want to offend you with the car I drive," he says as he pulls onto the road heading toward the 805.
"I'm not so easily offended," I say lightheartedly, thinking he's just joking.
"Actually, you are," he says. "You're an elitist, Evan, and you don't even know it."
"Says the rich playboy who thinks his money can buy him anything he wants, including me," I snap, glaring at him. How dare Cain, of all people, call me an elitist!
"And that is the reason I borrowed the car. I realized you'd respond better to a man who seemed like he would have to spend his rent money to buy dinner at Maison Latour than a man who actually has the means," he says as he hits the gas hard, and the car speeds up on the 805 South entrance ramp.
"That's a very unfair assumption, Cain," I say.
"An elitist and a hypocrite. Lovely."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I demand, and abruptly, he jerks the car to the side to the road and throws it in park.
"You wouldn't give me a chance because you think, based on your tax bracket, I assume you are an easy conquest." I think he's just as pissed as I am now, but he doesn't come off as hostile. He's powerful...dominant...sexy as hell. "You have been making assumptions about me since the night we met. You assume that because I have money, I have no conscience, that I would use any means necessary to get you into my bed, and that getting you into my bed is my only conceivable goal. That is an unfair assumption, Evan. In fact, it's downright insulting." My breath catches as he locks me in an intense stare. It's my move, and though I still believe my assumption, I am well aware that it is completely unfounded. As much as it pains me to admit it, especially to him, I am in the wrong here.
"You're right," I concede. "I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for, Evan," Cain says, his expression softening as he pulls the car back onto the road. "I like you in spite of yourself." As he makes me laugh just after teetering on the edge of a potentially nasty argument, I realize that I really enjoy his company. He's
"I'll give it a shot," he says, his dissatisfaction evident as the crème caramel is delivered by our giggly waitress, whose shameless lust only reminds me why I'm so afraid of Cain, and I decide that I would be better off to ride home with Caleb and Nicole. I excuse myself, but when I get to their table, I find that it has already been cleared and reset. In the ladies' room, I try calling her, but she doesn't answer.
Great! Not only has she set me up, she has left me stranded. I'll bet she had Caleb take her home early so she could already be faking sleep by the time I get home.
You'll have to wake up sometime, traitor!
As we leave the restaurant with the illusion that the pressure is off, I ask Cain why he was at Prometheus the night he drove Drunk Girl home, and he tells me that his company, CTB Inc. has been engaged to help Steph establish a chain of nightclubs, though it's more of a favor as acquisitioning night clubs is not what his company generally does. Still, it explains why Cain was with Dave and, more importantly, why he was with an asshole like Steph, but before he explains what his company generally does, we come to the car.
"This is your car?" I ask, looking him up and down in his expensive suit with a raised eyebrow as he opens the door of an older model Toyota parked at the back of the lot.
"Do you like it?" he asks.
"It's fine. It just isn't what I expected of you."
"Well, since I have agreed to be your friend and am no longer overtly trying to seduce you, I may as well be honest. I borrowed it from my administrative assistant."
"And how was this car supposed to seduce me?" I ask as he gets in and starts the engine.
"It's just a prop. After the way you reacted to the limousine, I..."
"So it was yours?"
"What's important is what it makes you think of me. I didn't want to offend you with the car I drive," he says as he pulls onto the road heading toward the 805.
"I'm not so easily offended," I say lightheartedly, thinking he's just joking.
"Actually, you are," he says. "You're an elitist, Evan, and you don't even know it."
"Says the rich playboy who thinks his money can buy him anything he wants, including me," I snap, glaring at him. How dare Cain, of all people, call me an elitist!
"And that is the reason I borrowed the car. I realized you'd respond better to a man who seemed like he would have to spend his rent money to buy dinner at Maison Latour than a man who actually has the means," he says as he hits the gas hard, and the car speeds up on the 805 South entrance ramp.
"That's a very unfair assumption, Cain," I say.
"An elitist and a hypocrite. Lovely."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I demand, and abruptly, he jerks the car to the side to the road and throws it in park.
"You wouldn't give me a chance because you think, based on your tax bracket, I assume you are an easy conquest." I think he's just as pissed as I am now, but he doesn't come off as hostile. He's powerful...dominant...sexy as hell. "You have been making assumptions about me since the night we met. You assume that because I have money, I have no conscience, that I would use any means necessary to get you into my bed, and that getting you into my bed is my only conceivable goal. That is an unfair assumption, Evan. In fact, it's downright insulting." My breath catches as he locks me in an intense stare. It's my move, and though I still believe my assumption, I am well aware that it is completely unfounded. As much as it pains me to admit it, especially to him, I am in the wrong here.
"You're right," I concede. "I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for, Evan," Cain says, his expression softening as he pulls the car back onto the road. "I like you in spite of yourself." As he makes me laugh just after teetering on the edge of a potentially nasty argument, I realize that I really enjoy his company. He's
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