Late Nights Read online

  For years, Sterling had confidence in his ability to run a winning company—he could carry out any project with purpose and passion. He was raised by his father to think that work was more important than friends or family. His ability to understand how people responded to him through his work achievements only made everything more balanced in his world.

  In his mind, one of the main reasons he was still single was his fear of allowing anyone too close to his heart. If he felt it happening, he would break things off and move on to the next woman.

  Sometimes, Sterling almost felt like his second career was avoiding getting romantically involved with a woman. For more years than he could count, taking care of himself was his top priority and finding a good woman wasn’t a thought in his head until Sasha unexpectedly breezed into his world.

  The second he laid eyes on her, she made him want more than he currently had going on in his lonely life. He may not seem like he desired a wife along with a house full of kids, but honestly he was jealous of people who managed a career and family. Now, he wanted someone to snuggle up with on the couch late at night while watching old black and white movies.

  With every single fiber in his body, he wanted Sasha to be that woman. She was clueless about the feelings she evoked in his body. She had made a huge mistake believing he didn’t want her. He found Sasha more than appealing. He had finally found the woman who could make him get down on one knee and propose marriage.

  Where was she? He was getting a very bad feeling he was going to be eating alone.

  Just as Sterling glanced at his watch again his breath caught as he spotted Sasha. She was coming through the front door of the restaurant wearing a stunning off the shoulder white dress that hugged every curve of her gorgeous body.

  Hell! How was he supposed to keep his mind focused on food when Sasha had him craving something entirely different?

  Chapter Thirteen

  “You look stunning. I couldn’t take my eyes off you when you walked through the door.” Sterling’s warm breath whispered against the back of her neck as he pulled out her chair. “I swear every man turned and stared when you walked past their tables. You look like a vision.”

  Sasha wasn’t really concerned about what the other men in the high-priced restaurant thought about her. She was here for one reason only: to put Sterling out of her heart.

  “Thank you,” she said as Sterling sat down in front of her. She tried not to notice how gorgeous he looked in his dark blue suit. “I have to be honest with you about something. I almost cancelled on you at the very last minute.”

  “Why would you think about not coming?” he asked, shocked and sitting up straighter in his chair.

  She wasn’t going to lie to him. If he wanted honesty then he was going to get it. “After what happened at work, I wasn’t sure why you asked me out on a date and then kissed me at Luxury. It only confused me even more. What kind of game are you trying to play, because I’m not going to be a part of it.”

  Sterling’s hand reached across the table and tried to touch hers, but she moved it away, placing it inside her lap. There was no need for him to touch her. She wasn’t going to get distracted by touches or well-rehearsed words.

  He closed his hand and then reopened it, placing it flat on the table. “Sasha, I know you are having problems believing─”

  “You’re right. I find all of this very hard to believe. One minute you’re pushing me away and then days later you’re kissing me in my sister’s office. I won’t allow you to play with my feelings. You knew I had feelings for you, but you didn’t care.”

  “Sweetheart, you’re wrong,” he vehemently denied. “I’ve been waiting to kiss you for a while. I loved what happened between yesterday. I thought about it all last night. Shit, I even had dreams about it going further. Honestly, I hated your sister barging in on us.”

  Sasha sucked in a quick sharp breath. She was amazed at the thrill Sterling’s confession gave her, but she quickly tamed her happiness. His personality was such an ever-changing mystery. She honestly didn’t know what he was going to do from one moment to the next. Now, he was excited about their kiss, but tomorrow could be an entirely different story.

  “You’ve never acted like you wanted to kiss me before,” she tossed out, wanting the truth for once and all.

  Leaning back in his seat, Sterling eyed her for a few seconds before answering her question. “I guess I’m better at hiding my reaction towards you than I thought, sweetheart. Sasha, I have wanted you since the first time I laid eyes on you, but you never acted like you saw me as more than your boss, until recently. I don’t mind working to get a woman’s attention, but I wasn’t going to get shot down either. If you recall, I’d tried a couple of times to ask you out on dates, but you changed the subject or brushed me off.”

  What!?

  Sterling had wanted to date her? Why hadn’t she noticed before now? Could she really have been so blind that she never saw he was interested in her?

  “I never had any idea,” Sasha admitted softly. “You always seemed so distant in my opinion. Like you had this invisible wall between you and everyone else around you, and no matter how hard I tried to get around it I couldn’t break it down.”

  Sterling watched her with utter surprise on his handsome face. “I guess I should just have come right out and asked you for a date after I hired you. You are a beautiful woman, so maybe I was a little worried about approaching you.”

  As their eyes met, Sasha felt a shock run through her at his admission. She couldn’t believe she had wasted so much time worrying about if Sterling was attracted to her when he had been interested in her all this time!

  “So, what does this mean for us?” she asked, going for it. “Do you want to start dating? Sterling, if you are used to having such a thick wall surrounding your emotions, how can I be sure it won’t make another unexpected appearance when I least expect it? I can’t become devoted to you and then you decide you’ve had enough. I want to build something with one special guy. How can I be sure it’s you?”

  Sasha felt a small triumph when Sterling winced at her words. She shouldn’t have said anything, but she couldn’t allow him to think a few sweet words could fix the rejection she had felt when he had distanced himself from her.

  “Honey, I’m truly sorry about how I hurt you the other day. I want to make it up to you. How about we start over? I think both of us deserve a clean slate. We should get to know each other. There is so much I want to know about you.”

  Suddenly a warm feeling flowed through Sasha’s body at Sterling’s proposition. She was more than willing on her part to see if anything more could develop between her and Sterling.

  A part of her was positive he was the man for her, but she wasn’t about to jump into anything with him too fast. She would leave the quickie marriage to Rachelle.

  The main obstacle the two of them had to overcome was the fact he was still her boss. How would their sudden relationship affect the other employees, especially when she was hired to keep things at bay?

  “Sterling, don’t you think us dating might cause problems at work? I mean, some of the employees already have a problem with me. I don’t want to fuel their hate by dating the boss. It will be like me telling them to do one thing while I’m doing the exact opposite.”

  Sasha wasn’t sure if Sterling understood how deeply she cared about him. She wouldn’t place all of her cards on the table until she knew exactly where his head was.

  “I’m not thinking about my employees tonight. My only thoughts are on making you happy, and I think our first date will turn out perfect,” Sterling insisted, smiling at her. “I’m so positive you will be blown away. I already have the place for our second date in mind.”

  “Aren’t you being a tad bit overconfident?” she asked, reaching for her water glass.

  “How can I not be overly confident when I’m having dinner with the most gorgeous woman in the room?” Sterling flirted back right before the waiter came up t
o their table.

  “Good evening. Would like something to drink before you order?” the young man asked, handing each of them a menu.

  “Yes, I would like an iced tea,” Sasha answered as she took the menu.

  “A brandy for me,” Sterling replied as he flipped open his menu.

  The waiter wrote down their orders. “I’ll be back with your drinks in a few minutes and then I’ll take your orders if you’re ready.”

  Sasha waited until the waiter walked away before she addressed Sterling’s comment. “You’re good. I will give you that much,” she laughed. “You know exactly what to tell a woman to make her feel special.”

  “Sweetheart, you don’t know how good I am, but I’ll be more than happy to show you anytime you want,” Sterling flirted back, his voice growing a tad deeper, more sensual.

  Sasha squirmed around in her seat as hot images of her and Sterling naked and sweaty in his bed flashed before her eyes.

  “Mr. Hamilton, you better quit while you’re ahead. Let’s move the topic on to something else.”

  “Alright, I’ll let it go for now, but I’m far from finished with you, Ms. Williams.” Sterling tossed his menu down on the table and then crossed his leg over the other. “How about you tell me how it felt to grow up as a triplet? Since I’m an only child I find it fascinating you were raised in a household with so many siblings.”

  “Being part of a trio isn’t as exciting as you or other people might think. I was the middle child. I always felt like I wasn’t included in a lot of things. In my mind, I wasn’t as special as Rachelle since she was the oldest and the apple of my parents’ eye. Since Genise was the youngest it always seemed like she could get away with murder and never get into trouble. Akisha just usually did her own thing because she was never sure where she fell into line with our family.

  “I know you really don’t want to hear about all of this,” Sasha said. “Why don’t you tell me more about you? Did you love growing up in England? Did you live in a castle and have servants to take care of your every need?”

  Sterling shook his head. “You’re wrong. I love that I’m getting to know more about your family. It’s fascinating to me. Your life was a lot more exciting than mine growing up. ”

  She noticed how Sterling’s face suddenly closed off when she brought up his family. She was debating if she should ask why when the waiter returned with their drinks. He placed their glasses on the table in front of them.

  “Are you ready to order?” he asked, politely looking at her instead of Sterling.

  “Yes, I would like to order linguini with clam sauce.” Sasha answered, and waited while Sterling gave his order.

  “I’ll have the tenderloin steaks with herb cheese topping,” Sterling ordered, giving the waiter his menu.

  “It will be a few minutes on the tenderloin steaks. I’ll bring your orders out quickly as possible.” The guy looked at her again and gave her another smile before walking away from the table.

  “I can’t believe that jerk is actually flirting with you right in front of my face. I’ll make sure to have a few words with him when he comes back with our food,” Sterling complained, staring holes into the young guy’s back at he made his way across the room away from them. Sasha was thrilled Sterling was jealous, but he was wasting his anger on him. He couldn’t have been older than twenty-three. He was way too young for her.

  “Sterling, he’s a kid. Leave him alone. I’m not interested in dating a college boy.” Any grown woman in her right mind would be crazy not to pick Sterling over that college jock flirting with her.

  Swinging his eyes back over to her, Sterling pinned her with a direct stare. “Are you sure? I know some women who would love a young guy like him into them.”

  Men…she thought. “If I wanted to be on a date with a boy, why did I agree to dinner with an attractive, intelligent man as yourself?”

  The harsh lines in the middle of Sterling’s forehead instantly relaxed. “Nice compliment. How about you get back to telling me about your childhood?”

  Picking up her iced tea, Sasha took a long sip before she continued. It felt a little strange talking about her siblings on her date, but if Sterling wanted to know she would tell him a little more. It didn’t go over her head that he hadn’t answered her questions about his family.

  “When I was growing up, I looked up to my older sister Rachelle. I wanted to do everything she did, to a certain point. My parents thought of her as the perfect little girl. I wanted to please my mother and father, but not as much as she did without even trying.”

  “Do you feel like your parents loved Rachelle the best?” Sterling asked. “Was there a lot of sibling rivalry in your house?”

  “No, my parents loved all of us equally,” she answered instantly. “They were never too busy to answer our questions about anything and everything. I think a part of me is more easygoing than Rachelle and my other siblings.”

  “You come across to me like you would be the peacemaker or mediator if something came up in the family. You don’t seem like you would like a lot of conflict.” Sterling studied her like he was waiting for her to disagree with his perception of her, but she couldn’t.

  He was almost completely right about her.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “How did you figure that out about me?” Sasha asked, somewhat surprised.

  “Well, my best friend is a middle child and he’s constantly complaining about how he was the go-between in his family. Holden always felt like he didn’t get enough respect from his parents or his brothers.”

  “I never felt like I didn’t get respect. However, for a little time in my life I didn’t feel like I wasn’t special enough. It was almost like I was the fifth wheel when all of us went out to do something together. Doesn’t that sound horrible?”

  Sterling shook his head. “No, I get where you are coming from. I can understand how being in a family as big as yours had to be hard on you, but you turned out to be a beautiful and successful woman with a good head on her shoulders.”

  Sasha thought it would be the best time to confess a little secret to Sterling. “I was only able to become the woman you see because I left home right after I graduated from high school.”

  “How did you manage that?” She heard the shock in Sterling’s voice. “Weren’t you scared living everything behind that you knew?”

  “At first, I was scared to death because I had no clue what I was doing. But, I had made up my mind to live in an apartment a few blocks from my college. I thought my parents were going to throw a fit, especially my dad, but they helped me out with some of my expenses until I got a good part-time job. I think my sisters consider me more of the free spirit in the family.

  “Okay, I’ve told you enough about me. What about you? Did you have a good relationship with your parents?” Sasha asked, eager to learn more about Sterling’s childhood.

  A look of unhappiness came over Sterling’s face a second before he was able to conceal it. “Let’s just say my father wasn’t anything like your parents. He didn’t believe in bedtime stories, taking me to the park, or even tucking me in at night. He worked countless hours not to provide me with a good home, but to show off his wealth and give his mistresses anything they wanted.”

  “Oh God,” Sasha whispered, reaching across the table. She laid her hand on top of Sterling’s and squeezed it. The pain in his words cut at her heart. “I can’t believe your father was so heartless. Maybe he just didn’t know how to show you love. Some people, especially men, have a hard time expressing their feelings. He should have loved you deeply but was scared to show it.”

  Sterling jerked his hand away from hers. Picking up his drink, he tossed it back in one swallow before placing the empty glass back on the table. “It’s nice of you to think that away, but Victor Hamilton was a world class bastard. My father knew how to show love to the women who were in and out of his bed, but not to his only son.

  “He cared so little about me that he beli
eved his lover’s lies when she told him I came on to her. She was the one waiting for me naked in my bed after I got out of the shower, but he saw her side and not mine.

  “I didn’t wait for him to kick me out. I left him and moved to the States right after I graduated and never looked back. If I hadn’t saved up my own money from working to leave town and get a fresh start, I might have a totally different story to tell you.”

  “Your own father kicked you out of the house over his girlfriend?” Sasha was stunned beyond words. What kind of parent would do that to their own child?

  A muscle flicked angrily in his jaw as Sterling’s brows drew downward in a frown. “My dear old dad would have kicked me out sooner, but he didn’t want to tarnish his image. He couldn’t let what went on inside our house to come out. He liked being seen as an excellent parent by providing me with the best education. He sent me to one of the most prestigious boarding schools in the world. He wouldn’t allow himself to look bad in front of his business partners or the community.

  “My grandfather’s name meant something and he wasn’t about to have me ruin it by kicking me out of the house. He was too stupid to realize he had already tarnished it by sleeping with the low class women he did.”

  Sasha had to conquer her need to ask more questions about Sterling’s past, but she would respect his wishes and move on. Just hearing how unfeeling his father was towards his own son made her frustrated and more than angry.

  “Oh, Sterling,” she said. “I’m so sorry. I had no clue you went through all of that growing up.”

  “How about we move on something else?” he suggested. “I’m sure we have plenty of other things to talk about.”

  “Okay, I’ll agree with you. We can move on to something else; however, I’m giving you fair warning that I’ll bring this topic up again.”

  “Fair enough,” Sterling said as the waiter came up to their table with their food. “I just want tonight to be about me learning more about you. I have waited too long to spend this time with you to have it ruined by useless memories from my past. You are my main focus and nothing else.”