Loved by You (Taken by You Book Three) Read online

  “I’ll have Grace make travel arrangements later today,” Blake said.

  “Where will we be staying?” I asked.

  “With them. There’s exactly one motel in the area, and it’s not the kind of place you’d want to stay in. That is, unless you want to sleep on bedbugs and tear-soaked mattresses,” he said with a smirk.

  “You’re horrible,” I said, setting down my coffee and walking towards him.

  I gave him a soft kiss before changing my clothes and pulling back my hair. My classes were a little bit later today, so I figured I’d just shower at home since he seemed to be already bathed and cleaned up. No point in standing inside that huge shower all by myself.

  I went downstairs with my coffee and had some fresh fruit and toast before Blake, fixing his tie as he walked, came down the stairs and quickly ate some himself.

  “I can drive you home if you want,” he said.

  “I’d love that,” I replied with my coffee at my lips.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Blake

  I grabbed my keys and belongings as Penny picked up her purse and phone from the table. It was always sad when we had to leave one another, but I held onto the joy of knowing I’d see her again soon. I guess absence does make the heart grow fonder.

  Holding hands, we took the elevator down to the garage and I helped her into the front seat of the SUV before closing her door and walking around to my side. I saw my neighbor, the one who lived below me, getting into his car, and I gave a friendly wave and he reciprocated. I wasn’t too close with my neighbors, though I suppose we were all friendly towards one another. It was kind of sad considering where I came from. Everyone back home was always coming over and pushing themselves into your business. In fact, there was no such thing as just your business. Everyone knew everything about everyone, and everyone gave their opinions. Not so much here.

  The massive, hulking garage door opened and we slowly drove out onto the street as the traffic had just begun to accumulate for the day. I didn’t live right on an insanely busy street, but I suppose at morning rush hour every street in San Francisco is busy and hellish.

  With only my left hand on the top of the wheel, Penny held my right hand while she flipped through her phone. As we sat at a light not too far from her apartment, I looked over at her slyly and watched her. She was completely oblivious. She was so beautiful, so perfect, and I only wished I could spend all my time with her. She helped me, and in many more ways than one.

  As if the ride were only minutes long, we soon pulled up in front of her apartment and I knew that our time together, at least for now, had come to a close. She looked at me with saddened eyes, our fingers still laced together as if they’d never come untied.

  “When will I see you again?” she asked.

  “Soon,” I replied, without giving her an exact answer.

  “It better be. I’m going to miss you,” she said with love in her eyes.

  “And I you, beautiful girl,” I replied.

  Leaning in, she gave me a soft kiss on the lips, and I felt the endorphins rush through my body, making me feel calm and at ease. I could still taste the soft hints of coffee upon her lips as it lingered on mine, even after her lips departed.

  I licked them, tasting her, as she smiled and let go of my hand before grabbing her purse from the floor and dropping her phone inside.

  “Text me later,” she said, putting her fingers on the handle.

  “Count on it,” I said, giving her another quick peck on the lips.

  Smiling, she opened the door and got out of the car before walking up to her door. I watched her to make sure she got in okay until she closed the door behind her and waved to me before blowing me a kiss. I showed a small smile, winked at her, and pulled off the curb, beginning the commute to my office. Within minutes, I caught myself looking at the passenger seat in hopes that she’d somehow still be there, and I wouldn’t have just had to drop her off. Sadly, though, she was gone, and I was now alone and missing her.

  There was a small crowd around the building as I pulled into the parking garage.

  “What’s this all about?” I asked Steven, one of the security guards.

  “Some pop star is nearby, I believe. I think some other company in the building is talking to her,” Steven said.

  Shaking my head, I rolled my window back up and pulled into my parking space. This happened every now and again, with some famous person or another inside the building working on their next big business deal that would net them millions in royalties and fees. We had someone once but didn’t pen a deal, as after more thought we began to think that they wouldn’t bring much to the table. After all, we were dealing with a dating app, not something more tangible.

  I got out of the car, grabbed my bag from the backseat, and walked towards my private elevator before scanning my key and saying hello to the guards outside. Looking at my watch, I timed the ride up, which happened to take exactly thirty-three seconds. The doors opened and Grace, who was alerted to me arriving, was standing outside with some folders in her hands.

  “Good morning, Grace,” I said as I stepped out of the elevator.

  “Good morning, Mr. Hunter. Here are your files for the meeting. Everyone is waiting for you,” she said.

  “Do me a favor,” I said as she walked beside me.

  “Yes sir, what is it?” she asked.

  “Book travel arrangements for two weeks from this Friday. I’m taking Penny to my home for a few days, so we’ll need flights and car transport for two,” I said.

  “Certainly. Is there anything else you need help with?” she asked as we approached the conference room door.

  “No, that will be it, thank you,” I said before entering.

  “There he is,” I heard as I walked inside.

  As I looked in the room, I saw a few new faces that I hadn’t seen before. One was Carmen Kincaid, a rather famous woman who I hadn’t met. She did a lot of television work, some movies, and was everywhere in the media. This must be who everybody was waiting for outside.

  “Good morning, all. What’s on the docket for today?” I asked.

  “We have Ms. Kincaid here, as you can see. She came to us today with a proposition for a sponsorship deal,” Martin said.

  “Oh?” I asked.

  “Ms. Kincaid would like to find love, Mr. Hunter. Obviously, finding it can be hard, as she doesn’t want to date someone in the business. We thought, what better way than to put her in the app? She can selectively find and choose people, and it would be great press for us,” Martin said.

  “How so?” I asked, crossing my legs.

  “Let me take it from here,” a man said, who was seated next to Carmen. “Mr. Hunter, my name is Leon, and I’m Ms. Kincaid’s manager. What we’re thinking is using the app to present an opportunity. Carmen can search for love, we make it a public affair, and the world gets to see her use your app.”

  “It would bring a lot of people onto the app who either have never been on, or who haven’t been on in a while,” Martin said.

  “All those men, and likely some women, will be creating accounts and logging in to see her profile. They’ll want to be matched with her, and hopefully, go out with her. It will lead to a lot of positive press, Ms. Kincaid will go on dates with some of these men, and talk about how great the app is and how easy it is to use. With this endorsement, other celebrities might follow. It’s a win-win for everybody involved,” Leon said.

  I sat there stroking my chin as I looked off and thought about the proposition. It wasn’t a particularly bad idea, not in any sense, but it did make me a little nervous. While I was all for furthering the company and our message, was this the way I wanted to do it? By having a celebrity endorsing it, and not genuinely or organically at that?

  What if it all looked fake to the media and general public? That was a huge risk, and one that could hurt our, and my, reputation. On the other hand, it would bring us even further into the public eye and possibly cement us as the
dating app and service to use. Nobody else was getting the endorsement of a mega-celebrity.

  “I can see the value you and your client are offering to our company. After all, nobody else is doing this. I am open to the idea, but it needs to be done in the correct way. It can’t seem forced or fake. The public needs to think that you wanted this yourself, to actually find someone, and not that we approached you for some kind of publicity stunt. That will only hurt both parties,” I said.

  “We feel the exact same way. While Carmen is looking for love and that person to spend her time with, she also sees the value in promoting this from a business perspective. We can guarantee you, to your face, that this is a wholesome and truthful endeavor,” Leon said.

  “Then we can move forward and get it done. We’ll mount a marketing campaign, including advertising inside the app once her profile is up and everything is secure. We’ll make sure you have privileges that normal members don’t have,” I said.

  “Thank you so much, Mr. Hunter. I greatly appreciate it,” Carmen said.

  “Please, call me Blake. Is there any other business?” I asked, as I looked around the room.

  With nobody saying yes or bringing anything up, I grabbed my folders from the lacquered wood table and left for my office, where Grace was sitting outside.

  “I have your plans all set, Mr. Hunter. Would you like me to send you the itinerary?” Grace asked.

  “Yes, thank you,” I said with a smile before going into my office and setting the folders down on my desk.

  It looked like it was all set. Now to hope that nothing happened between now and then.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Penelope

  A few days had passed since I’d last seen Blake. We’d both been busy, with me gearing up for midterms and studying my ass off to keep good grades while Blake worked on work stuff, obviously, which I never understood or even tried to understand.

  We’d made plans for tonight to meet for dinner and then go back to his place, which I was very excited about. I’d missed everything about him: his scent, his touch, the way he wrapped his arms around me, and the very essence of him. He was like the drug I needed to take and I was going through withdrawal without him.

  I sat in my room later that day working on an app project I’d been working on since I started college. It wasn’t anything special, just a game, but I loved tinkering around with it when things got boring. I guess it was just a good stress-reliever when I needed to unwind and take things slow.

  The game involved a series of planks that you would just jump between and try to get a high score. Your guy would be running endlessly, and you’d tap to jump while also trying to avoid traps in place to slow you down and take away your health. I’d greatly improved the graphics over time, even bartering services with an artist friend I had my sophomore year, but I’d never published it or even thought about doing anything with it. I guess I didn’t care about the money so much, but just the experience and knowledge of making something and seeing it come to life. I’d done all this myself, aside from the little bit of art in the game, and I loved knowing that I was capable. It was an empowering feeling.

  After about an hour working on the app and refining it further, I felt my eyes start to get dry, as I’d been staring at the computer screen for far too long without rest. I saved the game, closed my laptop, and grabbed one of my textbooks, my communications one, before sitting up against my headboard and opening it to my required reading chapter.

  As I got further into reading, though, the words began to blend together as I struggled to keep my eyes open long enough to comprehend what I was reading. Acting quickly, I set an alarm on my phone for two hours from now, which was when I needed to get ready for my date, before putting my head back against my pillow and letting nature take its course. Besides, I needed my rest for tonight—at least I hoped I’d need a lot of energy.

  “I hate this thing,” I said as I struggled to get the flat iron to turn on.

  “Here,” Nicolette said, hitting a few buttons on the digital display and turning it on with ease.

  “You’re so good at that,” I said.

  “I use it almost every day,” she said, moving her makeup to the side.

  Slight plumes of steam came off of the flat iron as I tried to work quickly and efficiently as to not burn any of my hair off. I must’ve done a good job, because not a single piece came off, unlike in some videos I’d seen online.

  “What are you going to wear?” Nicolette asked.

  “Probably something a little more casual. I don’t want to show up in the same thing again,” I said as I applied my mascara.

  “I have something fairly new you could borrow. I think it’s hot,” she said before leaving the bathroom.

  I knew that Nicolette giving me clothes was never a great thing, even though the sentiment behind it was always pure and nice. Nicolette, especially with her going-out attire, didn’t exactly dress conservatively. I knew I could expect something that would let my ass break free if I bent over even the slightest bit. That might work well for her, but I didn’t like my goods being shown about, and I knew that Blake wouldn’t appreciate it, either.

  “Here,” she said as she held up a blue dress.

  “Wow, that’s actually not half-bad,” I said as I looked at it with amazement.

  It would show some cleavage, but it actually went down to my knees, and I knew that I’d look pretty good for Blake. I guess she did come through for me this time.

  “Just don’t mess it up. I’ll kill you if you do. I just got it,” she said.

  “I’ll treat it as if it were my own. Besides, I’m sure Blake would get you a new one if it got messed up,” I said.

  “Hm, on that thought, mess it up. I bet I could get a nicer one,” she said with a joking tone, even though we both knew she wasn’t totally joking.

  After taking off my robe, I slipped into the dress before walking out to a smiling Nicolette, who put her thumbs up. I did a little spin, letting her see it from all angles as I asked her how I looked in it.

  “You look great, Penny, you really do. You’ll knock him dead, and I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t fuck you after seeing you in that dress,” she said.

  “Is that the only thing ever on your mind?” I asked.

  “Hey! I haven’t gotten any in a while, and I’m living vicariously through you, so deal with it,” she replied.

  I rolled my eyes and grabbed my purse before taking it over to the front door and slipping on my shoes. Everything matched perfectly, and that wasn’t even planned considering I got this dress last-minute from Nicolette. I liked when things came together like that.

  “Is he picking you up?” Nicolette asked.

  “No, I’m going to meet him there. I have to get going in a minute, though. I don’t want to be late. Every minute I’m late is a minute I don’t get to spend with him,” I said.

  “You’re so in love,” she said, opening the fridge and pulling out some juice.

  “No,” I said, brushing it off.

  “Yes, you are! Look at you! You’re so into this guy it’s not even funny. I bet he feels the same way about you, too,” she said.

  I wanted to say that the entire idea was absurd, but was it? We’d been seeing each other for a while, and even though we’d had our ups and downs, things had gone fairly well, I’d say. We did spend a lot of time together, and we were past the whole awkward phase. Still, though, there was one major flaw to the idea.

  “We’re not even technically together,” I said.

  “Yeah, but you will be soon,” she replied.

  “You don’t know that,” I said as I fiddled with my purse in my hands.

  “I’d bet money on it,” she replied.

  Nicolette was usually right about this kind of thing, but you have to lose sometime, and I was wondering if she was wrong this time. I knew Blake liked me, a lot even, but there was no way he loved me. How did I feel about him, though? I didn’t know. I wasn’t sure I rea
lly knew what love was or what it felt like. I knew that I liked him, a lot, but the word love was a huge step and commitment that I just wasn’t sure I was ready to give.

  “We’ll see,” I said before putting my hand on the doorknob.

  “Be good tonight, even though I know you’ll be naughty,” she said as I walked out of the apartment.

  Nicolette locked the door behind me and I walked down the slippery stairs and outside where Gustav was patiently waiting for me.

  “Good evening, Ms. Wells,” he said, opening the door.

  “I told you before to call me Penny. I mean it,” I said in a friendly tone.

  “As you wish, Penny,” he replied.

  The heater was running and I felt the cool tingle against my legs quickly dissipate once he closed the door. I rubbed my hands together, more out of nervousness than anything, as Gustav got inside the car and strapped himself in.

  “Where are we going tonight?” I asked.

  “I believe Mr. Hunter wants it to be a surprise,” he said, looking back at me in the rearview mirror before pulling off the curb.

  As we drove through the streets of San Francisco I looked all around to see if I recognized where we were. Was Blake going to take me somewhere new? Was I going to see him standing outside a place we’d already been to before? Maybe he’d take me to our fun little place where it all began. The anticipation was intense, but I sort of enjoyed being kept on edge.

  After about twenty minutes, Gustav pulled over on the side of the road before turning on his signal and unlocking the car. My door opened and my focus shifted from Gustav’s smiling face to the person opening the door. It was Blake.

  “Hello, beautiful,” he said as he extended his hand.

  I grabbed it and was led out of the car, where I stood on a familiar sidewalk.

  “The bug place?” I asked with a smile.

  “The bug place,” he replied.

  “I thought you hated coming here,” I said.

  “I wanted to take you back to where it all began,” he said.