Her Real Alpha Read online

  “So did you enjoy the food tonight?” Hunter asked me with a grin and I smacked his shoulder playfully.

  “I did, it was amazing, thank you for taking me,” I said and Hunter smiled at me genuinely.

  “Of course, and the night will only get even better,” Hunter said and I laughed.

  “You sound very confident.” He snorted and then looked at me.

  “If you find an investor dinner fun enough to crash on some semblance of a regular basis, then I think you’ll like what I have in mind for dessert,” Hunter said it a little seductively and my eyes traveled down to his lips again.

  “We’re almost there anyway,” he said and my eyes glued themselves to the window until we stopped outside of a marina with huge yachts docked inside. “They’re still docked, good,” Hunter breathed a sigh of relief and then the driver opened the door for us to get out.

  Hunter took my hand this time and we walked in between rows of huge boats until we stopped at one particularly large one. A man dressed for sailing in a pair of slacks and a thick sweater walked out on the deck from the brightly lit cabin, I could see a few people inside holding drinks and talking and laughing.

  “Hunter you made it! We were just about to sail off into the bay,” The voice sounded eerily familiar, but I couldn’t see the man’s face well since it was dark. “Come on in bring your beautiful date out of the cold,” he said and both Hunter and I stepped onto the boat and I had to stifle my gasp when we came face to face with Ronald Trump. Hunter just took me to Ronald Trump’s yacht as if it were normal and Ronald was happy to see Hunter as if they were friends!

  “I couldn’t miss out on Robby Flay making you dessert, I hope you all aren’t teasing him too bad,” Hunter said good naturedly and Ronald laughed.

  “No, no, but if he messes up on the mousse, then my wife will be teasing him endlessly,” Ronald said and then his attention turned to me fully.

  “Ronald, this is my date, Melanie,” Hunter introduced us and I shook Ronald’s hand and tried to act just as normally as I did when I met Smokey at dinner

  .

  “Hi, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” I said with a smile and Ronald smiled at me in return.

  “Likewise, it’s not often Hunter has a date, he’s more of a play the field type of guy,” Ronald said a bit inappropriately, but then again that’s what he was known for. I laughed it off and Hunter rolled his eyes at one of the richest men in the U.S. as if they were equals…were they equals? I’d have to Google Hunter when I got home.

  “What? All it means is that she must be special, doesn’t it, Hunt?” Ronald said and I smirked at Hunter who simply shrugged; I was beginning to think that he wasn’t the kind of guy to talk about feelings.

  “Careful, you might make him squeamish,” I said and Ronald laughed.

  “I like her already, go on in, guys, I was just going to have them cast off from the dock,” Ronald said and Hunter escorted me inside.

  The plush interior of the yacht was occupied by six people and Robby Flay was indeed making something in the nearly full sized kitchen to the left. Across from that was a sort of living room and people were sitting down holding glasses of champagne or wine.

  “Hunter! There’s our favorite stock broker!”

  One of the men spotted us first and drew everyone’s attention to us. We were welcomed into the small party like a part of the family and I was surprised that Hunter seemed to know Robby just as well as he knew everyone else in the yacht, who were a few business partners of Trump, and their wives or what have you.

  “Why don’t you ask Robby what he’s making for dessert?” Hunter whispered to me, as the yacht set sail along the Hudson River. We were sitting at the little breakfast bar that overlooked the kitchen and I looked at Hunter, wondering if I could just ask the world famous chef what he was making while he was making it.

  “Actually don’t, I want it to be a surprise,” Hunter changed his mind and I had to laugh.

  “Tonight has been full of surprises,” I said and he grinned at me.

  “Well, you’re not the only one with a bit of mystery,” he said and I giggled.

  “Well, mystery comes with any moonlighting affair,” I said and it was Hunter’s turn to laugh.

  “You are something else, you know that?” he said and I shrugged with a small smile.

  When Robby was done with the desserts he served them in little cups with a spoon and I remembered that Ronald said he was making some sort of mousse.

  “Alright, I have prepared for you all a salted caramel mousse, I hope you like it.”

  Robby set the cups out for everyone to take some and I looked at Hunter in near shock.

  “How’d you know he would make this?” I asked. I had told Hunter about the caramel mousse when we first met, but there was no way he somehow pulled this off.

  “It was literally a chance thing, Ronald called me up one day at the office and said we should hang out and that Flay would be making mousse on his yacht tonight and that I should stop by for dessert,” Hunter explained and I just smiled at him.

  I took a small scoop of the mousse to taste it and nearly melted in my seat, it was so unbelievably good. Perfectly creamy and sweet, I tasted the salted caramel and it was the perfect balance with the chocolate mousse at the bottom of the cup.

  “You look like you’re in love there,” Robby chuckled at my expression and Hunter laughed too.

  “She appreciates good food,” he explained for me and all I could do was nod.

  “That’s great, I’m glad you like it,” Robby said and I finally swallowed so that I could thank him for the amazing mousse. The yacht ride was a dream, the people were fun to talk to as everyone was relaxed and not talking about work.

  Hunter and I went out to the balcony and he gave me his jacket as it was freezing with the wind blowing. We got back to my place pretty late, around two a.m., but thankfully I didn’t have to be up at a specific time.

  “I had a really, really fantastic time Hunter, thank you,” I said as we got back to my apartment door.

  “I’m glad you had a fun time, I did too, you made the investor dinner a lot less boring than it could have been, I have to admit,” he said and I smiled smugly.

  “I told you I’d be entertaining,” I said and Hunter chuckled. “Also I met freaking Ronald Trump and Robby Flay tonight that is…insane.”

  Hunter grinned as if he were proud of himself. “It’s what I do.”

  That reminded me of a question I’ve been wondering about. “What is it that you do, exactly, other then sell people stocks?”

  Hunter shrugged.

  “I advise people like Ronald Trump and the like about how to manage their stocks in ways that make them the most money,” he said and it all made sense.

  “So you’re a stock market guru, then,” I said and Hunter shook his head.

  “I just recognize patterns easily is all.” I chewed on my bottom lip and wondered how much money a guy like him was worth.

  “How much are you worth?” I asked and Hunter laughed.

  “I was wondering when you’d ask me that question. Usually, that’s the first one out of a woman’s mouth when they meet me.”

  I stuck my tongue out at him. I was learning to ignore his sarcasm, thankfully.

  “I’m not your usual woman, now fess up,” I said and Hunter chuckled. I still hadn’t so much as unlocked my door; we were just talking out in the hallway.

  “I’m a billionaire, Melanie, let’s keep it at that,” he said mysteriously and I chuckled.

  “Now who’s the mysterious one?” I asked and Hunter smiled, his eyes drifted down from mine to my lips and then back up.

  “I think we make a pretty good mysterious pair,” he said and I giggled.

  Before I could fully prepare myself, he was leaning towards me and then his finger tilted my chin up and his lips met mine softly. They were even softer than I imagined. I moved my lips against his, not wanting the contact to end.

 
His other hand pressed against the small of my back to bring us flush against each other. Electricity traveled throughout my entire body and warmth settled in my belly. Hunter nipped at my bottom lip with his teeth and a shot of pleasure traveled right down to my sex. His tongue licked against my bottom lip and then the kiss became heated as he stroked his tongue into my mouth to caress mine.

  Hunter gripped my waist with both of his hands and pushed me against the door softly. He pressed his hips into mine and I felt his hardness press against my core. A breathless moan left my lips and immediately after that, Hunter pulled away, leaving me hot, breathless, and tingly.

  “I’ll call you tomorrow?” Hunter said and it took me a minute to collect myself and answer him with some semblance of normalcy.

  “Um, yeah, okay,” I said and he gave me a knowing smirk before he turned around to saunter back down the hall in the direction of the elevators.

  I took several deep breaths and then turned around to unlock my door and step into the apartment. I was pretty sure I’d never had a more amazing date than the one I just had with Hunter.

  But then again, I’d never dated a billionaire before. I was definitely in trouble when it came to him, that much I knew already. I had to take a cold shower to fully calm myself down enough to sleep. Even then, I laid awake thinking about the night’s events and mostly about kissing Hunter in the hallway.

  Come morning, I was eagerly waiting for Hunter’s call and forced myself to behave normally so I could get some painting done. I finished painting a little later than usual and went out for a late lunch. I tried to tell myself that I should just buy some groceries and start cooking so I could save money, but the city was filled with so much good food, like the deli on Wall Street, that it was hard to force myself to cook.

  I grappled with myself a little bit and then gave in, thinking maybe I would see Hunter again at the deli. With that idea in mind, I went ahead and caught a cab to Wall Street to pick up my favorite sub. I had to admit I was a little disappointed when I didn’t see Hunter. The lunch crowd was pretty much thinned out so I didn’t have to wait long for my number to be called. I was just leaving the small deli when I almost ran right into someone’s chest.

  “Whoa there…” I recognized the easy going voice and my head flipped up to look right into the light brown eyes of Caleb, the other guy from the investors’ gala. “I’m thinking you have a habit of this,” he said with good humor in his eyes. He gave me that adorable charming smile again and my chest felt all warm just like it did when I first met him.

  “Caleb! Oh my god! It’s so crazy to run into you here!” I said in surprise and he laughed. I was beginning to believe in fate and also getting a bit of whiplash. This was all so strange. Maybe it was some version of Karma, since I practically ran away from both Hunter and Caleb.

  “Do you come here often?” Caleb asked me with a bright smile as if he was excited to have run into me, literally.

  “I do, maybe like three or four days out of the week. Do you come here often?” I asked him and he shook his head.

  “No, I thought I would check it out after a buddy of mine told me about it, I work just up the street anyway and thought I’d catch a late lunch,” he explained. I remembered that Caleb worked on Wall Street. “I’m really glad I came out here,” Caleb said with a grin and I laughed.

  “Yeah, that’s…it’s crazy running into you,” I said again and Caleb chuckled almost nervously that time.

  “So I guess since we aren’t at a party you crashed…” I was getting Deja vu at that point, the entire encounter felt almost surreal. “Will you consider going out with me?” Caleb asked hopefully and I found myself nodding my head.

  “Sure, of course,” I said and Caleb grinned at me happily.

  We exchanged numbers and he promised to call me soon. Caleb went into the deli and I walked a way down the street to call a cab, hoping I didn’t just get myself into a sticky dating situation.

  Chapter4

  Caleb

  My palms were a little sweaty after ‘running’ into Melanie. She was as beautiful as ever in just a regular sweater and jeans. She had been really surprised to see me, but thankfully, it seemed like a good surprise and I got her number that time, which was good. Rob’s efforts hadn’t gone to waste, thankfully. As soon as I got back to the office I decided to call Melanie, she answered on the third ring almost breathlessly as if she had to run to answer the phone.

  “Hey, Melanie, it’s Caleb,” I answered and she giggled on the other line, the sound was beautiful and it made me smile instantly.

  “Hey, Caleb, I saved your number, remember?” she said and I laughed.

  “Oh, yeah, right,” I said and sounded like a perfect idiot, she laughed at me again and I took a silent breath then stood up from my desk so I could pace around. “How are you?” I asked her, hoping to recover quickly from my embarrassment.

  “I’m good, I just got home, actually. Did you get to try your deli sub yet?” she asked and I glanced at the sandwich on my desk.

  “No, not yet, but it’s smelling up my office and I’m kind of wondering why I haven’t taken a bite yet,” I said and Melanie chuckled.

  “Yeah, something is definitely amiss. What you need to do right now is take a bite of that sandwich,” she said in all seriousness. I laughed, but then when she didn’t say anything on the other line, I sobered a bit.

  “You’re serious? With you on the line?” I asked with a chuckle to my voice.

  “One hundred percent, go ahead,” she prompted me and I walked over to my desk and set the phone down after putting it on speaker. I started to unwrap the sandwich and Melanie hummed on the other line, completely distracting me.

  “Yep, that’s the sound of an orgasm about to happen in your mouth,” she said and I burst into laughter.

  She was completely herself and didn’t hold anything back even when talking to practically a stranger. I definitely liked that about Melanie.

  I opened the sandwich wrapping and then took a bite. I had gotten a pastrami sub and the “deli man” as everyone in line before me called him, hooked me up with toppings without asking me what I wanted or not.

  “Alright, here I go,” I said and then took a bite.

  The sandwich was quite possibly the most savory concoction I had ever tasted in my life. There was a balance between some acidity, salt, a little sweetness, smokiness, the veggies were there, the sauce was a little spicy but it melded with everything perfectly and still it felt like I tasted every ingredient.

  “Oh my god, this sandwich is magical,” I said and Melanie laughed.

  “I told you, the deli man is a wizard when it comes to subs,” Melanie said and I had to finish chewing before I could answer her.

  “That thing is amazing, I may have to call you back when I’m done with this sandwich. I think that deli is my new favorite place to have lunch,” I said and she laughed at me again. “So about that date…”

  “Yeah, about that date,” Melanie said cutely and I smiled.

  “Are you free tonight by any chance?” I asked her and figured why not try my luck.

  “I am actually, what do you want to do?” she asked me and I thought about it for a moment. I didn’t want to just take her out to a dinner like any other date.

  “How about we go catch a show on Broadway? I think The Wiz is in town.”

  Melanie gasped as if she were excited about that idea.

  “Oh that sounds great! I’ve been to see The Wizard of Oz and The Lion King, but I haven’t seen The Wiz,” she said excitedly and I smiled.

  “Great, The Wiz it is, I’ll look up the time and text you the details. Can I pick you up?” I asked and she said sure.

  We ended the call shortly after that and I smiled to myself. It was crazy that she was so easy to get along with. I knew I would probably end up falling for her easily.

  I focused on getting work done after I finished the sub and when it was time to head home, I all but ran from the building with
pent up excitement, and sped home. I had to pick Melanie up by six thirty so we could make the show at seven. I had gotten us box seats pretty close to the stage so we’d be able to see everything. Then, after the show, I was hoping we could go and get some ice cream to hang out more and actually talk.

  I took a quick shower and got dressed even quicker. I had to spend a little time on my hair, though, as it was getting pretty long and didn’t do what I wanted it to. I ended up combing it back and figured I’d just run my fingers through it to keep it in check. Once I was ready, I plugged in the address Melanie gave me and drove to her her apartment.

  When she answered my knock on her door, she was slipping on a pair of wedges onto her feet. She wore tights and a long white blouse with simple accessories. I was pretty sure she didn’t wear any makeup because she didn’t need it. Her hair was brushed into waves and pinned over one shoulder.