Dr. Grant (Off-Limits)

I stare up at the hotel the ball is being held at, feeling out of place and intimidated. Grayson has taken me to some really nice hotel bars before, but this is different.

I tug on my bowtie nervously, hoping I don’t look stupid. The suit fits perfectly, yet I still feel silly wearing it. It feels weird to wear an expensive tux that a stranger bought me. The Astors seem nice and I’m trying not to overthink things, but somehow I feel like there must be an ulterior motive of some sort. Could it really be that they see potential in me? I find that hard to believe, but for once, I want to have some faith. Not just in my own abilities, but in people in general.

I feel out of place as I approach the entrance. This is going to be awkward as fuck. I won’t know anyone here. I probably should’ve brought a date, even if it’s so I’m not alone.

My mind drifts to Amara as I hand the guards by the door my fancy invitation. She’ll be here tonight. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her since she first walked into my office. She’s probably the one woman in town that’s most out of reach, yet I can’t control my thoughts.

Even when I was visiting my sister last weekend, Amara was all I could think about. Amara kept me so distracted that it took me a while to realize what was going on between my sister and my best friend.

I walk into the ballroom, instantly feeling intimidated. This whole place reeks of money. Money that I don’t have. I don’t belong here, but someday I will. I have every intention of becoming successful, of making a name for myself the way my father did.

I nod politely when I notice Mr. Astor standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by men I’ve only ever seen on television. This is the world Amara lives in. She and I… we couldn’t be more different.

I tense when Mr. Astor waves me over, and I’m oddly anxious as I walk up to him. I didn’t expect him to speak to me at all tonight, and something about him unnerves me. A man this powerful… why is he paying any attention to me at all?

“Noah, my boy,” he says, clapping me on the back. “Come, there are some men I need to introduce you to.”

He excuses himself and pulls me along before I even realize what’s happening, and before long I’m standing in front of the owner of one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the country. “Lucas,” Mr. Astor says, “meet Dr. Noah Grant. He recently started working for me, and I have great plans for him. If I have it my way, he’ll help me build a medical empire that’ll rival yours.”

His words have my heart racing. An opportunity like that would change my entire life. Hell, I could accomplish far more working for Mr. Astor than I ever could by myself, if he means what he says.

I shake Lucas’s hand, and just minutes later I have his business card in hand, and an appointment to grab coffee with him next week. The next thirty minutes proceed in the same way. Mr. Astor personally introduces me to every single person in the room that could further my career, and every one of them pays attention.

I’m left reeling by the time Mr. Astor walks away. Any doubts I had about him just being nice for the hell of it are gone. He truly does have plans for me. Plans that could transform life as I know it. Plans that could get derailed if I get involved with the one person he told me to stay away from — the woman that captured my eye the second she walked in.

I lean back against the wall with a champagne glass in hand and watch Amara flit through the room, clearly in her element. In this world where I’m entirely out of my depth, she’s a fucking queen. The black dress she’s wearing shimmers with her every move, highlighting her amazing body, and around her neck she’s wearing diamonds that sparkle underneath the chandeliers. I bet just her jewelry equals a year’s salary for me.

She’s beautiful… and Mr. Astor was right. She’s not for me. I know she isn’t, yet my heart tightens when she smiles at another man. He offers her his hand, and she takes it, letting him lead her to the dance floor.

I take him in, the expensive tux, the shiny shoes. He’s handsome, and he’s clearly rich. I can’t compete with that. Not that I would.

I watch as he twirls her around on the dance floor, making her laugh. The way his hands move over her body betrays the intimacy between them. Boyfriend? Ex-boyfriend? Maybe he’s just a lover. Either way, he’s something to her, and it doesn’t sit well with me.

She and I are nothing more than acquaintances, yet I can’t help the possessiveness I feel. I want her eyes on me. I want my hands on her body, the way they were when she and I stood in the rain.

Amara pauses on the dance floor, her eyes wide. I have no idea what he just told her, but she looks shocked. I tense when her dance partner grabs her hand and pulls her toward the large balconies. The two of them disappear through the flowing curtains, and I grit my teeth.

I will myself to stay put, to push what I just saw out of my mind… but I can’t. There’s something about Amara Astor that I cannot ignore. That single second of distress in her eyes was enough to have every alarm bell in my head ringing, and I’m barely thinking straight as I walk towards the doors she disappeared through.

“You know I want you back.”

I tense, pausing just out of sight. Amara is leaning back against the balcony, and the guy she’s with has her trapped between his arms. She doesn’t look uncomfortable, though. Angry, maybe… but she doesn’t look like she needs help.

“We’re over, Gregory,” she tells him, crossing her arms over her chest, her beautiful eyes narrowed.

“Maybe,” he murmurs. “But maybe not. You won’t find another investor, Amara. Your grandfather warned every one of us not to invest in you. I’m the only one that’ll be willing to go against him and risk his wrath. Just tell me you’ll let me take you on a date, and the money is yours.”

Her eyes widen, and the flash of pain I see in them makes my heart tighten. Mr. Astor… why would he do that? It makes no sense.

“Just one date, Amara. Do you really want to see your dreams fade to dust?”

I straighten and walk around the corner, my footsteps loud on the otherwise empty balcony. Amara’s eyes find mine, and something flickers through them, but I can’t quite place what it is.

“Amara,” I say, forcing a smile onto my face. “Didn’t you promise to save me a dance?”