Scent of Love Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Bonus Book

  Chapter 1: Look at me

  Chapter 2: Hey Mom

  Chapter 3: It all got old, very fast

  Chapter 4: Have you seen her?

  Chapter 5: What’s the 411?

  Chapter 6: long day, long night

  Chapter 7: There is hope

  Chapter 8: Help me, please?

  Chapter 9: Benefit of the doubt

  Chapter 10: You need patience

  Chapter 11: I’ve got it!

  Chapter 12: This just might be crazy enough to work

  Chapter 13: Love at 3rd sight?

  Chapter 14: Introducing

  Chapter 15: First Date

  Chapter 16: Tomorrow

  Chapter 17: Girl, are you alright?

  Chapter 18: The truth

  Chapter 19: What now?

  Publisher's Notes

  CRISTINA GRENIER PRESENTS

  Scent of Love

  Marie Parker

  Want to receive a FREE copy of this

  full length BWWM Romance by bestselling author Cristina Grenier?

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  Chapter 1: Look at me

  He walked down the corridor with an awkward bounce in his step, flashing “the wink and the gun” to everybody in his path.

  “Hey, Alex.”

  One of the women said as he continued to stroll along. He had a movie star look; tall, powder blue eyes with blonde hair. His cheekbones were high; eyebrows had a natural arch to it that most women would pay a weekly fee for. He was tanned perfectly as if one had taken the time to fill in his complexion with colored pencils. He walked like he owned the company, and in fact, he did. Saavy was the leading sport’s agency in the Nation, boasting some of the most well-known athletes in the NBA, NFL, and MLBA. The company, started by his father Henry Rawlings, was passed to him after his father retired from the business.

  Some believed that it was just handed to him without any work, and they were right. Alex was born into one of the wealthiest families in the world, and all he had to do was make sure that he was at least adequate in a few things, and the company was his. He had a few friends within the company, but he knew that they were just around him because of his money, and he was the CEO of the enterprise now. Money and power. For the most part, he was ok with it for now. He was just entering into his mid-twenties, so he knew he had a while before he had to settle down.

  He flashed a generic smile, continuing down the corridor, slapping fives with a few of the men on his way.

  “Hey Robert, how’s it hanging? Good? That’s great.”

  He spoke without giving anyone a chance to respond. That’s just how he was. Most times, he just wanted to be seen. He wanted to give the appearance that he cared when in actuality, the only thing he cared about was his money and his women and he didn’t run short on either. He walked into his office, his close friend Jerry right behind him.

  “Man, did you see the way Rachel was looking at you?”

  Alex picked up the small mirror on his desk, making sure his hair was still in place, “Uh, you think I didn’t? The babe couldn’t keep her eyes off of me. What did you expect, though? I’m freakin’ awesome.”

  Jerry lifted his hand for a high five, but Alex ignored him. Jerry pretended to stretch, trying to cover up the slight, “Yeah man, you’re awesome. You know that.”

  Alex set the mirror down and turned to look out his window. His office was on the top floor of a 38 story building that overlooked the entire downtown metroplex. The sun shined bright on the city and just to the left was Lake Mineco, the spot that drew in all of the city’s most beautiful people. He reached into a drawer and pulled out his binoculars, focusing down on the sand.

  “Sheesh, look at her! Would you look at her? She is gorgeous!”

  Jerry walked over to the window, “Let me take a look, Alex.”

  “No, no… just look with your own eyes. Maybe if you squint, you can see what I see.”

  Jerry peeked out the window, “Oh, yeah. I see her. Yeah man, she’s hot!”

  Alex put the binoculars down, “Come on, man. Don’t be a perv. That’s not cool, bro.”

  His office was the size of a small apartment. He had a lot of things that didn’t need to be there; a small basketball hoop, three leather sofas, a vending machine, and his personal bathroom. He could practically live in there if he wanted to but those were the things he begged his father to let him have and of course, his father gave in. Alex was the only child in his family, and neither one of his parents had the backbone to tell him no for any reason. It’s the only thing that allowed him to have a Porsche, Lamborghini, and a Maserati all parked outside his apartment. He rarely drove any of them because his chauffeur escorted him wherever he wanted to go in his Maybach.

  “So, how was the date with Jennifer? Come on, bro. Spill the beans!”

  Jerry pulled up a seat on the other side of his desk as Alex tossed a football to him, “Jennifer? She was hot, and when I say hot, I mean h-o-t.”

  “Oh, come on, you’ve gotta tell me what happened.”

  “Ok, well first off, I pick her up at her house. Well technically Shaun did because I was riding in the back.”

  “Oh, you had the Maybach? Nice.”

  Alex looked over at Jerry with a straight face, “Hey, man. Just let me finish the story before you talk.”

  Jerry zipped his lips with his finger and pretended to throw the key across the room.

  “Alright, anyways.

  So, we pick her up, and she comes out of the house in this smoking hot red dress. I mean, the dress stops like midway to her thighs, and I’m just like, ‘Yeah, man. That’s perfect’. Her long, blonde hair was blowing in the wind while she is walking to the car. It was almost like she was floating to me. So, Shaun open the car door for her, and she steps in. I’m just looking at her, you know, smiling. She goes, ‘Hey Alex; I couldn’t wait to see you’. Then I look at her, and I’m just like, ‘I say that to myself every morning’ and she just smiles back at me. So, we head to this restaurant, right. I tell her to order anything she wants except the real expensive stuff, you know, so she orders filet mignon. The whole time, she’s looking at me like I’m the steak, like she wants to tear me apart.”

  “Oh, man! I-”

  Alex looked over at Jerry, “Sorry, man. I’m Sorry.”

  He zipped his lip again, and Alex continued the story,

  “So, yeah, I look over at her, and I say, ‘you know, that steak is not as tender as me’, you know? Bro, I’m just hitting her with all the game in the world, and she is falling all over me. But I’m used to things like that. Next thing I know, we’re back in the car, and we’re talking and then all of a sudden, she’s kissing me.”

  “She kissed you?”

  “Yeah! She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek and before I knew it, we were having wild sex in the back seat. I mean, we were both all over each other! It was incredible! She wrapped her legs around me, and we were just going to town! It was one of the wildest sexual experiences I’ve had in my whole life!”

  “Wow, bro! Wow. What I wouldn’t give to walk a day in your shoes.”

  Alex beamed at the fact that Jerry envied him. The truth was that Jerry wasn’t too fond of him. He just stayed close, hoping that when another free agent came up Alex would slide him his way. It couldn’t hurt being buddy-buddy with the CEO of the company. There weren’t too many people that were willing to be Alex’s doormat, but he made sure that spot belonged to him. Moments later, there was a knock at the door.

  “Come on in.”

  Bridgette, a young, gorgeous intern, walked into the room with a smile as she carried a stack of papers.

 
“Good morning Jerry.”

  She smiled at Alex, “And good morning, Alex.”

  Her hazel eyes seemed to glow when she came in his presence. She was thin, but her beauty caused most men to overlook her small frame. She could have passed for any age between 15-24. It was the one thing that kept Alex from approaching to ask her for a date. Every time he imagined it, he would immediately think the police were coming to arrest him for dating a minor. He shook the image out of his head as he responded, “Good Morning, Bridgette. How are you today?”

  She placed the stack of papers on his desk, “I’m well. How are you?”

  “Well, I’m much better now that I get to see your beautiful face.”

  Bridgette smiled. She was used to his corny lines by now, but she did her best to keep a smile on her face to amuse him. She redirected his attention, “These are those files you asked me for.”

  “Oh?”

  He scanned through the papers, not nearly paying as much attention to them as he was Bridgette, “Ok, ok. Thank you. Let me ask you, Bridgette. Are we paying you yet?”

  She smiled, “No, sir. I’m still an intern.”

  “Well, in turn, you are still beautiful. Maybe one day we will have to pay you to stick around, you know? It wouldn’t hurt to have a beautiful woman like you around. It would be like a decoration on a Christmas tree.”

  She nodded her head slowly, her eyes darting around the room, “Oh, um. Thank you? For calling me a Christmas tree ornament?”

  “Oh, you’re welcome, babe. You’re welcome.”

  The smile that was once on her face completely disappeared when she spun around. She pursed her lips together, doing all she could to keep in her laughter until she got outside. When she closed the door, she let it out. Alex and Jerry heard her from inside, “You hear that?”

  Alex said, “She wants me. She wants me bad.”

  Jerry stood up, “You know, I was thinking the same thing, Alex! I was thinking, ‘she wants my boy Alex’. How do you do it, man? How do you have all these women after you like this?”

  Alex stood up with a proud smile on his face, walking over to the basketball that was on a rack next to the wall. He took a few bounces before confidently sending a shot towards the basket. It clanged off the rim and darted back in his direction, “You just gotta know what you’re doing, my man. For some people like me, it’s natural. For others, they have to work a little harder.”

  He picked the ball up, took a few bounces and shot it again. It bounced off the backboard and flew across the room. Jerry picked it up and took a shot. It swished, all net, on his first attempt. Alex looked over at Jerry, the smile on his face vanished, “What are you doing?”

  Jerry hung his head, “My bad, man. I was just-”

  “You were just leaving, right?”

  “Right!”

  Jerry headed out the door as Alex picked up the ball and took another shot. It bounced hard off the rim and crashed into the vending machine, knocking a soda loose to the bottom. He walked over to the machine and pulled the drink out from the bottom, “Sprite. Yeah. This is exactly what I was trying to do, anyway.”

  Chapter 2: Hey Mom

  That night Shaun drove Alex to his parent’s house when he left the office. They lived in the most affluent neighborhood in the city. The houses were the size of castles and just to get to his parent's house, they had to drive through a gate and down a winding path that seemed as if they were traveling through a forest. The front yard was as lengthy as a football field, and that was just the front yard. The back yard was double that size, and there were three water fountains on the property, two in the front and one in the back by the gazebo. Shaun drove to the front door and let Alex out the back. His father was just riding around to the front on his horse, “Hello, son. How are you today?”

  Alex stood just outside the car with his glasses on, “I’m good, Dad. How’s Bucky?”

  He asked, reaching his hand out to rub the horse.

  “Bucky is doing well. I just wanted to take him out for a little stroll, you know, get the old champ some exercise.”

  Alex’s father was much older than he looked. He had had a few plastic surgeries to keep the wrinkles out of his face, and he paid for a hair restoration to regrow a full head of hair. He wasn’t much shorter than Alex, but he had let himself go, as far as his weight. His stomach protruded out just a bit further than he may have wanted it to but he was quite alright with it. Alex, on the other hand, wasn’t, “Dad, you need to get rid of that gut of yours.”

  He hopped down off the horse, “Alex, this again? Listen, I am completely okay with how I look. I’ve already gotten my wife, and she is quite satisfied with me. You, on the other hand?”

  “Me.”

  He smirked, “I’ve got no problem with the ladies. Isn’t that right, Shaun?”

  He said, nudging Shawn on the side as if to help him recollect his rendezvous with Jennifer in the back seat. Shaun smiled, the sun beaming down on his olive-colored skin, “Yes, sir. I will say that Alex has no problem with the ladies.”

  Alex smiled, “Thank you, Shaun!”

  “Except, that one unfortunate incident in which you neglected to maintain your erection.”

  Alex’s father laughed, “Oh, come now, tell me more about this!”

  Alex’s face reddened, “That’ll be all, Shaun!”

  “Shaun, please, continue with the story.”

  “Shaun! Do not!”

  Shaun bowed his head, “Alex, do not worry. I will not tell your father how you could not maintain your erection when another gorgeous young lady got in the back seat with you.”

  “Shaun!”

  “And I will certainly not tell him that she cursed you out and threatened to spread your misfortune all over Facebook.”

  “Shaun! Enough!”

  Alex’s father bowed over, laughing at his son’s misfortune as he stormed up the stairs and into the house. The laughter could still be heard as he walked through the house, searching for his mother.

  “Mom! Mom! Where are you!?”

  He walked up the stairs, going in and out of every room up there but she was nowhere to be found. Alex turned to look outside as his father was wiping tears of laughter from his eyes, still folded over onto his knees. Alex huffed, “Mooooom!”

  Moments later, she made her way up the stairs, “Son, what has gotten into you?”

  “Dad and Shaun are down there making fun of…”

  He paused, immediately becoming uncomfortable with the subject matter.

  “It’s just. They’re um. They're jerks, mom!”

  He raised the window and yelled outside, “Complete Jerks!”

  His father looked up towards the window, “Hey son, I got some pills if you want them. I didn’t need them until I was 60 but hey, I guess firmness skips a generation!”

  He slammed the window closed as he looked towards his mother. She shook her head and walked away, “I don’t even want to know what you two are talking about.”

  He followed her into her bedroom. Susan and Henry Rawlings had been married for just over thirty years. Susan met him right before he started Saavy and at the time, he had just graduated with a marketing degree and had no clue what to do with it. Her father had a friend by the name of William Taylor, who happened to be a pretty decent professional golfer. Chance had those two introduced to each other, and before they knew it, Henry had become his agent. From there, it snowballed into more and more clients to the point that he needed help just to manage everyone. Slowly but surely, Saavy was born, and three years later, Alex became the couple’s first and only child.

  “They were just jerks, mom. That’s all I’m going to say.”

  She walked over to her closet to find an outfit to wear for the night. She and Henry had planned an evening for the two of them, and she was looking forward to it. Her beauty had no surgical enhancements whatsoever. She was a brunette that looked closer to her mid-thirties than her mid-fifties. Her body still held glimpses of h
er youth and her cheekbones were just as high as her son’s. Apparently, it would only take one glance at them to realize that she is who he got them from. Her soft, brown eyes were inviting, and her lips were much fuller than an average woman her age. Between her and her husband, it would seem that they were the odd couple, but his looks were something that he couldn’t hold onto the way Susan did. She retained the beauty of her younger days, and she did it flawlessly.

  She pulled out a designer dress and laid it out on the bed, “So, when are you giving me some grandbabies?”

  Alex flopped on the bed, “Oh, God, mom. Not this again.”

  “I’m serious! I want some grandbabies! You haven’t met anyone yet?”

  “I have, just not anybody that I want to have a baby with.”

  “Now, Alex. All these women that you have and you’re trying to tell me not one of them has your attention? Not one?”

  He sighed, “No, mom. Not one. It just seems like everybody I meet is just after my money. Or my looks. Because you know how incredibly attractive I am, right?”

  He smiled as she squeezed his cheeks. He reached his hand up to push her away, “Sure do! You looked just like your father when he was your age.”

  “But… I look better, though, right mom?”

  “Of course, you do, baby. Of course, you do.”

  He smiled as she laughed to herself, “But seriously, son. I want some grandbabies. It’s about time you stopped messing around and got serious. You’re getting older, and if what your dad said is true and you’re going soft, then you need to act fast because-”

  “Mom!”

  “What?”

  “We are not about to have this conversation!”

  “Baby, listen. I'm just being honest.”

  He walked over and kissed his mom on the cheek, then turned to walk out of the room.

  “Alex! Alex, you better not walk out of this room! I have one more thing to say!”

  He stopped and turned around, “What is it, mom?”

  “Whenever you meet somebody who you think is the one, bring her to the house and let your Mom take a good look at her. I don't want any ugly grandbabies, and I gotta make sure this woman of yours, whoever she is, is halfway decent!”