Hawthorne pried her hands from around his neck, a marked departure from the warmth and affection he''d shown her these past days.


    The sudden chill in his demeanor left Patti Yale bewildered. She wasn''t truly drunk -one bottle of wine wasn''t nearly enough to get her there-but she was good at pretending. The whole cockroach story had just been an excuse to throw herself into his arms.


    It had been days, and despite all her efforts, she still hadn''t managed to get Hawthorne into bed. Patti''s patience was running thin.


    She''d known Hawthorne was a stiff, but not this stiff. No wonder he still didn''t have a woman he actually cared about.


    That woman she''d seen at the gallery-odds were, Hawthorne hadn''t evenid a finger on her either.


    It was almost rare nowadays to find a man so hopelessly innocent. Patti, however, found it infuriating. She much preferred men like James-lecherous devils who could barely wait to get their hands on her, keeping her up all night.


    If James weren''t so much older, and already shackled to a powerful wife, Patti would have chosen him over a handsome but useless Hawthorne any day.


    "Hawthorne, I''ve been drinking, my head is spinning. Won''t you hold me?" she cooed.


    He ignored her, striding over to flick on every light in the living room.


    Only then did Patti realize they weren''t alone. Besides Hawthorne, his bodyguards were there too. For once, he hadn''te by himself.


    She was wearing nothing but a sheer ck nightdress-so thin it might as well have been invisible. Under the harsh overhead lights, her curves were on full disy for everyone in the room.


    "Oh—!"


    She hadn''t expected an audience, and her robe hung open to boot. The bodyguards couldn''t have looked away if they tried.


    "You-you... Hawthorne, what the hell are all these people doing here?"


    Every other time, he''de alone, and even if the bodyguards hade along, they''d always waited outside the building.


    Mortified, Patti scrambled to wrap herself up, but the flimsy fabric did little to help. She might as well have been naked.


    Hawthorne paid her embarrassment no mind. Patti, desperate, rounded on the bodyguards.


    "What are you staring at? Keep looking and I''ll have your eyes out! Get out of here, all of you!"<fnc4ea> Read full story at Find_Novel(.</fnc4ea>


    But without Hawthorne''s say-so, her threats might as well have been the barking of a toy poodle. The men didn''t budge.


    Hawthorne''s eyes swept over the


    dining table,nding on the


    near-empty bottle of red wine-


    conillel


    that had cost over a hundredv


    thousand dors.  s


    He crossed the room, picked it up, and looked at her. "You finished it?"


    Patti, humiliated and angry, snapped, "What do you think?"


    longer she stormed into her bedroom and changed


    Unwilling to be gawked at a ment


    s quickly


    she could, then came back out.  s


    "Hawthorne, they just saw everything! Aren''t you going to do something about it? I want them all fired!"


    She was livid. She''d been raised a pampered heiress-how could she tolerate such a humiliation?


    "If you hadn''t dressed like that, nobody would have seen anything," Hawthorne replied coolly.


    That left her speechless, breath caught in her chest.


    He set the empty bottle down and began circling the apartment, inspecting it.


    "Hawthorne?"


    "Mm," he answered, then turned to Hans.


    "Go over Miss Yale''s bill for this month with her."


    "What?"


    While Patti stared at him in bewilderment, Hans pulled out a lengthy itemized statement.


    "Miss Yale, since you''ve fallen on hard times, Mr. Everhart generously allowed you to rent his apartment


    for a white. Now that it''s been a month and you''ve been living quite.fortably, I''m sure you''re ready to settle the rent."  s


    Patti stared at him, dumbfounded.


    "Rent?"