Page 3 of Indecent Secrets

Light poured out of every one of the large glass windows, three stories high, with a sweeping front set of steps and double set of front doors through which a curling staircase and marble floor making up a foyer could be seen.

This was definitely way above my environmentalist paygrade. And I’d have to act like I actually belonged in this world. Christ.

I made my way up the driveway in my heels. I’d had my rideshare drop me off down the street so that I wouldn’t look suspicious—everyone else had either brought their own car or had a driver with a personal vehicle they used regularly. When I arrived at the front steps, a man in a suit holding an iPad checked my name at the door, then let me in.

Time to find this illustrious Jack Lawton. Not a simple task when the man had no social media presence whatsoever, and no photos of himself online to easily identify him.

Through the foyer you could enter into a large room with furniture to make it a living room, but the other room beyond it also looked like a living room. Rich people and their need for excess, I thought, rolling my eyes. But the place was packed to the gills and I made my way through carefully, trying to find the guy I sought.

“Leigh!” A busty brunette grabbed me and I recognized her instantly.

“Hey, Merilee.”

Merilee was often a filler, especially for the more elite parties. She was often dating the latest tech startup golden boy. “Fancy you being here!” Merilee said with a grin. “I’m so excited to see you!”

Merilee wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, God bless her, but she had a good heart and she was always persuading whoever she was dating to donate large sums of money to ‘save the whales’ campaigns and the like, including my work. We’d met through a mutual friend who’d gotten me onto this list, and I liked her. She was a sweet girl.

“You here networking?” Merilee asked.

This girl was going to blow my cover if I wasn’t careful. “I’m actually here to fill out the party,” I said. “And I thought it might be fun. Everyone’s always telling me I work too much so…”

“Oh, are you finally taking that idea of getting a boyfriend seriously?” Merilee’s eyes practically sparkled. “There are so many nice men here! I’ll have to introduce you to this one—where is he—he’s in the stock market and just bought a new megayacht—Oliver!”

She waved her hand and dragged me over to where some men were talking. The one, Oliver, turned to look towards Merilee and smiled, but the other three remained deep in conversation. Two of them looked like your typical Harvard fare, but the fourth—

My heart thudded in my chest. Oh, wow. I hadn’t seen a man that handsome in ages. Tall, surprisingly built—he looked like he could knock a man out in one punch—with dark hair, a sharp jaw, and bright blue eyes. Unlike all the other men who wore black suits or something else in a dark color, this guy stood out in a light blue, expertly tailored suit that showed off his chest and arms.

A man who was willing to be daring like that, and stand out from a crowd, with good fashion sense? And handsome as sin on top of it?

I swallowed hard. If I was here for pleasure, I would flirt with this man for sure and see where it might lead. Preferably a bedroom.

But I wasn’t here for pleasure, I was here for work.

“Gentlemen, this is an acquaintance of mine, Merilee,” Oliver said, introducing her. “And her friend…”

“Leigh,” I said, smiling. I played with a lock of my hair, my fingertips deliberately trailing along the skin of my throat to draw attention to my neck and breasts.

“Merilee, Leigh, this is Johnathan Horowitz, he’s one of the investors in the Lawton company; David Weston, he’s a pal of mine from Harvard days, he’s a corporate lawyer; and of course our guest of honor, Jack Lawton himself.”

My breath lodged in my throat as I met the gaze of the blue-eyed man. This was Jack Lawton. The man I’d planned to seduce, and he was handsome as hell.

I supposed that this evening was going to be more fun than I’d thought.

Chapter 3

Bryce

* * *

I had been at this party for half an hour and I already had everyone swarming around me like locusts. Various women had fawned over me, declaring themselves fascinated with the subject of philosophy, but every single one of them had been easily dismissed the moment I’d brought up how often Plato would lampoon his mentor. Socrates, for being obsessed with sex.

I was currently making some headway with these three men, though. David was one of the lawyers held on retainer for Lawton Industries. Johnathan was an investor, like his father before him. Oliver was a stock broker who handled the interests of the Lawton company on the open market.

Maybe one of them could be chosen as the next CEO?

A vapid brunette was brought up to join us, and I inwardly rolled my eyes as Oliver drooled over her. Christ, could the man go two seconds without thinking with his dick? These were supposed to be the brightest minds in the business, top marks from Ivy Leagues.

But then I got a look at the woman who was with her.

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