Page 5 of False Introductions

As Xavier explained the upward trend of his net profit, clearly sweetening the pot to better snare me with his initial sales price, I glanced at the clock. I needed to get out of here and stake out the hotel bar to catch site of my mystery girl. All I wanted was to close this deal, acquire the distribution company for my father, and be to the bar for lunch.

The door burst open and I snapped my head to see who dared to interrupt the meeting. While I had been sure the place was on fire given the slam of the door, I wasn’t prepared for the presence of the breathtaking puzzle from last night.

“Oh, Mr. Fields, you are busy?” the lady, who was not named Sophia, blurted out. Her eyes locked with mine the next moment and suddenly we were the only two people in the room. Field’s blabbering and flustered stammering was all but forgotten.

“Well, good morning, Pint Size, couldn’t get enough of me last night?” I watched her lips visibly twitch as she fought to keep a serious air about herself.

“What areyoudoing here?” she kept her tone neutral.

“Funny, I want to ask you the same thing.” I was standing now, coming around the table to loom over her. Never once did she step back or cringe at my advance.

“I asked you first,” and there it was. The corner of her mouth crept up in the smallest of smiles. I would take it; count it as a win.

“Business.” Keeping my answer short, I extended a hand. I figured shaking hers was the onlyappropriateway to greet her. It was a little desperate, and a twinge pathetic, that my dick had become rock hard the instant I realized who had breezed through the door. I wasn’t a damned animal. But there was something about this girl that had left me with a gnawing hunger.

Only then, when her eyes cut to Xavier and mine followed the direction of her gaze, did I notice the fucker’s distraught visage.

“I beg both your pardons. You weren’t supposed to be here at the same time,” the man stammered.

“I was told ten-fifteen, and your secretary told me to enter right away.” My mystery woman’s voice had dropped to a chilly level.

I was just a step behind the beauty’s logic. She was accusing Xavier of double booking us on purpose, so that we ran into each other. But why? Suddenly, other thoughts raced through my head.

Whoisthis woman? I ground my molars and knew that I needed a name from her. While images of pushing her against the wall, and using my mouth to coax the truth from those sultry lips, floated through my mind’s eye, I wanted to keep the air about us professional—until we were alone. Seeing that that fortunate event would not be happening right now, I decided the best course of action was to make my exeunt.

“I have to get going anyway, so I won’t be intruding on your meeting,” I nodded to Xavier, dismissing him. “It was a pleasure to see you again, Miss…?”

Swiftly she turned on her pretty little high heels and nodded to me once. “So good to see you again, Sir. Have a lovely rest of your day.”

Good one, short stuff.

There was no way to fish the information out of her while that weasel Xavier was in the room. Clearly, she was too crafty and guarded her identity like a bank vault. That made the prospect of discovery all the more sweet to think about.

This woman was a feisty match.

Although I quickly left the private office, I wasn’t ready to leave just yet. I stopped by the secretary’s desk on my way out. Flashing the poor woman my most dazzling smile, I asked her what time my appointment was booked for.

“You were schedule from nine forty-five until ten thirty, Mr. Livingston,” the secretary gushed.

“And what time was Miss…?” I paused on the name.

“Miss Dimakos?” the woman added helpfully.

“Yes, what time was Miss Dimakos’ appointment for?” When she told me, I thanked her and bolted, since my mood had suddenly taken a bad turn. All the flames of desire had instantly been squelched when I heard that name.

Dimakos. Fucking Dimakos.

In the empty stairwell of the two story industrial office suits, I paused. I wanted to roar my frustration at the world, but that would not be the answer. Laying my head against the cool wall, I let the flood of thoughts and emotions play out.

This girl had literally rocked my world less than twenty-four hours ago—and it was only a kiss! A kiss that I couldn’t stop replaying over and over. And now, not only had I just found out that she was doing business with my prospected acquisition, but that said acquisition was being a little shit and pitting us against each other.

And what made that match up ten times as bad? That woman had to be Rhea Dimakos—the daughter of my family’s nemesis. She must have just left college, because I hadn’t come across any intel about her appointment within Cirillo INC.

Damnit to hell!

Xavier had planned for us to run into each other. He was using it for his own gains. No doubt the sale price of his pitiful company had just skyrocketed. And when my father heard that our bitterest rivals were vying for the sale, he would erupt. I cringed at the thought. Suddenly, my bitter mood from the night before was paled in comparison to my present despair. My easy acquisition—my sure redemption—had slipped through my fingers.

Theonlybright spot in this entire mess was that I finally had the real name for my mystery girl. However, I wished like hell that she had remained a mystery—if only for a little while longer. Because now one thing was for certain: I would never be tasting Rhea Dimakos’ sweet kisses again. Groaning like a sailor who had just been stranded without water on an ocean of liquid, I pulled myself together enough to leave the building.

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