Page 29 of A Billionaire Gentleman

I’d thought Deklin would see through it for sure, but he didn’t say anything as we drove away from the hotel, heading for the next estate on his list. The determination on his face made me wonder if the reason Deklin wasn’t questioning his grandfather’s motives was because he wanted the opportunity to prove himself without Jude around.

I could understand that all too well. Sometimes, I felt like I’d spent my entire life trying to live up to some impossible standard set by people who didn’t know me and hadn’t asked what I wanted. Relating to Deklin should have made this job easier, but it just made me feel worse about deceiving someone who seemed to be such a nice guy.

Reminding myself that I was doing this for Dallas only alleviated a small portion of my guilt, but then I reminded myself that Jude was truly looking out for Deklin’s best interests. It sucked that doing things this way was probably less damaging than the truth would have been, but none of that was my responsibility. I wasn’t taking advantage of anyone, and if someone was going to get paid to do this, I deserved it as much as the next person.

“What made you want to go into landscape architecture?” Deklin asked suddenly. “I mean, that’s not exactly the type of job someone spends their life wanting to do.”

At least I could answer this question with complete honesty. “You know how when you’re little and play with blocks, most kids want the action ones? Helicopters and spaceships, that sort of thing? Not me. I wanted the ones where I could make cities and parks and all that. I like neatness and order, but with creativity inside it. A clear path to show beauty.”

He stared at me as if I’d said something profound, and I was struck by the depth in his green eyes. He was more attractive than I’d thought he would be. Clean-shaven, he didn’t have one of those baby faces that needed scruff to keep him from looking like a teenager. His golden-brown hair probably needed a trim to be considered entirely professional, but I liked how it wasn’t exactly tidy. From the little I’d gotten to know him, it suited him.

A couple inches over six feet, he was taller than me, and he carried every inch of it well. He had a lean body that made me think he did a lot of physical things to keep in shape instead of just relying on nature.

The phrasephysical thingshad been the wrong one to use. Now, all I could think about were the sorts of things he could do to me, and I didn’t want those images in my head. I was supposed to seduce him, and that meant I needed to keep my head clear, not drool over him like some horny teenager.

My problem was, I didn’t really know how to seduce someone. Working at Diamond Stars Lounge helped a bit, but that wasn’t what I wanted to do here. I had the feeling that if I threw myself at him, I’d either end up having to backpedal if he assumed I wanted to sleep with him, or come on too strong and embarrass myself when he rejected me.

I clearly hadn’t thought this through as much as I should have, but it was too late now. Jude had taken care of the arrangements for my apartment. Mrs. Islip knew I’d be going to Houston for a new job. And I’d quit dancing.

The one good thing Mead had done by coming into the lounge and assaulting me was make it easy for me to quit without any sort of backlash. Sanders had been a little annoyed, but he actually hadn’t been mad at me.

Right after the incident, he’d assured me that security had Mead’s photo, and they weren’t to let him inside again, but he hadn’t really been surprised when I’d called him last night. I hadn’t known what to tell him, but I’d barely gotten two words out of my mouth before he’d said he understood.

How sad was my life if my boss, a virtual stranger who hired women to be ogled, was kinder to me than my own husband had been?

Thinking about Mead didn’t help me figure out how best to seduce Deklin, but I doubted there was anything short of an instruction manual that could do me any good. I supposed the only thing to do was jump in with both feet. The logical place to start was flirting.

My track record with men suggested I was bad at it – practically screamed it, actually – but I had to try. I had no doubt whatsoever that Jude would fire me and demand his money back if I didn’t at least attempt to do what he’d hired me for. He was nice, but he wasn’t a saint.

“Are you passionate about anything?” I mentally kicked myself the moment the question popped out. Why did my attempts at flirting always end up sounding like the script to some cheesy porn?

Deklin tapped his pen against his chin, obviously taking my question seriously, though I couldn’t for the life of me think why. He seemed eager to prove himself, and I assumed that would be the logical answer, even if my question was inane.

“I don’t know.” The look of surprise on his face would’ve been comical if it hadn’t made me sad for him. Everyone should have something they’re passionate about, even if it had changed through the years.

“You’ve always wanted to go into real estate then?”

He shrugged. “It’s the family business. My oldest brother is the CFO, and he’ll take over as the CEO after our dad retires. My other brother isn’t involved in the company, but Damon’s always been all about music, and he’s good at it. With his talent, no one expected him to do anything other than that.”

Damon Holden? Why did that name sound familiar?

Deklin chuckled. “You’re trying to figure out who he is, aren’t you? He did ‘Heartbreak Collision’ and ‘Up All Night.’”

“Seriously? I love him!” I blushed as Deklin laughed, but there was no malice in the sound. “I mean, I love his music. Obviously. Because I’ve never met him. I’m not one of those crazy fans who thinks she knows a celebrity…dammit!”

“You’re cute when you’re flustered.”

Silence fell as we both processed what Deklin had blurted out. It wasn’t a declaration of love or some lust-filled statement designed to get me in bed, but it did tell me that maybe I had a shot at getting this to work after all.

“I didn’t…” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Dammit.”

It was my turn to laugh, and he relaxed when he saw he hadn’t offended me.

“Sorry for fangirling,” I said. “It wasn’t very professional of me.”

He waved a hand dismissively. “That wasn’t even close to fangirling. When I was in college, one of my professors gave me a pair of her underwear and asked me to give them to Damon.”

I winced. “Ouch.”

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