Page 53 of A Billion Dollar Romance
“Let me give you…” He riffled through his overstuffed wallet, pulling out a business card. “I knowyouhave my contact information, but give this to her, would you? We’re always looking for a fresh voice. And a fresh face, eh, James?” He raised an eyebrow knowingly.
“Of course,” I said, my shoulders tensing. I held up the business card between index and middle finger. “I’ll pass this along.”
“Wheredidyou find her?”
Something about the look on his face, his smile, made my jaw clench tight, and I remained silent for what I knew was a beat too long. Our relationship seemed so natural when I was with her. Why did it suddenly feel so tawdry in front of my colleagues?
She was my student. Or, worse–maybe, was it worse? Or better? I wasn’t sure–she works for me.
“She asked me to critique her work,” I said tightly.
“Ah, of course,” he said, giving me a knowing glance. “I’d have been eager tocritiqueher as well.”
“Please excuse me,” I said. I’d had my fill of both Danishes and Mr. Lee’s insinuation. I strode from the room, nearly running directly into Edie in my rush.
“James!” she said, her eyes lighting up. “Sam said you would be here, and here you are; the woman’s a genius.” I nodded.
Since when was Edie on a nickname-level basis with Samantha?
“And here I am,” I said, with a forced smile. “Did you have a productive morning?” I asked, taking her by the elbow, attempting to steer her away from the meeting room I’d just escaped. Maybe we could go for a walk around the grounds, or I could sneak away and take her to the spa myself for a couple’s massage. Or… my suite was always an option.
She stopped, turning to me with wide eyes. “Idid.Sam introduced me around to all the women, and I got so many... “ She held up her nondescript purse, pulling out a clutch of business cards. I recognized several of the logos. If Edie could get her book in front of any of the agents at those agencies… But she was still talking. “I don’t know if you did Sam a favor or if you have dirt on her orwhat,but she’s amazing–” Her eyes widened even further, until they were almost perfectly round. “Did you sleep with her?” she whispered, so quietly I could barely hear her.
“God,no, Edie–”
“I was about to say,good for you,it’s nice to know there are men who appreciate a strong woman–”
I laughed out loud, incredulous. “Edie, sweetheart…” Her cheeks flushed, and I vowed to call her sweetheart every day from now until…until…“Sweetheart, how much coffee have you had today?”
She sighed, bright-eyed. “Yeah, I think I overshot my dosage a little bit. But everyone keeps asking me if I want to visit the coffee table with them.”
“That’s how you know this is the big leagues, baby,” I said, grinning. Fuck, but she was adorable. “But hey, I have an hour until my next meeting, do you want to–”
She was smiling apologetically before I even finished my sentence. “I’m sorry, James, but I told Rachel Lee I’d get an early lunch with her and a couple of the other wives. I can tell them I can’t, but I thought–”
“No, she’s a good contact,” I said, shaking my head. Even if I was irritated by her husband, Rachel Lee would be a smart person for Edie to make the acquaintance of.
“Right?” Edie said, looking relieved.
“They’d be great imprint for you; you wouldn’t be in every bookstore, but you’d have the weight of their marketing team–”
“Oh,” she said, and her breath caught, eyes going impossibly rounder. I’d assumed that the lunch had been forher, but by her sudden hopeful expression, she’d been thinking ofme, I realized, of our bargain. She was going to lunch not to network for her write career, but to blush and smile when the other wives asked how we’d met. A tenderness pinched behind my ribcage. To hell with Leeandhis wife, I wanted to keep Edie all to myself. “Oh, I hadn’t even–do you think?”
I nodded slowly, savoring her grin, then bent down to meet her halfway as she stood on her toes for a quick kiss. “See you before dinner,” I said.
“See you before dinner,” she agreed and walked off, waving over her shoulder at me as she disappeared down the resort hallway.
I realized only after she’d gone that I hadn’t given her Lee’s card.
She wouldn’t need it anyway, I chuckled to myself, smiling after her. She’d have her pick of agents when the weekend was through.
* * *
By the time I made it back down to my suite, my smile was gone. I was tired, grumpy, and already late for dinner.
I’d spent the afternoon in meeting after meeting, the charts and graphs and numbers making my head throb and my eyes glaze over.
Tonight would make it all worth it. Edie had felt so good around my cock last night–in the bathtub, then again in the bed, and that it was my own release easing the tight slide of my cock into her... I’d never found condoms a hardship, not in the way other men sometimes claimed to, but something about marking Edie like that had my instincts roaring up in satisfaction.
