Page 46 of Courting Gossip (Courting)
Chapter Seven
Genieve fluffed her hair as she looked at herself in the mirror. So Brody wanted an exclusive contract with her, did he? Her eyes sparkled at the challenge.
He couldn’t handle an exclusive contract with her.
‘Be careful what you wish for, Brody boy,’ she whispered.
Energy buzzed through her. She was dying to hear what he had to say about this, but first she needed to prepare for the discussion. Deciding her attire was perfect, she marched across the hallway to the bathroom. She tidied up and put on some makeup. She went for the ‘natural’ look guys seemed to love but failed to understand took time. She ran a brush through her hair and changed it from bedhead to artfully tousled. Finally, she sprayed her favourite musk perfume on her wrists and neck and between her breasts. She rolled up the sleeves of his tuxedo and re-evaluated. The jacket was big on her, but with her purple bra and panties it was hardcore sexy.
Oh, yeah. She was ready. When she opened the bathroom door, she was on the hunt.
She started with his office, where he usually spent his mornings, but it was empty. So was his bedroom. She made her way down the hallway and found him sitting on the sofa with all his tech toys spread out before him. Samuel’s latest interview must be going viral.
He glanced up when he heard her and did a rapid double-take. His irises flared as she stopped by his side.
‘Good morning,’ she said as she twirled a strand of her hair around her finger.
‘Morning,’ he repeated on autopilot. ‘Are you feeling OK?’
‘Mmm.’ She gave a lazy stretch that made his gaze slide heavily down to her legs. ‘Just getting off to a slow start today.’
‘You sure?’ He dropped his feet and put his laptop on the table. ‘You seemed upset last night.’
She wobbled her head. Upset…crushed…humiliated…Why split hairs?
She glanced at the fire in the fireplace. There was a chill in the air today. The rain had started for real, and it splattered against the windows. She hoped it wouldn’t be too cold for her petunias, but they would love drinking fresh water. No matter what a smack in the face it might be…
She took the easy chair that faced Brody and crossed her legs. The jacket draped open around her, showing the purple lingerie set that had intrigued him so much last night – but not enough for him to do anything about it without a piece of paper between them.
She traced the strap of her bra down her chest to where it met the lace cup. ‘That was Nina on the phone just now. She said you had a request of me.’
‘Aw, fuck,’ he breathed. He sat back hard against the sofa cushions and rubbed his hands over his face. Finally, he dropped them in his lap. ‘I wanted to talk to you about that first.’
She gave him a sexy smile. ‘Are you in the market for an escort, Brody?’
His expression darkened. So much for being stoic today. ‘She was going to put you back out into the field,’ he said. ‘Right now, in the middle of everything.’
And it was the last part that was the most important, right?
‘So you thought you’d step in?’ Like a gallant knight? She preferred her Black Knight, full of darkness and cunning. He’d stop at nothing to get what he wanted, but that wasn’t what this was about, was it?
‘This is what I wanted to talk to you about last night,’ he said.
‘OK, so let’s talk.’ She gave him the once-over that he was giving her. He was in jeans again. This time the T-shirt was from a Foo Fighters concert. His feet were bare, and it made it more difficult for her. This was the Brody she found so fascinating. If he was in his suit and tie, she’d know better where she stood. She wrapped her hands around the arms of the chair. ‘I’m assuming you want an exclusive arrangement, since I can’t go out on the town these days.’
With a hushed curse, he leaned forward and braced his elbows against his knees. ‘All you’d need to do is stay with me. Just like we’re doing now.’
‘But surely you know that an exclusive contract with Luxxor entitles you to more?’
He looked at her hard. ‘Are we really going to do this?’
She shrugged. ‘Nina said we should work out the details.’
‘And you’re willing?’
‘I haven’t got a better offer…at the moment.’
His jaw set. ‘OK, let’s get down to it then.’
