Page 2 of The Fake Dating Plan

He raised his eyebrows. “Oh?”

He seemed interested. It was time to change tactics. I knew this man. He might be years older than when we last knew each other, but few about him had changed. One thing Ax responded to was confidence. Falter and he will gut you like prey. Why beg when I can offer something in return. That at least I was good at. I shifted in my seat, gathered every shred of confidence I had in me, and stared right back at him. “I came to you because you understand the business. This is nothing personal, of course, unless you’re still hung up on bygones.”

“I was over you the day you cheated on me.”

There it is. “Then you should be able to see this as the good business opportunity that it is. My company is in its growth stage. Our expenses are minimal, our profit is good, you would be foolish to pass this.”

He stared at me for a moment. His gaze heated every part of my body as it caressed. I thanked myself for wearing my sexy but professional pantsuit.

He opened the plan again. This time, he flipped through the pages. It was tough not to say something each time he paused on a page.

“One more thing,” I said when he reached the investors' section. “You have the opportunity to take something from someone you’ve always hated.”

This time, he didn’t give me his cold stare. His mask fell off, and that’s when I knew I got him.

When they told me she was in the lobby, I made her wait, thinking she would rage, quit and leave me. But the longer the time passed, the more interested I became. I knew it meant one thing; whatever her reasons were, she was desperate. But when she walked into my office, even though I tried to do everything I could to make her feel like she was an afterthought, a less than important guest, I was fooling myself if I didn’t admit to how her mere presence affected me. Feelings I thought were long dead had risen. And when I finally focused on her, I was once again struck, like it was the first time, by her beauty. Nine years later, and it felt like the very first time. Her skin glowed and made me want to reach out and touch her. Her hair, tied in a big bun of red curls, made me want to untie and watch fall to her shoulders.

Then she pitched. I had an inkling she wanted something from me. Otherwise, why lower herself by coming to me after all these years?

But the longer she sat there, the more enraged I felt. She cheated on me for fuck's sake. Yet here she was, acting like we were good friends. As if we had parted on amicable terms. Her stunning red, grab-the-right-curves suit was enough to make any ordinary man forget, but not me. She still haunted my dreams from time to time. Not that I would admit it to anyone.

I watched as her red lips moved, not paying attention to what she was saying. Who cared about that? My mind hovered between calling security and dragging her out of my office myself when she mentioned his name.

“What do you mean?”

“Silvester Heron is our principal investor. He wants to pull his investment unless we can buy him out. I’m sure you’re aware of him.”

She got me. How could I resist an opportunity to screw over Heron? The weasel liked to meddle in our industry with enormous investments that ended up being destructive rather than constructive. He was a pain to everyone in the luxury goods industry, including us. Which meant I loved screwing over Heron every chance I got. Including now. There was no way I was passing this over, even when the offer came from the hands of the person I hated the most.

“How much do you want?”

“Ten million dollars. Five is what we need to survive, but put up ten and you can buy him out.”

“Why did you go to him in the first place?”

“He had the money when I needed it. And would you have invested if I had come to you initially?”

“You’re right, I wouldn’t. But if I’m going to invest in your business, I’m going to need a more concrete reason than this,” I lifted the business plan, which I had to admit was pretty solid, and Heron.

“You can tour our offices, warehouse and...”

“I’m not talking about the business. I’m talking about you.”

She pursed her plump lips. “What do you want me to do? I swear I can do anything.”

There was the desperation I had gleaned earlier. She had tried to hide, but I knew she was on the ropes. No one betrayed me, then came back to me unless they were left with no other option.

“If you say yes.” her voice dropped low, and she turned on a husky register that made my cock hard. “If you say yes, I can let you do whatever you want.”

I shifted in my seat, feeling my groin tightening. I had to be sure she was implying what I thought she was implying.

“When you say whatever I want.”

“I mean you can exact your revenge in whatever way you feel I deserve.”

My hands were shaking. The excitement building inside me was undeniable.

“Are you sure?”

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