Page 10 of Flirt Like A Pin-Up

“Can you grab a drink with us across the street at the Gold Room?” Derrick asks Camden after the other stakeholders have left.

Camden glances my way, and I nod. “All clear, sir.”

His eyes heat with my words. Then he turns and grabs my purse, handing it to me. “Let’s go.”

“What?”

Camden tilts his head in the direction of the Gold Room across the street. “We will be five minutes behind you, gentlemen.”

Brett smiles and nods. “See you there.”

The three men walk out, leaving us alone. Camden turns to me. “Do you like your job?”

“What?” I lick my lips. What the hell? Am I in trouble or something?

“You’re an amazing assistant, but is that what you want to do for the next five to ten years? What are your goals?”

I shake my head, confused as to where this is coming from. “I don’t know.”

He gently brushes his fingers down my face, pushing a strand of hair off my cheek. “Do you have any interest in business, marketing, or sales?”

“Sure,” I murmur, mesmerized by his golden brown eyes. I can’t resist this man, and I’m not interested in fighting our attraction anymore.

“Attend this meeting with me. See firsthand how business is really conducted—which is rarely in the boardroom—and afterwards, you and I need to talk.” He swipes his thumb over my bottom lip, and I’m guessing he’s tired of fighting this connection between us, too. Our purely professional relationship lasted almost four days. Honestly, I’m impressed with both of our restraints.

Holding my breath, I merely nod.

He places his hand on the small of my back and escorts me across the street after we say our goodbyes to Connie, the bistro’s manager—Christof Miller having left sometime during the luncheon. We walk into the Gold Room and find the Grayson brothers with Dr. Lancaster at a corner table, a Cosmo and an old fashioned waiting for us.

I sit down with some of the most successful people in Spring City. Derrick Grayson has been making headlines for four years, ever since he came back to town and started gobbling up property to revitalize downtown. He was the hottest, most eligible bachelor—replaced by Coulter over a year ago—but then he married a boss babe with her own career. His brother, Brett Grayson, is equally attractive, but must be married, because he’s never hit the list and there is little written about his personal life. Both men are built like NFL linebackers, broad and muscled under their thousand-dollar suits. Dr. Lancaster has a silver fox vibe to him. Tall and lanky, the salt and pepper flecks highlighting his hair and beard is pure sex for the right woman.

I, of course, only have eyes for Camden. Now that I’m willing to admit it to myself, I know I’ve had tunnel vision for quite some time. It certainly explains my twelve failed dates from the Matchmakers Valentine’s Day event last February. That should have produced at least a couple of short-term relationships, if for nothing more than a few weeks of distraction, but I wasn’t able to get into any of them, no matter how charming they tried to be.

“We’ve been waiting for Manning Industries to discuss growth for some time now, and we have an idea we’d like to run past you,” Derrick starts.

“Do you want to wait for Coulter to get back?” Camden grabs his drink and sits back.

“We’d like to run this past you first, and then have a meeting with both of you when he gets back. But I’d like to have this bug in your ear before you make any major moves.”

“I’m listening.”

“Your plans are great. They appear solid. What we have to propose isn’t in lieu of those plans, but in addition to. You are familiar with the Grayson Business Park and the presentation center, which is also attached to the science and technology department at SCCU?”

“I read a bit about it, but I could use a refresher,” Camden says.

I sit there and listen as Derrick and Stephen lay out a plan where Manning Industries becomes a part of the master plan to entice young engineering students to SCCU, and to ultimately settle in Spring City. It’s brilliant and ensures a long and prosperous future for the company.

I personally don’t see a downside, but I’m new to this.

Forty-five minutes later and they’ve answered all of Camden’s questions, which in my humble opinion were insightful and brilliant. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever been more attracted to him. It’s one thing to have him whisper in my ear all the dirty things he wants to do to me, but watching him wheel and deal a multi-million dollar deal with billionaires is pure sex.

We’ve stood up and are saying our goodbyes—each man shaking my hand like I’m a colleague and not a secretary. The guys I take care of know my value and treat me well, but the average man tends to underestimate me, judging me by my looks and curves and clothing choices, and never once learning about my brain. If I took my mother at her word, rich men like the ones we’re meeting with now don’t see anything more than trophy material in someone like me. But these guys sure don’t make me feel that way.

As we watch them walk out of the building, Camden slides his hand up my back and into my hair, fisting a handful and pulling me into his body. He claims my lips without apology and braces my lower back with his forearm, pinning me tightly against his body. His kiss claims and possesses me publicly, his tongue pushing past my lips to tangle with mine before softening his touch into a gentle caress. “Thank you, Margot.”

“For what?” I whimper—a soft, malleable, squishy, plush doll in his hands.

“For being you. You’re wonderful. Everything I want and more. I know I made you a promise, and while I’m not in the habit of breaking promises, and I have no intention of breaking any other promises to you in the future, I have to break this one.”

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