Page 14 of Mr. Scandalous

The walls were bright and splashy, featuring advertisers’ posters hawking everything from imported liquor to expensive automobiles to the trendiest menswear fashions.

Copies of Alec’s runaway bestselling book,The Sublime Art of Seduction, were stacked everywhere. Executive toys rested on computers and desktops. Daring alternative rock music blared from a high-tech sound system and a help-yourself popcorn machine filled the air with the scent of freshly popped, buttered popcorn.

The place was energetic, lively and imaginative. A grown-up guy’s playground and Alec was right in the big middle of the free-for-all.

Eden stood to one side, watching him.

He wore a black turtleneck sweater and formfitting trousers that showed off his breathtaking physique. His longish hair was sexily tousled. His profile was dazzling—regal nose, rugged chin, high cheekbones…

Her pulse bounded at a feverish pace as theWilliam Tell Overturegalloped wildly inside her head.

He migrated from person to person, pumping his employees up, urging them to give a hundred and ten percent. He brainstormed concepts on the fly, storytelling, networking and motivating with nothing more than a smile and his irresistible aura.

Alec managed his team with the mental equivalent of chain-saw juggling. He kept a permanent smile hardwired to his chiseled mouth. He was everything she was not—witty, inspirational, charming, impulsive.

Without a doubt this mover and shaker would be a dynamo between the sheets. If she slept with him would some of that high-octane energy rub off on her?

She hoped so.

A serious-looking young man hovered at Alec’s elbow. He was keeping up with everything that unfolded, calmly and methodically jotting down notes in his phone.

Ah, she thought, the follow-through guy.

Alec was the idea man. The younger guy was the one who made it all come together. Alec was smart enough to surround himself with the right people. In that brief span of two minutes, Eden’s admiration for him doubled.

Oh, to be so spontaneous, so unselfconscious, so alive.

Alec pivoted on his heel, spun in Eden’s direction and stopped cold. The minute he spotted her, his grin widened, and his eyes rounded. He looked as if he’s just won an Atlantic City jackpot. The billion-dollar expression in his eyes went a long way in repairing her damaged self-esteem and earning him a hundred brownie points toward becoming the lover she finally let see her scar.

“Wow,” he said, low and husky as he stalked closer, “look at you.”

Leisurely, he combed his gaze from the top of her head, down her low-cut red sweater, to the snug-fitting leather skirt, to her fishnet stockings, to the sexy stilettos and back again. Her clothes issued a provocative incitation that Eden feared she could not back up. A long moment passed, and she almost turned and ran.

But the appreciative look in Alec’s eyes held her anchored to the spot.

The entire office had followed his movements and now all of his employees were staring at her too, intrigued by the woman who’d captured their dynamic boss’s interest.

Eden felt her cheeks flush. Oh great. She was blushing like a schoolgirl. But no man this influential had ever had this reaction to her. She had longed for this very outcome when she’d donned her sexy outfit, but now that she had his undivided attention, she wasn’t sure what to do with it.

She smiled shyly and raised a hand to her throat. “I overdressed, didn’t I?”

“No. Oh, no. You look absolutely gorgeous. Are you ready to get down to business?” His gray eyes smoldered with a sexuality that took her breath away and his full, masculine lips held her mesmerized.

“Pardon?” Eden blinked. She’d been fantasizing about kissing him and his question caught her off guard.

“Lunch, the gift consultation.”

“Oh, yes.” She patted her tote bag. “I’ve got everything right here.”

“Yes, you do.” He grinned rakishly, and his gaze took another trip over her body, sending the message that he wasn’t talking about her portfolio.

In that moment, she made her decision. Despite the nervousness knotting her stomach, despite her fears that he was anticipating a femme fatale and there was no way she could measure up to his expectations, despite the gamble she was taking, Eden knew what she wanted. Correction, what she desperatelyneededin order to recover her creative self-confidence.

A red-hot fling with the sumptuous Alec Ramsey.

* * *

Alec took herto Maison Henri, an elegant new French restaurant in Midtown. He opened the door for her, lightly grasped her elbow and guided her in over the threshold.

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