Page 3 of Fiancé for Hire

Antika was glad they were the only ones in the hallway as she struggled to keep her composure. But there was no way in hell she’d let him see how his words affected her. Instead, she put on a smile that she hoped appeared real and slowed her steps.

“Oh, Edward. Don’t you ever get tired of being a pompous, misogynistic asshole? It’sreallynot a good look,” she whispered, disgust in her tone. Then she picked up speed as her heart pounded angrily against her rib cage.

Edward chuckled. “Ahh, come on, Antika. I’m kidding…but are you lashing out because you don’t have a man? I guess that means you’ll be all alone for Battle Brigade’s All-Star Celebration. What a shame,” he said in mock sympathy when he caught up to her.

The All-Star Celebration, which would take place in a few weeks, was being hosted by the owners of the company. They wanted to do something to reward the management team for landing three back-to-back million-dollar contracts within a two-month period.

At first, Antika had been looking forward to the event. It wasn’t every day that the company threw a spectacular gala for them. The recognition was well deserved, since she and the others had worked their butts off to land those contracts. They had earned that celebration, the financial bonus that came with it, and the recognition. The owners generously extended the offer for the honorees to bring their significant others.

Leave it to Edward to squash her excitement.

He shook his head andtsked again. “I heard there will be live music, the best meal money can buy, and champagne flowing all night. Too bad you’ll be attending alone.”

Something inside of Antika snapped. She stopped abruptly and so did he.

Instead of giving him the satisfaction of knowing he’d gotten to her, Antika laughed, even though laughing was the last thing she felt like doing. She couldn’t let him win this round.

Stepping closer to him, a burst of pleasure filled her when he stiffened.

“Edward, Edward, Edward,” she said, fingering one of the buttons on his dress shirt. “Since you’re so concerned about my personal life, you really should keep up. I have a lover, and he’s way more of a man than you’ll ever be.”

She dropped her hand and straightened her shoulders. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have a meeting to get to.” She turned and sauntered off.

Damn it. Tamera was right.

I need a man.

ChapterTwo

“So let me get this straight. You want to assign me to one of your clients, and she’s waiting in your office?”

Drevon Ross stared at his aunt, waiting for her to sayjust kidding, but those words never came.

Viola Ross was serious.

He was back in Atlanta for less than a week and already people were trying to hog his time. Of course, it was mostly his family and closest friends who thought just because they wanted him to do something for them, he’d automatically sayyes.

Not today.

Drevon had been in Europe for the last four months on a couple of modeling assignments and a small acting role. He loved traveling and his profession had given him an opportunity to see the world.

Modeling might not have been his first choice of careers, but it afforded him more opportunities than he could ever have dreamed. All those opportunities were getting him closer to his ultimate goal—producing a big-budget film. Part of the reason he returned to Atlanta was to meet with a few investors—not to be at his family’s beck and call.

“Don’t say no,” his aunt said in a rush. “You’re going to thank me for this.”

“I highly doubt that,” he said dryly, running his hand over the scruff on his cheeks and chin.

After his last assignment, he’d started growing out his beard. That was one of many things he was happy that he could now do since he wouldn’t be taking on any modeling assignments for a while. The beard also helped with people failing to recognize him right away when he was out in public.

“Aunt Vi, I assumed you were joking. Since you’re not, you need to find someone else. I’m not interested. I’m not some piece of meat that you can put on display, or some man-candy for you to distribute to women.”

“Oh, hush,” she said, chuckling. “I know you’re a catch, which is why you’ll be perfect for this young lady. She’s a few years older than you, but—”

“No,” he said, growing less interested by the minute.

When his aunt had left him a message saying that she needed him to come by the office as soon as possible, he had no idea what to expect. She’d sounded a bit ominous, and on his way there, Drevon had tried calling her cell phone numerous times. The calls had gone straight to voicemail.

Now he knew why.

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