Billionaire Bad Boys of Romance 2(36)

Holy shit! He barely knew me, yet he knew me inside and out. As I sat there wordless and numb, he leaned across the table and ran his fingertips through my long, flowing tresses.

“And by the way, thank you for wearing your hair loose.”

I forced a small smile.

“You wouldn’t have worn it that way if you didn’t want to please me.”

Every fiber of my being twitched. He was right!

A crazy-wicked grin spread across his face. “Come here, you.” Rising from his chair, he leaned across the table, fisted a handful of my loose platinum locks, and pulled me toward him. His lips were coming my way. As they brushed against mine, I closed my eyes.

“Well, hello, Gloria.”

An all-too-familiar aloof voice startled me. My eyes snapped open, and I jerked away from Jaime. Fuck! It was Victor, dressed in a gray pinstriped three-piece suit, with his daughter, Vivien, draped on his arm. Sandwiched in a tight fuchsia mini dress, that revealed everything, and matching stilettos, she could have easily been mistaken as his high-priced hooker.

Jaime’s face darkened. Silent daggers went back and forth between the two men. Was Victor still simmering because Jaime had outbid him on the Rihanna undergarments?

Vivien’s pillowy lips parted. “Hi, Jaime.” Her voice was a deep sexy rasp. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Fancy meeting you here? Give me a fucking break. She knew exactly where we were having dinner. I studied her. She was petite and brunette. Jaime’s “type.” Reflecting on her behavior at the Gloria’s Secret Fashion Show and after-party, I wondered—had she and Jaime had sex? Was she one of Jaime’s submissives? There was something more than met the eye going on here. I sucked in a breath.#p#分页标题#e#

Jaime responded. His voice was as cold as dry ice. “Nice to see you.”

Victor’s turn. “So, Zander, I understand from my daughter, you’re courting the Gloria’s Secret account.” A smug smile slithered across Vivien’s face.

Before Jaime could respond, I hastily chimed in, “Actually, Victor, it’s the other way around. I’m courting him. I’m impressed by his creativity.”

Victor was stunned into silence.

Jaime shot me a surprised look and then broke into a sexy, grateful smile.

“Why, thank you, Ms. Long. I hope tomorrow we can seal the deal.” He came around the table and pulled back my chair, signaling me to stand up too. As I got to my feet, Victor’s steely eyes ran down my body. I could feel him mentally undressing me. “Gloria, you exhibit poor judgment when it comes to men.”

I scowled. “That’s not for you to judge.”

Jaime’s eyes narrowed and his lips pressed thin. He clenched his hands so tightly his knuckles turned white. One fist rose. My heart raced. Was he going to punch Victor?

To my relief, he relaxed his hand. “Come, Gloria. We should talk business,” he gritted.

Vivien sneered while her father remained steely faced. As Jaime ushered me to the entrance of the restaurant, I could feel Victor’s eyes on me the whole time.

“Wasn’t I supposed to pay for dinner?” I asked while he called his driver Orson on his cell.

“No need. As of yesterday, I own the restaurant.”



The drive back to the hotel was fraught with uncomfortable, tense silence. Brooding, Jaime kept his distance. Maybe, he heeded my words. That is was best to keep our relationship purely professional. Still buzzed from the wine, mixed emotions and questions swirled around in my head. So much had gone down tonight. I was dealing with a potential Christian Grey in my life who definitely had some fucked up issues of his own. And I had my own share of fuckedupness that I was not sharing with him. Finally, as we neared the hotel, I broke the thick silence, deciding to get some answers to questions that could effect our potential business relationship.

“What the hell is going between you and Victor? You know, he’s the Chairman of Gloria’s Secret and wields a lot of power.”

“He’s nothing to me,” Jaime hissed.

I didn’t believe him, but the tone of his voice set up a don’t-go-there wall.

“What about Vivien?”

“What about her?” he snapped back.

“Have you ever fucked her? She seems your type.”

He took a long second to answer. “No.”

Again, I didn’t believe him, but let it be. “You know, if you do win the Gloria’s Secret account, she may be your point person. She’s my assistant, and she’s being groomed, under a father’s orders, to take over marketing.”

“I’ll deal with it,” he said curtly.

The elevator ride up to our floor was no less tense. He accompanied me down the long corridor to our rooms. When I reached mine, I broke away from him and ransacked my bag for my card key. Damn it. I couldn’t find it. I must have left it in my other purse.