So I shook my head hard, willing myself to clear my mind. Get it together Cleo! I scolded myself. Don’t turn into a bowl of mush just because you’re in front of Drake again. He’s a man, remember that, just a man.
I took a deep breath, squaring my shoulders and said coolly, “I’m here for Hustler, what else? What are you here for?”
The big man looked at me speculatively.
“I’m here for a lot of reasons,” he rumbled, his eyes never leaving my face, the ruby lips I’d outlined a particularly sultry shade of red. “The first is to figure out what this Hustler business is about …”
At that I interrupted.
“If you haven’t done your homework on the magazine, then it’s too late,” I said sharply. “We’re here to play, big boy. If you don’t know what the asset’s worth by now, you’re going down in flames.”
But the big man didn’t seem fazed. Instead he looked at me with amusement.
“Oh I know what it’s worth,” he said, his tone smooth, “I’m just wondering if the competition knows.”
And that made me pause because in my years running a business I’ve learned something, and that’s to trust your instincts. If someone like Drake intimates that he knows something that you don’t, then it’s best to listen closely.
“Why, what is it?” I asked, curious, my eyes piercing, intent on his words. Don’t look so interested! I scolded myself. He’s playing you! But I couldn’t help it. My breath was coming hard and fast, my chest heaving, my pulse beating at a million miles an hour … from more than just the negotiation.
And it was like Daddy knew, he could tell. He laughed lazily, chucking me under the chin.
“Baby girl, I’m only too happy to share business secrets with you,” he rumbled, “but not here. Let’s step outside for a moment.”
How dare he treat me like a child again, chucking me under the chin and acting condescending. I was so angry that I spit out my retort.
“No, tell me now!” I demanded, hands on my hips.
But that only made me seem more childish and I was immediately embarrassed. Not exactly the way to build an image of a smooth, polished businesswoman.
But Drake wasn’t turned off at all. Instead, he merely put a big hand around my waist and guided me to the exit, opening the door to a dozen curious expressions, the guys trying not to look but unable to hide their interest.
“Cleo, everything okay?” asked Stewie, my ever-loyal lawyer. “Everything okay in there?”
I smiled reassuringly at him, taking a big breath.
“Thanks Stu, yeah everything’s fine,” I said with what I hoped was a boss-like manner. “I’m going to step outside with Mr. Markham here for a cup of coffee, we’ll be back in half an hour.”
“So … what should we do without you?” asked Stewie. “You want us to put in a bid? You know they’re not going to stop the clock for us.”
But before I could answer, Drake interrupted.
“I’ve asked to postpone the auction for an hour,” he interjected smoothly, his face impassive. “The judge okayed it already.”
I gasped, turning to him. Daddy had so much power that he’d already put in a call to the judge, pulling strings just like that?
But Drake winked at me, his hand on the small of my back, so hot that it scorched my skin, guiding me towards the exit once more.
“The judge is a classmate of mine from law school,” he said under his breath. “Now let’s go, Cleo, now.”
And with that, we exited the room to the stunned looks of the audience behind us.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Drake
She was even more beautiful than I remembered. That red dress … it was so wrong, yet so right at the same time. Completely inappropriate for a business meeting, but totally appropriate if you remembered who was wearing it. Because Cleo was the queen of smut remember? A millionaire many times over, laughing all the way to the bank as we downloaded her products, watched her perform on-line.
But I wasn’t about to go to Starbucks just to be ogled by passing riffraff.
Instead, I pushed her into my waiting car at the sidewalk, scooping that curvy figure into the backseat of the limo.
“Wait!” she gasped. “There’s a Peet’s around the corner, we don’t need to drive, I can walk.”
But it was too late because I was already in the backseat with her, directing the driver to head to my condo. “Home,” I growled before raising the partition between us.
And it was then that I turned to look at the redhead. She was gorgeous, even curvier than I remembered. The years apart had allowed her to fill out into a woman and what had previously been Double Ds were even bigger now, those creamy, luscious curves practically falling out of her the vee of her dress. And her legs … oh god, those legs. They were revealed through a high slit in her dress, smooth, long, with the meaty thighs that I liked, the kind that you can bite into. In fact, the slit went so far up that her snatch was practically bared, which only made my cock punch out harder.