Page 20 of Billion-Dollar Dating Game

‘Sure. One person’s rot is another person’s treasure...’

‘And a guy like you gets rich on the quick sale. But you leave little more than a skeleton that has no chance of long-term survival.’ She lifted her chin. ‘I think I can prove to you that it’s a company worth holding together.’

Her loyalty meant she couldn’t stand by and see it destroyed. Because of her colleagues and the values the company had stood for. Helberg had done good for others for generations. Now she had nothing left to lose and she had to try. Was he as soulless as she’d thought—or was there an echo of that kind boy who’d shared his candy with a crying kid still inside him?

But he was still. Silent. Unemotional. Uncaring.

Skylar’s heart sank. She had no chance of convincing either Cade or Adam given she didn’t even know them. So in spite of everything, Zane was actuallyherbest bet. She neededhimto win, so she would help him.

She straightened. ‘I’ll be seen with you once a week so you still have a chance with your stupid bet. In return, once a week, you come with me on a visit to Helberg. That’s my offer. Take it or leave it.’

He didn’t answer. Still didn’t move. But she saw the flicker in his eyes.

‘Come to the office next week,’ she said. ‘I’ll text you with a time that’s convenient.’

‘What if it’s not convenient for me?’ he muttered huskily.

She shrugged. ‘It’s your choice. You want to be seen with me then you’ll make it convenient. I’m not the one trapped in a stupid bet.’

‘You know you won’t change my mind, Skylar.’

Probably not, but she had to try. And she grudgingly respected that he was trying to warn her. But she had an in with him, and one thing that Skylar had always had was hope. So she smiled at him. ‘We’ll see, won’t we?’

CHAPTER SEVEN

AT8:00A.M.on Monday, Zane deMarco finally admitted he had a productivity problem. The concentration catastrophe otherwise known as Skylar Bennet was lodged in his head—in his body too—hell, she’d seemingly invaded him on a cellular level and he had somanyquestions.

Not that any of the answers were truly his business. He shouldn’t be distracted by Skylar Bennet’s lack of a sex life. He should be more concerned by hisowncomplete loss of control. The smile she’d shot him when she’d realised she had a little power? The dimple had surfaced and he’d had to summon every ounce of restraint not to lose it and haul her straight back into his arms.

He had fun with his lovers, yes, but he’d never been in an incident where the drive to have a woman had been so overpowering. Okay, he’d felt it one other time. With her. Which was deeply annoying. And this had only happened now because of that back then, right? It was some sort of warped want for the one he’d been told he couldn’t have.

He’d barely slept on Saturday night. Sure, he slept badly at the best of times, sometimes troubled by twinges in his leg, sometimes just restless as hell. But knowing she was under the same roof had rendered sleep impossible. For hours he’d battled the urge to stalk to her bedroom. Hours cursing himself for his impatience.

He’d taken her too fast and it had been over too soon.

Sunday morning had been nothing short of awkward, which frankly was another foreign situation. Usually he’d slide from a one-nighter by sending them off with his chauffeur and a smile. But yesterday he’d driven Skylar himself. He’d taken her to the small motel so she could collect her things, then insisted she share his helicopter back to Manhattan. He couldn’t watch her board that painfully slow bus. Once they’d made it back to the city, he’d insisted on driving her to her apartment. And yeah, it’d been entirely to suit his own ends. He’d wanted to know where she lived. He’d wanted to extend the time they shared even though it was torture. And the fact that she’d so clearly wanted torefuseall those offers had been deliciously amusing. Because she knew that he’d seen her reluctance—and so she’d accepted his offer at every turn. Which was even more delicious torture. They’d barely spoken. She’d appeared lost in thought. He’d just been battling his incredibly basic urges. The hottest of highlights from those moments in the orchard had flicked through his mind the whole time. Even now, only one thought in five was actually relevant to business; the rest were not safe for work.

It was also because of that stupid bet, right?

Cursing the whole stupid idea, he went online and skimmed the magazine and saw there was an update to the article already. They’d loaded a photo of Adam taken only last night. And they’d added atally.

It looked a typical Courtney Collection event—glamorous and elite, and Adam was with society model Annabel St James no less. Zane copied the picture into a text and tapped out a quick caption.

Could do worse for the summer! ;)

He winced at the weak banter but he was incapable of coming up with anything better. Grimly he realised the poll that had been started was the worst thing possible. Wasanyphoto of him standing next to any woman going to count? Surely not. He glanced at the photo of Adam—there was clear contact between the man and his date. There was nothing on Cade yet. Nothing on Zane either, but that wasn’t surprising. Danielle’s Independence Day party was renowned for its privacy protections for her guests.

Whyhad he told Skylar about the bet? Pillow talk totally wasn’t his thing. But he’d enjoyed being brutally honest with her—and he’d wanted to shock her. Because she’d shocked him. But no one knew about the bet other than Adam and Cade. Skylar could make them far more of a laughing stock than the original article had if she went public. Which meant he was forced to keep her close.

Anticipation tore through him. He could keep her very close. He could turn that judgment in her eyes to surrender again. Because her judgment pinched in a way that the judgment of anyone else didn’t. Maybe it was because she knew the shitty apartment building he’d grown up in, the underfunded school. Because it had been her building, her school too...

She knew more about him than almost anyone—despite the fact that in all those years they’d spoken only a handful of times.

But she’d also betrayed him. That one time they’d touched, they’d been caught and she’d let him take the blame. So of all people not to give a damn about, Skylar ought to be top of his list. And he didn’t give a damn, he just wanted...what? Aside from the obvious.

He wanted a littlehonesty.

She’d said she didn’t want to have sex with him again but that wasn’t true. He’d bet that when it came to it, she wouldn’t be able to control herself any more than he could. But she didn’twantto want him. Which was different. So he’d respect her rule. If he had to be celibate for the rest of the summer, he would. Purely to confound her. Even if it was going to kill him.

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