Page 32 of Her Billion Dollar Groom

“That’s great,” says Francine, and I detect the faintest flicker of jealousy.

To be fair to her, I would be jealous of me too if I were a businesswoman who presumably has spent a good deal of her life trying to succeed, and has to watch someone young and beautiful like me doing all the things she wants to do simply because of her husband. It’s the kind of crap we have to go through to be successful.

Maybe if I can make a deal with her, I can make some of her dreams come true. Maybe I can help her bloom.

We chat into the night, getting to know each other and starting to put together a plan. I can’t wait to show Jason. It turns out she owns a major advertising firm, and if we can get her on our side, it’s going to do wonders for our income.

Every now and again, I glance over at Jason to make sure he’s okay. He’s always a little out of his depth at this kind of thing. I’m not at all surprised to see him floundering. Every time I look at him, he gives me the impression of a drowning animal, splashing in vain to keep himself afloat against the torrent he’s battling.

Not for the first time, I wonder how the hell he became so successful if this really is his best work at charming people.

When we finally sneak back off to the hotel room, I wrap my arms around him and kiss him on the cheek. “You’re terrible at this,” I say.

“And you’re brilliant and dazzling.” His hips come to my waist, and I giggle as he pulls me closer to him.

“I’m serious. You’ve got to loosen up. You look like you’re made of steel out there.”

“It’s easy for you to say. You’re so good at this kind of thing. It doesn’t come as easily to me as it does to you.” He sighs, hanging his head, dejected.

“I know,” I say softly, rubbing his shoulders. He’s so tense in every muscle. “Which is why you need to start by relaxing. People like this, they can smell blood. And once they know they can get to you, they’ll find all the worst ways to tear you down.”

“Sounds like you have experience,” he says with a chuckle, though there’s no amusement in his expression.

“Yeah,” I sigh, “but that’s not the point.”

“What is the point?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

“The point is that you are too tense. There are so many people here desperate to make deals with you. Hell, I was talking with them tonight. But unless you figure out a way to let them in, we’re going to be stuck here miserably and leave with nothing. Is that what you want?”

He leans in a little closer to me, and I catch the scent of his aftershave. It’s strong, and sends a rush of desire to my head.

“Have I told you recently how brilliant you are?” he asks with a smirk.

“Once or twice,” I reply, looking up at him through my lashes. “But you could always tell me again.”

“Oh, could I?” He takes another step closer to me, and I breathe in deeply, trying to resist the temptation to jump on him and devour him.

“You know what,” I say, flashing him a wicked smile.

“What?”

“I have a great idea how to loosen you up.”

“Oh, you do, do you?” He raises an eyebrow. “Tell me more about that, my little business tycoon.”

I stretch up onto my tiptoes and press a needy kiss to his lips. That’s all the motivation he needs to sweep me up into his arms. We tumble backward, falling onto the bed together, giving in to the temptation of our bodies, of our desires.

CHAPTER 19

JASON

Ifeel completely certain that everyone knows what me and Eliza did all last night. It makes me nervous to think that they’re all sitting there judging us, wondering what she’s like in bed, thinking about how lucky I am to be the one to taste her. God knows I know how lucky I am to touch this much of her.

It’s more than I ever expected to get from a woman like her.

And while I sit and squirm and review every sound I made to assess if it was too loud, she seems totally unembarrassed by the idea of everyone here imagining the two of us together. I can’t quite tell if that’s her pretending to be unflustered, or if she genuinely doesn’t care what people say or think about her.

She’s got thick skin. I suppose, in a position like hers, she needs it.

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