Page 6 of Ruthless Financier
And Indigo hit every note.
“Jacob.” She let go of her seat and crossed her legs. She picked up her papers and said, “But if we invest in these charities, keep your name out of the press for a while, the picture will be forgotten.”
I listened. I scooted my chair closer but kept my voice down as I said, “I can’t wait that long. My goals won’t wait it out.”
“The time frame is short.” She let out a frustrated sigh. “You won’t lose anything.”
She didn’t give up. It was an admirable quality. I reached for her fingers and ignored the spark that rushed inside me. “I’ll lose the opportunity that’s slipping away, and I can’t do that.”
She blinked at me but didn’t pull away. Her face heated but she asked, “Why? Don’t you have enough to retire on?”
My gaze narrowed. I wasn’t even thirty-five. And I only worked four hours a day. All I needed to move forward were those four uninterrupted hours. But I just said, “No. I’m not killing my business plans because I went to a party and said hello as I passed a stranger.”
She pressed her lips together and to the side as she studied me. Her blue eyes had flecks of green and were mesmerizing.
“My method will only take a few months,” she said.
But mine was faster and that’s what I needed right now. To get back on course, immediately. I squeezed her palm and electricity shot through me. I ignored the surge of desire and said, “I’m willing to cut you the twenty-five-million-dollar check you named if you just say yes to marriage.”
She licked her lips, then sat back and said, “Let’s discuss your plan then. That’s an obscene amount that I could never say no to, but it’s unnecessary for you.”
“Then you say yes. Good. Done.” I tapped the table and smiled. “Let’s do this.”
She shook her head and held my hand firmly. “Wait. We’re talking—and only talking—right now.”
Yet she’d revealed her interest. I’d win against her. I said, “Continue.”
Her pert nose and her lower lip, which was bigger than her top one, softened as she said, “But then we’re both stuck. I don’t want to be Mrs. Donovan. I am not interested in making you happy.”
Yet her mouth was slightly open, like she wanted a kiss, right now. Maybe the mixed saint-and-sinner vibe she gave off turned me on more than I realized. “My happiness, as far as you are concerned, has to do with keeping my bedroom needs met.”
She took her hand away and shook her head. “I’m not— “
In negotiations it was best to state everything you wanted up front, and then figure out how to get there. I wanted to destroy my father’s business. And Indigo was exactly the woman I’d always imagined in my life, personified. I said, “And I’ll keep you happier there than you’ve ever been, too.”
She didn’t blink when she said, “Sex doesn’t keep anyone happy.”
Wow. How had she been so blatantly used that she felt like that? I raised my eyes and asked, “Seriously? You’ve clearly chosen some bad ones if that’s your opinion.”
Her voice was softer as she said, “I’m proposing you keep your life as is and we’ll take our time fixing your image.”
Now it was time to ask, “What would you do with twenty-five million dollars?”
She glanced down like she didn’t want to answer, but then she said, “Run my own firm without paying off the retiring owner with my own work.” She met my gaze. “I like working and proving myself.”
Was that her, apologizing for wanting to fully control her own company? I didn’t even blink. There was no shame in wanting to be valued for what she did. Winning my father’s company and all he held dear was the only thing that fueled me to continue on my path toward a day of reckoning.
I nodded and said, “You have the reputation of one of the best brains in public relations. You can fix my corporate image as my head of PR. I’ll probably need your skill set once I finish what I need to do.”
She ran her hands through her hair and said, “What’s so pressing? Why can’t the deal wait?”
The truth burst out of me. “I plan to destroy the remnants of my father’s corporation. And timing is important.”
She froze in place. “Your father? The banker?”
Oh, she had no idea how he deserved this. My mother was in the grave because of him. Not only hadn’t my billionaire father paid my mother child support on time, he ensured she never earned a dime without him being able to suck it out of her hands.
Now it was his turn to have no one and nothing. I just said, “Fuck yes. And I need my investors right now. So let’s discuss my deal. We go to a wedding chapel. You marry me. I cut you a check. You start your own PR firm with my financial backing, you move into my house, and we keep ourselves sexually interested in only each other.”
