Page 12 of The Kiss Keeper
This was a good start.
Natalie gave him her best Mary Poppins, lover of children and spoons full of sugar smile. “It’s been such an honor teaching here. You’ve got an amazing staff, and the children and their families have been wonderful to work with.”
Mr. Lutz’s expression softened. “That’s what makes telling you this so hard, Miss Callahan.”
The district pulled our arts funding.
I wish we could keep you, but we don’t have the money in the budget.
Despite nodding and putting on a brave face, Natalie didn’t hear much more as the image of the Kiss Keeper’s well flashed through her mind, and the dream of finding a permanent teaching position spiraled down the drain.
2
Jake
Jake Teller glanced out at the packed auditorium, took note of the blonde with the killer cleavage in the front row, then strode across the stage. His long legs consumed the space as the spotlight lit his enviable physique in golden light.
“Guilt and remorse have no place in the world of business. Bullshit thoughts of karma and yin and yang only serve to hold you back. Take my advice. Work every angle you’ve got and stick to the black and white. The numbers, the statistics, the reports. Anybody who tells you that they go by their gut alone when it comes to buying multi-million-dollar commercial real estate is a damn fool and should not be someone you choose to keep in your confidence.”
He watched as the participants eagerly took notes, many holding up cell phones and recording his talk. He’d be the first to admit that industry symposiums and speaking events were one percent substance and ninety-nine percent fluff. But it looked good to have his name, and the name of the company he worked for, Linton Holdings, splashed all over the industry he was itching to conquer.
There was an ethical line, sure, but nothing in the realm of real estate negotiations was carved into stone. He lived his life a breath away from that tipping point, teetering on the edge. Careful to keep his hands just clean enough.
He stopped and stared out at the crowd. “And never fall in love with a property. Attachment is an emotion best left to the weak,” he added as the click of hundreds of people typing his words verbatim onto their laptops crackled and popped through the cavernous space.
At twenty-eight years old, he was the youngest development VP at Linton. And more important than that, a favorite of the founder himself, billionaire hotel and real estate developer, Charlie Linton.
Eager to prove himself to the self-made tycoon who’d been in the game for fifty years, he’d traveled the globe, procuring the perfect properties for an even better price. Dubai, Hong Kong, Montenegro, it didn’t matter the country or continent. With a head for numbers and the ability to see trends before they peaked, he’d demonstrated not only his intelligence but his hunger.
Jake Teller was in it for the kill, and that’s why he was the best.
He eyed the cleavage in the front row, and the woman took notice. She ran her tongue across her top lip, then uncrossed and crossed her legs, allowing her already short skirt to ride up her thighs with the sensual movement.
He bit back a grin. Symposiums were great for picking up a quick screw in some generic hotel room, and he followed the same principles with relationships as he did in business.
Well, using the termrelationshipwas a bit of a stretch.
Could he give a woman a night of immeasurable pleasure?
Absolutely.
Would he be there in the morning to cook her breakfast?
Hell no.
Rule number one, just like in real estate, never fall in love.
The guy in the sound booth signaled for him to wrap it up, and Jake gazed out into the packed room, ready to go out on a bang, and then meet up with the chick in the front row to do the same—multiple times.
“Properties will come and go. Be tenacious. Be relentless and keep your heart out of it.” He met the blonde’s gaze. “Don’t give an inch until you’re completely satisfied. That’s the way you get ahead in the big leagues of commercial real estate.”
The crowd clapped, and he absorbed the adulation. He wasn’t a trust fund baby born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Everything he’d gotten in this life had been by his own volition.
The lights came on, and a stagehand rushed over and removed the mic from his lapel. As the auditorium cleared out, he caught sight of the blonde, lingering at the end of the row. Now, this was the way to end a day of presentations. He walked off the stage and headed her way. She straightened up and gave him one hell of ayou’re about to get laidgrin when someone else caught his eye. Someone vastly more important than a piece of convention ass.
His mentor. His teacher. The man he’d emulated since the day he got hired on at Linton Holdings.
Charlie Linton.
