Page 16 of Ice Wolf
He chuckled. “What does that mean, Lily?”
“That means you have something explosive to share with me or an offer to make. I know that because in the space of three minutes, you’ve called me punkin twice. If it had been three times, I’d be certain the world was coming to an end. So just do us both a favor and cut to the chase.”
His expression hardened briefly before he pushed his wineglass aside. “I think fate finally told you he has something else in store for you.”
He. My father had always believed there was a magical man in the clouds determining our lots in life. “Okay. Why don’t you share with me your predictions from that magical eight ball of yours.” I still owned one of those gimmicky toys and in truth, I’d used it several times while trying to make tough decisions. Maybe I was my daddy’s girl after all.
“I know you want time to complete your novel.”
That was unexpected. “Yes, I do. I’m close to the end.” Well, maybe another thirty thousand words or so, but I was getting closer. “Why the sudden interest?”
“You’re in between jobs and I thought I could help.”
“Are you offering me a loan?” I wouldn’t accept one.
“I’m offering you a job.” He dropped the slight bomb before enjoying a swallow of his wine. Somehow, the disaster I called my life had fit into some plan he’d had.
“In your public relations firm?”
“What other business am I in, pun?—”
I gave him a stern look, which forced him to pause.
“Sweetheart,” he finished. “You need to pay your bills so you can have time to create a masterpiece and I need help.”
“I’m not interested in being your secretary, Dad. Sorry, but you’re a tough boss.”
His laugh was genuine, his eyes lighting up. “That’s not what I’m asking you to do. You have an innate knowledge of my business, a talent for turning the lives of public figures around like no one else I’ve worked with. You have a degree, for God’s sake.”
Which he believed I’d floundered away on a whim.
I’d heard this speech before. All that talent wasted on sitting behind a desk acting like a schoolmarm. I tried to be nice, even keeping a plastic smile on my face. For some reason, I sensed he needed my help. Something had come up he wasn’t quite certain how to handle.
“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s going on?”
Reaching down, he extracted something from the briefcase he took everywhere he went. When he pulled out a manila file, I tried to keep from becoming angry. There was no sense in lashing out at my father. I was curious why he seemed desperate. Not that anyone could tell that but me. I knew my dad far too well. He needed to be in full control over everything.
“I was approached by a former client with what he called an emergency situation.”
Now I laughed. Emergency meant someone had fucked up. There was no better term. They’d fallen into some quicksand and desperately needed a reboot. My father was well known for being able to provide a fresh start, breathing life into a corporation or a person who’d all but driven the last nails into their own coffin.
He slid the file in my direction and I had to admit I was curious who the victim was. Or maybe he or she was the perpetrator. You never knew what to expect. I drummed my fingers on the table, knowing that if I so much as touched the file, I’d be committing to helping my father.
I couldn’t seem to help myself.
As soon as I opened the file, I immediately thought about last night after my disastrous dinner. The picture I was staring at, perhaps drooling over was the same one I’d seen on social media. There were no adequate words for the man’s fantastic physique. He’d been preordered, crafted, refined, and delivered from the heavens. The perfect specimen of a male.
Whoever the photographer, they’d managed to capture the man’s essence.
Rugged.
Sensual.
Dangerous.
My nipples immediately hardened, becoming way too uncomfortable in my lace bra.
He had the kind of hair you wanted to spend hours running your fingers through, a wry smile highlighting a powerful chiseled jaw and high cheekbones. Then there were his eyes. They were so blue, so luminous I could almost see through them.
