He grinned as she raised her gaze to his. “I’m always right. It’s something you’ll get used to.”
“For whatever reason, you need me.” A smile split her mouth, lighting up her eyes. His temperature spiked several degrees as she captured his hands in hers. “But I need something more than the money you threw at me if you want my cooperation.”
He raised a brow. Her hands were still tucked in his, and it made him a little slow to answer. “It’s not open for negotiation.”
She went on as though he hadn’t spoken. “I want your word that you’ll help me with the pitch for the advertising contract for LifeStyle Inc.’s new sportswear line.”
Surprise made him slow to react. LifeStyle Inc. was one of his own companies. He lifted her and deposited her out of his way. “No.”
She waylaid him again, her gaze earnest. “Before you jump to conclusions and call me a few names again, let me finish. I’m not asking you to do anything underhanded. Our agency has already been shortlisted. All I want is your help in understanding the ins and outs of how such a huge advertising campaign works. I’ve...never worked on something of that scale.”
“Fine, you have my word. Not that it’s going to make any difference. That sportswear line is the talk of the fashion industry right now. Whoever wins that contract must be extremely talented and hardworking.” He leveled a look at her. Her eyes shone with excitement that he didn’t want to crush. But she was only setting up herself for disappointment. Really, he was doing her a favor. “You’ve no chance of winning it.”
Her chin went up a notch, the animation gone from her face. “I didn’t ask for your opinion on that.”
He grabbed his jacket and shrugged it on, fighting the insane urge to take back his words. Why, when he had spoken only the truth? “I’ll return in a couple of hours. In the meantime, there will be a personal shopper here. Buy what you need for your stay.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re not going out with me dressed like that.”
Her chin tilted up, her gaze blazing with a challenge. “Like what?”
With her luscious body outlined in the tight T-shirt and short shorts for every man’s pleasure. The words danced around on his lips. But of course, he couldn’t say that. A simple conversation with her took more energy than poring over a crumbling business’s finances. “Like a street urchin who hasn’t had a proper meal in six months.” He ducked as she threw a velvet cushion at him and laughed. “Which is probably true, right?”
“You’re going to regret bringing me here,” she said, her gaze glinting with determination.
“Buy whatever you want, do as much damage as you can. But don’t forget that you’re supposed to be Kim. No fistfights, no arguments, no getting drunk and most of all, no flirting with every man present. Even if he offers you the whole world.”
A shadow fell across her face. She swallowed, drawing his gaze to the slender column of her throat. “There’s no chance of me forgetting that. If not for Kim, I wouldn’t spend a single minute in your company.”
* * *
Alexander shrugged into the Armani suitjacket and adjusted his collar. The breathtaking views of Seine and Paris, twinkling in its glory, couldn’t hold his attention.
His meeting had taken much longer than he had expected which meant he’d arrived with only a few moments to spare. His gaze sought the closed bedroom door so much that he was beginning to memorize the pattern of the wood. As much as he hated the recklessness that embodied her every action, he had to admit he found Olivia exhilarating.
As if on cue, the door opened. His hands stilled on his collar.
Her gold tinted brown hair, usually a mass of unruly curls, was combed into submission and pulled back into a knot at her nape. The severity of the hairstyle pulled every sharp angle of her face into focus, adding to her sensual allure. A red cocktail dress hugged her bodice, highlighting her generous breasts, dipping provocatively to her tiny waist, before flaring out, ending a couple of inches above her knees. Gold colored sandals with their straps winding around her toned ankles completed the outfit.
If he looked at her with an objective eye, there was nothing provocative, even remotely scandalous about her dress, or makeup. Only he knew what lay under the elegant facade.
Yet he had never seen a sexier woman before.
Desire pounded through his veins, feral in its intensity. He rocked back on his heels, welcoming the fiercely alive feeling for a few seconds, enjoying her raw sex appeal. As he’d already told her, it was a natural reaction of his body. She would look sexy in a burlap sack.