God, it seems so long ago.
And now here I am. My feet are moving of their own accord up to the raised podium that Drake and Sloane are standing behind.
I see their eyes on me.
For once, Sloane doesn't look like he wants to rip my clothes off. I wonder if I should be worried. But no, the look of lust isn't there.
It's replaced with concern. And worry.
He loves me.
I look over to Drake.
He loves me too.
They both love me. They both care for me.
And you know what? I love both of them. For different reasons.
Drake is strong. Silent. Stable. Always in control. He's an alpha male that will always protect me.
Sloan will always protect me as well. But he's confident to the point of cocky. He's a bad boy. Dirty. Filthy. But he lives for the moment and he will always put my pleasure above anything else.
By themselves, any woman would be lucky to be with them.
Together, I'm in heaven.
It's precious. So precious that I can't let anything take it away from me.
I have to defend it.
"Hello, everyone," I say into the microphone. "My name is Natalie Vanderhill. And I make sex toys for a living.”
Sound familiar?
The reporters are buzzing and the flash photography is going. I know Sloan was probably complaining about this, wasn't he?
For someone who is flashy himself, he really doesn't like cameras. Place a few cameras together and he's talking about a thousand suns or whatever.
Although, I don't know how he handled the bit when he was up here, because these photographers are having a field day.
"I graduated from Stanford University and went to work at Carter Jeffries three years ago," I begin and the crowd starts to quiet down. "But I didn't want to work for someone else. So I began to work in an area that I loved. Sex."
A small murmur, but I think I'm not saying anything new at this point.
"I loved what I did and became successful enough that I began getting large orders, form places like Penny Worlein Toys," I speak into the microphone. "But that kind of scaling on a business needs funds. A level of financing that I didn't have."
People seem to be hanging on my ever word.
And they better. Because what I have to say is going to shock them.
It's going to shock you too. But just stick around. You're going to like it.
"Anyways, I had the good fortune however of having the acquaintance of two men—Drake Carlton and Sloane Hardman, who are ensconced in the world of finance and start-up funding."
The mention of Sloane and Drake gets some cameras rolling.
"I went to both, and at first my goal was to secure the best possible deal for my company," I say into the microphone before looking over at them. "Did I play them off against each other?" I ask, more to them than to the crowd.