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Then why did he find it acceptable to consider taking Kat to his bed, when she could just be trying to seduce him into giving her what she wanted?
But for some reason, his gut didn’t buy that her actions were pure manipulation. She’d been too hungry, too eager and out of control. From what he’d read about her and his limited experience with her thus far, Kat Masterson hated being out of control. He didn’t know if she would be capable of such sensual abandon as a tactical move.
And even if she were hoping to gain from their relationship, it wouldn’t matter. Serge was too smart to let his business be influenced by who was enthralling him sexually at the moment. Too many men put pussy on a pedestal—he saw it every time he visited one of his clubs—and it wasn’t something he planned on allowing to happen to himself.
“Serge! You’re here. Took you long enough!” His friend and co-executive producer, Jerry, lifted an arm in greeting as Serge entered the glass room overlooking the studio floor. Four of the other money men stood nearby, sipping scotch and observing the ten beautiful women and former queens who had gathered for the first day of filming for Real-Life Rules to Catch a King.
“I was unavoidably detained,” Serge said with a smile.
“I bet you were. Interviewing the girls for the stripper show?” Jerry managed not to leer too overtly, which Serge knew was an accomplishment.
Jerry was a solid guy, but unfortunately one of the many men who didn’t have the presence of mind to keep their little head under the firm control of their bigger one. Jerry had fallen for more of the dancers at Serge’s clubs than he could count. No matter how many times Jerry was burned, he kept coming back for more. He was a sucker for a sad story and a beautiful pair of tits and no one could convince him that his true love wasn’t going to show up on stage in a white thong and glittery eye shadow.
“My assistant is sending out the last thr
ee contracts today,” Serge said, putting the subject to rest with a firm tone.
The idea for a second reality show focusing on girls who hoped to be headline dancers at Serge’s exotic dance clubs had been entirely Jerry’s idea. Serge still had reservations about the project. His main motivation for moving into television producing had been to create a new identity for himself and do away with the “bad boy” image that had made him a social pariah in polite Kingdom City society.
He didn’t mind being “unacceptable” himself—he actually found it amusing—but it would be difficult for his children to grow up in that shadow. Not that he had children, or a wife, or even a candidate for the position just yet, but he wasn’t getting any younger and he wanted to be a family man eventually.
It would be good to have his reputation improved before taking steps in that direction. He wasn’t sure using his dance clubs as the setting for his second producing venture was a good way to do that, but the concept had sparked even more interest among the money people than Catch a King. Everyone expected the show to be a huge success with the late-night crowd and earn the investors a great deal of money.
And money was good.
Serge was wealthy enough to retire and live comfortably for the rest of his life, but he had a hard time turning down a project that seemed to be a prize pig. When you grew up as poor as he had, you never quite believed that there would be enough money to last.
“That one is a stunner,” Jerry muttered, eyes directed down to the studio floor where a photographer was arranging the women for publicity shots before the actual filming began. “I can’t believe her husband was cheating on her. If I had a fine piece of ass like that at home, I’d be busting my ass to get back to her every night. Even if she is a psycho.” Jerry punched Serge lightly on the arm, but his gaze remained fixed on the tall redhead in the elegant suit.
Kat looked positively sweet as she posed next to two of the other women. Her arms were crossed at her chest, shoulders lifted slightly and nose wrinkled in an expression that could only be called cute. She was working the shoot like a pro, showing no sign of the surly hellcat who had stormed into his office.
Serge had to admit he was thrown by the transformation.
“Katarina Masterson? You think so?” he asked in a neutral tone, though he was surprised that his friend would find her attractive. Katarina wasn’t Jerry’s type. He usually went for blondes and subscribed to the belief that there was no such thing as “too big” when it came to a woman’s chest.
“I have a thing for redheads.” Jerry hummed appreciatively beneath his breath. “And those legs look like they’d be long enough to wrap around you twice.”
“She’s off-limits,” Serge said firmly, his voice giving only the slightest hint of how annoying he found Jerry’s comments. Rational or not, Kat had become off-limits for every man—every man, but him.
“I know. You’ve given me the lecture, but a guy can dream. She won’t be an employee forever.” Jerry winked before launching into an in-depth analysis of the relative “hotness” of each of the contestants.
Serge listened with half an ear, grunting a response when one seemed needed, while he followed Kat’s every move. She was a different woman than the spitfire who had made Matthew’s life hell for the past week. She was nice to the other women, laughed at the director’s jokes, and had made pals with half the production crew by the end of the first hour.
The change baffled him and raised more than a few questions.
Which was the real Katarina—the bitch, the vixen, or the charmer?
Employee or not, Serge intended to find out.
CHAPTER FIVE
Katarina
By the end of the day, Kat was exhausted but happier than she would have thought possible. She was going to be able to do this!
The other former queens were a decent bunch, but there wasn’t one that she considered a threat. Once the rules of the game had been explained and the first challenge put forth, Kat felt positive victory would be hers. Not only would she walk away with the impressively large cash prize, but she would be reintroduced to the Kingdom as a reformed woman intent on putting her best foot forward.
If she could pull off the revamping of her own image, there wouldn’t be a PR firm in the Kingdom that wouldn’t grovel to have her on their staff.
