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She followed his gaze and sighed. “I see them,” she mumbled, tossing her dark hair over her shoulder. “Happens all the time. So what?”
“So what?” he repeated, incensed, though he wasn’t exactly sure why. She really had no idea what evil lurked in the hearts of men. She needed his protection, now, more than ever. “Think of Antonio. Think of your dad. They wouldn’t want you putting yourself on display for creeps like that.”
Her eyes saddened, the way they always did at the mention of her family. Eva’s family had been traditional, tight-knit Italian, and Eva and Antonio the first generation of Fiorinis to be born on American soil. She would have done anything to please the people she loved most, and they would have done anything for her, which was why Jack knew these past few years had been hard for her. She was probably lost, now, without her parents or Antonio to guide her.
He was about to say as much when she blinked and miraculously, her stricken look was replaced by a hard, aloof glance. “Well. Then I guess it’s good they’re not here to see me.”
Jack opened his mouth, but for once found himself speechless. Just then, the maître d’ arrived to escort them to their table. Jack welcomed the momentary distraction. He hated to be caught off-guard. In fact, it never happened. Even in boardrooms filled with the biggest sharks in the city, Jack never broke a sweat. Antonio had been the diplomat, while Jack had tempered his partner’s charm with the bad cop routine. Antonio had schmoozed the deals, but Jack sealed them, playing the tough-as-nails closer. He’d earned his reputation as an asshole, but he liked it that way. He liked being unpredictable and rash, the man his peers were constantly scrambling to figure out.
Let the bastards try. He would stay one step ahead—of them and everyone else.
He followed Eva to the table, taking in her perfect, heart-shaped ass, the sway of her hips, the curves of her body. His dick enjoyed the view far too much, making him wonder how she liked it. Did Eva get off on sweet and sensual or was it something a little spicier that made her pretty lips part as she gasped in pleasure?
Careful, asshole, or you’ll have a hard-on for your best friend’s little sister before they bring the bread basket.
When they sat down, Eva leaned over, granting him a perfect view of her ample cleavage. The fabric of her dress was so form-fitting and flimsy that he could see the outline of hard nipples, poking through. She had fabulous tits. He’d love to have his mouth on them, to lick those rosy peaks as he palmed the soft flesh of her breasts.
Damn, was she even wearing a bra?
His skin heated everywhere. To think, this morning he’d thought he had everything under control.
He had to regain his perspective. Focus, Bennett.
He leaned back, crossing his arms at his chest. It was his signature move, conveying his authority over all he surveyed. “Look, I need you at Tuesday’s board meeting. We have to convince the
shareholders to let us split your brother’s shares before they get it stuck in their heads that it’s time to make a change.”
“A change?” she said, rather disinterestedly, her manicured fingers reaching for a sugar packet.
“It’s no secret, Eva. They want us out.” He hated that he had to speak those words aloud. “They want to sell, for whatever goddamn reason. I know it makes no sense, but there it is. And I can’t let that happen. I built The Fiorini Group from the ground up with Antonio and Pietro. It means just as much to me as it meant to your family.”
The Eva he’d always known would have nodded along with anything her father, brother, or Jack said. But today, Eva’s head only tilted to one side as she slowly stirred the sugar into her coffee. She set the spoon on the saucer, ran the tip of her tongue across her lips, and crossed her arms, mimicking his posture as a mischievous smile spread over her face. “I know exactly what you need.”
“Good.” Jack reached for his water glass, clearly needing something to cool him down if innocent words from a woman he’d known forever were making him think filthy thoughts about all the things he suddenly needed.
Things he needed from her.
“But before I agree to your request,” she added, “I need something from you, too. Something I’ve been thinking long and hard about,” she said, lingering on those two adjectives.
Glass halfway to his lips, Jack froze, staring at her.
Who the hell was this sexy-as-sin woman, and what had she done with little Eva?
Chapter 2
Too tight. Too revealing. Too everything.
That’s what Eva had thought about the dress, too. At first, anyway. When she’d started planning this indecent proposal last week, she’d brought the dress into the Eva’s Organics offices to get second opinions.
Georgie, marketing director extraordinaire and best friend since birth, said it was hot, hot, hot, and Georgie knew fashion. Georgie was a bit flashier than Eva’s usual, but Eva needed that influence to shed the wholesome Puritan thing she’d had going on for the first twenty-five years of her life. Nelson, her cocktails-after-work friend from the design department, said the dress had nearly turned him straight. Then he’d touched her arm and made a “tsst” sound, told her she’d set five-alarm fires wherever she went, and encouraged her to get out there and get her some.
Without her friends’ encouragement, she would probably be at home watching reality TV in her yoga pants as per her usual Sunday routine.
But nothing about today would be comfortable. It couldn’t be. For this to work, she had to look the part of the vixen seductress.
An innocent, badly-in-need-of-sex-education, vixen seductress.
That probably wasn’t even a thing, but she wasn’t going to let that scare her away. She didn’t have to be perfect at seducing men yet, she just needed to be good enough to convince Jack to teach her how to be truly seductive.
