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Chapter Four
Liam
I’d picked one of the more upscale restaurants in Vegas for my dinner date with Silver. A place where I could wine and dine her, where we could talk civilly and maybe bury the hatchet. I knew dating a rival had always had its dangers, but I’d done it anyway. As if I could have resisted Silver. And I’d to deal with the fallout. But we were on the same side now. At least, I hoped we were.
She looked stunning in simple black dress. Just the sight of her bare shoulders had me standing at attention. Not exactly the ideal time or place for a woody. After dinner would be no better. This was going to be a long, slow seduction. Silver was a woman who both confounded me and lit me up like a rocket. But she wasn’t going to fall easily. Well, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Hard work was something I lived for.
“You look nice,” I said as I opened to door to the restaurant for her.
She breezed through it like the coolest cat in the city. “Let’s just stick to business, Cameron,” she murmured over her shoulder as I strode up next to her. “It’ll keep things simple and uncomplicated.”
“How utterly boring,” I said as we walked up to the maître d.
“Sometimes boring is a good thing,” she said.
“Since when?”
“Since now. If we are going to be working together, we can’t have any funny business going on between us.”
Her golden hair shimmered in the dim light of the restaurant, taunting me. I rested my hand across the small of her back protectively and leaned in towards her ear. I could smell the intoxicating scent of her perfume mixed with her own delicious scent. So familiar. So damn sexy. The scent stirred memories of our many glorious nights together. I could not wait to relive those memories in the flesh.
“I have no interest in funny business. I am interested in some serious, non-boring, time together” I whispered in her ear. I felt her body tense beneath my fingertips, which barely touched her back. “All business, of course.”
“Of course,” she murmured in a low, throaty voice.
That voice and the subtle quivers beneath her words, gave everything away. A fleeting warning popped in my head, but I ignored it. In her presence, I’d forgotten the heartache of our past demise from lovers to savage enemies. Certainly, she’d forgive and forget. It was only business, and that was something Silver understood very well. She was a creature like me, one who worked hard, thrived on competition, and reveled in conquering her rivals. I’d won the last round, but now we were on the same side. Right?
Dinner turned out to be fairly relaxing. The bottle of wine helped, and we mostly made small talk about Ray’s wedding and Silver meeting the members of Mad Crux band. I admit a chilling, unfamiliar feeling came over me as she described them, especially the drummer, Stix, who was known for the hordes of women he’s bedded. I’d never been the jealous type, but I found myself fantasizing about crushing Stix’s drums into powder.
“Dessert?” I asked as the waiter cleared our plates away. I didn’t try to hide my suggestive grin, even if I could have. Silver shrugged, and I ordered coffee and cake before the waiter whisked off.
“Enough small talk. What is your plan to talk to the execs at Magnum? I doubt after your last pitch to bring them on board to Telaros worked so well, that they’ll want to sign with your new, inexperienced company.”
“I have a few tricks up my sleeve,” I said. “And I am far from inexperienced.”
Silver gave me a skeptical stare. “Enlighten me.”
I leaned back in my chair as the waiter set down the coffees I’d ordered, along with a slice of the decadent chocolate cake. “Each of their daughters is getting married in the next three months. I plan to be at those weddings.”
Silver’s eyes about bugged out of her head. “What? Are you invited?”
“Not exactly,” I said.
“Are you telling me your grand plan is to crash three weddings? Are you crazy?”
When she put it that way, it did sound a little dramatic. “Crazy like a fox.”
She set down her fork before even tasting the cake. Such a shame. It was her favorite. It was an almost erotic experience to watch her face as she devoured the chocolate. But the look on her face now was far from erotic. Her eyebrows furrowed together, and her lips slacked into an angry frown. Uh oh.
“I’m not getting involved in this. I rescind my acceptance of this job,” she said, putting the word job in air quotations. “It a ludicrous idea. It’s unprofessional, and it will be embarrassing when we are thrown out of three weddings. We’ll probably be banned from the hotels, too. And that means never working in this city again. I’ve already been black listed by one CEO. I’m not going to get blacklisted by Magnum too.”
She threw her napkin down on the table for extra measure. Silver always was one for drama. “Calm down, Silver. We aren’t going to crash the weddings. I’m friends with the wedding planner. I was the one who helped her land those wedding contracts with the Magnum owners. She is making a lot of money from them. I’ll be attending in the capacity of her company, Fairytale Weddings.”
“Really? What are you going to do? Wait tables? Hand out champagne? Turn into a pumpkin?” Silver huffed.
I wanted to laugh. Silver’s wit could be sharp and her sarcasm cutting, but it had always delighted me. However, if I laughed right now, I may end up with a hot coffee in my face.
“No, I won’t be part of the wait staff. I’ll be there as an advisor.”
“Advising who? The groomsmen? On which bridesmaids are hot and single? Liam, I can’t believe you led me on with this BS.” Silver stood up. “I need a job. I don’t need more games from you.”
I stood up. “Calm down, Silver. It’s going to work. Trust me,” I said, bestowing her with my most charming smile. “Now, please sit down. You haven’t even touched your cake. I know it’s your favorite.”
She eyed the cake as if I’d poisoned it. But I knew at the moment she didn’t have any other job options. The CEO she’d offended was known for her malice. That was one account I would be passing on with my company. But with Magnum, I wouldn’t need them. I did, however, need Silver. She was the best closer I’d ever known. And she knew everything there was to know about Magnum Hotels. Though that was something I’d never, ever admit to her. I’d only won the account because I’d found them a wedding planner that kept the Magnum owners’ daughters from driving them mad.
“I’m not going to be working for your wedding planner,” she finally said. “I want to see a detailed plan of how you think you are going to do this, written out or better yet, in a PowerPoint file. All nice and clear. And I want a contract. Tomorrow.”
“You got it,” I said as I relaxed back in my chair. I watched as Silver finally dug into her chocolate cake. Immediately, I felt the stiffening arousal in my pants. As she took a bite of the cake, I had serious doubts if I’d be able to do a slow burn seduction of Silver after all. That woman drove me wild. In all the bad, deliciously bad ways.
