Page 227 of Tease Me


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“For twenty-four million dollars.”

“Oh, wow,” she said, the impact of that truth blowing some of her stupor away. “You’re a millionaire?”

As his mouth opened, the flick of his gaze to hers was suspicious. “The following year, the company who bought it updated their products with my tweaked software… Their turnover was in the billions. Money like most people can’t imagine… It pissed me off. I understood I didn’t have their reach or their development facilities. I couldn’t have used the software to the same effect, but I decided then I wasn’t going to be the guy bought out… I was going to be the buyer.”

Curling her arm, she rested her head on it against the back of the couch. “So you started Venture?”

“Used my millions to buy a school supplies company. They were in serious trouble. I got Ethan to work the numbers with me… Everyone thought I was crazy… Maybe I was, but I knew I could do it. I read the books; read everything I could get my hands on… This was long before I got my MBA. I turned it around.”

“You did?”

“Provistock.”

Wait… her head rose from her arm. “We use Provistock. Everyone uses their stationary… They make… everything. You own Provistock?”

“We created it. Pulled it out of near bankruptcy, turned it around, rebranded, gave it new life… That’s what I do. We turn companies around and merge them with other assets or sell them on.”

“My God,” she said, relaxing her head again. “You own Provistock.”

He smiled, catching a loose section of her hair from her temple to tuck it back into her locks. “I own a lot of things.”

“So…” she said on a sigh, curious about the smile in his eyes. “You’re a heterosexual millionaire who buys up companies to increase your empire.”

His brows went up. “Billionaire, but that’s not important. We invest too, give start-up money to budding companies.” He seemed happy to just gloss over that shocking first revelation. “And we set up the Summit Sponsorship. The scheme allows companies who wouldn’t usually have access to vast sums and elite professional expertise to get up and running.”

“And you take a cut?”

“Sometimes… And sometimes we take a hit.”

“If they don’t make money?”

“That doesn’t often happen. Usually, it’s caused by something unforeseen.”

“Unforeseen like what?” she asked.

“Fraud. Death.”

“Wow. People have the audacity to die before they make money for you?”

One side of his mouth rose higher than the other. “It’s inconsiderate, but I don’t blame them for it,” he said, tilting closer. “In fact, in cases like that, Venture will either buy out remaining partners or settle the losses, depending on the situation.”

Out of her comfort zone, she cringed at her own ignorance. “I don’t know if that’s generous or you’re duping me into thinking you’re nicer than you are.”

“No more lies, Button.”

His fingertips slid up and down her leg. Their eyes locked; she couldn’t move or look away.

“I don’t know Xander Gauge.”

“Xander Gauge is an idiot. He got drawn into a stupid agreement without thinking about how it could hurt the other people involved.”

“What is this agreement?” she asked, recalling the deal with Lance he’d mentioned.

“It stemmed from his belief that women only date me for money. I travel a lot and I haven’t always been the most attentive guy in relationships, but women don’t complain… Usually, within a few months, they’re talking commitment and marriage and… It was Lance’s theory that no real woman would put up with me, that they wouldn’t want me for me if I couldn’t butter them up with diamonds and charge accounts.”

“Do you date teenagers?”

He laughed. “No… But he wasn’t wrong. What I had with the women in my past wasn’t real. I knew that the minute I met you. I’ve cared about women before, but this… Rainie, you’re a part of me. You’re in my head all the time. I can’t stop thinking about you… The day I found out what Lance had done, here in my apartment, before he arrived, I’d decided that I was going to… I wanted to tell you how I felt. When I learned you thought I was… In business, I know how to fix things. I know how to make decisions. I’m quick and decisive… but this, with you, I didn’t have a damn clue how to fix things. When it really mattered, I couldn’t decide what was right. The only person I wanted to ask, was you. What should I have done, Rainie?”

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