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“Don’t worry, he has that effect on all of us,” Angelique said with a knowing smile.
Chapter 3
Luca
Shanghai
I was painfully aware of Scarlett’s presence behind the door adjoining her suite to my penthouse. She’d insisted on a regular room, but I managed to talk her out of it with some bullshit excuse about going over the meeting notes with her before heading to the conference hall.
She bought it, and now I was left to imagine her freshening up in there. Possibly naked. My hand froze on my tie that I was adjusting, and I caught my reflection in the full length mirror. Forty-five years hadn’t worn me down because I took good care of myself and my body. But time showed in the light dusting of gray at my temples and the crow’s feet around my eyes.
Too much for the likes of a young woman in her early twenties?
I scoffed and ripped the tie loose to try again. The knot was all messed up thanks to me being in my head about someone I had no business thinking about. Not in that way.
“You grew up with her family, Luca,” I muttered to myself. “If Christopher finds out you’re even thinking about Scar—”
A light tap at the adjoining door stalled my words, and my throat closed up. I swallowed hard to get my composure back. This was ridiculous. I had enough money and power to run a small country, and yet here I stood, beside myself over a woman.
When I could have anyone I wanted…
“Good. You’re early.” I didn’t linger at the door as I let her in.
I couldn’t. She was tastefully dressed in a navy blue suit, with a pencil skirt hugging her curves deliciously and a neckline that left just enough to the imagination. Her flaming red hair drew a striking contrast to her alluring look. An allure that I couldn’t entertain no matter how much I wanted to.
“Need some help?” There was a tone of playful condescension in her voice as she came up to where I stood back at the mirror.
Her hands were at my throat before I could reply, slender fingers deftly working my pin-striped tie. She smelled faintly of honeydew and citrus, a scent I found myself leaning into despite myself. Eyes trained straight ahead, I could feel her concentration, even though her touch was surprisingly gentle. Surprising, because of the fire she walked around with.
Drago, my grandmother would call her. Fierce and challenging.
“Before you ask, I’ve studied the notes you emailed me,” she said, straightening the perfect knot she’d just achieved. She brushed her fingertips over my collar and smiled softly. “There. Now you actually look like someone who runs a billion-dollar company.”
I missed her closeness the second she moved away.
“I do that in my sleep, Scarlett. You’ll have to try another way to insult me,” I replied.
A slight frown creased her perfectly sculpted brow. “I wasn’t trying to—”
“I know.” I waved her off. “I was just dragging at your legs.”
She covered her mouth with her hand to hide the laughter, but her forest green eyes danced with it nonetheless. It damn near took my breath away.
“Pulling my leg,” she said with a shake of her head. “Just one leg, and you’re definitely not dragging anything.”
“Bite me.” I shrugged on my suit jacket, buttoning it up.
“Oh, that one you have no problem with,” she said, rolling her eyes as she started to leave. “You’re just as insufferable as my brother.”
“But you love him, no?”
My question stopped her in her tracks, and I regretted it immediately. Because it implied that since she loved her brother, she should love me too.
“I mean to say—”
She held up a hand to stop me. “Let’s get to the conference room. It’ll make a good impression if we’re seated before them.”
“I don’t want to look like I’m begging,” I said, happy to ignore my idiotic statement and just move on. “I’m the one who makes the entrance. It’s important they know who I am from the start.”
