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“Is that so?” A wave of disappointment hits me in the gut. I look her up and down, my gaze wandering over her curves in her tight, black dress. “Could’ve fooled me.”
She lets out a husky laugh. “I doubt you’re an easy man to fool. Especially since you’ve accomplished so much already in your relatively short career.”
I scowl at her. She continues to meet my stare, a look I know many men have cowered in the face of. I lean closer.
“What do you think you know about me?”
Her smile doesn’t waver. “You work your ass off, carry the family name well, and …” She trails off, glancing away. “You’re eyeing a very lucrative deal to acquire Sam Waterson’s medical supplies company. I don’t doubt that win would solidify you as Townsend’s next COO. The position has sat empty for what? Two weeks now?”
A muscle in my jaw ticks. This woman has done her research. Nothing anyone couldn’t have gathered from any of the recent news articles about the company with my namesake.
Still, what I said remains true. I don’t discuss business with strangers. And no matter how well she’s playing, this woman doesn’t give a damn about Townsend Industries.
Wordlessly, I toss my hand in the air and wave my security over.
“Please show this woman—”
“Riley Martin,” she interrupts, business card in her hand.
“It doesn’t matter,” I say dismissively. “Show her to the door, and for God’s sake, make sure she’s not waiting at my car when I leave,” I instruct my security. “I’ve had that happen more times than I care to remember.”
Women are pushy when they want to be. Many of them use the guise of business to find their way into my beds. At times I indulge them. Not tonight though. I’m not in the fucking mood. Not even for this woman, who is, admittedly, beautiful.
I keep a tight circle around me. Very few get too close, and I had never trusted a woman enough to lose control over my emotions.
Too bad for Ms. Martin. I watch as my security grips her by the arm, escorting her toward the back exit of the VIP section.
She does have a nice ass, though.
I shake the thought free and check my wristwatch. It’s a little after midnight. I need to return to the office to pick up some files on my way home.
CHAPTER2
Riley
“I’m getting real tired of you holding onto me,” I say as I try and fail to tug my arm free from Kyle Townsend’s security guard. This guy is holding on for dear life. As if he knows he fucked up and wants to make sure he doesn’t do it again.
If I were in a generous mood, I’d tell him that it isn’t his fault. Even the best security details in the world have their blind spots. And I was raised to seek out a person’s blind spots and use them to my advantage.
That’s all scam artists do. Find a person’s weakest entry point and poke it until they get in.
All it took for me was to case the club for a few days and accidentally overhear one of the bartenders griping about one of the VIP clients of The Black Opal and how she’d strung him along. I cozied up to that bartender in no time, and before I knew it he got me entry to the VIP section.
Disgruntled employees are often a company’s biggest weak spot.
“Where’s your car?” The burly man still holding my arm demands to know as he yanks me out to the parking lot behind the exclusive club.
“First of all …” I wrench my arm free. “get the hell off of me. Secondly, I’ll walk myself.” I start to stride away with my head held high, but the bastard grabs my arm again.
“Where is it? Mr. Townsend expects me to make sure you leave the premises.”
“Do you do everythingMr. Townsendasks of you?” I mock.
A deep frown mars his face, but he doesn’t respond.
“I’ll wait for my Uber out here,” I tell him as we reach the front of the nightclub.
As I expect, the security guard waits right alongside me. I’m grateful for not bringing my vehicle. Though I hate waiting outside next to the guard, I’m sure that same guard would’ve taken note of my license plate.
