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Fucking hell, I would do anything for that girl.
Crossland smiled at me, surprise making those blue eyes sparkle. In this light, he was more breathtaking than the view behind me.
I hadn’t gotten a good look at him last night, not with the muted lights of the club, or the soft the light in the game room. He was tall and broad, with dark hair that was cropped close to his head, a neatly trimmed goatee dusting his strong draw, and light brown skin that was smooth and stretched over muscles that his custom-tailored suit had a hard time hiding. His lips were full and really hard to ignore when he smirked like he was now.
Damn. Maybe being a steak wouldn’t be so bad?—
“I have to say I’m surprised you showed up,” Crossland said, stopping my erratic thoughts in their tracks.
“I have to say, I’m surprised, too,” I admitted, folding my arms over my chest. I was so out of place in this world,hisworld.
“I have something for you,” Crossland said, taking long strides toward his desk with a confident gait that had me standing up just a little straighter. He grabbed a file off his desk and handed it to me.
“Is this the contract?” I asked, only half teasing as I opened the folder, rifling through the papers inside.
Crossland laughed, then casually slid his hands inside his dress pants pockets. “That’s a full background check,” he said. “My entire history, right down to the ticket I got last week for speeding.” He came closer to me, tapping the papers in my hand. “Everything in here usually requires an NDA signature before reading.”
I glanced up at him. “And yet here you are, handing it over to me,” I said unable to hide the bitterness in my tone after the long ass day. “I feel so special. If I get on my knees right now, will you throw in an extra million?”
I regretted the words the second they flew from my lips.
This wasn’t his fault. It was my shitty attitude thanks to the day I’d had, and I was taking it out on him.
Crossland took a step back, smirking with nothing but challenge in his eyes.
“I don’t pay for sex, sweetheart,” he said, his voice low and rough. “And if you’re so offended by my offer,” he said, pointing toward the door. “You’re more than welcome to get the fuck out.”
CHAPTER 3
Crossland
Surprisingly, she didn’t seem offended by my blunt response.
Instead, her eyes lit up with shock and delight, and just a hint of curiosity, all of which were quickly swallowed by some form of shame or hesitance which appealed to my more sensible side.
This wasn’t a typical, everyday business transaction, and I was sure the situation was taking her out of her comfort zone.
Well, that made two of us.
I was just thrilled she’d actually shown up today.
“I’m sorry,” she said, her shoulders dropping slightly as she glanced down at the folder in her hands. “This is all new to me. I’m not entirely convinced it’s even real.”
I nodded. “I understand that,” I said, dropping my hand and sliding it into my pants pocket. “It’s not like I’ve done this before, either.”
She seemed surprised by that statement, tilting her head as she looked up at me, then down to the documents in her hand, then back again.
“You’re pretty prepared for somebody who hasn’t done this before,” she said skeptically.
I laughed softly, then motioned to my desk. “Do you want to sit down and talk about this or are you about to bolt?”
She studied me for a few moments, something settling in her eyes before she walked to the chair across from my desk. She settled into it, crossing one leg over the other. I couldn’t help but note the move. She was effortlessly graceful, but she didn’t exactly look comfortable. The professional outfit she wore hugged her body perfectly, but she didn’t look like those were the clothes she’d normally wear, and it made me wonder what she would be completely relaxed in.
I walked around my desk and took the spot behind it, facing her.
“I’m prepared,” I said, getting back to what she’d mentioned earlier. “Because I’m an entrepreneur. Whenever I make a deal, I make sure I do my due diligence. And since you haven’t officially accepted my offer yet, I wanted to do everything in my power to ensure that you knew exactly what you were getting into.”
“And whatexactlyam I getting into?” she asked. “Beyond the obvious of pretending to be your girlfriend for three months so you can win some sort of billionaire poker bet.”
