Jean-Michel is not just her boss.
She’s an extension of him, a face of the company, his right hand.
And considering how important Tom and Jo are to me, I know that I can’t overstate Marie’s value to him.
Which means…
I’m likely going to have a pissed off, protective billionaire on my ass if I keep pursuing her.
Something that would have been a huge turnoff for any other woman.
Something that barely has me batting an eye before I say, “Tell me about it.”
She stills, wine glass in hand. “Tell you about it?”
“Yeah, cookie. Clearly your job is important to you?—”
She opens her mouth, eyes flashing with annoyance.
“—and I don’t say that like it’s a bad thing,” I quickly tack on. “I love what I do too. But I know a little about business andoverseeing the corporate divisiondoesn’t sound like an easy job.”
“It isn’t.”
“So”—I give in to the urge and tug at a curl again—“tell me about it.”
“You can’t possibly want to hear about conference calls or Teams meetings.”
“God, no.” My lips twitch. “I get enough of them on a daily basis.”
“I bet you do, Mr. CEO of Genen-core.”
My smile widens. “So I’m the only one who wasn’t paying attention?”
“You’ve been in newspapers and blog posts.” She takes a sip of her wine. “And I, for one, actually read the name tags at fundraisers.”
I wince. “In fairness to me, glancing at a woman’s name tag often puts me in dangerous territory.”
She grins then orders, “Explain.”
“Because you all attach them”—I wave a hand toward her chest—“you know…”
“I don’t know.” Dancing emerald eyes. “Maybe you can elaborate on that?”
“Elaborate?” I shake my head, lips twitching.
“Yes. Or maybe enumerate the various other places a name tag should go.”
“Elaborate and enumerate. Man, you must really get paid the big bucks using words like that.”
She swats at my chest. “It’s not like I’m talking about your ubiquitous predilection for a certain female body part.”
“I think you mean my obsession with your tits,” I stage whisper, feeling a hundred feet tall when she tosses her head back and laughs.
Then she drops her chin back down, eyes connecting with mine. “For the record, there’s nothing stopping you from furthering your obsession, handsome.”
I go hard.
One sentence. Hot eyes.
