“Who?” Dante’s demeanor immediately went from alert to cautious.
“A woman.” He leaned forward in his seat. “A very beautiful woman.” She had definitely been a looker with her honey-brownskin, chestnut-colored eyes, a pair of delectable lips, and a mass of curly brown hair that flowed past her shoulders. “She is somewhere in this hotel, and I want to know who she is.”
Dante rolled his eyes. “I’m good, Sky, but I’m no miracle worker. There are ten conventions currently taking place this week, including three two-week seminars, RRAW-a three-day romance readers and writers convention--and a four-week medical research summit. This place is overflowing with women.”
Now it was Skylar who rolled his eyes. “Come on, Dante. This assignment should be easy enough. Just have your security team retrieve the video footage of the fifth floor. Near the elevators. The time was about seven-fifty-one.”
Dante frowned. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“As a heart attack.”
Dante stared at him for a long moment before saying, “I should be ecstatic that you’re finally chasing a woman for a change, and it’s not the other way around. Usually, when a woman hears your last name, they start seeing dollar signs. At least you noticed this woman before she noticed you.”
Skylar grinned. “We noticed each other at the same time, Dante. Like I said, we bumped into each other. But…”
Dante raised a brow. “But what?”
“Nothing. Just get that footage to me ASAP. I’ll be in the penthouse.”
“I thought you were checking out today and returning to San Francisco,” Dante said.
“I was. Any reason I can’t stay longer?”
Dante chuckled. “I can’t think of one since you own this place and the other properties surrounding it.”
Skylar stood. “I don’t believe in missing any opportunities, and for a reason I can’t explain, Dante, I think this one is definitely for me.”
Without saying anything else, he walked out of Dante’s office.
Haven looked at herself for one final time in the full-length mirror before leaving her hotel room. She had purchased this dress the previous week when she and Asia went shopping after lunch at Tubin Steakhouse. She thought it would be perfect to wear tonight. It wasn’t too dressy or too casual. The floral print, V-neck dress was knee-length with a high-low hem. What she liked most were the puffy short sleeves. Asia thought the way the dress swished around Haven’s legs drew the eye.
She had taken the power nap as planned and had had time to take a leisurely soak in the huge garden tub. She was not one to be heavy-handed with makeup and had made sure her curls flowed around her shoulders the way she liked. Haven had enjoyed the workshops today and looked forward to the ones tomorrow. And she had to admit that after lunch, when she had walked around the lobby, she had hoped she would run into that man again. But she hadn’t.
The ballroom was crowded, and people were standing around mingling, while uniformed waiters and waitresses carried around drinks and trays of delectable food. Most people here, in addition to the attendees, were CEOs of several pharmaceutical companies, owners of corporations that sold medical products and equipment, as well as several doctors who were well-known in the medical research field.
She immediately gravitated to a group of women she had met earlier at lunch. Like her, they were medical researchers. She figured she would stay for another hour or so,then slip out and go back to her room. It was important that she show her face, and she had.
She suddenly felt as if someone was watching her and glanced around, but didn’t see anyone. A short while later, that feeling hit her again. She had just grabbed a glass of wine from the tray of a passing waiter when she saw him--the man from that morning. He was standing alone in the corner, nursing what looked like a martini. And he was staring right at her.
There she was, Skylar thought, his golden girl. And she looked breathtakingly beautiful. The dress she was wearing looked so damn stunning on her.
As he’d known, it hadn’t taken Dante any time at all to review the video footage and identify the woman. Her name was Haven McGuire.Haven. That was an odd name, but he liked it.
He had known the exact moment she’d entered the ballroom. Unbeknownst to her, he had been waiting to see her again. He hadn’t needed to introduce himself to anyone. Most people recognized him and probably didn’t think it odd that he was there. After all, he was one of the five richest men in the country. If anything, they were nervous he would buy their pharmaceutical companies right out from under them.
Although he was only twenty-eight, he had already taken over several companies in his short life. Some in the business world thought of him as a young Genghis Khan. He had no problem with the comparison. Even though he’d inherited most of his wealth from his grandfather and father, with Dante’s help he had easily grown his own billions.
Taking a sip of his wine, he decided he’d stood on the sidelines, watching Haven McGuire long enough. It was time to make his move. According to Dante, who, not surprisingly, had conducted a background check, she’d been born in a small town in Georgia called Tifton. That would account for the Southern accent he’d heard that morning. She had been valedictorian of her high school, and years later, she graduated with honors, from Yale, earning both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree. Now at twenty-four, she was employed as a medical researcher with Marimar Pharmaceuticals. He had come close to buying that company a couple of years ago. Maybe he should have. His corporation had no qualms about taking over pharmaceutical companies that charged outrageous prices for their medications, making them unaffordable to those who truly needed them. He’d done it before. After acquiring those greedy pharmaceutical companies, he’d slashed the cost of prescription drugs to the consumers tremendously, deliberately undercutting his competitors.
One tidbit Dante had discovered was that Haven’s deceased grandmother had raised her after her parents were killed in a murder suicide when Haven had only been ten months old. He’d also noted she had established a scholarship in her grandmother’s name, and in her spare time, she was involved with numerous worthwhile charities.
Dante had attached a note to the file that said,Silas, who loved his numerous charities, would have been impressed with her. Skylar agreed.
He saw the moment she recognized him. And, as if on auto-pilot, he crossed the room, walking toward her as she walked toward him, her dress swishing around hergorgeous legs. They both stopped in the middle of the floor. “We meet again,” he said, smiling.
“And I didn’t even bump into you this time,” she said, returning his smile.
It was on the tip of his tongue to say that she could bump into him at any time. Instead, he watched how her mouth fit perfectly on her wine glass, taking a sip, then licking her lips afterwards, as if she’d enjoyed the taste.
