As I turned to head down the street though, I sawher. Aurelia stood on the sidewalk outside the bar, a friend beside her. Even wrapped in a coat, she still looked like she’d stepped out of some glossy magazine spread.
I slowed, savoring the moment, but I kept walking, smug as hell when I noticed her eyes narrowing when she saw me. For just a moment, our gazes locked and her red-painted lips parted, golden strands of hair forming a halo around her face in the breeze.
“You coming?” her friend asked as an Uber pulled up.
Aurelia didn’t take her eyes off me, instead waving her friend off with a flick of her manicured hand. “I’ll catch you later.”
In my periphery, I saw the other girl frown, but then her eyes darted between the two of us, widening a little before she shrugged and climbed into the car. As the door slammed shut behind her, I knew I was getting my showdown with the vixen tonight after all.
“Are you stalking me, Westwood?” she asked, her voice honeyed but sharp, like she’d wanted the words to sting.
I smirked, sliding my hands into my pockets. “Relax, Van Alen. I live in the neighborhood.”
Her eyebrows rose. “What a coincidence. So do I.”
Of course, she did. Of course, fate would throw us into the same orbit like this while we’re going after the same fucking client.
I closed the distance between us, only stopping when I was close enough to catch the faint scent of her perfume. Something expensive and subtle, like citrus and silk. She watched mewithout retreating or even leaning away, standing her ground in her red-soled heels.
“I thought you all lived on some compound outside the city,” she commented lightly, but I saw the curiosity in her big blue eyes.
She was clearly smart. I’d seen that the other day. She definitely had fire in her soul and a backbone of steel, but right now, I wondered if perhaps a little bit of that at least was simply a mask. She seemed much nicer right now.
Until she spoke again. “What’s the matter, Westwood? Was there not enough room on that big old estate for your ego?”
Oooo, she’s feisty too.
I didn’t skip a beat, though. “What can I say? My ego likes a view of the skyline.”
Her lips twitched before she could stop them. There was just the faintest hint of a smile, but she caught herself before it could go any further. “What do you want? Why did you follow me out here?”
“Just to be clear, I didn’t follow you, but you’re right. I do want something.” I pulled a sleek, black business card out of my pocket and held it out between two fingers. “I want that heir and so do you. As it stands, however, you and your family don’t have the capital to entice even a guy that desperate. I do. Maybe we can work something out.”
Her lips parted and for a second, I thought she might actually consider it, but then she scoffed. “Something like what?”
I pressed the card into her hand when she didn’t take it willingly. “Drinks. Tomorrow night.”
Her answering smile was slow, wicked, and frankly, devastating. “I’d rather eat glass.”
Before I could fire back, she tucked the card into my chest pocket, her fingers brushing just enough to make it deliberate, then turned on her heels and walked away. Her coat flaredaround her legs, her hips swayed, and she strode into the night with her head held high, as if not even the wintry cold could touch her.
I grinned as I watched her go, knowing I’d be hearing from her soon. No matter how much she didn’t seem to like me, if she wanted that deal as bad as I thought she did, working with me was the only way she was going to get it—and she was smart enough to know it.
CHAPTER 4
AURELIA
Monday morning hit me like a freight train. I hadn’t even made it to my chair in my tiny, broom-closet sized excuse of an office before Scott and Daniel swooped in like vultures. Scott dropped his jacket over the back of the chair opposite my desk.
“Coffee,” he groaned, sinking into the chair with his fingers pressing to his forehead. “Better make it an espresso.”
His blond hair looked a little mussed, his blue eyes bloodshot. Before I even had to ask, he confirmed my suspicion. “I drank way too much last night. Actually, make that two espressos. I have a meeting this afternoon.
A meeting? As in one? One meeting. All day. Wow.
Daniel followed suit, sinking into the other chair before tossing a file onto my desk. “I need copies of that before ten.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You guys do know that I have actual clients to tend to, right? Real work to do? Ask your assistants to get your coffee or make your copies or, and hear me out, because I know this is going to be a novel idea for you, but you could also do it yourselves.”
