“Can’t you even give me a name?” Gloria wheedled.
“There’s no point,” Ilse answered in the same stoic tone, “because you won’t ever get to meet him.”
But only a few hours later, and Ilse stood corrected on this.
Glory Hall received a rather unexpected visitor during lunch break, and the entire office – consisting of Gloria and her twelve tour guides – came to a standstill.
Ilse shot up to her feet. “What are you doing here?”And what business did her heart have, she wondered in consternation,to drum against her chest like she was actually excited to see Jaak de Konigh?
The billionaire, looking handsome and sophisticated in a black, handmade Italian suit, only raised a brow. “Did you truly expect it would be so easy to get rid of me?”
SO HER NAME WAS ILSEMuir, and not only was she Glory Hall’s star employee, but she had also been responsible for its turnaround, having convinced Gloria to rename and relaunch her business.
All of this was revealed by Ilse’s flamboyant and chatty boss, who – over Ilse’s silent glares – had happily invited the billionaire into her private office when she saw that he had also come bearing gifts – packed gourmet lunches together with bottles of expensive wine.
“I’m so glad my business had a hand in getting you and our Ilse to meet,” Gloria shared with a romantic sigh. “She’s a lovely girl, and she definitely deserves a man like you.”
“And yet,” the billionaire drawled in an amused tone, “she’s been ignoring all my calls and texts in the past week.”
“She’s only testing you,” Gloria answered airily even as she studied the younger man under her lashes. While she had recognized the man by face and knew of his reputation, Gloria was also a great believer of never judging a book by its cover. And now that she had seen him in person and had spent actual time talking to him—-
The billionaire didn’t appear to be anything like the shallow playboy gossip websites liked to paint him to be, but then...he could also be pretending. She needed to dig a little deeper, see if this man was indeed a good match for her dear girl.
“Ilse’s rather...goal-oriented,” Gloria explained carefully. “She doesn’t just let anyone into her life.”
And what an understatement that was,the older woman reflected. Thinking of Ilse’s only two other friends outside the company – Charlene, the sex worker whom Ilse occasionally rented storage space from and Erik, her neighbor-slash-voluntary-babysitter – Gloria went on, “She only likes to spend time with people she knows she can be friends with for life.”
The billionaire simply nodded, a slight smile playing on his lips.
How difficult to read this billionaire was,Gloria thought in approval. A deep and complex man, in other words, which should make him quite attractive to Ilse. Whether Ilse admitted to it or not, she liked her life complicated, and could there beanything more complicated than warding off the attentions of a sexy, secretive billionaire?
“You seem like a nice young man,” Gloria murmured sweetly. “May I ask what your intentions are towards Ilse?”
Jaak’s smile turned into a full-fledged grin. “Intentions? That’s a bit archaic, don’t you think?”
Archaic?Gloria blinked.How wonderful!This man was proving to be tailor-made for Ilse, with his vocabulary as impressive as his bank account.
“If you keep talking like that,” Gloria told him truthfully, “your intentions probably wouldn’t matter.” This time, though, the older woman also chose to switch from Dutch to English, wanting to see if the billionaire would also meet Ilse’s other preferences.
“I beg your pardon?”
And he did!
Having heard the man’s perfect command of English, Gloria leaned forward, saying, “This is your lucky day,mijnheer.”
Twenty minutes later, and the billionaire walked out Ilse’s boss’ office an enlightened man. When he paused in front of Ilse’s table, she didn’t look up, her attention completely focused on her computer.
It didn’t matter.
He already knew her secrets, thanks to Gloria.
Bending down, he reached for the armrests of her chair and spun it towards him, making Ilse gasp as she faced him. A secondlater, and her gaze darted away from his, looking around her like she was waiting for someone to help her.
But her co-workers were only staring at her and the billionaire like they had come across an interesting live show for free.
Shit.Ilse reluctantly turned to face the billionaire, telling herself that she would just have to order him to release her. But then she met his gleaming blue eyes, and her resolve started to weaken.
It was not fair – so not fair – that this man was so perfect, even the look in his eyes alone could seduce her!
