Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 53725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
There’s a flex to his jaw and a hardening of his eyes that his voice and answer betray. “I was basically running the European division, which represents a ton of money. It was how I earned respect with the board of directors.”
“But didn’t it make you lose touch with your connections here?”
“Big money is connected to big money. I made a point of bringing investors together across continents. That means that despite living overseas, I became a major player in finance in the US as well as Europe.”
“Your father sent you there,” I say, and it’s not really a question but a statement, one meant to encourage him to fill in holes.
He sets his glass down and turns to face me. “What are you asking, Alana?”
“I just…it seems like he would want you to train with him, and control who you became.”
“Be glad he didn’t. I don’t think either one of us would have liked that person.”
I flash back to a conversation we had that last night together, ten years ago.
“We’re corporate raiders. You know that, right?” he’d asked.
“You’re an investment firm.”
“We are, but my father and our business model in general, has developed a reputation for corporate raiding. Hostile takeovers destroy lives and line rich people’s pockets.”
“And you’re one of those rich people?”
“My father is.”
I tilt my chin and study him a moment. His expression is hard lines and shadows, his eyes hooded. I’m not sure I’ve ever known him to be guarded. “And you are what?”
“His protégé.”
It was right after that, when he’d turned dark and demanding on me.
“Are you one of those rich people now, Damion?” I ask. “Because I like Mary Morrison, and I actually love the Morrison makeup line. I don’t want to see her life or brand destroyed.”
His eyes narrow and I can see the memory register. “I’m not raiding Mary’s company. I’m merging her with a big conglomerate that will pay her big and carry her brand into the future.”
“But you raid companies?”
His fingers tap on the table and he shifts slightly away from me, facing forward. He actually even picks up his wine glass and downs the contents. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Alana.” He looks at me. “I do raid, but I try to approach it as morally and ethically as I can.”
“Is that even possible?”
“It’s not gentle taking someone’s company, but it can save jobs, not destroy them if done right. And every chance I can turn a raid into a merger, I do it.”
“Is Mary supposed to be a raid?”
He shifts his body toward me again. “Yes. They’ve made bad decisions and their stockholders are fed up, but if she agrees to this merger, I’ll stop that from happening.”
At least he was honest, I think, but I have a concern. “And your father supports the merger?”
“He doesn’t, but the board does. When you raid, you make enemies and your enemies come after you. The board sees the value of a shift.”
“How are you talking to them, and your father hasn’t found out?”
“I didn’t talk to them all. I talked to the ones I knew shared my opinions and there are enough of them to control a vote. If I do this, if I claim control, my ability to affect change in the company is tenfold. That’s why I asked you to help me. Will you help me, Alana? And not to put pressure on you, because I told you I wouldn’t, but I’m supposed to have dinner with Mary tomorrow night. I could tell her you are joining us. It’s the perfect way to introduce you as my fiancée.”
A voice in my head warns me yet again that this is dangerous and complicated. My emotions will be played with. He will use me and be gone. This will destroy me. But Mary will be saved if we convince her to do this. And I think I really can influence her. “Yes, okay, tell her. I’ll do it, all of it, but I need some boundaries, Damion.”
He shoves the table back and catches the hem to my shirt, or rather his shirt. “I’m going to need this back.” He drags it over my body and tosses it aside. Before I can even register being naked, he’s pulled me down on the floor, on my back and then he’s between my legs, his lips pressing to my belly. “What boundaries, Alana?” He trails his lips lower and lower, until his breath trickles over my sex and then his tongue laps at my swollen nub. And when he suckles me, his fingers sliding inside me, I melt into the floor, goosebumps lifting on my arms, my nipples aching they are puckered so tightly.
I dive my fingers into his hair, and tug at it, using them as an outlet for all the crazy sensations flooding my body. And at least right now, I don’t care about boundaries one little bit.