“Two years,” he said, “with a maximum of five. How much would it cost for you to live with me in my mansion for that long?”
My face heated. This had to be a Vegas bet he was part of. I shouldn’t have my panties twisted when I envisioned this man in my bed. I said, “Mansion? Yeah, okay. You’re probably dirt poor.”
The elevator was almost here. I could tell from the rumbling that was building in intensity, almost matching my fantasies of Jacob.
“So, indulge me with a number.”
I knew I shouldn’t indulge him in this, but maybe that was the bet. The truth was, I’d need a fortune to meet all of my responsibilities and make all my dreams happen. If I answered, he’d go away. I stared at him and didn’t blink my blue eyes. “Twenty-five million for five years. I figure five million a year.”
He snapped his fingers. “Done.”
The elevator doors opened and I stepped inside as I said, “Yeah, okay. Look this was fun but I have to go.”
He leaned into the elevator for a moment and said, “Indigo, you are exactly what I need, so I’ll find you soon to finalize this deal.”
The hotel was huge. Who knew how many people milled around the whole strip? I pressed my button and said, “Right. Okay.”
My phone hadn’t gone off to say Mr. Ruthless had arrived, but it wouldn’t hurt to be early. I closed my eyes as I rode up in the elevator.
Maybe my sisters were the hearts and flowers and happily-ever-after types. Or they believed in true love instant spark, like my parents did. But I wasn’t ever going to be anything like either of my parents.
I’d learned from my past.
The doors opened and I headed into the conference room where Ajax and my cousin and assistant, Jasmine, waited for me.
My team had set up the displays, printed the proposal and organized the conference room.
They’d even set out glasses of water. All was perfect. Jasmine handed me my hot green tea as she said, “Indigo, there you are.”
I nodded at her and put my tea down in front of my chair as I said, “Hi. I was waylaid. Some drunk in a bar asked me to marry him. I said I would for twenty-five million.”
Ajax fixed his glasses, though his tie was still crooked, as he said, “This is Vegas, anything is possible. Maybe he was some billionaire like Jacob Donovan.”
Ajax was just out of college. I’d train him to handle his own accounts eventually, but he wasn’t ready yet. Now, Jasmine was the perfect assistant and had no desire to move up as she wasn’t sure she wanted the responsibilities.
I’d never had that luxury. I pointed to Ajax and Jasmine helped him with the tie. I think she liked my new apprentice.
“Yeah, right,” I said. “He was probably just some gambler and asking me to name a number for some stupid bet going on somewhere.”
This was Vegas, after all.
Jasmine fixed Ajax’s tie, so we were all good. As we took our seats, she said, “It would be nice to have twenty-five million dollars.”
I flipped through my script to refresh my talking points as I said, “I guess. My inheritance let me buy a condo in Pittsburgh, but I need to work to pay the rest of the bills.”
I’d pushed some of that money from my parents’ insurance at my sister Georgie for a while, but she didn’t need the money now.
Ajax said, “Your new brother-in-law plays professional baseball, though.”
Huh? How did he bring up Georgie and Michael? I raised my eyebrow and said, “Yeah? What’s the point?”
Jasmine said, “So, it would be fun if you and I could go meet some baseball players. Like, the single kind.”
Ajax’s face went red as he said, “I meant maybe we can land his team’s account. I’d love to work for a baseball team, and get into sports advertising and negotiating celebrity endorsements.”
“Ajax, that’s not my specialty, but we can see—when you’re ready to take on your own clients, and do more market research.” He was clearly young still. I added, “And Jasmine, since we’re family, we’ll have to talk to Georgie and see if she can set you up with a ball player. Next time you see her, ask her yourself.”
My sister and her son were so happy these days. I’d not ask for favors for myself, but Jasmine could.
“You’re the best!” she said.
Ajax’s lips thinned.
I had zero time for whatever was going on between my assistants. I checked that the proposal was up to date and said, “Now we need to convince Jacob Donovan of that, so he knows our plan is his best shot to save his image, and his company.”
I read through my proposal. Mr. Ruthless destroyed companies for breakfast and his name was pretty generally hated, even in the billionaire crowd. He’d exploit weakness whenever it suited him. But then he’d been caught up in a sex scandal. He’d been at a party with a now-known sexual predator who trafficked women. The picture of him and the guy having drinks with scantily clad women around him made his investors flee.
The good thing was that he wasn’t actually involved in that case. The party was the first and only time they’d met. The picture had been damaging, but if Ruthless followed my plan, he’d be free of this scandal in no time.
He’d hire me and my team for this.
I was sure of myself. I could fix this disaster. I was good at my job.
I hope you enjoyed this preview of Ruthless Financier and order now!
Also by Victoria Pinder
Returning for Valentine’s (FREE if you go to my website)
The House of Morgan
Secret Crush
Secret Baby
Secret Bet
Secret Wish
Secret Dad
Secret Heir
Secret Tryst
Secret Date
Secret Romeo
Secret Caress
Secret Match
Secret Bridesmaid
Secret Admirer
Secret Cowboy
Secret Mistress
Secret Cinderella
The House of Morgan Boxed Set 1-3
The House of Morgan Boxed Set 4-6
The House of Morgan Boxed
