Smile when appropriate; and
Make a quiet exit after spending the appropriate amount of time at the party.
Come hell or high water; she was sticking to it.
*****
Maxwell Bryant locked in on the raven-haired beauty the moment she walked through the front door. Robyn Levy was virtually a rock star here. It didn’t matter that the biggest movers and shakers in the technology sector were all gathered under one roof to celebrate the housewarming, but also, the launch of a brand new billion dollar IPO. It seemed the locals only wanted to talk to her. If he were honest, so did he. He stared. It had been a long time since a woman had caused such a primitive reaction in him without saying a single word.
Maxwell did his best to stay focused on the conversation in front of him. It was difficult when watching her was much more interesting. It was clear, Robyn didn’t want to be seen. If he had to guess, she would have rather been any place else. That was a drastic change from what he was used to. Businessmen had groupies too. Women usually followed the money.
Speaking of . . . he turned at the sound of someone calling out to him. “Maxwell?”
Joanna Christianson. Damn. He was very familiar with the sultry voice of the woman singing his name and saddling up next to him. She tossed her platinum blonde hair over her exposed, porcelain-white shoulder and pressed her enhanced double Ds into his side.
“Joanna.” He did his best to keep his voice monotone. He didn’t want to say or do anything that might encourage her.
She picked an invisible piece of lint from his shoulder as she leaned in closer. “I had no idea you were going to be here tonight.”
Liar. Maxwell had to figure out how Joanna always knew where he was going to be. It was borderline stalking, and he wasn’t impressed.
“I’m so glad I forced myself to come to this little country soiree now that I know you’re here. Between the two of us, I’m sure we can figure out a way to have some real fun.”
Maxwell could only assume some men would consider Joanna beautiful, but he didn’t. He preferred the natural curves of a woman. That’s what made them special. Not the hardened rocks she called breasts pushed up against him.
He remained silent.
Joanna ran her hands across his shoulders. “Maybe you and I can sneak out of here and find some trouble to get into.”
As she spoke, Max’s attention was drawn to her lips. Something was different about them since the last time he’d seen her. Were they supposed to look pouty? He wasn’t sure, but they appeared swollen and painful.
Maxwell didn’t crack a smile. “Not interested in that, Joanna.” He smoothly removed her hands from his body and stepped back to create some space between them.
“Aww . . . c’mon, Maxwell,” Joanna cooed. She apparently didn’t get the message. Instead, she inched closer doing her best to eliminate the distance he’d recently placed in between their bodies.
He had never given Joanna the time of day and didn’t plan to start now. They met years ago at a tech conference before he understood how it all worked. In the beginning, he’d been polite but nothing more. As his mother used to say . . . give an inch, and they take a mile. Since that time, Maxwell had made it abundantly clear that he was not interested. Still, Joanna would seemingly appear out of nowhere. There was only one woman who’d captured his attention and fascinated him tonight, and that was Robyn Levy. There was no way in hell was he going to allow Joanna to mess up his plans.
His voice took on a sharper edge. “You need to go, Joanna.”
“But, Max . . .” she whined.
He cut her off. “I’m not interested. I’m not that guy . . . not now or ever, so you need to go find someone else to play with.”
Her eyes turned hard. She was angry. After a second or two of awkward silence, Joanna stalked away.
The gentleman he’d been speaking with before she arrived chuckled. “Only a man who was already spoken for would turn away a beauty like her.”
Maxwell neither confirmed nor denied that observation.
For the better part of an hour, he kept a low profile and sipped on his drink as his eyes continued to follow Robyn around the room. He stayed in the background waiting for just the right moment to make his move.
She continued to smile politely and nod courteously at everyone who wanted her attention. She was bored out of her mind. Maxwell planned to change that. His mouth watered as he imagined tasting the expanse of smooth cocoa skin she had on display. Robyn’s shoulders and back were fully exposed, revealing an incredibly toned body in a black dress that hugged every curve. It was cut a little low in the front and gave him a glimpse of her ample breasts but not as much as Maxwell would like to have seen, privately. Even her collar bone was sexy. The moment he realized he was mesmerized by her collarbone, he realized he was in deep shit. His mind was running way too far ahead. Tonight was just the first step in the full onslaught of a Maxwell Bryant pursuit.
He took another long sip of his drink and did his best to engage in conversation with the next person who’d been clamoring for his attention. He couldn’t remember his name. It was another person in a long line of people hoping he would invest in their start-up. Concentrating on the words coming
