How to Seduce a Billionaire (2 page)

Her new dress clung to every curve of her lush body. Curves he’d never known existed before. Even though he saw her in the hotel gym regularly, she always exercised in a big T-shirt and sweatpants. Who knew she’d been hiding a body like that under all those layers of sweaty workout clothes? She’d clearly been working here under false pretenses all this time.

“Now you just sound ridiculous,” he groused. But who could blame him? His sedate, hard-working assistant was simply gorgeous. It was such a betrayal.

And what the hell had happened a minute ago when her hand touched his? He thought he’d felt something sizzling inside him. It had to be his imagination, but recalling that sensation of skin against skin caused his groin to leap to attention. He smacked the wall in disgust.

“Change is good,” he grumbled sarcastically and he sat back down at his desk. No, change
wasn’t
good. Not when he was used to Kelly’s nondescript hair and the way she’d always worn it pulled back in a sensible ponytail or bun. Now it was the color of rich honey tumbling across her shoulders and down her back. It was the sort of color and style that begged a man to run his hands through the lustrous strands as he eased her down to feast on those luscious lips.

His body continued to stir to life and he squelched the feeling by slapping the file folder open and riffling through the papers to find the document he needed. It was useless.

“This is unacceptable.” He refused to lose the careful sense of order and decorum he had always maintained in the workplace. The job was too demanding and Kelly was too important a part of his staff to allow her to suddenly become a distraction. Or more aptly, an
attraction.

It was time to nip this in the bud. He reached across his desk and pressed the intercom button on his phone. “Kelly, please come in here.”

“Be right there,” she said briskly. Seven seconds later, she walked into his office carrying a notepad.

“Sit down,” he said, standing up to pace some more. He didn’t quite trust himself with taking another glance at her legs. Damn it, this just was not going to work. “We need to talk.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked in alarm.

“Look, we’ve always been honest with each other, haven’t we?”

“Yes,” she said carefully.

“I trust you completely, as you well know.”

“I know, and I feel the same, Brandon.”

“Good,” he said, unsure of his next move. “Good.”

Now what? He’d never been at a loss for words before. He glanced at her, then had to look away. How and when had she become so beautiful? He knew women. He loved women. And they loved him. Some might even say he had a sixth sense when it came to women. So why hadn’t he known Kelly was this attractive? Was he blind?

“Brandon,” she said slowly. “Are you unhappy with my work?”

“What? No.”

“Did Jane do an okay job while I was gone?”

“Yeah, she was fine. That’s not the problem.”

“Oh good, because I would hate to—”

“Look, Kelly,” he interrupted, tired of this cat and mouse game. “Did something happen to you on your vacation?”

She was taken aback. “No, why would you think—”

“Then what’s with this makeover thing?” he blurted out. “Why’d you do it?”

“That’s what you called me in here for?”

“Yeah.” And he wouldn’t go into how ridiculous he felt for bringing it up, but he had to know. “Why do you think you have to get all dolled up to—”

Her eyes narrowed. “All dolled up?”

“Well, yeah. You know, all made up and…hell.”

“There’s something wrong in trying to look my best?”

“That’s not what I said.”

“Did I overdo it somehow? I mean, the makeup counter woman showed me what to do, but I’m new at this. I’m still practicing.” She lifted her face to gaze at him and her lips seemed to glisten as they caught the light. “Tell the truth. Is my makeup too much?”

“God, no, it’s just right.” Too damn right, he thought, but didn’t say.

“Now you’re being nice, but I don’t believe you. The way you looked at me when I came in this morning…”

“What? No.”
Oh, crap,
he thought. She wasn’t going to cry, was she? She’d never cried before.

“I thought I could do it. Other women do it, for heaven’s sake, why shouldn’t I?” She jumped up from the chair. It was her turn to pace as she pounded her fist into her palm. “I thought I was being subtle. Do I look like a fool?”

“No, you—”

“You can be honest.”

“I’m being—”

“This was a crazy idea to begin with,” she muttered and leaned back against the wall with a sigh. “I can figure out complex mathematical calculations in my head, but I don’t know the first thing about seduction.”

Seduction?
Something hit him low in the solar plexus and he wasn’t sure of his next move.

“This is so embarrassing,” she moaned.

“No, it’s not,” he said, silently hoping he’d come up with something profound to say. He had nothing.

“What am I supposed to do now? I’ve only got a week left to…oh, God.” She covered her eyes for a moment, then stared up at the ceiling. Finally, she folded her arms across her chest and tapped one toe of her shiny new heels against the carpet. “How could I be so stupid?”

He walked up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Stop that. You’re one of the smartest people I know.”

She glared up at him, her plump lips pouty now. “Maybe in business, but never in romance.”

Okay, romance and seduction were definitely on her mind. And now he realized they were on his mind, too. The question was, why? In all the years he’d known Kelly, Brandon had never once heard her mention a name connected to any romantic interest. And now, all of a sudden, she was making herself over to attract some guy? Just who was she thinking of seducing? Did Brandon know the guy? Was he good enough for Kelly?

Brandon paused to carefully word his next question. “Who are you trying to seduce?”

Frowning now, she stared at her fingernails. “Roger. My old boyfriend. But I should’ve known it wouldn’t work.”

Roger?
Who the hell was Roger? Brandon had to admit that the part of him that should have been relieved to hear she wasn’t out to seduce
him
was surprisingly disappointed. Not that he would ever allow anything to happen between them. But still, who the hell was she talking about?

“Who’s Roger?” he asked aloud.

“I just told you, he’s my old boyfriend. His name is Roger Hempstead.” She stepped away from Brandon’s grip and moved back to her chair. “We broke up a few years ago and I haven’t seen him since.”

“How long ago did you break up?”

“It’s been almost five years.”

He made a quick calculation. “But that’s about how long you’ve been working here.”

“That’s right.” She leaned one elbow on the armrest and looked up at him with a valiant smile. “After Roger and I broke up, I couldn’t stand living in the same small town where everyone I knew could dissect my every word and movement. I decided to relocate as far away from home as possible, so I looked for jobs in California and found this one.”

“I’m glad you did, but it must’ve been quite a breakup.”

“It wasn’t fun,” she said carefully, “but I’ve moved on.”

“Have you?”

“Yes, of course.” She nodded her head resolutely. “But then, last month I found out that Roger’s company booked their corporate retreat here at the Mansion. He’ll be here next week.” She took a deep breath and exhaled. “And I wanted to knock his socks off.”

“Ah, I see.” And he did, sort of. Resting his hip on the edge of his desk, he said, “If it’s any consolation, I can pretty much guarantee you’ll knock his socks off.”

She gazed at him skeptically. “You’re just saying that to be nice.”

“I’m not that nice. Trust me.”

Her lips twisted into a frown. “I do. Usually.”

“I never lie, remember?”

“True, you don’t typically lie. To me, anyway,” she allowed.

He chuckled. “So it’s been about five years since you broke up with this Roger character, and now you want to make an impression.”

She nodded with determination. “I really, really do.”

“You will. I promise.”

“Thanks.” Her brief smile faded. “But I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m fine at business, but the world of romance is beyond me.”

“Tell me what I can do to help.”

Kelly regarded him with interest. “You mean it?”

“Sure.” He was willing to do almost anything to get things back on track. If Kelly felt secure, she’d be able to do her work and stop worrying about this clown Roger. Then, once Roger was gone, she’d go back to behaving like the Kelly he was comfortable with. His universe would once more be in alignment.

“That would be wonderful,” she said with enthusiasm. “I could really use advice from someone like you.”

“Someone like me?”

She smiled and he was struck again by how beautiful she was. Damn, how blind had he been all these years?

“It’s just that the two of you are so much alike,” she said. “You and Roger, I mean. It would really help to get your perspective on things.”

“What do you mean, we’re alike?”

“I mean, both of you are strong and handsome and arrogant and ruthless and, you know, type A all the way.”

Huh. That was accurate enough, although he’d always thought he was fairly laid-back compared to his two brothers. He did appreciate the strong and handsome part of her description, though.

Kelly had stopped to ponder what she’d just said, then added softly, “Wow, no wonder Roger didn’t think I was enough for him.”

Brandon bristled. “
Enough
for him?”

She sighed. “You know what I mean. I wasn’t attractive enough for him.”

“What makes you say that?”

“He told me so when he broke up with me.”

For some reason, Brandon felt an irresistible urge to pulverize something. Like Roger’s face. “You’re kidding.”

“No,” she said wryly. “I’m really not. But you saw what I looked like before the makeover, Brandon. Plain, wholesome, unremarkable. Not exactly supermodel material.”

A twinge of guilt pinged inside him as he realized that was exactly how he’d always felt about her. But he’d considered that a good thing. Now he was just glad he’d never mentioned it out loud.

“But I understood where Roger was coming from,” she continued. “He is very special, after all.”

“Special? He sounds like a jackass.”

She tried to stifle a giggle but didn’t quite succeed. “Oh, he is, but he can’t help it. His family has a very strong influence on him. His mother’s ancestors came over on the
Mayflower,
you know.”

“Members of the crew, were they?” Shaking his head, he said, “Listen, Kelly, do you want me to have him killed? Because I know someone who knows someone who could—”

Kelly laughed. “That’s a sweet offer, but no. I just want to make him regret what he said when he broke things off, that’s all.”

He studied her for several moments. “He hurt you.”

She shook her head. “No, no, he told me the truth and I have to be grateful for that.”

“Grateful? Why?”

She smiled tightly. “Because he helped me see things more clearly.”

“What kinds of things?” Brandon asked warily.

“My own shortcomings.”

Once again, his fists were itching to punch something. Roger’s stomach, maybe, since he’d already mentally broken the jerk’s nose.

She smiled brightly. “So that’s why I’ve decided to get him back.”

“What? Get him back?” Why in the world would she want that scumbag back? Hell, Brandon didn’t even know Roger and he already hated him.

“Yes.” She spread her arms out. “And that explains the makeover.”

And with that, she made a show of checking her watch, effectively ending the conversation. Probably a good idea.

“So,” she said, changing the subject, “do you want me to order lunch from catering?”

He wasn’t finished talking about this, but clearly Kelly needed a time out. So he’d let it go. For now.

“Yeah, that would be great. I’ll have the steak sandwich.”

“Sounds good. I’ll call it in.”

He leaned forward in his chair. “Listen, Kelly, if you need any help or advice, anything at all, you’ll come to me. Promise?”

“Really? You mean it?”

“Absolutely.”

She studied his face as if she were weighing the depth of his sincerity. “You’re sure?”

“I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t.”

She seemed to carry on a short debate with herself, then said, “Okay, there is one tiny thing you could help me with. If you wouldn’t mind.”

“You name it,” he said, reaching for his coffee mug.

“I’ll be right back.” She rushed out to her desk and was back in less than twenty seconds, holding a shopping bag from a well-known and expensive lingerie shop. Taking a deep, fortifying breath, she pulled some wispy scraps of sheer material from the bag and dangled them for him to see.

“Which do you like better, the black thong or the red panties?”

Two

H
e choked on his coffee.

Dismayed, Kelly ran around and pounded his back. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” he managed to say. “I’m fine.” He’d be even better once she backed off and her curvaceous breasts were no longer rubbing against his arm. He was only human, for God’s sake. And hard as granite.

He’d been tackled by some of the biggest linebackers in football history, but nothing had ever rendered him apoplectic before now. As he took a deep breath and let it out, the thought entered his mind that maybe she was trying to kill him. Could Roger have treated her so badly that she was going to take it out on every man she knew?

It wasn’t enough that she’d changed the playing field with her hot new look, but now she was shoving her panties at him. Didn’t she know that those little scraps of silk would be forever imprinted on his fragile male psyche? Now he would be forced to spend the next millennium imagining her in that black thong. Was she really that clueless?

“I didn’t mean to shock you,” she said. “But you said you would help.”

“Didn’t shock me,” he insisted, his voice sounding as if a frog had taken up residence in his throat. “Coffee went down wrong. Just…give me a minute.”

She finally moved back to her side of the desk and quickly shoved the bits of lace into the shopping bag.

“They’ll work just fine,” he said softly, not trusting his voice yet.

Her eyes glittered with hope. “Really?”

“Believe it,” he said with a nod. “Any normal guy would be grateful to see you in either pair.”

“You mean it?” Her eyes cleared and she smiled. “Thank you, Brandon. Oh, and I apologize again for springing them on you.”

“No problem.”

“To make this work, I really need to know what guys consider sexy.” She frowned, then admitted, “Roger never thought I was.”

“Never thought you were what?”

“Sexy.”

Brandon sat forward in his chair. “Does Roger have some kind of learning disability or something?”

She laughed. “Thanks for that. I’ll go order lunch now.”

“Good idea,” he said, thankful his voice had returned to full volume. “Oh, and Kelly?”

She stopped at the door. “Yes?”

“Go with the black thong.”

Later that afternoon, Brandon hung up the phone from a two-hour teleconference with his brothers and their lawyer.

“That guy never stops talking,” he said, shaking his head at the sheer immensity of the lawyer’s convoluted vocabulary.

“I was thinking you must pay him by the word,” Kelly said, flexing her fingers. She had taken notes during the entire meeting and now she stood and stretched her arms. The movement caused the knit fabric of her dress to stretch so tightly across her perfect round breasts that Brandon had to look the other way to stifle the first stages of another rock-hard erection.

“I’m getting more coffee,” she said. “Would you like some?”

“No, thanks. Will you have a chance to type up your notes and analysis this afternoon?”

“Definitely. I’ll get right on them.”

“I appreciate it.”

She closed the door and Brandon gritted his teeth. He needed Kelly to rethink this new wardrobe situation if he was going to survive the week. Hell, even her ankles were causing him palpitations. There was something about those high heels she was wearing that did awesome things to every inch of her legs.

An hour later, after the rest of his team had gone home, he walked out to Kelly’s area to find a property file and caught her pouting at herself in her compact mirror.

“Oh.” She blinked in surprise and quickly slapped the mirror closed and threw it in her drawer.

He rested one hand on the doorjamb. “I know I’m going to be sorry I asked, but what were you doing?”

“Nothing. What do you need? A file? Which one? I’ll get it.” She jumped up and pulled the top file drawer open.

“See, now you’re just raising my curiosity level,” he said, “so you might as well tell me.”

She clenched her teeth together irately. “Fine. Roger complained about the way I kissed, so I was practicing in the mirror. There. Are you happy?”

He shook his head. “Roger is a complete idiot. Why do you care what he thinks?”

She glared at him. “I told you, I want to get him back.”

“Yeah, that’s what I don’t get.” Disgusted with the subject of Roger, he moved to the file drawer and began to sift through the folders himself. “Where’s the new Montclair Pavilion file?”

“I’ve got it right here.” She picked up a thin folder and handed it to him. She looked so dejected, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for teasing her.

“Look, I’m sure you kiss like a goddess,” he said. “So stop worrying about what Roger thinks.”

“I just wish I could practice on something besides a mirror,” she said gloomily.

“Yeah,” he agreed absently as he thumbed through the file. “It usually works better to go with a real-life target who’ll actually kiss you back.”

She shot him a hopeful look. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to help me out with that.”

He glowered at her. “Get real, Kelly.”

“What do you mean?” Realization dawned slowly. “Oh! No, no! I didn’t mean for
you
to kiss—oh, dear. I would never want
you
to…well, this isn’t going to come out right, no matter how I say it.”

“So just say it.”

“Okay. I wasn’t talking about
you
kissing me.” She sat on the edge of her desk. “But the thing is, I’ve made a list of potential, um…participants. So I was thinking maybe you could help by looking it over and making some suggestions?”

“You have a list?” Why was he surprised? Kelly made lists for everything. It was just one of the ways she stayed so organized.

“Of course I have a list.” She jumped up, ran around the desk and pulled a pad and pen out of her drawer. “I’m good at making lists.”

“Let me get this straight,” he said, absently slapping the file folder against his pants leg. “You’ve made a list of men you’re thinking of approaching to ask for help with—what? Kissing lessons?”

She flipped a page over and studied it. “That’s right.”

“But I’m not on the list?” he asked warily.

“What? No, absolutely not.” She shook her head as she held up her hand in a pledge. “Of course you’re not on the list. You’re my boss.”

“Good. As long as we’ve got that settled.” He should’ve felt nothing but relief. So why was he getting more annoyed by the minute? She considered him good enough to judge her damn panties but not good enough to kiss?

Okay, that might be the most ridiculous thought he’d had all day. This entire situation was getting out of hand. With a heavy exhalation of breath, he shoved away his own ludicrous reactions and tried to empathize with Kelly’s bizarre quandary.

“So who’s on the list?” he asked, almost afraid to hear her answers.

She glanced up. “What do you think about Jean Pierre?”

“The hotel chef?” She couldn’t be serious.

“He’s French,” she explained. “They invented the sport, right?”

“No way in hell. Not Jean Pierre. You’d probably start an international incident. Absolutely not.”

“Okay, okay.” She crossed Jean Pierre’s name off her list. “What about Jeremy?”

“The guy who mows the lawns?”

“He’s a landscape designer,” she said pointedly. “Practically an artist. He might know a thing or two about the art of
l’amour.
”

“He’s gay.”

“Really? Why don’t I know these things?” She blew out a frustrated breath as she drew a line through Jeremy’s name. “Nicholas the winemaker? He’s German, right? He might be—”

“Let me see that list.” He snatched the pad from her and gazed at the names. “Paulo, the cabana boy?”

“He’s cute,” she insisted, a little too desperately.

“Forget it. Who’s Rocco?”

“One of the limo drivers.”

“Which one?”

“The big guy with the—”

“Never mind.” He shook his head. “No.”

“But—”

“No,” he said, handing the list back. “Throw that away. I don’t want you going around kissing the staff, for God’s sake.”

“Fine.” Glaring at Brandon, she ripped the page out, crumpled it up and tossed it in the waste bin. “I suppose you’re right. It might send the wrong message.”

“You think?” he said, his voice tinged with sarcasm.

She folded her arms tightly across her chest, which only served to emphasize her world-class breasts, damn it.

“So who can I ask for help?” she wondered, leaning her hip against her desk. “I’ve got a full week before Roger gets here. I could do a lot of practicing in that time. Do you have any friends you could recommend?”

“No.”

“Too bad.” She pursed her lips in thought. “Maybe there’s someone in town who—”

“Not a good idea,” he said in a tone that cut off all discussion.
Not a good idea?
Talk about an understatement. Hell, it was one of the worst ideas Brandon had ever heard. He didn’t want her kissing the staff
or
any poor, unsuspecting Napa Valley residents. All he needed was to have the locals talking about the crazy kissing woman from the Mansion on Silverado Trail.

But he could tell by the tension building along Kelly’s soft jawline that she was determined to carry out this cockeyed plan of hers. And if she went behind his back and enlisted one of the pool attendants…

Brandon stared at those pouty, glossy lips and realized the only man who could help her improve her kissing technique was him. Mainly because he suddenly couldn’t stand the thought of her kissing anyone else.

“Fine,” he said brusquely. “I’ll help you.”

She pushed away from the desk. “But you’re not on the list.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m going to help you myself because I don’t want you scaring away the staff.”

She placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head at him. “I know you meant that in the nicest way.”

“Sorry. Yes.” He shook his head as if to erase the comment. “Of course I did.”

She continued staring at him. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“It’s the only way I’ll know for sure that you’re not getting into trouble around here.”

“I won’t get into trouble.”

“I know, because I’ll be the one helping you.”

Inhaling a deep breath, Kelly let it out slowly, then seemed to brace herself for impact. “Okay. I appreciate this, Brandon.” She took a hesitant step toward him, but he held up his hand to stop her.

“Wait. We need to set some ground rules first.”

“Ground rules? Why?”

“Because there’s no way I’m having you fall for me.”

“Fall for you?” She blinked, then began to laugh. “Are you kidding?”

“Something funny?” he asked, insulted.

“Yes,” she said, giggling like a schoolgirl. “The idea that I would ever be dumb enough to fall for you is pretty funny.”

“
Dumb
enough?”

“Yes, dumb enough. Let me count the ways.” She held up one hand and began ticking off fingers. “You’re a grouch in the morning. You leave newspapers lying around everywhere. You date a woman once and then never call back. You’re a big baby when you’re sick.”

“Wait a minute,” he protested.

But she was on a roll now and seemed to be enjoying herself. “And all your weird superstitions left over from when you played in the NFL? My gosh, wearing the same socks for every game was bad enough, but I also heard that you ate only sardines and blueberries the night before every game. Do you still do that before big negotiations? Who does that?”

Brandon had heard enough. He placed the file on the chair in front of her desk and stalked closer. “The socks were washed between games.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, really.” He brushed against her, then slipped his hand around her nape and urged her closer. “And sardines and blueberries are both excellent sources of omega-three fatty acids.”

“Fascinating,” she whispered, as she stared wide-eyed at him.

“Helps the brain function better,” he added as he caressed her cheek.

“G-good to know.” She sounded wary now, probably smart of her.

He bent to kiss her neck, then murmured in her ear, “The quarterback’s the brains of the team, did you know that?”

She moaned. “What are you doing?”

“What do you think I’m doing?”

“I’m not sure.”

“I am.” And he kissed her. She tasted as sweet and hot as he somehow knew she would. Even more so. He had to work to keep the contact light and simple, because it wouldn’t do to get carried away. But that didn’t stop him from wishing he could lay her down on the desk, run his hands up her thighs, spread her legs and bury himself inside her.

He had to stop. This was wrong in too many ways to count. If he stepped away from her right now, they could both forget this kiss ever happened.

Then she groaned in surrender and he knew she wanted the same things he did. And he was helpless to stop. He used his tongue to gently pry her lips open, plunging inside her sexy mouth. Her tongue met his in a sensual play of thrust and parry.

He wanted to cup her breasts and flick his thumbs across her peaked nipples, but that was a sure road to madness. So with every ounce of will inside him, he forced himself to end the kiss, reluctantly pulling himself away from her warmth.

“Oh,” she whispered, licking her lips as she slowly opened her eyes.

Brandon’s insides clenched at the sight of her pink tongue tasting him on her mouth.

“Oh, that was good,” she said with a note of surprise. “That was really good.”

“Yeah,” he said, brooding. “It was.”

“I liked it a lot.”

So did he, but he remained silent. Otherwise, he might’ve been tempted to follow through on his desire to have her naked under him. But that would never happen and right now, he needed to regain some degree of control over whatever strange emotions were still churning inside him.

“Roger never kissed like that,” she said, watching him thoughtfully.

“Did I mention the guy was an idiot?” he muttered.

“No wonder he didn’t think I was sexy,” she reasoned. “It’s because he didn’t make me
feel
sexy.”

“I rest my case.”