AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No. I want you.”
I sigh. And my pulse starts to beat hard. He wants my expertise. Nothing more, nothing less. “But you can’t have me.”
His dark chocolate eyes meet mine and everything goes into freefall. The look is pure sex and he knows it. Imagine if he really turned that dial to on.
“This is important,” he says. “I want the best. So I want you. Jillian Cohen gave me your name.”
Beautiful, smart, talented, and a female version of him. I don’t swing that way, so working with her had been difficult but doable. No lust.
“And yes, we did, in case you’re wondering,” he says this like he’s discussing the weather. “I don’t have photos. Well, none I’m willing to share.”
“Your name never came up.”
“I met her after you turned her into the respected anchorwoman she is now.”
I pick up the sleek black and gold antique pen on my desk. “And she gave you my details?”
That’s how it worked, word of mouth. I moved years ago from PR into this strange little niche and found people wanted to pay me a fortune to sprinkle fairy dust on their lives and make them into something else.
“You’re moralistic?”
“No. Not like that. And Jillian should never have needed to hire me. She’s smart and—”
“You know how the world works. No one can do a thing, or have done or said anything without it biting them in the ass. Hey, I never did any soft porn.”
“Neither did Jillian.” He just looks at me.
I get his point. I made a lot of that go away. And without lies. I trained her how to own her past, downplay it, and reinvent herself.
“You don’t even need someone like me. Do you care what others think? She did. To a point. And that matters.”
He crosses to the window and stares out. “Think of me what you want, Elliot. You will anyway, and I don’t care about most opinions. I do my job, I do it well. I can be responsible in business and have a good time.”
“You like having a really good time.”
“Not a crime.”
He’s right. It isn’t. But I’m not turning him down for that. I’ve also turned people down for so many different reasons or handed them to Andre because I could, because I wanted to, because I didn’t like them. But I don’t think I’ve ever turned someone down over a very probable crush.
And not one of those people have fought me on it when I said no.
“Lena can help you find someone else if Andre doesn’t meet your expectations. There are excellent PR companies and contractors who are discreet and also specialize in this sort of thing.”
“Those,” he says, not looking at me, and even his profile is gorgeous, “are lies. No one does what you do the way you do it. If I wanted just PR who specialized in this sort of thing, I’d have it. This needs your touch. And yeah, I need you to help me not step out of line. No dates unless they’re the right ones, no fucking around—”
“No scandal.”
“—for four weeks.” He runs a finger along the glass like he’s tracing the line of the building opposite. “And I don’t seek out scandal.”
“That wasn’t your first.”
“That was complicated.”
“True love got interrupted, did it?”
He shoots a dirty glance my way. “Hardly love. And it’s in the past. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been fascinated by the Sinclair jewels. Now they turn up. And my family heritage is important. These things are worth more than money. They belong to the family. They’re part of my past and I want them to be part of my future. And apparently, I have to prove I’m worthy. That I can be the figurehead of the company, which means not being me. Four weeks. That’s all.”
“And then you go back to your old ways?”
