Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 69456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Smiling, I just shrug.
“Carter came in for a visit. Just like you. He got here fifteen minutes before you,” I tell Derek, and I gotta say… I’m enjoying this. He came in here thinking that, perhaps, he could play the charming experienced man to a naive girl. But I’m far ahead of him. If he thinks I’m a dumb girl with too much money on her hands, he’s in for a rude awakening.
“Fuck,” Derek hisses, and I notice his hands balling into fists.
No love lost between the two of them, it seems.
“He even called me three days ago when I landed. Wanted to know what I was up to,” I say.
“You know he’s trying to get your money, don’t you, Eliza?” Derek sneers. “He’s broke. Everyone on the Street knows he made some bad bets.”
“Of course I know,” I snap. But in truth it’s news to me.
I need to regain the momentum.
“The bigger question, boys,” I say as Carter takes a step closer. “Is which one of you is going to get me?”
Chapter Seven
Carter
I was getting a bottle of wine from the kitchen as I heard someone knocking at the door. And believe me when I say it: I couldn’t be happier that I waited in the kitchen as Derek stepped inside Eliza’s apartment. Without knowing that I could hear him, he revealed his hand right from the start. Despite his charming words and confident posture, he started to circle Eliza like a shark because of her fortune.
Not that Eliza spared me any. But I don’t mind. I know what I need to do. I know what steps to take and I’ll see them through. All I need is an investor. And I’m confident that I can show my track record to get that from this tiny slip of a girl.
But Derek. I need to put a stop to that asshole. He thinks he can just waltz in here and get cash?
Hell, I had to call Eliza. Talk to her. Give her some time. Make an appointment to come see her after a sufficient waiting period so I don’t seem desperate. Can’t seem desperate for money. Ever.
But I gotta admit. I’ve been prospecting for clients and for money before, but this has been the most enjoyable. Talking to her on the phone - she’s got a voice like honey. Talking to her in person - she’s got a body makes my cock salute. I knew she’s grown up. I’m going to say it over and over but I can’t get enough of her. She’s perfect.
But she’s not for me. I have one mission with her. Cash.
And she’s not for Derek either.
Now, looking straight at him, I can’t help but enjoy the confusion taking over his face. He definitely wasn’t expecting to see me here. Well, tough luck, Derek; unfortunately for you, there’s more than one man whom Eliza may call her father.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Carter?” Derek asks once more, taking one step toward me. “Came to see if Eliza would throw a few million your way? When you having the bankruptcy fire sale? I need some new chairs.”
“You’re the one offering your … how did you put it? Help, right? You were offering Eliza your expertise. Which is quite a surprising way to convince her to invest in whatever company you have set your eyes on this time.”
I look him straight in the eyes, and I can feel the air around us warming up. It’s as if the gates of hell have opened, and its devilish warmth has crawled outside. Derek is clenching his jaw and gritting his teeth so hard that his face looks like it was carved in marble. He hates my guts, there’s no doubt about it. Fair enough, after seeing him that close to Eliza, his hungry eyes focused on her lips, I gotta say that the feeling is mutual.
“You think you’re quite the smartass, don’t you, Carter?” he whispers, and I notice that he has turned his hands into fists. “You’re just a fucking asshole hiding behind nice words and a smile.”
Yeah, I knew that was coming. You see, there’s something of a thorn in our past. Wanda—Eliza’s mother—left Derek because of me, and he never forgave me for that. I don’t want to shrug off whatever responsibility I had in that affair, but it’s not like I’m the one he should be blaming.
I met Wanda at one of those glamour parties and she was the one approaching me at the time. And, whatever you might say about her, she’s one fine looking woman. In fact, I can only think of one woman capable of shining brighter than Wanda, and that’s her own daughter.
So, back then, one drink led to another, and next thing I know Wanda's holding my hand and guiding me toward one of the bedrooms of the house we were in. She seduced me much in the same way I imagine Cleopatra seduced all these roman emperors. Before I knew it, I had her pinned against the wall and was lifting her dress up, my mind commanding my body to do all the things my vivid imagination was producing.