Chapter 2
Daniel
I looked out over the edge of the terrace wall, wondering if I should be offended or amused by what this woman said to me. Maybe I should be proud of how my reputation precedes me. Either way, she had no idea who I was. I liked that. I was going to run with it.
I turned toward her and my eyes quickly wandered, as they’d been known to do.
I couldn’t help it. I loved women, and the one who stood before me was striking.
She wasn’t my usual type. Addison, was it?
I think that was why I found her so captivating.
Rather than being stick-thin with blonde hair and a tan I was never sure was natural, nor did I really care to find out, Addison was different.
Her body curved in places I’d like to place my hands on, my fingertips pressing into places I wondered when were last touched.
I couldn’t tell if her dark hair was brown or a warm shade of black.
It was pulled into a bun that said she tried, but not too hard by the way unruly strands fell around her face.
That face, though. It was in the shape of a heart that matched perfectly with the rosy pout of her lips.
Right above her top lip was a kiss of a mole, which my eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to.
She seemed to notice where my eyes had stopped and covered her mouth shyly, chewing on her thumbnail. She was self-conscious of it when it might have been the sexiest thing about her. She didn’t even know it, which made her all the more attractive.
The woman cleared her throat nervously and my eyes caught hers. They were a warm brown and searching mine to see if perhaps she went too far. I decided to put her mind at ease, but also have a little fun.
“You’ll be fine. But entertain me. What else have you heard about my boss?” I asked with a playful smirk. I might as well play the part of whoever she assumed I was.
“That he only dates models. He thinks he is Leonardo DiCaprio.”
Ouch. I was only thirty-two, and I took out women over the age of twenty-five.
“Hmm. What else?”
It was interesting to gain perspective on myself from a complete stranger.
“That’s all Elma said.” She shrugged.
“Elma?”
“My landlord.”
“Ah.” I nodded.
“She loves to gossip,” said Addison. “The last thing she said was he was going to eat me alive. What do you think she meant by that?”
I fought back a smile because her landlord seemed to know me quite well for never having met me, because that was exactly what I’d like to do, among other things. My imagination was already running wild.
“Maybe she thinks my boss tends to get what he wants…” I quipped.
“Well, I highly doubt he wants me.”
You doubt wrong. Very wrong.
“Plus, I’m not that kind of girl,” she added.
“And what kind of girl is that?”
“The kind that sleeps around with some rich playboy.”
She said it firmly, and I was already taking this as a challenge. Game on.
I watched as she pulled out her phone and checked the time, her brow furrowing.
“His meeting must be running late…” she said, looking around the terrace.
Just then, I heard the click-clack of heels coming down the stone pathway. I saw my assistant appear from behind the large pink rose bush. The jig was up.
“Oh, Mr. Jacobs. There you are. I see you’ve already met your four o’clock,” she said, spotting us by the bench.
I heard Addison suck in a sharp breath and saw her shoot me a nervous look.
“Thank you, Margaret. I’ll take her to my office,” I said, dismissing her.
Margaret nodded before heading back down the pathway.
I turned toward Addison, whose eyes were wide and her lips parted slightly. I saw she’d put it together. I gave her a sheepish smile.
“ You’re Daniel Jacobs?” she asked in an almost whisper.
“The one and only.” I hold my arms out.
“I-I am so sorry,” she stammered. “I had no idea. You must think I’m a total idiot.”
“Not at all. It was quite all right,” I said, waving her off.
She put her face in her hands and looked at me through the slits of her fingers.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” she groaned.
“You just assumed I was…someone else. Who did you think I was?”
“His assistant. I don’t know. Oh my God. This is mortifying.”
She slid her hands down her face and looked at me remorsefully.
“It’s okay. Really. I like roleplaying, anyway.”
I saw her cheeks turn crimson as her mouth dropped open. She let out a strained sound before shutting it quickly. She broke our gaze and looked at the floor, fumbling with her purse. My words got to her. I liked seeing her squirm.
“Shall we?” I asked, nodding toward the building.
“Wait. You still want to have the meeting? Even after everything I said?” she asked, surprised.
“Why not?”
“Okay,” she replied hesitantly.
She fell into step beside me. I noticed the warm vanilla-scented perfume she wore somehow competed with the surrounding flowers. I breathed it in as we walked through the opened doors.
“This way,” I said, leading her down the long hallway to my office.
Margaret eyed us curiously. Despite what Addison thought, I hadn’t slept with her or anyone in the building. I just liked having pretty things to look at. I knew better than to mix business with pleasure, although in this moment, with this new acquaintance, I wasn’t so sure.
I opened the door to my office just enough so she had to brush past me.
I closed the door gently behind me with a click and watched as she took in her surroundings.
The marble floors. The high ceilings. The floor-to-ceiling windows.
Not many buildings in the city were this high up or lent such a grand view of the sky and city below.
“This is incredible,” she said as she spun slowly in a circle.
My eyes couldn’t help but fall to her backside as she turned. That gray skirt did wonders for her. I wondered what was underneath.
“May I get you anything? Water? Coffee?” I asked.
She turned to me and shook her head. “I’m fine, thank you.”
“Well, let’s get started.”
I gestured to the leather armchair and took a seat behind my desk across from her.
She sat and smoothed her hands down her skirt. I saw no ring. She was fair game. Not that a ring had ever stopped me in the past.
I could see she was nervous after what happened in the garden because she was chewing on her bottom lip and looking anywhere but at me. I couldn’t stop staring at her mouth. Her lip tucked under her teeth, fighting to break free. I wished it were my teeth biting into her fleshy pout.
“So…what can I do for you?” I asked, ignoring my wandering thoughts. I leaned back in my chair and crossed my hands in front of me. This was business, after all. Mostly.
“Well, first of all, I again want to apologize for what I said out on the terrace. I don’t know what came over me. Whatever someone’s lifestyle is, is no business of mine. I hope we can still have a successful meeting despite our initial one.”
“Let’s pretend it didn’t happen.”
Even though I was still replaying her words in my head.
I could listen to her talk about sex all day.
If we weren’t interrupted by Margaret, I would have pushed further to hear what else she heard about the Daniel Jacobs.
The way playboy rolled off her tongue like that.
It was like porn for my ears. And the way she said she wasn’t that type of girl.
It was already a challenge I had accepted in my head. We would see about that.
“Let’s start over. Would that help?” I offered.
She gave me a weak smile.
“That would be great,” she replied.
“I’m Daniel Jacobs,” I said, holding my hand out.
“Addison Heartly,” she said, placing her hand in mine.
It was soft and small, and her touch caused the hairs on my neck to stand up.
This is new , I thought to myself. I shook her hand and reluctantly released it.
Her eyes fell to her hand and I wondered if she felt the same sort of electric shock I had.
It took me a moment to collect myself before I spoke.
“So, what can I do for you today, Ms. Heartly?”
Her name was made for her.
“Well, I’m with Leading to Learn. We’re a nonprofit that provides learning toys for children in third-world countries. Have you heard of it?”
“I have.”
I haven’t.
“Then you know our mission is to make learning and education accessible for all children, despite their location or economic situation.”
I didn’t know that, but I was doing my best to pretend like I was listening intently when really all I was thinking about was getting her into bed.
Hell, on this desk. Anywhere she’d have me.
I was probably an awful person for thinking about sex when she was pouring her heart out about kids who had nothing, but I couldn’t help it.
She was still talking about their mission and my eyes were straying to the small amount of cleavage that was peeping out of her white button-down top.
I noticed the white lace trim of her bra.
I felt myself growing hard and was glad there was a desk in front of me at this moment.
I liked women, but they didn’t normally have this much of an effect on me.
I noticed she stopped talking and my eyes snapped up to hers, hoping she wasn’t onto me or my lack of self-control in this moment.
“What you’re doing is very admirable,” I said, playing the part. This seemed to appease her.
“Thank you. I think everyone has a right to the opportunity to learn.”
“I agree.”
“Every child we’ve helped so far has been so incredibly grateful for even the smallest of toys. To see the looks on their faces when they’re introduced to something new, yet something so ordinary to us, it’s magical. It really puts things into perspective.”
I could see this meant a lot to her and wasn’t just a job to her. Or else she was one hell of a sales pitcher. I was going with the former.
“I can see this means a lot to you. So, what can I do for you?”
“Well, your company is the current leader in tech, making you one of the most profitable enterprises on the East Coast. We could use a donor of your stature. Our toys, up until now, have been mostly manipulatives, but we want to begin incorporating books and possible digital items for the villages that have access to electricity. As a nonprofit, we rely on donors to make what we do possible.”
I did the usual signs of active listening.
I nodded and mused and furrowed my brow like I was in deep thought.
I pretended to be thinking about what she said, even though I’d already internally agreed to whatever she asked for.
It wasn’t like I’d miss a couple hundred thousand dollars.
Hell, even a couple million. Whatever she needed.
But I couldn’t make it that easy. I needed more time with her.
“It would look good for your company. I could see Forbes writing up a noble article,” she offered, her words rolling off her tongue as if she was dangling a piece of candy in front of me. Little did she know, she was the candy. And I’d like to taste her sweetness in my mouth.